Unbelievably, 2020 was actually an amazing year for me, despite everything going on in the world. I care deeply for the misfortunes of the millions of people impacted in horrible ways by the Covid-19 pandemic, and as such this post almost didn’t happen simply because I didn’t want to offend anyone who may feel this post or its contents are insensitive. Now more than ever I feel the desire to revive my blog, since the pandemic has made it impossible for me to connect with all but 3 friends and my immediate family all year, so it’s been a lonely one despite all the good fortune (be thankful if you had a significant other to quarantine with). It’s also worth noting I completely skipped posting a 2019 & 2020 blog because those years sucked so hard for me, so I’m incredibly long overdue for a new blog post & I’ll try to incorporate those years in a little as well.
On March 4, 2020, I started my first office job in 10 years (by that, I mean not freelance). Whispers of the coronavirus had just begun. When I started, my job was not remote. Two weeks later, it was. Since all of my stuff was still back in Florida, I flew back, packed it all up, found a place in LA and moved back all without missing a single day of work (I can drive across the country in 50 hours. It’s a skill.)
I had a place in lovely Beachwood Canyon for the worst of the pandemic, hiking in the hills beneath the Hollywood sign on an almost daily basis. That was when we all thought it wouldn’t last more than a few more months. By mid-May, when it became apparent there was no end in sight, I decided to “move” to Mexico (temporarily, but the intention was staying through the rest of the pandemic). Tulum looked like the perfect spot to weather a pandemic. Was it? No. It’s a wonderful town with wonderful people – for a short vacation. But Mexico is – well, Mexico. The locals will lie about anything if they think the lie will make them money. The constant feeling like you’re being cheated (because you are) is draining and dehumanizing, especially when you’re on a tight budget. Which I was, because the main attraction for me was weekend dive trips. And diving isn’t an inexpensive activity.
During the pandemic, with tourism down to about 10% of what was typical in Quintana Roo that time of year, the dive shops were charging much more than usual for a dive since group rates were impossible. Normally a dive with a group of other divers in a Cenote would be about $90 for a one-tank dive since a single dive master might take eight divers down. The solo dive I did (because there were no other people going that day) was $160. And that was actually fairly generous of the shop to give me that price. I paid for 3 trips to do the whale sharks, at $200 a pop.
Chichen Itza, the Tulum Ruins, the border to Belize and therefor all of Beliize’s attractions were all closed – and it wasn’t a ‘best of times’ life in Mexico, as it was impossible to make friends. I did run in to two friends there completely by chance, so that was super fun, but they were only there for a few days. My supplemental journey to Peru was cancelled due to Peru not letting Americans into the country in August. So what was a very careful and respectful American traveler to do? A tenant had just moved out of my house in FL, so I decided to return there and crash in my old room for the time being. Upon returning to Florida a very shocking thing awaited my discovery that I did not expect. A pandemic-fueled real estate boom in Orlando. The equity I had amassed in my house became irresistibly high and what first started as a long-planned refinance quickly morphed into a decision to actually sell the property. I never intended to live in it, and here I was, crashing in my house yet again after finding myself temporarily misplaced in the world. I never wanted this to happen again. I needed to finally put down roots again where I always wanted to – Los Angeles. And to do that, I needed to uproot myself from Orlando completely, and here was the perfect chance.
It took 3 months from deciding to sell, to doing some final renovations (the master bathroom and the front yard) to my tenants graciously moving out – but my friend Cara sold my house at the value I wanted despite it being a long shot for the existing comps in my neighborhood. It was a miracle. And I was finally unburdened by the most burdening thing I’d ever undertaken. Flipping a fixer-upper and being a landlord are two things I never want to do again.
So, here I am, in Los Angeles, living in a beautiful little 1 bedroom house that I am renting (hallelujah) 15 min from one of my favorite beaches and 10 minutes from the airport. I sold or donated almost all of my possessions except for the necessities and my favorite things. I paid off all of my debt. I finally got an adventure off-road vehicle (PriPri is now my besties car and the Tesla is sold). I still have the same job I got in March, and it’s been amazing.
Here’s hoping 2021 brings with it a perfect balance of a continuation of the good things 2020 brought with a complete end to all the bad things.
