Electrolicious

Congrats to my former coworker Joe and his fiance Vanessa for managing to move to their new house — without a moving truck or even cars!

Is the arc of your life somewhat planned or is it as random as it appears. By this I mean, so many moves and job changes etc. Conversely, what are the unchanging elements that mean the most to you?

This is an awesome question. It’s odd to think of my life as seeming random because I am an obsessive planner when it comes to day to day things. I used to be a fan of 5 year plans, but honestly … I’ve had trouble with those lately because some life simply doesn’t go according to your plan and it can be very, VERY frustrating for a premeditated type like myself. In fact, it’s actually sort of nice to hear that my life looks random because it suggests that maybe I’m better at going with the flow than I feel like I am.

Then again, some of the randomness is just a factor of the blog format —
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Last night I some friends hosted a farewell potluck/cocktail party for me. It was very sweet and fun and, above all, LOUD. Heidi brought me flowers and then Jung went all out and gave me his old iPod. His timing is perfect, because now Andreas and I have days’ worth of music to listen to on our drive up to Seattle this weekend.

My father called me today and said, “How you feeling about it all?” I said, “Uh…” He said, “Well, I guess you probably don’t really know just yet, do you?” He’s right, of course. I have no idea how I feel about it all right now.

I leave Los Angeles tomorrow.

In some sort of painfully cheezy farewell to this painfully cheezy city and all it’s done for me (or not), I offer this painfully cheezy song. Lyrics linked below.

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Why are you moving back to Seattle?
See, here’s the thing: LA was never, ever a permanent relocation. When Dre and I decided to move down here, I warned him that I would only be able to deal with LA for two years, tops. That was 14 months ago. We moved down so that he could do audio engineering stuff. He did some stuff. Then he got laid off, and has been working less frequently. About a month ago, I had a moment of clarity where I realized that I wasn’t all that happy at my current job, and if we were here for Andreas to work, and he wasn’t working…why were we here? Rent is cheaper in Seattle, Dre’s earned some audio clout, I’ve still got tons of connections up there, oh, and did I mention that LA has always made me feel like crap?, so let’s go. So, I got back in touch with my old agent in Seattle, magic happened, and now we’re moving back.

When are you moving?
I resume my writing contract with The Paper on Monday, 10/20. So that means I’m moving back next weekend (leaving LA on 10/18). Andreas is going to drive me and a pick-up full of stuff up next weekend, and then head back down for a few weeks to finish up some commitments he’s got down here with freelance work and an AIDS benefit event. He, the rats, and the last pick-up full of stuff will be making the final trek north around 11/10.

Where are you moving to?
My good friend Owen has an empty room in his Wallingford-area house. He’s being a dear and letting me rent it week-to-week (for a whopping $70/week) until I find an apartment. Seattle is a renter’s market in a BIG way right now, so I don’t anticipate having much trouble finding a place. I’ll probably look on Capitol Hill (quick walk to work) or Wallingford. Rent is cheap in Seattle, too — looks like we’ll be saving $300-$400/month.

How come you didn’t you say anything ’til now? I feel deceived!
Let’s pretend you were my boss at my current job. (In fact, maybe you are! Hi Shane! Hi Arne!) You decide to cruise past that employee blog just to see if she’s posted any funny pictures recently. Instead, you see that your employee is considering moving. Would you wait for her to quit? Hmm, hard to say. I hate to do things secretly (it made me feel shady: I like the people I work with and the people who read this blog!), but I don’t write shit that can get me in trouble on this here blog, and jeopardizing my employment situation over talk of moving back to Seattle would have been stupid. Blog only helps us. Blog shouldn’t hurts us.

So, this is your old job?
Yup, I’m going back to my old contract job at The Paper. That means going back to working in a basement, but it also means working with my old manager (who I really liked), my income increasing by 20%, a walking commute, and the freedom of contract work as opposed to golden handcuffs. And how sweet is it, in this era of recession and economic helaciousness, to have a job lined up seamlessly? And I’m going from writing job to writing job. I feel blessed. Thank you, Universe.

But, won’t you miss LA?
Here are the things I will miss:

1. My friends. But realistically, I’m a better friend to them living where I’m happy, and I’m an excellent corresponder, so everyone knows I’ll still be present. Plus, as I said to my friend Sarah in 2000, “Would you rather have a miserable friend you see all the time, or a really happy one you only see a few times a year?”

2. The beach.

3. The year-round farmer’s markets.

4. The hooping inspiration. But believe you me: there are some awesome hoopers in Seattle. And, realistically, LA already has more than its share of hoopers.

5. The close proximity of SF.

How does Andreas feel about leaving LA?
He’s excited. He commented last night that he’d “already moved on” mentally and he’s stoked to feel out the Seattle audio industry. Tonight over dinner, he smiled at me and said in a dreamy voice, “I’m excited about what’s next.”

Me too.