Doc Hop

Woohoo, I’ve made it, y’all!

Today is my last day in Augusta, and I’m never looking back! This town can literally and figuratively suck my dust. There will be no love lost through the rearview window.

My moving pods arrived on Friday morning, and by Friday afternoon I had my entire apartment loaded in. I ended getting rid of my dresser, which allowed me to fit all of my stuff into one pod. It’s saving me quite a bit of money, which will be useful for the remainder of my trip. My many moves across the country and 25 years as a Big Brother fan has taught me to expect the unexpected. Someone from U-Haul should pick up my pods today, and I will wake and fly with the birds tomorrow morning.

My first stop is Little Rock, Arkansas, and if I’m not completely dead after my 10-hour drive I’ll post an update outlining my adventures. I don’t know much about the city, but I would love to check out Little Rock Central High School, where the Little Rock Nine were enrolled after the passing of Brown v. Board of Education, which marked the beginning of the end of segregation. I’ll definitely have to eat, and it looks as though there are some decent vegetarian options in the area. Sierra and Becca recommended I check out Three Fold Noodles & Dumpling Co., so that will likely be the move.

Which will be greatly appreciated, because the past month has been dedicated to eating down all the food in my fridge and pantry that I will not be able to take with me to California. It’s been so long and so boring, but I made it and treated myself to a large Holy Shiitake from Mellow Mushroom to celebrate.

I’ve also spent the past month getting my ducks in a row. I passed the knowledge exam for my California driver’s license online, and I have an appointment to complete the vision test at the Long Beach office on July 24. Once I’m a California driver, I’ll also be a California VOTER and one step closer to obtaining my California library card!! (Books are banned in Georgia, so I’m very excited to have a real selection back at my fingertips. I’m also very excited to vote in a state with politics I can get behind.)

I’m also happy to announce that I’ve completed all course prep for the three classes I will be teaching in the fall! I want to hit the ground running at CSULB, and I can’t do that if I’m planning out lectures each week. With that out of it the way, I’m hoping I can start moving on a few research projects right off the bat. I wanted to finish before the move, and I made it with two days to spare. Hopefully that will take a bit of the pressure off over the next few weeks.

But it hasn’t been all work and no play these past few weeks. I’ve also spent the last month grabbing lunch/coffee and saying my goodbyes to the few friends I was fortunate enough to make here. I didn’t make many friends, but I sure made some great ones.

Augusta’s Pride festival was a few weeks back and I spent most of it with Taylor and Macy — who are getting married next year and invited me to take photos for their save the dates! (What better setting than Pride?) We checked out a performance by Q the first night, and Jade Jolie performed the next day. (I swear, I don’t know how Augusta Pride pulls in Ru girls nearly every year, but I’ve seen some incredible performances because of it — including a live vocal performance by Adore Delano just a couple of years back.)

And just two weeks ago I visited Charlotte for a cabaret-style performance with Jamii, Cole, and Cole’s sister, Jaclyn. The singing and dancing was absolutely incredible, and for a couple of hours I felt like I was in the musical Chicago. (Or an episode of Riverdale, which is closer to the truth. IYKYK.) Jamii and Cole have easily become the best friends I’ve made here, so it was definitely bittersweet to say my goodbyes. I hope they’re just “see ya laters,” because they’ve promised to visit and there’s always room at my place and in my heart for them. (Drag Con 2025, guys?)

That’s my update — and my last one from Georgia! When you next hear from me I’ll be on my way to becoming a California baddie. I’m trying to pump myself up for the four-day drive ahead of me, so please leave a comment with podcast, audiobook or song suggestions! Thirty eight hours is a lot of time to fill.

“It’s all good, from Diego to the Bay
Your city is the bomb if your city makin’ pay
Throw up a finger if you feel the same way
Dre puttin’ it down for Californ-i-a.”

— 2Pac ft. Dr. Dre, California Love