Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

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Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

After 12 years and countless El Zarape burritos, my days living, working and playing in San Diego are numbered. It was 12 years ago this month I sold my drum kit for gas money and convinced my college roommate to drive me cross-country. I was 22, broke and didn’t know a single person, yet open to all possibilities. Fast forward to now and I’m feeling nostalgia kicking in on the corner of India and A. It’s been a total ride, filled with some of the most amazing experiences people only dream of - and others (especially as an entrepreneur) where I was just trying to hang on. Would I change a thing? Absolutely not. Do I feel incredibly fortunate? You bet.

San Diego has been very good to me. From the moment I set foot in this city I never wasted a breath in going after everything I wanted to do. From music, art, film, philanthropy, technology or playing soccer in balboa park, it’s been an epic ride. I feel incredibly fortunate to have made a career out of helping others - my commitment was never about me, it was about showcasing the talents of so many incredible people in the hopes of making this world a little more vibrant and colorful. San Diego made it comfortable for a young entrepreneur with a big heart and lots of passion to get out there and make something of his life. Of course it wasn’t always easy but what in life ever is? I made a shit-ton of mistakes and I’ve learned it’s not about making the mistakes, it’s how you bounce back and push forward. Even with all the bumps, I hope my mark on San Diego is left with positivity and creative optimism. Contrary to popular stereotypes, San Diego is filled with passionate visionaries - there’s a small army of creatives that are getting things done. If you know what I’m talking about, then you know, and if you don’t - then you should do yourself a favor and seek it out, because you’re really missing out.

So what’s next? An empire state of mind. I’ve taken a full-time job with a company in Brooklyn that enables people to make a living making things. I’m thrilled to be a part of a community and company whose vision is to build a new economy and present better choices. The handmade revolution is in full effect and in just a few weeks, I’ll be joining the mothership.

And what of Holiday Matinee? After 11 years, I’m happy to report HM is fully alive and continues to grow. The blog just surpassed 120k readers and we even got booted from our hosting provider for having too much traffic. Moving forward, Kiran will be representing HM in San Diego along with amazing contributions from Monique and Catrina. Plus, we just hired an awesome new writer from San Francisco and (hopefully) soon Chicago. We’ve also got an exciting (and totally addictive) iPhone app/game in the works. So, no matter where we end up, I hope you’ll continue to peep HM for your daily dose of creative inspiration.

But for now, I gotta get packing…