Lepus Lepidus

I started at Activision this week. Could barely sleep Sunday night; Monday was the first day of school. It’s really cool to go to a job where you do not have the typical “new guy” vibe — I have already worked with some of my new co-workers for 15 years. The only thing different is that I no work 15 feet away in another cubicle. Continue reading →

Some guys can fix cars; some guys can chop logs; some guys can save lives. I can’t do any of that shit. What I can do is set up complicated home theater and computer rigs and get it right the first time. Kat, by contrast, likes to use complicated home theater and computer rigs, but she wants it to be easy to use. This is where my badassery comes in.
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We made it. And just so I can convince myself that it really happened, here’s a photo account of The Move To LA.
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As I pack everything I own into what will no doubt be hundreds of small boxes (anybody who lives in LA who wants them for cheap when I’m done should get in touch), I find my thoughts wandering to what Los Angeles will hold for me. Some people have said “Don’t let LA change you.” The nicest person replied for me — “Hell, I hope he doesn’t change LA.” I know plenty of nice people there so I’m not particularly worried.

I’m honestly not all that thrilled to move to Los Angeles, but I am thrilled about the job, and we got a fantastic house — I think I’m going to be pleasantly surprised at how comfortable it will be once I find my own rhythm. Still, putting all your worldly possessions into cardboard cartons does give you time to make mental lists:

CONS:
– I have to leave all my friends. Paul Curthoys threw a farewell party last night which was filled with Rock Band and Guitar Hero silliness, good eats, great discussions, and some very fine spirits.
– Moving sucks.
– I know I’m facing an uphill battle with the job. People are going to twist my words no matter what I say, and I’m going to be seen as the enemy even when I’m talking sense or just offering an alternate viewpoint. That’s going to take some getting used to, but all I can do is what I’ve always done — take people seriously, be as clear as I can, and then let go when the haters simply want to hate. I’ve dedicated my life to being as clear as I can in my writing, so having people willfully misinterpret my words will take some serious adjustment.

PROS:
– I am purging stuff I don’t need and it feels good. It’s still too much stuff and I wish I’d purged more but I feel good about what I’d done, anyway.
– That new place is awesome. I think it’s really going to fit our mental needs, as well as the physical ones with the garage for storage and photography. We already know where all our landmarks are (banks, restaurants, grocery stores, Target, etc) and we feel comfortable.
– The short commute makes me VERY happy. Right now I have a 10-minute drive from my place to Future; it’s maybe 15 minutes in LA. I have found my life happiness is directly related to my commute time, so this was a key piece of the puzzle. And I’d love to see if I could bike it.
– We’re three miles from the ocean. And in LA, the beach has sand. Up here, it’s rocks. We might even interact with it now.
– New guitar stores. While I was down there looking for a place, I went into Truetone at the recommendation of both Scott Butterworth and Alistair Wallis. I was never happier about the move.
– Everybody knows there are celebrities everywhere in SoCal; in fact, you have to spray to keep them off your property. But I hope this means I will finally get to meet Jessica Rabbit. Toontown is around there somewhere.

Pros outweigh the cons for sure.

Today was the big push to find a place. We went through Westside Rentals — basically the ubiquitous realtor in our target area — and saw eight places in four and a half hours. Some were condos, some were duplexes, some were just weird little apartment complexes. The worst was a guy who wanted a staggering amount of money for a home from the 1920s that had original charming elements like cracks in the ceiling. We saw a truly gorgeous little duplex with classic Hollywood-style Spanish styling and bizarre features like a 4’x4′ room with full carpeting, two windows, and no apparent practical purpose. One condo was right next to the 405 freeway — I mean, right across the street, and three floors up so you could see the traffic whizzing by — but thanks to double glass in the balcony doors, you could not hear the highway…unless you went into one of the bedrooms, where I will of course be recording musical instruments. Better still, it was raining. Hard. All day. Apparently, the first rain in months. Of course.
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