It's been a while...

It's been almost a year now since I left for Germany. That's pretty unbelievable to me. I think growing older makes you realize how fast time goes by. However, a lot has happened in the span of 11 months. I turned 21. I traveled all over Europe. I was in a musical. I finished another semester. I traveled to New York. I secured an internship. I moved to LA.

I think the last accomplishment is the most significant for my life right now, and it almost didn't happen. It wasn't until the very end of the semester that I interviewed for my internship with Interscope Records so I sort of had to scramble to find a place to live and a paying job. The apartment was remarkably easy. The job on the other hand took a little more time but I'm glad to say that everything has finally fallen into place.

Honestly, I don't think I could have spent the summer at home anyway. I think my mom knew this too. She sort of...uh hem...advised me to leave as nicely as she could without kicking me out. There was a job waiting here for me to do and I needed to do it. I really feel like this is more my home now. One of the things I loved the most about growing up in Sacramento was that it was always growing too. Now, however, I feel a little more disconnected from it; there's always something new, something different that I'm not familiar with. Los Angeles in all of its vastness is now a lot more familiar to me. This makes me laugh because a year ago I was so ready to get out but I guess what I was looking for was here the entire time.

Summer thus far has been a lot of fun. I moved into my apartment at the beginning of June. I'll post pictures of it soon. I live in Playa Vista which is a 'luxury community' conveniently located right below campus. I describe it as "Pleasantville" to people. The apartment complexes and houses in the area are all newly and perfectly built lived in by their perfect residents with their perfect cars and perfect lives. My car, needless to say, sticks out like a sore thumb. I love the area though. It's so conveniently located and I feel completely safe if I wanted to say take a jog at 2am...oh yeah...and the grocery store and local restaurant both deliver. With my lack of job during most of June I found myself in my apartment building's gym a lot. This was duly needed. I don't think you realize how out of shape you are until you start getting back into shape. While I'm not quite in the shape I was during my cross country days in high school, I hope to be by the end of summer.

Summer is a good time to hang out with friends without the stress of classes and other social engagements. Luckily I've had a lot of time to be with the people that I love. It's interesting though; most of the people I see on a regular basis now are the people that I studied abroad with. I've noticed this several times throughout the summer. In June one of my study abroad friends who's a year older was moving back home because she was unable to find work out here. Her parting wish? A Thanksgiving dinner. So a few of us got together and made a Thanksgiving dinner, in June. I contributed with mashed potatoes which are pretty much the only thing I eat during Thanksgiving anyway. That's another thing- I've been cooking a great deal for myself lately; it really surprises me. The other day I made macaroni and cheese from scratch...just because. I'm glad summer leaves time open for these kind of things.

Gabby, my best friend is also down here which has been a lot of fun. Although she lives in Westwood by UCLA which is like 15 minutes (like 150 in traffic) away, we see each other often. I'm so thankful to have the people I love close by because the most difficult thing about living here has been living without my family. I felt this the most on the 4th of July. It was the first time I spent the holiday without my family and it was very different. Had I been at home, I certainly wouldn't have spent the day at the beach making fun of drunk people in their poorly chosen Independence Day get-ups. Needless to say it was a lot of fun. The beach was packed and lively. We sat on the beach and watched the fireworks over the water. If I'm here next year, I hope to do the same thing. As far as Interscope goes, I'm having a lot of fun. I wish I was doing more hands on stuff but it's been a good learning process nonetheless. In a nutshell, I wake up every day and reflect on how lucky I am to be alive and living in this great city! So far summer has been that of beaching, partying, working, learning, shopping, pool parties, laughing, dancing, but most of all another step on this journey of discovery that I believe we all are on. More to come!

- Tim