#1. Hello, Bay Area.
Tonight begins the next major phase in my move up to Northern California, where I recently started a new job with the video game publishing house known as Deep Silver. You might know them as the company that acquired a number of THQ-branded properties when the latter filed for bankruptcy a few years ago; and you might also know them now as the company that recently got bought out by THQ Nordic (formerly Nordic Games, which purchased the THQ brand).
Whatever the case, the move into the Bay Area is a big deal for me and my career in gaming. Essentially, once I’m done with Deep Silver, I can practically have any job I want back home if I play my cards right, and I intend to. But I’m going on a tangent and deviating from my initial point…
Here: Last week, Taylor and I drove up to NorCal from my hometown of Long Beach, which, for the unaware, is located a few miles just south of Los Angeles. That’s not the craziest distance, but driving up here was quite the roadtrip…one with a detour that provided us an additional three hours of drive time (Totaling 12 hours vs. the expected 8-9). Needless to say, the move mentally and physically strained, and the past seven days have been anxiety-inducing because tonight was the night we feared, the ultimate challenge for Taylor and me, which will undoubtedly leave us bruised for the few months to come: we had to say bye.
No, we’re not breaking up. We’re planning to make it work– breaking up isn’t even part of the question here. It’s just that she has a life in Long Beach now, having recently acquired a job in the area and an apartment right at the heart of the city, which would make it difficult for her to just pack up and leave to come live with me. Frankly, I’d hate to see her do that, especially since she’s doing so well where she’s at. But I also hated watching her board the plane tonight— it left me in pieces to see her cry and walk away from me as she made her trek back to the place I’ve called home for the past 24 years of my life, a place where I’d love to be currently.
I’ve never been away from Long Beach and I’ve never been alone in a city this far from home either. This is a completely new experience for me and I’m gutted by the fact that I had to leave home to finally start making a name for myself in the games industry. I know that’s how these things usually go, but if you spoke to me even three months prior to this, you’d know full well I was committed to staying in Long Beach for the rest of my life. For so long I convinced myself there wasn’t a job in the world that could make me move away— but I was wrong. Clearly. What the Deep Silver team is offering me is incredible. I’d be a fool to pass it up… but I won’t go into those details here just yet.
So, here I am… In a city I know absolutely nothing about with not a single friend and family member to be seen. I’m alone here, and quite honestly– I’m scared. Petrified that I can’t sleep in the comfort of my home, or in the comfort of Taylor’s arms. There’s no question about it, my heart is aching tonight… but this is a sacrifice we both decided on. She and I acknowledge why this is necessary and we both pulled the trigger together and I have a feeling we’re going to be so much better for it once this is all said and done. And for the record, I fully intend to head back home once I’ve gotten the experience I needed here.
But in the meantime… Hello, Bay Area.
