The Ex-Patriot

I've been wanting to start a personal blog for years now. It's been a very busy and fun last decade, but now I feel as though I finally have a chance to sit down and write the things I want to write.

As many of you know, and many of you don't know, about a year and a half ago I moved away from my home, my love, my city - Los Angeles. I chose to leave the hustle and bustle of the world's greatest city to live a quieter, calmer life with my now wife in San Luis Obispo, California. You may be familiar with it, it's the setting of the 2004 film Sideways. If you haven't seen it, Netflix it my friends.

I never thought I could love it here. I moved away from all of my friends, all of my connections, an amazing job with Red Bull and just about everything that seemed "normal" in my life. But just about the time you're feeling as though you hate something, God damnit if it doesn't suddenly grow all over you. That's what this place has done to me, it's made me fall in love with its purity, it's simplicity, it's easy-SLO living.

I miss Los Angeles, I miss her all the time. The odometer on my car will tell you just how often I feel the need to drive down to her and bask in her sunny skies, but it is no longer my home. Shell Beach (a suburban beach community in San Luis Obispo), where I now live with my wife is my home. I live about 200 yards from the Pacific, far closer than I was able to afford during my stint in Santa Monica. I work a job that pays the bills (although with considerably less ease than what was offered at Red Bull), I eat amazing food, meet really interesting people and I go about life in a different way. I still run a business that is very much focused on Los Angeles and other major-city culture, which, for now, is enough.

So now you know what's up with me, here's what's up with this blog. It will be 100% me, what I'm interested in, what I'm doing, how I run my business, trips that I take, etc. It will cater to no particular audience, but that for whom I wish to speak. Many of you will find posts absurd, boring, useless and others may find them interesting, sentimental or entertaining. I don't care too particularly much which camp you fall into, this is my place to post what I want to say and wish to share.

Creativity is Life.

Matt Amundson