As most of you know, I’ve relocated from the east coast of the United States to the shores of Lac Leman in Lausanne, Switzerland. The adorable (and far more capable, linguistically and logistically speaking) Anindita has come with me, and so for the next three years the two of us will be addressing you from our secret lair in the Swiss Alps.
This post is long overdue, but part of this whole process was to reboot, spend some time to figure out what I want out of the world, life, the universe and everything. Turns out that (and moving your household overseas) takes a little while. We’ve been busy.
Before I left the US I posted the image above to my twitter stream. It’s from Keri Smith. I’m usually not huge fan of these sort of lists, but this one meant a lot to me, I keep a copy over my desk. I like to meditate on each one and make sure if I am compromising, it’s for a good reason. It’s only selling out if you didn’t mean it.
That list, in a nutshell, is why I walked away from a squishy corporate office job (which I don’t miss at all) and an admittedly lovely house (which I miss a little), and all of our friends and family (who I miss a lot). To see what would happen. Because we could. Because there are times in life when you need to do something drastic OR ELSE. Because it’s so much more interesting this way. Because basically my goal in life is to have good stories to tell when I’m too old to dance anymore.
You’ll have to ask Anindita why she’s up for joining me on this path, but I’ll just say I’m grateful. I picked the right partner. Plenty of people do just fine on their own, but it can be lonely and dangerous out there and, honestly, it’s just a lot more fun to have someone to share the adventure and the labor with.
My standard “how is Switzerland” speech: It’s lovely here. Insanely gorgeous vistas that make me feel self conscious every time I post a thing. It’s also absurdly expensive and it’s been a bit of an adjustment coming down from the salary that I was used to, but that particular golden collar came with enough baggage that life was miserable (see #4,5,6,7 and 9). Life is still just as complicated, labor intensive and difficult as before, but these are *my* complications, my labor, and my difficulty. It’s not miserable.
We also have rainbows. I mean seriously, check this shit:
That’s from our friend’s front porch.
We live in a tiny apartment full of sunlight and IKEA. We buy our food in beautifully packaged single servings. We carry fresh baked baguettes under our arms. We clean the apartment on Sundays because everything is closed, and we hang our laundry up to dry because the Swiss do not believe in electric dryers. We take weekend trips to castles. We eat a lot of good chocolate.
And while yes, I deeply miss my friends, it turns out that they are pretty mobile and engaging bunch. In the sixth months we’ve been here, we’ve averaged a visitor a month, many of whom actually were in the neighborhood (where neighborhood = Europe). I also spent an amazing few weeks this summer back in the US, attending two weddings, hanging out with my niece and nephew (twins), visiting as many people as I could and eating my fill of buffalo wings and sushi. Mostly I valued the chance to load my brain with stories of your adventures. Long days at the beach and in galleries, long nights over good meals and beer or bourbon. In five weeks I spent the night in a hotel exactly once. I’m lucky to know you people, you amaze me. I can’t ever say that enough.
In August 2011, My friend Jessamyn gave a terrific graduation speech at Goddard, which included one of my favorite observations ever: “I never did have to get up before 11 am unless I wanted to.”
So there. I am here starting over, because I have the resources and the support and the will to do it. Fuck plan B. I am not getting up again before 11 unless I want to. I’m playing the long game. I’m taking my time. We are the media. We are the publishers. We are the creators and authors and performers and recorders of the world as we see it and as we wish it to be. We are building the future we want to live in. Me and my friends, and you whoever you are. I am grateful that I can do this, it is a responsibility and an honor. I will try and do something worthwhile. I’m also having a lot of fun.
Hell yeah and pass the Swiss bacon*.
* The Swiss sell speck (a juniper flavored Tyrollean ham) in rashers, like bacon. it’s fucking delicious.
