Moving on - to LA

I waffled for awhile and then I came down and made the decision. It was originally November 16th. But now, after some finagling with work, its November 13th which is the perfect date.

I arrive around Noon and check into a hostel near the airport. Next week I'll nail down the dates and times but I should have at least three interviews setup for Monday and Tuesday. I'll rent a car and drive around LA for the very first time on that Monday and I suspect, get woefully lost. Then Tuesday night I go see 2 Broke Girls tape at 6pm. Wednesday I move to the good hotel with my con roommates. I may just be in the hotel that day, not doing much of anything. Thursday, I'm going to see a taping of the late late show with Craig Ferguson. I haven't decided if I'm going to take the bus, rent a car or maybe taxi it. I'll probably rent a car so I can practice driving in LA.

Setup for the con is Thursday night so I'll help with that after I get back. Then I'll be working Friday-Saturday-Sunday for the convention. By monday, i suspect I'll be exhausted! I move to another hostel where I'm pretty sure all I'll do on Monday is sleep!! Hopefully I'll be close to having a job so I can nail down a place to live. I'm a little tired just thinking about it right now! I think I'll make sure I have plenty of vitamins.

I'm saving a fair amoutn of money by staying in hostels and I can always go more expensive by moving to a hotel if I find i'm not sleeping enough.

I think the risk factor gets to me some days. I'm absolutely nervous about not finding a job. I know if I can hang on long enough, i will find one, which is why saving money is so very important. I also want to fill my days with some sightseeing and fun (and free) stuff to do so I get every bit of enjoyment out of the experience.

Moving on..to chicago?

The hardest thing about my decision to move is that I don't know exactly what I want to do. What I do know is that I need to move to a bigger urban area, that allows me to continue to do lots of conventions and also allows for a more open minded lifestyle. I don't mean that I'm doing anything overtly non-mainstream but instead that I accept that other people do and I prefer that mindset.

While LA may be the eventual goal, Chicago has a lot to offer as well. Several major conventions. Major airport hub. Easy to cross to east and west coast cons. If my goal ends up being just conventions, Chicago appears perfect. But if my goal is to work at something more entertainment based and conventions are the route to it, then LA or New York would probably be the eventual goal. The other major advantage is that Chicago is far closer to my family. I'd decided to move to Chicago once before but then couldn't save the money needed to move on unemployment.

I think I may have just talked myself into Chicago being a better option than LA.

Cars

I definitely need to get a car before I move. I'm probably going to buy one in October. I looked at a Chevy Aveo and Mercury Milan last week. The Aveo was good except no A/C. The manual was ok and I could live with it but it wasn't as good a manual transmission as my old Saturn.

I looked online at a few other cars. I do love how the Dodge Charger looks. The gas mileage isn't as good though. Also, as much as I like the Impala and the Milan, I really would like the car to be smaller. But it will just depend on what cars are under 10K in October.

Plans

The current plan is to move in mid January. My contract finishes at the end of the year so I'm planning to finish it out.

At bare minimum, I need to save up money for an apartment and a down payment on a car before I move anyway. The plans are: Change cell phone to Verizon by August, get a car by November and save 2000 by December. With my last paycheck, I can then move out to LA and find a place to live, then a new job.

Neighborhoods

I picked up a book via Amazon called " Newcomer's handbook for moving to and living in Los Angeles "

I've spent a few days reading about different neighborhoods. North Hollywood. Fairfax. Malibu. Topanga Canyon. Van Nuys. Playa del Rey.

So many choices. I'm leaning towards a few particular ones at the moment but I'm not finished yet! I'm still comparing what I read in the book to the rents I look up on Craigslist.

Fear!

"Fear is God's way of saying - pay attention, this could be fun"

I take that quote from Craig Ferguson's autobiograph, American on Purpose. Along with the quote "Between safety and adventure, I choose adventure"

I'm definitely afraid.

I think i might have to be a little bit crazy too. I'm 37. I'm not an actress nor do I have any real burning creative talent. Instead, I love TV and movies. It is my one love, aside from books, that gets me excited. I've just recently learned of all the happenings behind the scenes. Or at least that world became accessible to me for the first time. I am capitivated by it.

I watch True Blood and I want to know how the actors learn to talk with fake fangs. I watch Supernatural and want to know more about how Ben Edlund comes up with story ideas. I meet actors like Corin Nemec and JR Bourne and I'm intensely interested in how their life, their creative drive moves them from day to day.

This world is very different from my own.

There's nothing wrong with my life on the surface. I have a large family. I am single but a lot of people are. I've been married. I've had lots of jobs though most of them all in the same field, Technology, particularly technical support. I like my jobs though I do tend to get bored after awhile. I like my life too except I get bored.

What doesn't bore me, lately, is going to conventions and immersing myself in this world of entertainment. Meeting other fans, meeting actors, meeting directors and basically meeting other people for whom that world is fascinating. They seem to think differently than people in my everyday life.

Though the part that fascinates me the most isn't meeting the 'stars' of the shows. It is meeting actors whose lives revolve around a creative process that to me is very exciting.

So I've taken all this energy and bundled it up into an idea. I should move to LA to be closer to the action. Maybe there is some other job that my techincal support career can lend itself to that would bring out a bit more creativity. Perhaps just being in that environment would add some needed excitement to my life so I wouldn't get so damn bored!

I'll be leaving my family behind though when my mom retires she could easily come live with me. When my life stabilizes, I'll bring my dog. I'm not sure I'll have a car. I will probably need to move before I have a job.

So here begins the adventure. Definitely not safe at all.