Residency!

Two nights ago I applied for classes at the local community college here. I was very excited about the possibility of taking Italian with one of my roommates, but I was pleasantly surprised by something else I discovered in the process. At one point I had to answer questions about where I lived, how long I had lived there, where did I vote, had I voted in another state in the last year, where did I pay taxes, etc. As I answered the questions it suddenly dawned on me: I have unquestionable, unalterable residency!

This is a very weird sensation for some one who lived overseas for about 17 years, who didn't care about which state the college was in (I had to pay out-of-state tuition no matter what), and for some one who always had to think carefully about which address they should put down (there was the P.O. Box in Florida, the relative's in New Jersey, the Wycliffe center in Guate, the house in Guate, later there was the dorm, then the cheap college housing, then the dorm again). For the first time in my life I have one address. Just one. And it hasn't changed in three years. I don't have to explain to people that I'm a citizen, but not a residence (which amusingly messes with the minds of the government bureaucrats). My home address is, in fact, my home address!

Weird.

It sure makes life simple...but so much less interesting!