The Backstory

I got to this place that I am at today - with respect to juxtaposition of my career and geographic relocation - by way of an adventure that began in January 2004. Really, it all began in January of 2003. See in January of 2003 I was tearfully saying goodbye to some really good friends, a lifestyle, and on some levels a nightmare that was my life as a personal assistant to an at-best-b-list-celebrity in Los Angeles, CA. I loved to hate what I had become over those two years living it up through a non-stop series of uninhibited youthful Hollywood nights. On one hand I had come into my own, developed a great group of friends - many of which I still consider my best - and was living a life I could never have imagined for myself that was the very opposite of my upbringing. But I had also found myself with complicated emotional baggage, mixed up priorities, and a false sense of purpose so I had to make a change and moved back to San Diego. Unfortunately that move only compounded much of what I was trying to run away from in LaLa land and sent my on a dizzying spin down a very confused path. As a matter of illustration: In a matter of a few short months I single-handedly, that is to say at my own fault, lost the friendship of my best friend, my sister, my roommates, my co-workers, and nearly everyone else around me. This was going to require some sort of dramatic change to jolt me out of my funk. So I joined AmeriCorps. The two years I spent serving in AmeriCorps could warrant their own blog so I'll skip those stories for now (it is however, in AmeriCorps that someone said to me that I should write a blog or book someday because I had some interesting stories). Fast forward 3 years to December 2006 and I was moving from Tallahassee, FL (where I had wandered to after AmeriCorps) to Baltimore, MD to take a full-time permanent position with the federal agency that is responsible for AmeriCorps. Over the next four years I would repeatedly say I was trying to get back to the west coast where I belonged but nothing ever seemed to work out. I was easily distracted with a developing career that was rewarding me with amazing experiences both personally and professionally. But after 3 jobs within the agency I have finally landed the one that lets me get back to the west coast and still have a pretty kick ass job. But enough about work because that is one of the things I am trying to get away from in DC - the over dependence on resume recitations that pass as a form of human bonding. I still do not understand that energy here. But I digress. So here I am, ready to move to Seattle, WA in just one week for a new chapter and adventure in my life. Stay tuned for what is sure to be an interesting journey of nothing in particular.