Wanderlust

As some of you may know,  I have decided to quit my job at the illustrious Obsidian Entertainment, and move to Taiwan to pursue my dream of a nomadic lifestyle.

You might ask, Millie, why the hell would you move across the earth?  What do you think you’re doing?  Are you a failure in California, so you’re defecting to Asia to find some sense of contrived purpose?  Are you trying to escape your crushing debt, and fake your death, escaping the grip of the government?

Well I don’t really care what you think, but here is the reason why.

Working as a professional in the United States is a bigger challenge than I ever realized.  There are so many things we “need” here, that are simply just part of our lifestyles.  I seek to escape these constraints, and live my life in an unorthodox way, if at least for a little while.  I will be making slightly more than I do now, so while the money is good it’s not THAT good.  The greatest value I can find here is reserving time.  Time to work on personal work that has been neglected into near-death.  My desire to create inspirational art has not died, but the time and energy with which to do this has been sucked dry by the commute to work and the social life I think I need so much.  Well I do need it.  I love my friends.

That being said, I also feel that if I’m worth anything, I should probably live in a different country for a little while.  I’ve been to Taiwan twice, I’ve taken three years of Mandarin Chinese, and both times I went it was difficult to return home.  On both occasions I was standing at the gate at the airport, about to board the plane, also on the phone with my mom sobbing comically about how I couldn’t get on the plane.

I’ve been meaning to do this for longer than even I realize, and now is the best time to do it.  I’m single, young, and (moderately) healthy.  I have the energy to go galloping across the fields of Mongolia in a search for throat singers.  I have the energy to learn a martial art, and pretend I’m a water bender.  So why not now?  Why shouldn’t this open the door to the rest of my life, to break the stagnation of this current lifestyle?

If you didn’t know, now you know.  You can ask questions and stuff.  I’ll try to answer them.  But as of August 13, you can find me in the mountains of Taipei City.  I plan to return more powerful than anyone can imagine.