This Nomadic Life

Let me start off by saying that I did not take this picture. I a) do not have a small child and b) would never strap a suitcase strap across a baby's forehead. But I will acknowledge that it made me chuckle, so I thought I'd share.

So I made it to Pittsburgh and was greeted by snow flurries. One of my friends from home wrote that I had gotten out just before it got cold down there. I responded that it's like the cold version of out of the frying pan into the fire (out of the ice cream into the ice box? I don't know, I'll figure something out). But yes, at long last I've returned to my home away from home for the last four months: the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown. There is something very magical about this city, even when dipped in the hues of drab wintry grey. The trip from the airport into downtown (or "dahntahn" as the locals would have it) is for the most part pretty sparse; billboards, shipping depots, trees, lots and lots of trees. But then you go through the Fort Pitt Tunnel, through Mt. Washington, and the city just opens up - the Ohio to the left, the Monongahela to the right, the Allegheny streaking across, Heinz Field and PNC Park smack dab in front of you, bridges galore (apparently only second to Venice, I've been assured), and buildings that look like comic book bad guy hangouts. This past weekend I actually had a spirited conversation with a friend, who had visited Pittsburgh once, about how underrated it is. She said something to the effect of "if you can get past the name, it's actually a really cool city."

So here I am, perched in my urban asylum, contemplating the life I have begun to forge for myself - or at least the one that's being forged whether I like it or not.

There's something to be said for a nomadic lifestyle like this. For one, you come home to a made bed and clean towels daily. But at the same time, you're coming "home" to an antiseptic cave, devoid of any character or personality other than the cookie-cutter nautilus shell and flower vase still life that hangs above the toilet. So it got me thinking... really it's had me thinking for a while now. There are basically three jurisdictional zones in the Directors Guild - New York, Los Angeles, and Everywhere Else. As I get further into this industry (and as the industry gets increasingly less centralized around LA and NYC), I'm seeing the benefit of living in a more tolerable city - like Pittsburgh... Or Atlanta, New Orleans, New Mexico even (not a city, I know). Then from there, I could navigate the "Third Zone" and basically live my life out of a suitcase (like the baby pictured above, lest you thought I'd forget to somehow tie that in!) Is this a sustainable lifestyle? Suitable even? So I've started weighing the pros and cons of a nomadic life like that.

PROS

• A lot of exciting traveling to a lot of potentially really cool places.
• A steady stream of new friends coming into my life.
• No commitments.
• The hope of living in warmer climes.

CONS

• A lot of exhausting traveling to a lot of potentially really lame places.
• A steady stream of old friends exiting from my life.
• No commitments.
• The threat of living in colder climes.

So as you can see, my analysis needs to dig deeper. I suppose I need to get my priorities in order before I make any binding decisions. I always go back to the age-old parental advice to never close off any doors. My time in Pittsburgh over the last four months has been eye-opening. It's encouraging to see that there is life in this industry outside of New York and Los Angeles, and there are people within the industry - within my own department - who have chosen not to live in New York and Los Angeles and are still working on really awesome jobs!

I don't know what the future has in store, but boy am I psyched for it! And so we beat on, boats against the current, and if we're borne back ceaselessly into the past, as the quote continues, so be it. If my past has any bearing on my future, then I say bring it on.