Personal Update – Controlled Chaos!

Yesterday I dismantled the music studio and moved it to Pacifica, which will be the new site for Momu and Jondi & Spesh mixing and mastering (thanks Mark!). The reason? We’re moving to San Francisco, to a high-rise apartment. The new space is pretty much the same footage as our small Oakland house, but without the luxury of two separate home offices. And of course no backyard. On the plus side, the building has a decent gym, a very nice co-working space, and many other amenities. The building management appears to be well organized. It will be a much different experience for us, with a varied assortment of pros and cons. But it’s a necessary life change.

Our daughter is switching schools — that’s why we’re moving. I won’t get into the details of why, but it’s nothing scandalous or dramatic. Just a much-needed change. So, we’re taking the leap. The plan is to remodel our Oakland house and rent it out, which I’m excited about. We’ve lived here for twenty years, and many aspects of the interior design were dated even then. With decades of additional wear and tear, the house needs some major interior work. The kitchen especially. I can’t wait until our horrendous cabinets are torn out. That will be a victorious moment for me.

Packing is the ultimate KonMari process. We have the luxury of not needing to move all our stuff at once — much of it can stay here during the remodel. So we have plenty of time to evaluate what brings us joy, and get rid of the rest. That phrase is such a cliche now, but to me it still holds true as a way to evaluate what to keep and what to jettison. Even though I’ve done the process before, this time is different. I’m discovering a willingness to let go of vast swaths of stuff. I know not to get rid of entire categories of things; my interests are cyclical and I’d regret that. But there’s a lot that can go.

Even though our move isn’t directly related to the pandemic, it feels like part of the great pandemic shake-up. But my core activities will stay the same: writing, making beats, my freelance programming work, walking our dog, spending time with my family and friends, playing Pokemon GO, painting D&D miniatures, etc. Yeah, I’ll miss the hot tub in the back yard. But if my kid is happier in school (and she already is), it’s all worth it.

But to be clear, I’m not looking at this as a sacrifice Kia and I are making for our kid. What it feels like is an opportunity: for change, growth, new connections, new experiences, new ideas.

Wish us luck. And for you, kind reader, I visualize health, wealth, true love, and happiness. Go make it happen.