Cynematik • Cyndi Greening

BY CYNDI GREENING, ARIZONA, USA — Did you ever look at your life and wonder how you ended up where you are? When I think back on my life, there are several of those moments (don’t know if that’s good or bad). I had one of those moments shortly after I moved to Phoenix in October of 1983. Life in Wisconsin was just not going the way I wanted, so I called everyone I knew in a different state and asked three questions. How much is rent? How hard is it to find a job? How much are utilities. I called Amy in Maine, Karen in California, Jason in Texas, Jenny in Arizona.

Jenny had the best answers so I rented a U-Haul Mini-Mover (one way). Three of us piled in. It took three days to get from Chippewa Falls to Phoenix. We got a slow start because we had to stop in Madison for some tearful good-byes. Then, we got lost in the Illinois/Iowa four corners area. (Did not bode well for the rest of the trip.) We had a serious U-Haul malfunction in Olathe, Kansas. By the time we hit Albuquerque, it was clear we weren’t in Kansas … or Wisconsin … any more. The enormity of the decision to move 2008 miles away was sinking in. As we descended from Flagstaff to Phoenix, the sun was setting and the saguaros made us all start talking about the Coyote and the Roadrunner. We were definitely strangers in a strange land.

It took all of the money we had to rent the U-Haul and buy a used 1968 Buick Wildcat (no A/C) to get around town. Within a week, we all had jobs. Even back then, Phoenix was shockingly huge. It was 75 miles from east to west. And, people weren’t as friendly as people in Wisconsin. A month or two passed. I was so homesick and lonely. The holidays approached and I wanted to move back home so badly but, alas, no money. And, since I’d left in a huff, I couldn’t really ask anyone to help me get back. Besides, I’d have had to eat a whole lot of crow. I remember sitting on the side of the Canal on 12th Street on New Year’s Eve wondering how my life ended up where it was.

That was 24 years ago. Little did I know how often I would have that thought in my lifetime! When I was 28, Alec was born. He certainly was a cute little guy. And, a BIG surprise. How did life end up there? Relationships began and ended. Guess I couldn’t really say much about my biological mother’s revolving-door idea on marriage, anymore. How the heck did my life go that way?

I’m in another one of those moments. Wondering how my life ended up here. Everything is shifting. I’ve been a teacher for 16 years. I love teaching. Love my students. Love my program. Love learning new software. Love digital filmmaking and animation. It’s all in a state of flux now. Most days, I feel like I’m walking on jello. Boiiiinnnng. Boiiing. Take one step in any direction and everything starts moving. See it wiggle. Watch it jiggle. It’s just my life.