Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

“Arian's Adventures” is an understatement this past week. I feel like I really cheated you guys by not being disciplined enough to provide you with a play by play. It was just too action packed. Thus, I've decided to split my entries into two parts until we‘re caught up. The first part will be the current day, and the second part will be a piece of my week that you missed.

Today:

Susan and I finally returned from the Las Vegas part of our UFC 92 after party at about 4:30am (you'll have to wait a week to find out how that happened). Needless to say, I slept until about 1pm. After that there's not much to talk about. We got a lot of packing done, but we're still not finished. We finally confirmed our plans to use a shipping container instead of a moving truck. We also decided to sell our sofa set, which is a little bit of a bummer, but it's for the best. We can't get a container delivered until Wednesday, but at least we should be finished packing by then. I guess we'll be on our way out of town by New Year's Day. A little late, but whatever.


Dec 20:

First, as anyone who has ever traveled with me will attest to, I'm notoriously a magnet for unexpected hiccups in the plan. As the endless barrage of absurd challenges unfold, others always remark "nothing like this has happened to me before", and I always think "nothing UNlike this has ever happened to me before".

Before my 2:30pm departure from LAX I had three errands to run: pick up a second birthday present for Susan, get a prescription filled, and pick up a package at the post office that was undelivered because it required a signature.

Naturally, L.A. traffic was in full effect, so it was nearly impossible to get anywhere. My first stop - picking up the present - was a total bust. They didn't have exactly what I was looking for, and on top of that the checkout line would have been at least an hour. No time for that.

Moving on, I went to the pharmacy across the street. Of course, just the car out of one parking lot and into another across the street, took 15 minutes in this mayhem. Now this might sound dumb, but keep in mind that I've never filled a prescription before - why do they call one of the lines "drop off"? Shouldn't it be "order", or something? As I wanted to "pick up" medicine, and not "drop off" medicine, I got in the "pick up" line. Needless to say, when I got to the front of it they looked at me like I was an illiterate moron and directed me to the "drop off" line. Well, I figured I was really out of time for this part of the day, but I decided to see how long it would take. After another 15 minutes in that line (behind only one person!), I realized that I'd left my insurance card at home. Okay, so no time for this now.

After finding my way to one of the most cleverly hidden post offices in L.A. (thank you Google phone), I began to wait in an enormous line. I figured I'd wait as long as I could and hope for the best. After 30 minutes (and moving 5 feet), an observant postal worker noticed I was again standing in the wrong line (because I was holding a pick up card). He called me to his window, which had no line. He happily took the card and went back to the secret vault where they store undelivered parcels. 15 minutes later, he returned and informed me that he couldn't find my parcel. He took my number and offered to call me if/when they find it (note: they found it and called me as I was about to leave for the airport).

I got to LAX with plenty of time to spare - especially since my flight was delayed for aircraft maintenance. After two hours of delay, and still no certainty as to whether my plane would ever leave the ground again, I realized that there was now no chance of meeting my connecting flight in Denver. Just as well, since this was supposed to take off just as another plane was crashing at that airport! I then proceeded to wait in line for an hour to inquire about my options. I was informed that there didn't appear to be any way to get me to NYC in the next two days - which is how long I was planning on being there! I was directed to the "customer service" counter. Between my flight, and the two others that were cancelled, there were enough people in line at this desk to have me standing/waiting for THREE HOURS!!! Luckily they were able to get me on a direct flight to NYC. Unfortunately it was to JFK instead of Laguardia, which was inconvenient (to the tune of an extra 45 minutes in a cab).

The flight itself was rather uneventful (which is definitely how I prefer it), until we landed. Suddenly I felt a great deal of discomfort in my abdominal area. I was thinking dysentary. No matter... we just landed. Too bad the gate wasn't ready for us, and I had to sit on this plane for 90 minutes!

Could I hold it? Would I ever see Susan on her birthday? What else could go wrong? Tune in tomorrow, when I cover the rest of my exciting weekend in NYC!

Flo Spirits Flow

I'm sorry for the radio silence yesterday. After work we went across the street to Nikki's bar in Venice, for a few holiday drinks. Since it was my last hoorah with these friends - at least for a while - I decided to go on a mission, if you know what I mean. Oh God. I'm still feeling it.

I don't have any idea what drinks or how many drinks I had, but it would be best described by the imaginary American Indian word 'waytoomany'. Many thanks to Flo for driving me home, even though it meant a detour through Hollywood to go to another bar. More thanks to Flo for picking me up for work - this afternoon!

Needless to say, I had a great time. And, as I left the office tonight for the last time, I was more than a little sad. As I said in my farewell letter, as a team we spilled a lot of blood, sweat, and tears together in the last six months. They'll keep doing so, but I won't be there with them to do my part. But alas, change is the most inevitable phenomenon in the universe, and anything but commitment to flow with it is a recipe for disappointment and self defeat.

Let's flow.

In other news, I'm on my way to NYC tomorrow, so I'd better get started on a different kind of packing. I'm looking forward to celebrating Susan's birthday. I'm looking forward to seeing my old buddy, Gumby. Most of all, I'm looking forward to hearing Susan sing for the first time since she began this program.

I'm officially unemployed. I have leaped. I'm offering no resistance. Somebody better bust out a net pretty soon!

I Love It When a Plan Comes Together

I couldn't think of a clever picture to take to accompany tonight's entry. I concerned myself with it for about 30 seconds before I realized that I'm better off breaking from that pattern now. If it's hard to come up with something on the fifth entry, imagine what it will be like on the 500th entry. Going forward, if there's a picture, great, but we'll also be ready for the fact that sometimes there won't be.

The good news is that I feel like a lot of things came together today. No, packing isn't one of them, (and yes Alex, this has been my M.O. on my last two moves as well - actually all the moves in my extensive history of moving). However, the plan is becoming clearer, and I even bought some insanely overpriced airline tickets today.

Here's what I got so far: I'm going to NYC this Saturday (Dec 20th), then Susan and I will be returning to LA on Tuesday (23rd). I'm thinking farewell party on Saturday (27th), but that also coincides with the UFC fight card of the year, so I'm not sure if I want to combine those things or break them up. Please comment to let me know what you think.

The next part gets a little fuzzy. Still not sure if we're driving a Uhaul to NY, and shipping the Mustang, or shipping everything via POD, and driving the Mustang. The latter is preferred, if it makes financial sense. If that is how it goes, then we'll probably drive straight to FL starting the 29th-ish. That would have us in the Sunshine State from about Jan 2 - Jan 14. If we end up Uhauling it, then the plan is pretty similar, but we'll get to FL a few days later, because we'll be getting settled in in NY, and then flying to FL.

Outside of that, I've been catching up on my Japanese. Doko de biru o nomimasu ka? And I found this sweet web page that has listings of numerous MMA gyms in Tokyo.

Lastly, since this blog is called "Arian's Adventures", and not "Arian's Plans", let me tell you about today. Actually, besides the assembling of the aforementioned plans, there's not much to tell. Not much, except the fact that it was friggin COLD today. I mean seriously, I can't whine about this enough! Last time I checked this is SoCal. But today it was London. Friggin 42 farenheit, and raining all day. On top of that, there's no heat in my office. There's only heat in the living room of my apartment - we don't usually need heaters in SoCal! By the time I got home, I was totally exhausted from just trying to maintain my mammalian 'warm blooded' state.

Anyway, woohoo, let's do this!

When the Peppers Hit the Pan: Cooking Zen Mind

I was not here today. My thoughts were a surging, tangled mess of the future, the past, the alternate imaginary realities that "should" be, and of judgments and labels. If I were willing to allow my ego any more indulgences today, I'd feel shame. Too bad for my ego - I cooked dinner tonight.

I won't relay the story of my day conventionally. Instead, I'm going to present it as the patchwork quilt of experiences that I failed to attend, yet I remember as if I had been there.

I woke up late, feeling terribly hungover. Although the only drunkenness that had carried me to sleep was that which resulted from the intensity of last night's MMA training. When setting my alarm I bargained that if I got up early I could treat myself to waffles for breakfast. I didn't keep my end of the bargain, but I had waffles anyway. I guess I did keep up my end of the bargain, depending on which end was "mine".

My good friend's grandfather passed away last night. When I lost my mom, I could tell that he wanted to do or say something, but didn't know what. I understood. Now I understand even better.

I was eating a sandwich at the Subway near my office when a young man walked in and came straight up to me. He asked - somewhat apologetically - if I could spare a couple dollars to help him get a sandwich. Pan handling is so common in that neighborhood that I'm usually annoyed by it. For some reason I just felt happy that I happened to have cash on me. I gave him four dollars, and he was very appreciative. I think he was really hungry.

I was supposed to have a business meeting after work, but...

At the end of the work day I was asked to make a simple chart for a report that I'd previously submitted. I made it, but then I thought I could make it better than what was asked for. Everyone in the office was going out to dinner after work, but I didn't feel like going, because I have all this packing to do. Also, they were going to a steak place, and I wasn't confident that there would be good vegetarian options. After everyone left I realized that I didn't have the new office key on the key chain I brought with me. Thus, I couldn't lock the office door, thus I couldn't leave unless somebody came with a key. I was stuck there for a couple hours before I managed to get a hold of the office manager, who directed me to a spare key hidden in her desk. Man, was I getting steamed during those two hours.

Early into the predicament I learned that the meeting was canceled.

I used that time to take my frustration out on Susan, because she and I had differing opinions on how to approach some of the logistics of our move.

Turned out my meeting with Berta had been canceled too. She took care of going to the bathroom without me.

I took her for a walk with 'The Kap'n' and his dog, Buck. Feeling so frustrated, I bitched and moaned about everything for the entire walk. Sorry Kap'n.

Afterward I cooked dinner. As I pursue the path of allowing my ego to dissolve and my true self to emerge, cooking becomes more and more enriching of an activity. Throughout the day I "tried" to be present. Sometimes I thought I was - a deep breathe here and there, "feel into my body", blah, blah. "How am I present and still miserable"?! But...

In a moment -when the coconut oil sparkled as the peppers hit the pan. There was NOW! And in that moment, I realized what an incredible day I had missed.

Flight Or Fight?

This week is shaping up to be a little more daunting each day. The problem is that I really want to do more than I can. For example, it's nearly midnight and I've not done anything related to my travel plans. I went to work, then I went to the vet to pick up a cone for Berta (she's messing with her sutures), and then I went to my MMA class. I came straight home, showered, made a Vega shake, and now here I am. There's no getting around it - I have to at least pack my linens and wardrobe, and I have to spend at least an hour studying Japanese. And I still have laundry to fold, AND I still haven't booked my flight for this weekend.

Let me digress for a moment to talk about why I didn't just skip the MMA class and use those three hours (driving + training + shooting the bull) to get other things done. It's because this class is totally friggin rad! I've been training at Bodies in Motion since the beginning of the year, but they recently cancelled the class due BIM being totally lame. Luckily the guys that were teaching the class also teach and train at a real fight gym in Culver City, called PKG. For those of you that are local to L.A., I highly recommend them. The quality of instruction is great, the workouts are intense, and while the vibe is friendly and patient, the focus is on developing serious fighting skills. I've been practicing martial arts in some form or another for 18 years, but I'm a beginner in there, which for me is AWESOME. Anyway, since this month will be my last opportunity to train there, I want to make it to every class I can - even if it means losing a little sleep.

In other news, I procrastinated not only on packing, but also on booking my flight for this weekend. Now the prices are ridiculous, which is making me procrastinate further, because I'm a super cheap guy and I'm having a hard time biting the bullet and shelling out for these obscene fares. Note: don't ever procrastinate on booking a flight!

Despite how I might sound, my outlook is extremely positive right now. But, who wouldn't feel extremely positive putting all their energy into fulfilling life long dreams, while the only interruptions consist of doing things they love to do?

Dog Blog from the Procrastination Station

I got a little bit done today, but I don't think I've had enough of a sense of urgency up to this point. I'm leaving for NY this upcoming weekend for a few days. I estimate that I really need to be mostly packed by then. So far I only managed to get through the books, dvds, and cds. I'm not really sweating, though. Many things are already boxed, and I feel like this is going to be an easy pack job. Let's hope I'm right.

I also received a lot of emails and messages from friends, in response to the first post. It was really awesome to hear from so many people - especially many of whom I have tragically infrequent contact. It was really a pleasure to follow up on many of those responses. Thanks!

So, a friend of mine inquired about Berta (my dog), pointing out that I hadn't mentioned her in the previous entry, or in any of the updates I sent out. There's nothing special to tell. We'll be packing her up and driving across the country just like when we came out here in the first place. I'm a little concerned about her being in cold weather. She's getting a little long in the tooth, and is developing some arthritis. But, she still has lots of energy and plays like a puppy, so I might be worrying over nothing. I guess it's also worth mentioning here that she just had surgery on Friday. It went well, and she seems to be feeling fine.

Somebody remind me tomorrow that I need to do a better job of getting packed, than I did over the weekend! Until then...

Moving and Other Stuff

First, I want to introduce you to my Evan Tanner tribute beard (RIP) - left.

So, I've got a bunch of big stuff going on right now that I'm eager to share with all my friends and family. It would be way too many emails/phone calls to make, so I thought it might be fun to start up a little blog to keep track of my activities over the next few months. So, what's the news?

I'm moving from Los Angeles to New York City around the beginning of January '09. For those that don't already know, Susan is enrolled at Mannes College of Music, in NYC. She's been there testing the waters since August. She's really enjoying it, and feels like she's making a great deal of progress musically. It's hard for both of us to say farewell to our friends, our great apartment, and the beatiful weather in L.A. At the same time, I'm excited about embracing another big life experience.

Naturally, this also means that I'm leaving my current job. This too is a little disappointing. I've been working with a great team of people, to develop a product that I really believe in. BTW, if any of you are looking to buy or sell a car, stay tuned to www.mota.com. It's still only in the early stages of its development, but soon they're going to redefine the way that we buy and sell used cars.

So, how will I make a living, you ask? I don't know! A good friend of mine said "leap, and the net will appear". I'm counting on him being right. :) Seriously, I want to do something in the online space, and I think I want to try being my own boss for a while. To that end, I have a few irons in the fire, but it's premature to talk about those right now.

As if moving across the country (again) and trying to start my own business wasn't enough, I'm taking a three month sabbatical in Japan. It's not really a sabbatical I guess, as I'm going to be using this time to be hyper-focused on growing my own web based income. Instead of going into the story behind my decision to take this trip, I'm going to try to break from my habit of writing ridiculously long blogs. Suffice it to say that I'm leaving Jan 16, and I'll be returning sometime mid-April.

This blog will serve to chronical my experiences with trying to execute the plans above, and whatever happens beyond that. For now, I need to start packing - only seven days to get it done!