This week, I had my last day of work. It was very bittersweet, as expected. What I didn't expect was for people to express how much they would miss me, which was really touching and made it a little difficult to keep it together all day. But I did - I didn't shed one single tear until I was alone in my car, driving home...and I totally bawled.
It's been almost nine years that I've been at my job, and it was the only job I've had the entire time I've been in Los Angeles. It is inextricably linked to my LA experience, as are the people there. I will sincerely miss the people, the conversations, the support, and the feeling you get from being really good at your job (and appreciated and sometimes hated for it).
But, happily, I can say I will not miss the work! I will not miss customer service, the cheapo, elitist company owners who do all sorts of awful things just to avoid paying taxes or benefits for their employees, and I will not miss standing in front of my closet, trying to figure out an appropriate outfit for each day.
There is both a sense of freedom and a sense of panic that comes from chucking convention out and doing what you want. These last two days, I've experienced both feelings, and often! But Mike and I keep encouraging each other and reminding ourselves that we are in the middle of a grand adventure. I think sometimes the important part is supporting yourself, and remembering to make choices that are right for YOU. Not everyone would leave an amazing, stable job where they were totally appreciated. But I did! And it feels good.
Friday, March 21, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
Russians on the Pursuit of Happiness
While browsing the web this morning, I found an article (article is a generous word, it's more like a list) where the author inserted tourist advice into Google translate. For example, a Japanese citizen's advice to his/her own countrymen about how to behave in America. While those were amusing, especially about food (how Americans make it a big socializing event), I found the Russian advice really striking.
The Russian list is only four points long:
1. Gifts in business may be construed as bribes, if they are not particularly Russian in nature.
2. Women in America like to be treated as equals and not ogled - kissing on the hand and mutual kissing is not acceptable.
3. Don't show up uninvited to a business partner's home. Use care in conversation - don't talk about health, it is considered rude, and don't hang up the phone without the proper confirmations and goodbyes.
And point 4, which I will paste in it's entirety here because it was just so relevant to my life:
"US etiquette requires that you smile in each and every situation. If you want to travel to America, be prepared to give a smile not only to friends and acquaintances, but also to all passers-by, in shops, to the staff at the hotel, police on the streets, etc.
"US etiquette also forbids lamenting the troubles of life, or sharing your problems with others. Sharing in this country can only be positive emotions—sorrows and frustrations are impermissible. In the US you only complain to acquaintances in the most extreme cases. Serious problems are for close friends and relatives only.
"However, it would be wrong to believe that the Americans with their smiles only create the illusion of well-being and that their smiles are stretched with false joy. This is not so. Americans: they are a nation that truly feels happy. These people get used to smiling from the cradle onwards, so they do not pretend to be cheerful. The desire for a successful happy life is inoculated from childhood.”
Makes you feel sort of warm and fuzzy about being inoculated for a successful happy life. LOL. But seriously, it's a gift to be able to pursue happiness - which I agree, is a totally ingrained part of our culture. Hell, it's in the Declaration of Independence. That's not a small part of what we're doing here - declaring our independence from corporations, from the rat race, from the mundane. I can't even express the feeling I get when I think about our move and what we're doing. I encourage you to try it - throw off the shackles of something, be it your gym membership, your phone company, the car loan (buy a used car!), a credit card balance. You'll feel SO free - and that feeling is addicting!
The Russian list is only four points long:
1. Gifts in business may be construed as bribes, if they are not particularly Russian in nature.
2. Women in America like to be treated as equals and not ogled - kissing on the hand and mutual kissing is not acceptable.
3. Don't show up uninvited to a business partner's home. Use care in conversation - don't talk about health, it is considered rude, and don't hang up the phone without the proper confirmations and goodbyes.
And point 4, which I will paste in it's entirety here because it was just so relevant to my life:
"US etiquette requires that you smile in each and every situation. If you want to travel to America, be prepared to give a smile not only to friends and acquaintances, but also to all passers-by, in shops, to the staff at the hotel, police on the streets, etc.
"US etiquette also forbids lamenting the troubles of life, or sharing your problems with others. Sharing in this country can only be positive emotions—sorrows and frustrations are impermissible. In the US you only complain to acquaintances in the most extreme cases. Serious problems are for close friends and relatives only.
"However, it would be wrong to believe that the Americans with their smiles only create the illusion of well-being and that their smiles are stretched with false joy. This is not so. Americans: they are a nation that truly feels happy. These people get used to smiling from the cradle onwards, so they do not pretend to be cheerful. The desire for a successful happy life is inoculated from childhood.”
Makes you feel sort of warm and fuzzy about being inoculated for a successful happy life. LOL. But seriously, it's a gift to be able to pursue happiness - which I agree, is a totally ingrained part of our culture. Hell, it's in the Declaration of Independence. That's not a small part of what we're doing here - declaring our independence from corporations, from the rat race, from the mundane. I can't even express the feeling I get when I think about our move and what we're doing. I encourage you to try it - throw off the shackles of something, be it your gym membership, your phone company, the car loan (buy a used car!), a credit card balance. You'll feel SO free - and that feeling is addicting!
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
New (to us) Car!
One of the things on our "To-Do" list is to buy a 4 wheel drive car, specifically, a Subaru (since Mike is a Subaru expert and we'll save big bucks in maintenance!). We didn't want to purchase a new car or even a car we couldn't pay cash for, because having a car payment is not a burden we want. It makes much more sense to us to buy a car you can pay outright for. Something reliable and efficient. Insurance and repairs are also cheaper on, say, a Toyota or Honda, versus an Audi or Mercedes. A car gets you from point A to point B, and that is it's purpose. Do not believe that a car validates you. You are who you are, no matter what you drive.
So with that in mind, the last month and a half or so, we've been searching and searching on Craigslist. We even took a jaunt all the way to Pacoima, to look at a too-good-to-be-true car.
The car in Pacoima turned out to be a hoarder's car! I so wish I had a picture of it to show you, but it would have been rude. Instead, I give you this picture of an exact same Subaru, in the exact same state, to get an idea of how shocked we were when we saw it:
So with that in mind, the last month and a half or so, we've been searching and searching on Craigslist. We even took a jaunt all the way to Pacoima, to look at a too-good-to-be-true car.
The car in Pacoima turned out to be a hoarder's car! I so wish I had a picture of it to show you, but it would have been rude. Instead, I give you this picture of an exact same Subaru, in the exact same state, to get an idea of how shocked we were when we saw it:
I mean, seriously...you're selling a car! Wouldn't you think, "geez, I should make this look as pretty as possible so I can sell this thing?" But to be fair, maybe that WAS as pretty as they could make it. They also had a bunch of junk in their yard, so I guess they wouldn't have anyplace to put the junk in their trunk!
In the end, we wound up with a very nice used Subaru, that already had the head gaskets redone and was in good shape. I present to you, our new-to-us Subaru Forester:
The funny thing is, this 1998 Forester has more upgrades than my 2005 Toyota Corolla. The Forester has power windows and door locks, whereas my Corolla was manual. LOL.
It feels so good to be checking things off our To Do list. One step closer to Bend!
Monday, February 17, 2014
Inspiration, Downsizing, Quitting My Job! ...and Our Future
For the last couple years, I've been super inspired by the Tiny Home Movement (it's a real thing!) and the people that build and live in them. They are amazing little living spaces that are super efficient and compact. No space gets wasted and the only belongings that fit in them are the ones that are truly necessary. Not only that, they are reasonably priced ($15K-$100K), and cost almost nothing to heat and cool (and even that is free if you go solar). Imagine if you could own your home outright after just a few years - you've just cut out a huge portion of your cost of living! This, in turn, requires you to make less money, so then you can work less, travel more (or do whatever you want)...FREEDOM.
As we clear out our belongings in preparation for staging our little loft (which is under 900 square feet, but tiny homes are usually 150-500 square feet!), I like to think about how few things you actually need to live. Sure, I need clothes for cold weather and my memory foam pillow, my down comforter and pots and pans and my Mac and such, but surprisingly, you need very minimal things to truly live. I don't really need 25 sweaters. I really wear about 5 of them all the time, and the other 20, once in awhile. Wouldn't it be nicer to have 5 high quality items that you truly love, instead of 25 items of mediocre quality?
With that in mind, I've been combing through everything and paring down each category - clothes, utensils, camping gear, shoes, beauty products, etc. It's all part of my ultimate goal to have a tiny, mortgage free home, that's powered completely by the sun and collects water (mostly, at least) from the rain. Or, in case we decide we want to travel, at least we'll have less to store!
My last day at work is officially March 19th, 2014. In celebration, I gave away almost all my suits and business clothes. It is sort of monumental for me because I hope to never, ever enter the corporate world again...at least the way I'm in it now. No more saving up vacation days, getting dressed in suits, and missing important events because I don't have enough time off. Down with the system! Up with life!
 |
| the Durango house, listed for sale on tinyhouselistings.com |
 |
| Surfer Shack custom home from http://moleculetinyhomes.blogspot.com/ |
 |
| interior shot of the Mica model from www.tumbleweedhouses.com |
As we clear out our belongings in preparation for staging our little loft (which is under 900 square feet, but tiny homes are usually 150-500 square feet!), I like to think about how few things you actually need to live. Sure, I need clothes for cold weather and my memory foam pillow, my down comforter and pots and pans and my Mac and such, but surprisingly, you need very minimal things to truly live. I don't really need 25 sweaters. I really wear about 5 of them all the time, and the other 20, once in awhile. Wouldn't it be nicer to have 5 high quality items that you truly love, instead of 25 items of mediocre quality?
With that in mind, I've been combing through everything and paring down each category - clothes, utensils, camping gear, shoes, beauty products, etc. It's all part of my ultimate goal to have a tiny, mortgage free home, that's powered completely by the sun and collects water (mostly, at least) from the rain. Or, in case we decide we want to travel, at least we'll have less to store!
My last day at work is officially March 19th, 2014. In celebration, I gave away almost all my suits and business clothes. It is sort of monumental for me because I hope to never, ever enter the corporate world again...at least the way I'm in it now. No more saving up vacation days, getting dressed in suits, and missing important events because I don't have enough time off. Down with the system! Up with life!
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Things We Will Miss
They finally announced the job opening at my workplace, which allows me to actually speak about my leaving! It's such a relief. We have gotten the chance to see lots of friends this past weekend and announce our departure. It's very bittersweet. While we are super psyched to be headed somewhere totally beautiful, and looking forward to our year of fun, we are also very nostalgic about Los Angeles and all the wonderful friends and family we will be leaving behind. Just a sampler of things I will miss:
1. The Hollywood Farmer's Market: this is our church! We'll have to find a new routine on Sunday mornings.
2. Latin food - the restaurants, and Northgate in Boyle Heights and the Amapola in Paramount. Where am I going to get masa preparada por tamales in Bend?
3. Warm weather. I spent a good portion of my life in Chicago, so my 9 years in LA hasn't been quite enough to erase the nightmare that is winter. I will miss the constant sunshine and 75 degree days, year round.
4. Asian food, and the Asians here in general. They give me a sense of anonymity that I won't have in Bend...where there are less than 1,000 Asians.
5. The diversity of the beauty here. I really love that people in SoCal take care of themselves and present the best version of themselves that they can possibly be, and that there are millions of different kinds of beautiful here. I like this lesson of living up to your maximum potential. And I appreciate the aesthetics of it.
Oh, Los Angeles. I'm glad we're going out while we still love it here, rather than when we're sick of it.
1. The Hollywood Farmer's Market: this is our church! We'll have to find a new routine on Sunday mornings.
2. Latin food - the restaurants, and Northgate in Boyle Heights and the Amapola in Paramount. Where am I going to get masa preparada por tamales in Bend?
3. Warm weather. I spent a good portion of my life in Chicago, so my 9 years in LA hasn't been quite enough to erase the nightmare that is winter. I will miss the constant sunshine and 75 degree days, year round.
4. Asian food, and the Asians here in general. They give me a sense of anonymity that I won't have in Bend...where there are less than 1,000 Asians.
5. The diversity of the beauty here. I really love that people in SoCal take care of themselves and present the best version of themselves that they can possibly be, and that there are millions of different kinds of beautiful here. I like this lesson of living up to your maximum potential. And I appreciate the aesthetics of it.
Oh, Los Angeles. I'm glad we're going out while we still love it here, rather than when we're sick of it.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Goodbye, Los Angeles!
Remember when I posted about Life Changes Pending? It was partly inspired by this story I read on NPR. This guy, Winston Chen, heard a Ted talk about taking 5 years of your retirement and spreading them out throughout your working life. It inspired him to move his family to a little island in Norway, where they got to experience 24 hour daylight, 24 hour night, and the Aurora Borealis. You cannot put a price on that type of experience - and wouldn't it be so much better to experience it while you're young, with energy and physical stamina/strength?
So we made a decision! We're going to do the same thing (not the Norway part, but the retire-for-awhile part), and we'll be using this time to have new experiences and also to do a little soul searching about our own life paths and careers.
To give you some background, here were the numerous options we considered:
1. Taking off in the van. Where? Anywhere! But first, the US and Canada, visiting Nova Scotia, Banff, New Orleans, Key West, and everywhere and everything in between...with the amount of money we want to spend, we could only afford about 6 months.
2. Going to Greece/Italy.Starting off in Athens and backpacking through the islands, taking the ferry across to Italy and touring up the coast, ending in Milan and crossing over eventually, into Germany (to visit a friend in Munich and then head home). This option? We'd run out of money in about 3 months.
3. Staying in L.A. so Mike can continue working (I'd be just writing) and we'd still be enjoying time with our friends and his family. We could do this for about 8 months before hitting our budget.
4. Moving to Chicago. Moving to Seattle. Moving to Joshua Tree. Moving to Grants Pass, San Luis Obispo, Medford, San Diego, Eugene, Salem.....options are endless! Obviously, depending on the location, the budget stretches further for some cities.
After extensive discussion and detailed spreadsheets, in which I calculated every single expense we could have (including haircuts, kitty litter and a winter wardrobe, if needed), the most cost effective option was to move - FOR A FULL YEAR OR MORE! - to....
....wait for it....
The most awesome place we could find, that would offer opportunities for fun, outdoor recreation, gorgeous breath-taking scenery and new adventures in our van with access to Canada and Alaska...and still have everything I needed (Target, REI, Trader Joe's, organic eateries, a local bakery):
This place looks pretty ridiculous, right? It's sort of an isolated medium-sized town, with 80,000 people, surrounded by state and national parks, snowboarding 20-30 minutes away, a nice dry climate (no bugs!) and a Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.
Haven't guessed yet? It's Bend, Oregon. The only downside is I hear they hate people from Los Angeles (and California in general). They call us "equity immigrants." Which, fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, is exactly what Mike and I will be. But whatever. I'm actually from Chicago. And we are going to have the most amazing year ever, starting in a few months.
I can't wait!!!
So we made a decision! We're going to do the same thing (not the Norway part, but the retire-for-awhile part), and we'll be using this time to have new experiences and also to do a little soul searching about our own life paths and careers.
To give you some background, here were the numerous options we considered:
1. Taking off in the van. Where? Anywhere! But first, the US and Canada, visiting Nova Scotia, Banff, New Orleans, Key West, and everywhere and everything in between...with the amount of money we want to spend, we could only afford about 6 months.
2. Going to Greece/Italy.Starting off in Athens and backpacking through the islands, taking the ferry across to Italy and touring up the coast, ending in Milan and crossing over eventually, into Germany (to visit a friend in Munich and then head home). This option? We'd run out of money in about 3 months.
3. Staying in L.A. so Mike can continue working (I'd be just writing) and we'd still be enjoying time with our friends and his family. We could do this for about 8 months before hitting our budget.
4. Moving to Chicago. Moving to Seattle. Moving to Joshua Tree. Moving to Grants Pass, San Luis Obispo, Medford, San Diego, Eugene, Salem.....options are endless! Obviously, depending on the location, the budget stretches further for some cities.
After extensive discussion and detailed spreadsheets, in which I calculated every single expense we could have (including haircuts, kitty litter and a winter wardrobe, if needed), the most cost effective option was to move - FOR A FULL YEAR OR MORE! - to....
....wait for it....
The most awesome place we could find, that would offer opportunities for fun, outdoor recreation, gorgeous breath-taking scenery and new adventures in our van with access to Canada and Alaska...and still have everything I needed (Target, REI, Trader Joe's, organic eateries, a local bakery):
 |
| By Matthew Johnson Studios |
 |
| By Amanda Green Bottoms |
 |
| by Mike Putnam Photo |
This place looks pretty ridiculous, right? It's sort of an isolated medium-sized town, with 80,000 people, surrounded by state and national parks, snowboarding 20-30 minutes away, a nice dry climate (no bugs!) and a Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.
Haven't guessed yet? It's Bend, Oregon. The only downside is I hear they hate people from Los Angeles (and California in general). They call us "equity immigrants." Which, fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, is exactly what Mike and I will be. But whatever. I'm actually from Chicago. And we are going to have the most amazing year ever, starting in a few months.
I can't wait!!!
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Happy New Year! 2014 - the year the Vanagon was completed.
One of our goals for the new year is, of course, to get the damn Vanagon finished! To be fair, I have not actually contributed much to this project in the way of physical labor. I'm more of a money manager. Mike, on the other hand, has literally bled over this machine. And now, I have too!
On new year's day we decided to get a move on and start installing the sound mat and insulation into the van. The sound mat is a bitch to work with because you have to cut it to fit exactly, then press it into every nook and cranny on the panels (inside the door, sides, and back panels).
You're basically peeling off a giant, very expensive sticker, and then trying not to touch the sticky side to anything, while maneuvering it into a tiny crevice. Then you have to roll all the air bubbles out. Your arms are at weird angles, you're holding awkward tools you've never used before, your hands get cut on the metal door frame, things are all dirty, and overall, it's not super fun!
On new year's day we decided to get a move on and start installing the sound mat and insulation into the van. The sound mat is a bitch to work with because you have to cut it to fit exactly, then press it into every nook and cranny on the panels (inside the door, sides, and back panels).
You're basically peeling off a giant, very expensive sticker, and then trying not to touch the sticky side to anything, while maneuvering it into a tiny crevice. Then you have to roll all the air bubbles out. Your arms are at weird angles, you're holding awkward tools you've never used before, your hands get cut on the metal door frame, things are all dirty, and overall, it's not super fun!
The best thing that came out of all our labor was that I have a newfound appreciation for Mike's job and what he does all day. I was so pooped that we went home at 2pm and I passed out for 3 hours. Manual labor is exhausting! Who knew?!
In the end, we only managed to get the back door and the motor cover completed, but at least we know what we're dealing with, now. We'll be back at it again tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)