28 Days to LA: Epilogue
A week later, I'm sitting at a different desk now, in my own 1 bedroom apartment. Bizarrely, after driving all over the surrounding cities looking at cheap apartments I ended up 100 yards from my hotel.
The first week of work was the same as any first week of work - didnt get anything concrete done except install and configure software and find out what was where. Tracking down databases and web servers for websites that hadnt been touched for over a year.
The hardest thing for me was that we're almost cut off from the outside world. No IM, no Twitter, no Skype. And any websites you view are openly tracked and reported on. Some are blocked. Perhaps this is normal in the corporate world nowadays but it's very sad that it's come to this. It's a far cry from my working from home for the last 7 years, where my most efficient way of getting information was to use these channels.
I'm sure I'll adapt. But to those I used to chat to, I won't be around much. That pisses me off, but what can you do?
On the plus side, I'm pleased with my apartment, especially at $800/month. Everyone thinks that's impossible and quotes prices from $1200 and up, but apparently I'm not in a "nice area". Whatever that means; everyone I've met or even walked past on the street has been friendly, and I've walked for hours around the city streets late at night and never seen or heard any trouble.
Since I don't have a TV, I haven't bothered with a couch either. Instead I found a great desk and chair deal in walmart (all this for $150) so this is now what the living room looks like :) Plenty of room for my two screens and beer! This is obviously just after I finished assembly, it looks a little more lived in now.
I just put my feet up and watch a movie on the computer when I'm done programming.
What else? Well, now I have a real place to live (and a fridge) I had to go shopping so I now know where the local Target, Walmart, Trader Joes, World Market and Costco are. I cooked for the first time in what seems like a couple of weeks - and it may be curry night tonight if I can find some chicken pieces. :)
Aren't I domesticated!?!
Next trip back home is in a couple of weeks when I fly home for the weekend and put the house on the market. Giving it 2-3 weeks to sell and wrap up the family should be out here in around a month, right? hehe...