Sayonara Los Angeles

Hello, welcome to my new world. I am about to embark a new life again– this time on the other side of the world. I can’t believe I am moving to yet another country. I was just a girl from a small town in the Philippines who moved to the U.S. thirteen years ago, and now to a farther country – the United Kingdom.

When the idea of moving to the U.K. was presented to me, I was ecstatic because I felt I was living a boring life in Los Angeles for the past few years. So, since May this year I was excited thinking of the many things that I can do to my new home. Although I have been to the U.K. several times already it was for travel, but never really to live.

I’ve been living in California since 2006, but it really doesn’t feel like it’s been more than a decade. It seems it was just yesterday. Looking back, I really have gone so far and I suddenly feel I am old 🙂 It took me a while to really figure out what I wanted to do in America. I’ve been a caregiver, test administrator, worked in financial services, and later, I decided to pursue my first love – journalism. I went to UCLA and eventually worked in television.

Now, thirteen years later, I am emigrating to the UK. It didn’t hit me ’til few days before and the day I left. I was already nervous that morning and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able contain myself when I said my goodbye to my roommate Mikey, and Dada, my ex-husband. However, as he usually does, Mikey made a lot of jokes, so I was at ease and I thought this will just be a smooth send off.

It was very hectic. I only had half day to do all my last minute shopping for my mom, give instructions to Mikey, and then get ready to go to LAX. Luckily, I had Dada to help me do all my errands, driving me all over. At the airport I was still relaxed and joking around with Mikey. In fact, I even posted a few videos of him giving me his “last will and testament” as he calls it – which actually are his crazy advice for me when I get to the U.K.

Finally when the wheelchair assistance arrived, I had to bid goodbye. I could no longer contain myself when I saw Mikey and Dada. I cried a little, but I had to control myself because it’s hard to breathe in my condition. What got me emotional was the thought that I would not be able to see them for a long time. I am not used to not seeing or talking to them. I call Dada everyday, and Mikey and I joke around the house and eat out at Lutong Bahay before I take him to work. But I made this decision to be with my new husband and build our new family. 

I will surely miss Los Angeles, the first and only place I’ve lived in America. I will miss the sunshine, but more than anything I will miss the people I’ve met. Hiking with friends, my Silliman Alumni peeps, UCLA classmates and professors, the Culver Presbyterian Church, and my former co workers from the different places I’ve worked. However, as I’ve always said, you can be in a very fancy place but with the wrong company and you can also be in a dump but with the right company. Home is really where the heart is and I know California has been my home for the past thirteen years, but it is also time to build my new home with Michael and our baby. Goodbye for now, Los Angeles, and see you some other time.