let bernard put up a post; write anything at all ten days after arriving in la; fly back east and get the cats; completely unpack; mail postcards from the trip; not get lost; see all my friends i know in los angeles; put my website up for photography; successfully assemble an ikea organizing tower; interview an artist and review a live show; get any work done at all; get a massage.
out of all of these things i planned to do in the first ten days of living in los angeles, only one of them got done. the cats have now flown west.
moving is always a great idea to me when i first think of it. and somehow in my head it happens very smoothly- without several-day waits for movers to pick up my things, without forgetting to return phone to calls to everyone i know, without thousands of dollars spent on transporting, reorganizing and replacing items that are supposed to make life livable. i am sure my life will get back to normal before too long, but it is difficult to imagine it.
i wonder what makes this process liveable and even-possibly-fun for people. for me, the crucial saving grace has been finding a yoga studio that i like. i think feeling at home somewhere is often that simple. in a culture that now relocates people constantly or where people fly to work in another state five days out of the week the idea of home has, by necessity, become more portable. as a child of divorced parents, i learned this one as a kid. i now have lots of large handbags and a car that, while tiny, has fold-down seats to make room for stuff. what makes you feel at home? please write in and let me know- a little survey of sorts. i will compile the responses i get and share. we could all use tips on how to feel more at home. i think.
my new home, los angeles, is- for all the bad press it gets-an extremely welcoming city. perhaps this is because i am lucky enoug to arrive with both a brother and a boyfriend who have each been here about five years and have lots of cool friends i get to meet, not to mention several of my own cool friends, but even beyond this benefit i have noticed that the new artist here finds the most willing, enthusiastic and prepared-to-jump-on-the-bandwagon audience for talking about ideas, art, work and ways to avoid the old 9-to-5 yet still be prosperous along the way.
it has long been my hope to live this way and it was this that lead me to move here versus new york(too expensive) or back to san francisco(too safe and familiar). things get started here, not just talked about. finished is another issue, but it is my experience that starting is the hardest part. momentum is easier to break than build. why is this the case here? i have decided to ask the locals. it seems that getting interviewed is a cool thing people are willing to participate in and thus i begin the remabulous interviews this week. who are these people who paint and make art and perform and make films and write scripts and plays and take photographs? how do they build their amazing lives? what do they eat and how do they survive as well as enjoy the life they want? a lot of these people live in california, mostly because i do, and i like to interview in person. but i hope to follow the thread out of the state as i travel, and it is my thought that what they have to say will appeal to more than jut californians.
as i build an artistic life here in los angeles, i will learn from those who landed here before me and share what comes of it. perhaps we may make more art for a country that seems to be trying very hard to starve itself of it. but it isn't just about art here. i moved to l.a. because i wanted to live outside my comfort zone and because i didn't want to do the easy lazy fmailiar thing and because i wanted to move forward as a photographer and as a person.
remabulous is a place for people who want to push the boundaries of what they know outward to include more.
my first interview shall be tuesday. i'll report back with what i learned. until then, write me about what makes you feel at home. i look forward to it.
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