The first time I moved to Los Angeles, I was 21 years old, newly out of college and hungry to begin my career in the entertainment industry. I wanted to achieve, prove myself, grow up and succeed in my career. While there were mishaps along the way, I not only survived in LA, I thrived.
But LA as I approach 40 (I'm 38) is a completely different ballgame (I know, a sports reference...). When I was in my early 20's, I could go out on any or even mulitple weeknights, get drunk until 2AM and still have a productive day at work. Those days are gone and they are not coming back. While I can go out for dinner or 1 drink. Monday through Thursday nights are all "school" nights. I have to be at my best and at the top of my game every work day. The people I work with are smart, so as a senior manager, fighting a hangover at work puts me at a huge disadvantage. Plus I take being senior management very seriously. Previously I had a reputation at work for being a "party boy". My work spoke for itself, but the party boy image is not a good one. It means you don't take your work seriously, you take your nighttime partying seriously. Fortunately it's not like I'm surpressing any urges. My age has long since dictated that party nights and work intensive days do not go well together. Lesson learned long ago.
A lot of time has passed in the 5 years since I have left LA. All of my friends are now approaching or in their 40's. We have all grown up. I am really looking forward to reconnecting with old friends after 5 years and seeing how their lives have changed. The friends I have in LA are people I have been friends with for over 15 years now. But I also want to make some new friends in LA.
And the city of LA is different after 5 years. This time I am going to have a very different life in Los Angeles. I'm excited about all the new possibilities.
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