L.A. Times: The Departure and The Arrival

As I write this post, I realize that I’m now writing my first post in a different timezone and that it’ll probably be the first of many from this different place and time.

To stop sounding so dramatic and to make things less vague… I made it to Los Angeles!

I could’ve done a better job giving everyone a play by play… Essentially, if you weren’t my friend on Facebook or spoke to me in person, you’d probably never know that I made it here.

But what a journey it was.

So last time I left off, I hadn’t been able to find a place and I wasn’t sure that I was going to make the July deadline that I had set for myself… But then God came through… of for those who don’t believe in God, things worked out how they were supposed to…

To keep it simple, after doing some Craigslist searches, a room rental that would’ve really benefited my move to Cali seemed to slip thru my fingers. I called only hours after someone had come to check out the room and had decided to take it. I didn’t think too much about it, It was one of those things where I would just have to keep looking.

However, maybe a week after I had come back from Cali, I got a phone call from the woman who I had called about the place. The tenant ended up not working out and got kicked out, and the room was once again available.

Even more of a blessing, two very close friends of my family were able to check out the place on my behalf and gave the “thumbs up” on the room I wanted to rent. This was in May.

A month and a half and about half of my savings (  🙁 ) later I was buying my nonrefundable, one way ticket to Sunland, CA, where I now reside.

Up until the last days before I flew out, it all felt a little surreal. There were some good moments… Like “Yes!! I’m not going to have mow this lawn again or wash a sinkful of dishes that I didn’t use!” and etc. but then there was other things like “Wow this is the last handful of times that I’ll drive down the street to my house” or “Who knows when I’ll see this specific person face to face again.” I honestly didn’t feel like I would even be moved to tears on my last day in Miami, Florida. Even watching my car getting shipped off didn’t move me.

Then the last day came, and yeah…

It all hit me at once. I’m leaving my family and my friends and the place I’ve called home for years, to live in a place where I barely know anyone and have a very limited knowledge of the area.. which made me very sad but at the same time I was finally, FINALLY, going to follow my dreams and do something that I feel had been placed in my heart since I graduated from college… which filled me with excitement.

So now I’m 2 days into my move and I’ve finished the initial unpacking. My landlord is a really sweet lady,and I’ve gotten a good first impression of my house mates as well. I can’t wait to document and write about my journey on this next phase of my life.. as well as reflect on this being the point where it all changed for the amazing.