Up early again
Published August 6, 2009
But then I probably haven’t changed the date and time in this thing, so it’ll look like I was writing this in the middle of the work day. Hmm.
Yesterday being awake early apparently spurred me to play Boy Philosopher, for some reason. As you can tell, a life-changing event like emigration can turn the most reasonable of men (yes, me) into some sort of navel-gazing fluffhunter. However, today, let me give you the right answer for the rorschach test; you know, the one you spout at parties.
We’re both fine, and settling in, just about. Continue reading →
Up early again
Published August 6, 2009
But then I probably haven’t changed the date and time in this thing, so it’ll look like I was writing this in the middle of the work day. Hmm.
Yesterday being awake early apparently spurred me to play Boy Philosopher, for some reason. As you can tell, a life-changing event like emigration can turn the most reasonable of men (yes, me) into some sort of navel-gazing fluffhunter. However, today, let me give you the right answer for the rorschach test; you know, the one you spout at parties.
We’re both fine, and settling in, just about.
Ahem…
Well yes I could go into a lot more detail than that, but there’s a limit to what I’ll say on an open page. I will say that we’ve almost done everything we knew we were going to need to do before we left, and now we’re down to discovering things that are all-new. By that I mean we’ve moved into our apartment, we’ve bought a new TV (woo!), we’ve set up a bank account (and one with a credit union), we’ve gotten registered with all the right people, and I’ve even been paid a few times (as it’s happening ‘semi-monthly’, ie twice a month). We have a couch, a cat, a dining table, a couple of chairs, and a whole new series of incoming bills. Continue reading →
One month in
Published August 5, 2009
I figured I owe you this, whoever ‘you’ might be, even if you’re just a section of my subconscious or a figment of my imagination. And I’ve been trying to concoct what I want to say in my head for a while, but, honestly… it’s been hard to decide.
There’s a lot to say, and simultaneously, not very much at all.
In case you’re wondering, I can say with some certainty that moving countries (even to a country where they generally speak English) is a bit of a bitch. Mostly just because of the ties that bind. The emotional ones, the physical ones, and not-so-physical, but still very real bureaucratic and political ties that prevent us from wandering this Earth like free people, man, free to do what we wanna do, even if that’s just sitting around playing our guitars and singing – kum-ba-ya, my Lord… ahem. Continue reading →
One month in
Published August 5, 2009
I figured I owe you this, whoever ‘you’ might be, even if you’re just a section of my subconscious or a figment of my imagination. And I’ve been trying to concoct what I want to say in my head for a while, but, honestly… it’s been hard to decide.
There’s a lot to say, and simultaneously, not very much at all.
In case you’re wondering, I can say with some certainty that moving countries (even to a country where they generally speak English) is a bit of a bitch. Mostly just because of the ties that bind. The emotional ones, the physical ones, and not-so-physical, but still very real bureaucratic and political ties that prevent us from wandering this Earth like free people, man, free to do what we wanna do, even if that’s just sitting around playing our guitars and singing – kum-ba-ya, my Lord… ahem.
That, if I so choose, would be the ‘lot to say’. I could tell you of the swift break I experienced with friends and family, the lack of real feeling because I didn’t know how to feel, which gradually day by day is turning into a void in my heart which… I guess I’ll just have to tread carefully around. But I won’t. Continue reading →
The last eight months… and the next few
Published June 25, 2009
I’ve been pretty quiet over the last eight months, particularly when compared to most of last year. I had two good reasons.
One, I secured a job with Trion World Network, which was still in ‘stealth mode’ when I got the job, meaning I couldn’t talk about… well anything, really. Not the company, not the job, not the game(s)… so I just kept my big mouth shut.
Two, I was going through the time-consuming, tedious and nerve-wracking process of getting my US immigration visa. This would have been a tough enough process at any time, but considering it was connected directly to me taking up the job, I felt in some way I should just keep quiet. Didn’t want to jinx things. I only broke silence when the internal mental pressure began to get so much that even endless games of Civilization IV weren’t enough to keep The Voices in check, and I had to vent somewhere.
Well, now I’ve officially got The Job, and I sure as hell have The Visa. So I can talk. A bit.Trion’s an exciting company to be part of. With three games in active production (Heroes of Telara; the MMORTS project… Continue reading →
The last eight months… and the next few
Published June 25, 2009
I’ve been pretty quiet over the last eight months, particularly when compared to most of last year. I had two good reasons.
One, I secured a job with Trion World Network, which was still in ‘stealth mode’ when I got the job, meaning I couldn’t talk about… well anything, really. Not the company, not the job, not the game(s)… so I just kept my big mouth shut.
Two, I was going through the time-consuming, tedious and nerve-wracking process of getting my US immigration visa. This would have been a tough enough process at any time, but considering it was connected directly to me taking up the job, I felt in some way I should just keep quiet. Didn’t want to jinx things. I only broke silence when the internal mental pressure began to get so much that even endless games of Civilization IV weren’t enough to keep The Voices in check, and I had to vent somewhere.
Well, now I’ve officially got The Job, and I sure as hell have The Visa. So I can talk. A bit.Trion’s an exciting company to be part of. With three games in active production (Heroes of Telara; the MMORTS project with Petroglyph, and the MMOARPG being made in collaboration with Sci-Fi/SyFy) there’s a hell of a lot to do, and lots of exciting possibilities down the road. I’ll admit it; before I found the job opportunity last year, I didn’t know much about Trion. I’d read the odd press release, but it was only when I started to really do my research, by reading every single scrap of info and interview I could find, that I got excited about what I might be getting into. Continue reading →
Here and now
Published May 19, 2009
Three months and one day ago, some woman I’d known for about six minutes got me to strip off.
“Erm, underwear as well?”
“No. You can keep those on.”
“But I was told there would be a genital inspection!” I almost shouted.
This is just one of the setbacks I’ve endured while attempting to secure a US immigration visa.
Serenity now…
Published April 21, 2009
Heck of a day, at least inside my skull. Small, not that significant concerns suddenly exploded into massive, panic-inducing nightmares as they’re connected to my immediate emigrating future. Resolved, now – but still, it’s the kind of thing that leads podcast co-hosts to mutter “I am never, ever leaving this country.”
Yeah, why am I doing that, anyway?
I’ve wanted to live in the US of A for quite a long time. Maybe longer than I realise. The desire initially sprang from a lifetime of American comics, movies, TV shows and the like; I think Stan Lee has something to answer for, as he made New York City seem like a swinging place for all mighty Marvelites. Even if the reality didn’t have occasional appearances by the mighty Thor or the invincible Iron Man, it did seem like I’d stepped onto a movie set when I finally visited in 1995.
Everywhere I’ve been in the US – and I’ve been in quite a few places, just ask the wife – has been a memorable experience, and more than once when I’ve left, I’ve yearned to get back. Sure, there are bad points, but the good points are so overwhelmingly good – at least, in my experience – that you’d be crazy not to want to live there. Over the years as my career progressed, the idea of working out there appealed more and more, but I never got the chance. Now, through fate and love and marriage, it’s all coming together. Continue reading →
Holy crap! I’m going to live in the USA!
Published April 12, 2009
Sorry. It just sort of comes in waves.
Of surprise. Continue reading →
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