The journey begins - goodbye west coast!

My last day of work in Los Angeles is tomorrow (technically, today), the 15th of April, and I keep getting a lot of "wow, you sure are leaving quickly, huh?" type of comments because my flight to New York is the 16th. But Los Angeles was only a temporary move, so it doesn't seem like a quick departure to me. What else am I going to do here? Go look at movie star homes? I saved some money, enjoyed the weather and the food, and now it's time to go. But before I leave, I have to pack.

I'd like to think that I'm a good packer, but I wonder if I'm lying to myself. When one makes a "normal" move, ie: moving to a different town, you pack up all your crap in boxes and go. Of course I'm sure you throw a lot of stuff away and donate and whatnot, but for the most part, you don't get rid of everything. That's the big difference when you move across an ocean, especially if you have absolutely no idea how long you'll be away or where you might end up. So yes, I have a few boxes in my father's attic with photo albums and comic books. I will leave another box or two at my mom's house in LA with clothes and shoes - but my reasoning for leaving behind my beautiful shiny black shoes? They're heavy. I love them, but they're heavy, so they stay in the US. The goal is to get all of my worldly belongings in two suitcases, each under 50 lbs., and heavy shoes do not make the cut. I won't be moving books, movies, or photo albums. For the most part, all I'm bringing with me to Amsterdam is clothes, about 1/4th of my shoe collection (which is really hard), and a couple thousand of dollars (or about 50 Euros, ha ha... oh, that joke is starting to hurt) worth of electronics. It would be nice to think that if I do manage to settle down in Amsterdam, I could have a few boxes sent to me and reclaim some of these items. The hardest things for me to leave behind (other than the shoes) are the pictures that I keep in frames and my wonderful winter coat, which is long and warm and wonderful and completely impractical for Amsterdam in every way. I spent over four hours this past Sunday listening to the Clash very loudly and going through every item I currently own, trying to figure out if it stays or goes... and I'm not done. And have I ever mentioned that when I came to California, I only had two suitcases? I know most of the time I spent packing was really going through paperwork - years of bank statements, old passport copies, plane tickets - but still. I have no idea how that took four hours.

I know those first few weeks that I spend in Amsterdam are going to be really weird - going from a super-structured life in the US to a totally unstructured life in Europe is obviously going to take some getting used to. I have a meeting with some folks in Amsterdam on my first full day there (the 24th), and I admit, having something to do - a place to go and a time to be there - it helps, mentally.

So the first leg of the journey starts with a 6-hour plane ride east. Back to Eastern Standard Time, back to Brooklyn, back home to New York. I'll spend four days running all over the place, picking up a few last-minute items, trying not to be late to some last-minute appointments, and of course, saying goodbye to friends and family. My time is booked up nicely with dinners and drinks and hopefully, lots and lots of sleep.

A little dose of Los Angeles, a little bit of late-night contemplating

After a few lovely days in Portland, Oregon, I headed south to my new home - Los Angeles, California. My life here is drastically different than my life in New York City. I drive to work instead of taking the subway or riding a bike, I haven't heard a single car alarm, I go to sleep relatively early, and I work in an accounting office. I also feel like I've been tired for the last two weeks straight and am craving a weekend where I don't have to work, celebrate, travel, pack, move, or plan to travel or move or work.

Once I sleep for twelve hours straight and get some decent coffee, I'm going to sit down and start focusing on the not-too-distant future. In just two and half months, I'll be back in Europe! That's starting to seem not too far away, and there's so much to do. I have been thinking about a new direction I want to take with the documentary I plan to produce, which is something I know I mention from time to time on this blog, but haven't really elaborated upon the details. If you're a new reader, all you really have to know is that I'm planning to make a documentary in Eastern Europe and trying to use the idea to get accepted into the Binger Filmlab in Amsterdam, a "a post academic training facility for film professionals." While the application process isn't all that complicated, it does require all kinds of serious thinking and writing and commitment. I haven't had the mental energy for any kind of serious writing or thinking lately, but I need to focus. As soon as I get some sleep.

I finished reading "Amsterdam: A Brief Life of the City" by Geert Mak, and ever since I've been randomly dropping Dutch history tidbits in my conversations with friends and family (a word to the wise: unless you really, really care - never bring up Greenland with me, especially if I've had a few drinks, because I will go on and on). Sometimes I think about getting a masters degree in some area of European history, if it wasn't so expensive - the last time I researched that idea was in 2006, when all I wanted to do was devour every book on French history ever written. But it would cost about triple the price for me to attend a university in Europe (versus an EU citizen). Besides, understanding European history and politics is a passion of mine - maybe something a little more than a hobby or interest, but is it really something I would want to study formally? Actually, the answer to that is yes, I'm just not willing to go into debt in order to make that happen. Then again, my grades in college weren't so bad, so maybe there would be scholarship options available?

Now I'm just thinking out loud, which means it's time to stop writing. My first choice is to get into Binger, but I should start thinking more about alternative plans.

The big money question

It's hard to aggressively save money while living in one of the most expensive cities in the US (and the 15th most expensive city in the world), and saving money needs to shoot way up on my priority list if I'm really going to be able to make this whole life-abroad thing happen. I thought through all of the possibilites, tried to create some kind of budget based on this raise I'm supposed to get in December, got a bit of a reality check at work, and I came to a realization: it's just not going to happen here. I really want to move to Amsterdam with at the very least $5,000 in savings (which thanks to the shitty exchange rate right now, works out to be €3,474) , and I'm nowhere near close to that goal. So I came up with an idea, talked it over with my mom, and at this point it sounds like the most realistic option I have.

If it all works out with The People In Charge, I'm going to leave New York City at the end of Janurary 2008 and move into her house in Los Angeles, California until April 15th. While I'm living at her house (which has plenty of room) I'll be exempt from paying rent and I'll work about 50 hours a week at her accounting firm. I've worked for them in the past and they were pleased with my performence, and since they always need extra help in tax season... it looks like I'll be welcome on board again. I'll make more than double what I make now and my only real expenses will be food, gas, and my cell phone bill.

This is going to be a pretty drastic move for me, even though it's only temporary (8-10 weeks). I haven't lived with one of my parents since I was a teenager, I haven't driven a car (which is necessary for LA) on a regular basis since 2001, and I don't even particularly like Los Angeles. However, I do have a lot of family and friends that live out there, and I might be able to meet some good film contacts if I make the effort. And most importantly, I would be able to save a lot of money - enough to get an apartment in Amsterdam. This does push my moving date back a bit - I orginally wanted to be in Amsterdam by mid-March, but arriving in mid-April shouldn't mess up any plans. I still want to apply for that Creative Producers Program at Binger, but the website says:

"The selection procedure takes place in two stages: a meeting of the international selection committee and an interview of the short-listed applicants.This procedure takes place between 5 and 6 weeks from the application deadline, and applicants are advised as to the outcome within 5 working days of the final interview."

Since the application deadline is March 15... if I was accepted and placed on the short list, I could arrive in Amsterdam right around the time I would need to be there for an interview.

It's a little shocking to think that if I follow through with this plan, I have just a little over three months left in New York City. That doesn't seem like much time, so I better do my best to make it count!