Today marks the 3rd week at my new home in Las Vegas. It’s quite a dream come true. To finally have all that time pay off is something that I find hard to describe even now, as I’m typing this. Back when I was in school it wasn’t odd to work 8 hours to have a payoff at the end of the day. I even had some times when I worked a whole week for a pay off. Getting this job has been a payoff I’ve been working on for 3 years. I know it’s not exactly what I wanted, but it’s damn close, and I’m extremely happy to receive it.
I glad that I kept working.
Not to long ago I began feeling defeated. Applying for a bunch of jobs, and not hearing back from hardly any got me thinking, “Maybe, I’m just not good enough.” This attitude is a defeatist attitude, and defeat is what comes of it. I would never be here today, If I didn’t ignore people who said my dreams would never happen. Since I started on this journey of art and video games, I was many times made fun of. I’m not sure if it was because people doubted me, or didn’t have any dreams of their own. I was very lucky to have a select few friends who helped me along the way. If it wasn’t for them I don’t think I could have done it. A dream and career is a great thing, but without being surrounded by people who love you, it’s nothing.
I have found a few things I would like to share with you guys at this point. First, I’d like to talk about moving from one side of the country to the other. It’s quite different than I expected. First of all I drove 2,000 miles here. It was a fun dive, although I had to keep my mind of the miles and try to enjoy the dive. when you’ve been driving for 8 hours, and keep looking at the mile markers one by one, it tends to make the drive less fun. Also, I had the luxary of staying with some of my parents friends. Take advantage of this if you get the chance. Staying at a real home, rather than a hotel on a 4 day drive makes things feel much more normal. I stayed at 3 places along the way, two nights at friends houses, and one at the hotel. One of my stops was in Gorman, Tx. My friend owns a cattle and horse ranch. I spent the day working on various farm tasks, and had a bunch of fun. It was great to relax and soak in the country side, while still accomplishing tasks. It was a great break from driving. The night I stayed at the hotel was just lonely, dark, and cold. I felt alone.
Once I got to Las Vegas, everything seemed so new. The mountains, sky, the city! It was like I was a 3 year old again. I still love being able to see the mountains from almost every point in the city. (as Las Vegas is surrounded by mountains) Also, the strip is visible from nearly everywhere. I’ve been down to the strip three times. Each one left me more amazed. Not just the sounds, booze, and typical downtown things, but the artfulness of downtown. Two of the times downtown I wasn’t even drinking, just walking around the casinos and enjoying the architechture. I haven’t got two see half of the strip yet! One thing that left me flabbergasted was the Fountain at the Bellagio. A water fountain show to music! It was amazing.
The worst thing so far was apartment shopping. For the first 2 weekends I was here I spent most of my time driving from apt to apt looking at the model home and getting pricing information. Exhausting. Although I didn’t want to sign a lease in a place where I wouldn’t like living after a month. I wanted something nice, but not overly expensive. I found a few places in my price range, but most were over what I was willing to pay. I ended up signing at a place about 300 yards from work. I move in monday! Whats great about this, is I want to get a mountain bike. I can ride my bike to work, save gas, and ride the bike at the nearby mountain trails. (maybe a mile from the house.) I could even walk to work! I’m excited about not having to drive 15-20 minutes to work each day. If I spent that hour drawing instead, I’d be a pro in no time. haha. I’m glad I spend some time looking for apartments, but i’m really glad that I’ve selected on and don’t have to worry about it.
Friendships. It’s hard to put this into writing, but I’m really glad to be making new friends. Not that I don’t like my old friends, but meeting new people who have similar interests and passion is really nice. The old model of some of my friends fitting in this shell, and knowing there every move has disappeared. I’m just getting to know the people at work, and it’s such a exciting thing. It helps that everyone at work is really friendly. Also, we go out to lunch a lot. It’s been good to get to know some of them and hangout with them after work. I miss my old friends. I really do, but at the same time I know when I come back to visit it’s going to be really exciting. I hope some of them get to come visit me out here.
For now, thats a good wrap up of the first 3 weeks. The last thing I want to say is that I’ve been doing a bunch of figure drawing sessions with the other artists at work. Here are a few of my favorites.
Hey man, nice recap of your life in Vegas so far. I’m glad you are enjoying yourself and feel as though you are happy doing what it is youre doing. haha nice art work also I like the ninja man. and the breast lady, of course. Keep living life.