Embarking on a life change can be akin to
starting a new relationship.
Once you have committed to it, inevitably the sense of
anticipation mixes with fear. But it’s
those butterflies in our stomach that keep pushing us forward and before we
know it, we’re in, having turned our backs on life as we know it.
In January this year I completed a 14 month contract
with global firm, Mercer, and packed down the one bedroom terrace house I’d rented
for six years to leave for India en-route to the States.
India was a burst of new experience, meeting fun and
cheeky people, chalking up some amusing stories and revelling in the country’s
plethora of colour, chaos, cultural sights and customs.
I had been saving for six months for the move abroad
and in the Indian days of travel, money was not an issue. Even better and factored into my plans, India is
a cheap ticket to ride.
After six and a half weeks exploring the country’s north
and south and a quick stopover in the phenomenal Tokyo, I arrived in the US.
A trade commissioner friend of mine in Delhi and his
visiting Australian pals had hooked me up with their Aussie mate, Hamish, who
lives in San Diego. Kindly Hamish let me stay in his pad while he was away for
work and it was here that I had a few days to acclimatise to the new time-zone
and surrounds.
I would daily bike to San Diego’s Pacific Beach
before sunset to watch the surfers and together we’d witness the glorious
moment when the sun is swallowed up by the water.
Next I travelled to Portland, a heart warming experience,
where I met a new Aussie friend through a mutual Melbourne connection and went
wine tasting in the Willamette region renowned for its Pinot Noir.
My next stop was Seattle where I hoped to find work.
I met some great folks and made inroads on the PR market but I quickly learned Seattle’s
cold weather was going to be a clincher: “It rains nine months of the year in
Seattle!” (quote from the film Sleepless in Seattle). I made the snap decision to move to where the
sun shines – Los Angeles.
I hit a curve ball in that LA demands a car and
immediately a chunk of my savings went to car rental and later buying a car. As I watched my savings dwindle, the sense of
urgency to find a job ‘tout suite’ kicked in.
In my tree change, I had been away from Melbourne
for four months and in LA for two, when the real doubts kicked in about finding
relevant work. I was dumbfounded - why
wasn’t this moving? LA is full of PR
people.
When I felt I had done as much as I could to lay the
foundations, I decided to break in San Diego (Hamish was away again with work)
and reacquaint my love for the sun, beach, surfers and laid back lifestyle.
After San Diego, Fred (the name I coined for my Ford
Explorer) and I made our way up to San Francisco. I enjoyed a flirtatious interlude with a
charming Mexican young man who I met at the former home of the late Indian
guru, Krishnamurti, at the PepperTree Retreat in the gorgeous little hippy town
of Ojai.
And now I’m in San Francisco. Re-defining the job parameters (it’s all
about tech and thus for me it’s now all about Tech PR) and I’m pressed forth
with a fresh surge of positivity and enthusiasm.
Fortunately I’ve experienced some short-term reprieve
on the savings drain in that a friend of a friend asked me to housesit their Oakland
home for two weeks while the family holidays in France.
Throughout the months I’ve checked in with friends
and family to catch-up on news as well for counsel and support, and I’ve maintained
a weekly skype slot with my dad.
Photo - the carefree days. Cappucino time-out at The Imperial Hotel in New Delhi, India.
