It was exactly ten years ago this year that, at the time completely oblivious to the titanic ramifications, I was about to make the biggest, most profound decision of my life.
Salt Lake City… Or San Francisco…
My best friend chose San Francisco.
And I chose Salt Lake City.
At the time, I honestly felt like it was the place I needed to be.
But what followed were the ten bumpiest years of my life. Had I known this, I would gladly have volunteered to help NASA land a manned spacecraft on Venus, upside down, without any radio communications or even a spacesuit, while juggling seven rabid dogs and a moose with one hand tied behind my back, giving birth to a hedgehog and fighting off Darth Vader with a toothpick.
Really. It’s been a rough ride. Slight exaggeration obviously. I mean who wants to volunteer for NASA?
But I am who I am. And I like who I am.
So I don’t regret having gone through what I did, nor do I regret where I am now. I don’t regret anything or anyone in my life. Without my experiences, without the people I know, good and bad, I’m not me. And as I just said, I like me.
But…
I’ve always wondered where my life would be if I’d gone to San Francisco instead of coming to Utah.
Always.
And if you’ve been reading my blog lately, you’d know that I have vouchers to fly United Airlines.
Three of them.
Now, I already know two cities in this world that I’m madly in love with: Paris and New York City. I have a feeling San Francisco might be joining that very short list.
And the reason THAT’S significant is this:
I’m seriously considering and researching a move to one of those three cities.
Whoa… That sentence is gonna get me a LOT of phone calls!
So although I can’t address everything and everyone with this post, lemme at least say this.
I’m really not sure at this point. It may never even happen. There are so many factors for me to consider, but two of them stand out above the rest; I have two boys here and a growing business that I’d have to practically build from scratch anywhere else.
So yes, this is a huge decision that I’m not taking lightly at all.
But there’s no question that I’m really flirting with all three options.
Well ok. Not Paris. I’d love to live there, but only as a bazillionaire or if I can expand my studio that far. So not very likely either way. At least not right now. Unbelievable city, can’t wait to go back, but hang in there Paris, I’m not getting to you just yet. Maybe someday.
So that leaves me with two options:
San Francisco or New York City. Vastly different cities.
I’ve been to New York a couple of times already. Loved it both times. No. ADORED it. I’m gonna go there again this year before the wedding season hits. Oh and New York makes a lot of career sense too. That’s a big bonus.
But I’ve never been to San Francisco. And so, after ten years of wondering, in the very near future I’ll be going there to begin finding out if moving there might be a good idea.
I’m not expecting my tourist experience to tell me everything I need to know about actually living in the city, but I’m hoping it’ll give me a feel for whether the place suits me.
Soon after that, I’ll be going to New York for my third time to do the same.
And then, after as much research and thought as I can muster for both cities, I’m going to have to ask myself the biggest question of all.
Why move anywhere in the first place?
That’s the one that’s got me stumped right now. Because I like it here. I have a house here with tons of space. I have friends here. Great neighbors. Both my kids are here. My business is doing great.
So why move at all?
I don’t know…
But I do know this:
I don’t want to continue wondering why not.
Today will be my last blog post until the 6th of the new year. Why? Because I’m going on a 3-week vacation, that’s why! Where to?
Well… I’m going to leave you all guessing on this one, although I may drop a clue somewhere in this post. I should mention that I’m not very subtle in my clue-dropping skillz, but whatever.
Once I come home, I’ll post the daily pictures from my trip.
Day 325/365
One of my absolute favorite things to do whenever the snow really starts coming down out here; I go out to an empty parking lot, pick up as much speed as I can, then hit the handbrake and turn hard. Weeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!! Ohhhhh so much fun!!! It’s without a doubt my little slice of heaven every winter. And I’ve gotten pretty good at it too. I can maintain speed through a tight turn while going sideways and getting dangerously close to the curb on the apex. I feel like a slow-motion rally driver without the spectators. Oh and see all those tire marks on the snow? That’s all me. That was fresh snow before I got my tires on it! (iPhone photo)
Day 326/365
My first ever memory card back when I started professionally (ie. I had smaller cards earlier in my digital shooting) as a digital photographer… Funny how 1GB is so insignificant now. I can’t wait to see what cameras can do when the G in GB (GigaByte) turns into a T (for TB – TerraByte). Then we can look back at our “huge” 16GB and 32GB cards and laugh our butts off. (iPhone photo)
Day 327/365
I shot the CEO of Wells Fargo for Utah Business Magazine last week! I was nervous, but managed to keep my cool and get some great shots. I figured, this is a prominent business figure, in charge of a company mired in an unpopular bailout, at a critical time in our economic history; I HAVE to nail this one!
I think I did alright 
Day 328/365
Aaaaand here comes another lazy shot. I call this one “Snow on Stuff” (iPhone photo)
Day 329/365
I’ve been recording some music and getting to know Cubase in the process (iPhone photo)
Day 330/365
Perhaps not a surprise to some of you, but I am an avid gamer (PC gamer – I will not touch console games with a ten foot pole). Have been since I was a kid (much to my poor mom’s dismay – I spent many hours racing cars, shooting bad guys, commanding troops, etc., in my teen years).
Crysis is a first-person shooter (which means you play through the eyes of the character in the game) which, along with just one other game right now, is a game that has really gripped me. The game is starting to show its age, at an enormous 2 years old (this is old by gaming standards) and yet continues to be tons of fun, terrifically difficult and more tense than an unscheduled meeting with a rabid pack of wolves. (iPhone photo)
Day 331/365
An interesting abstract. It’s a stack of envelopes. I love how grainy iPhone photos can be (iPhone photo)
Day 332/365
Ahhh, New York… (iPhone photo)
Wellp… See ya next year!
Day 1/365:
And here’s one I shot on New Year’s Eve. This was shot at a great lookout point in Salt Lake called Ensign Peak. Little piece of advice though, if you ever plan on going up there… You won’t see much of any fireworks and you’ll get a parking fine between the hours of 10pm and 6am. Happy New Year! 
And here’s a few I took after purposefully walking outside in a snow storm. I believe the word you’re looking for is “insane”. The first couple of shots have a painterly feel to them for me. The way the snow blurs.
This is the closest shot I have to showing you just how hard that snow was blowing. I couldn’t see a thing.
