Fresh tunes

I've been slipping on the music posts since my Best Songs of 2011 list.

PK - Berelain
I'm definitely going to catch these guys live. Mark my words - they're a band to remember. I think the video uses the set from Back To The Future.



Mumford & Sons - Ghosts That We Knew
I can't wait for their new album!



The Joy Formidable - A Heavy Abacus
Not exactly brand new, but you may have never heard this.



Tyga ft. Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne seems to be on every good rap song these days.



Fun. - We Are Young
This one is more mainstream - it's already on regular pop radio and commercials. Catchy catchy.

I Went and Found a Girl

When I first moved to California last year, my friend Rameen linked me up with a Kentucky girl named Lindsay. We only hung out once in 2011 but chatted back and forth online pretty frequently while working. I'm still not quite sure how I wore her down, but we went on our first true date a few weeks ago and it looks like this could be a very good thing. I haven't felt this kind of potential in YEARS, and that's not just the infatuation talking. I mean, I am infatuated, but still. She has all of the traits of my ideal girl and that's something I haven't found since high school. She seems to like me too, so I didn't hesitate in posting all of this here. It's nice to have someone that recognizes the same potential in you.

Now that my project is wrapping up in California, I had the chance to go back to Australia or back to Atlanta if I chose. Both were tempting, but I'm going to stick it out here for a while. I don't think I'll ever get tired of living on the beach and this might be something worth staying to see what happens. I've spent a lot of time on the road over the past few years - this blog has been based around that. I might have actually found a reason to keep coming back here.

I heard a song by Dawes called Time Spent In Los Angeles that summed it up nicely. I know it's cheesy and whatever, but give me a break. It's been a long time coming.

These days my friends don’t seem to know me
Without my suitcase in my hand
Where I am standing still
I seem to disappear
But maybe that's how I found you
Maybe that's taugh me exactly what I want
Maybe meeting you so far away from home
Is what makes it all so clear

But you got that special kind of sadness
You got that tragic set of charms
That only comes from time spent in Los Angeles
Makes me want to wrap you in my arms

Insanity... setback

Things have been going well with my Insanity workouts... until today. I haven't missed a workout yet - that means 6 days a week I've put in the DVD and completed it for the past 6 weeks. With only 3 weeks left, I'm on the home stretch. It wasn't easy at first and the workouts kick my butt every day, but the routine of taking time to work out every afternoon hasn't been that bad. I started playing basketball in a league on Sunday nights with Eric, my friend Anna's husband back in December. It's probably against practical advice to ignore the rest day on Insanity and I paid for it. I did something to my right ankle in the second of a doubleheader we had to play tonight. I didn't turn it or even fall down, but I can barely walk. It looks like I'm going to have to take at least a week off of the program to try to rehab it. I'm not sure what kind of effect that will have on my results, but I'll try to get back into it as quickly as I can. I guess I'll redo week 6 whenever I heal up and hit it hard on the last 3 weeks.

Why Are People Drawn To The Ocean?

After 2.5 years on my project with Ingram Micro, it finally wrapped up this month.  The bulk of my professional experience with BackOffice and the majority of my international travel opportunities happened while I was on this project.  I lived in Santiago, Chile, for a few months and got to go to Argentina while I was there.  I then skipped over to Belgium and made multiple trips up to Holland to visit friends.  Then came my amazing 10 months in Australia plus a short trip to Fiji before I 'temporarily' moved to California a year ago.

Choices, choices...

Since the client would no longer pay for my rent in California and I still had a Georgia license, I had to make a choice: move back to Atlanta (I just rented out my house there so I would have to find a new place), stay in California or go back overseas.  The early leaders were returning to Australia or staying in California, but it all depended on where my next project would be located.

I did some initial investigation on my options in Australia and Singapore, but I was told that I would need to give a 2 year commitment for visa purposes if I were to go back.  I loved my time there, but putting that long of a time frame without making it permanent made me anxious.  I mean, if I decided that I was going to live in Australia forever then I would be willing to make the move. As great as it was, I don't know if I could do that.  I started exclusively focusing on west coast US projects and planned to 'settle' in California for now.

As I was making these plans, my company highlighted two projects where they wanted me to be staffed.  The first was a short term gig in New Jersey where I would be the lead.  The cross-country travel would be unfortunate but bearable.  The next project was long term (3 years) and was located in Connecticut.  It provided me with a lot of opportunities professionally, but crossing the country every week?  I must be crazy.

Wave 2 by Jessica Harms

I could always just live in Atlanta, NYC or somewhere else on the east coast to ease the travel.  There is something about living on the beach that draws me in.  It goes without saying that surfing is the #1 passion in my life, but it's not just that.  I bought one of Jessica's paintings back in 2008 - a couple of years before I ever got hooked on the sport.  I have always been drawn to water - maybe we all are.  Think about all of the big cities that are in harbors or bodies of water.  Yes, part of that is because they were transportation hubs.  But there is something else... the balance between awesome power and serenity is amazing.

After living by the ocean for the past few years, I don't think I can leave it.  I've had this conversation multiple times with different people that feel the same way - it's something that is hard to explain unless you've experienced it yourself.  Plus there's this girl out here...