Moving Back East

By Adonal Foyle

For the first time in 10 years, I've had to make a transition living from one side to the country to another. I said goodbye to the Bay Area and hello to sunny Central Florida. Unless he's a star of his team, a player has to constantly keep in mind where he may have to move to in case he gets traded or signs a free-agent contract with other team. And for the first time in my career, this is something I'm now dealing with.

When I was leaving college in upstate New York to go play for the Golden State Warriors in the West Coast, I didn't have too many things to bring with me. All I had was my clothes and a book. I didn't have any furniture or anything else I had to worry about. But coming from a place where I have laid down my roots for the past 10 years (I now have a house, more clothes, DVDs, books and a heck of a lot more shoes), I now had to move back to the opposite part of the country. And that is very difficult.

I was telling someone the other day that I was extremely spoiled these past 10 years. Because most players have had to move two, three, four, five times in that same span. And here I am, one of just six players who was able to stay at the same place for this long. And my biggest concern was what was I going to bring with me to Florida. What do I need for the year? What are the things that I absolutely cannot live without? Things like that. The weirdest thing was standing in front of my closet for about 10 minutes and just thinking: "What am I going to take?" I had no idea what things I needed to bring with me that is going to make me feel comfortable enough to allow me to simply concentrate on playing basketball. And I am still moving stuff back and forth. By the time I settle in, my career may already be over.

One of the more difficult things for me to bring with me was my art collection. I have a very expensive art collection. And it's not one of those things that I can simply ship. My apartment in Orlando doesn't hold enough room for me to bring my art pieces with me. And the whole notion of leaving my house in the Bay Area, where I am always welcomed by my warm and beautiful paintings and just having to leave them all there, leaves me feel a bit empty. But I've brought everything else that's essential. Because it's going to come down to what is going to make me happy and make me feel at home. And when I think of that, I think of my computer, my clothes, my DVDs, my favorite sheets, my TiVo. Those are the simple things that can make a person feel at home. I think the best way for me to make the transition process easier is to bring the things that I'll be ok with for now. And then, I can worry about everything else later.