Hello to my new friends and new readers. My name is William J. Nash-McAdam, more commonly just referred to as “Nash” in the blogging world. Please forgive my tardiness; I was assigned as a new Phoenix Metblogger several days ago, but time on a mountaintop in Payson and the charm of a pop-up trailer and outdoor utilities kept me from the laptop, much less the wireless feed I am now enjoying from a contempoary coffee shop, run by a man from Jordan, on the corner of Gilbert and Baseline. While awakening to the smell of one of two nearby forest fires is an adventure that I am now grateful for, I must admit that I find my life and my love in the city. Of course, there are aspects about the mountains that become all the more attractive when descending into the Valley on a hot summer day, but it is not entirely for me. I am originally from Orange County, California, but even that is not usually city enough for me — when visiting home I like to get lost in Los Angeles and escape to the subways, Jewish delicatessens, and inner-city parks. Every city has its culture and its allure, and I have been to the major ports of call on the west coast and the Middle East, but always return home, to my family, friends, job, and an existance that is grounded into the canyons of realistic expectations.

Here, in Phoenix, I like to go to First and Third Fridays and stay out late with the after-gatherings of wine and cheese, trying to find my way home on the bus with the local colors and smells … the smells. I used to live in the middle of Tempe, on Mill Avenue, among the college students, hippies, and artists. During those nine-months of my life I came to know and love Tempe on an intimate level, and try to visit there often still when time and work permit, usually trying to stop for the only good hummus and schwarma in town at the Phoenicia Cafe next to the mosque at ASU. Now I live with my boyfriend and a cat in an apartment in suburban Mesa, but still find that what many consider to be the conveniences of strip mall living are not worth the sacrifices of a pedestrian-friendly metropolis, but life is still quality and the movement of life dictate it as good. I still travel to the city almost daily though, and work as a finance counselor at The University of Phoenix, often staying after hours to go to class online, earning my degree. And occassionally, during lunch hours, my friends and coworkers will climb in a Jeep — a real Jeep — and explore what Phoenix has to offer. Still sometimes, I will leave them all behind and eat my lunch on the top of the parking structure at Sky Harbor, watching the planes take off to remind me of the places that are other then here. But now for now.