In 1 week I’ll be celebrating my 10 year anniversary of living in Southern California. I first moved here to study film in 2001 at Chapman University. For the first 7 years I lived primarily in the Orange County death hole of depression. Back the train up…Orange County can be depressing? To answer your question, yes, yes it can. Now, let me explain: Orange County is a beautiful place, filled with beaches, trees, bikinis, fake breasts, strip malls, Targets, Best Buys, Malls, Burger Kings, McDonalds, okay okay you get the point. As a creative person trying to create creative things, living a place where every block looks the same, every store in every town is the same as every other town, you begin to realize how stale it really is. I hit a wall after 3 years of college, 2 years of being in a band, and 3 years promoting concerts. I packed my bag moved to Chicago, then quickly to Santa Barbara for 4 months, then after years of dreading it I moved to Los Angeles.
I spent 7 years in Orange County, driving to LA for film work, dreading the possibility of living in Los Angeles. But I did it anyway.
To be honest I hate Los Angeles. But, to be perfectly honest I love Los Angeles. It’s a constant struggle of love and hate living here. I live in a cool house with our two dogs, hang in our neighborhood, go to bars, eat at restaurants, and guess what it’s not STALE. It’s fast passed and individual. It is something different, something new, and it is always evolving. It beats like a heart, the veins are the streets, pumping blood into every neighborhood, bookshop, music store, coffee shop, and bar. It is a beautiful city. Somedays I wake up loving it, some days I wake up hating it. But everyday I know moving here was the right decision for myself and my career.
I just got back home from 4 weeks in Cincinnati, Oh directing a film entitled Measure. The people of Ohio were so welcoming, kind, and full of life and passion. It was so refreshing to get a different taste of life for an extended period of time. I look forward to more experiences like this as I grow older and move forward in my life.
I guess this is all I have to say. Signing out.
DJay