J.P.DeFillippo

This week I leave San Francisco for a new chapter of my life. I’m moving south to Long Beach where I’m going to do some couch surfing, soul searching and generally renewing and re-vitalizing my spirit. Over the past month I’ve been asked by several people why I’m leaving this ‘perfect little city’. The reasons don’t really fit into a standard San Francisco elevator pitch so most people’s eyes glaze over and they generally end up walking away while I’m in mid-sentence. So here I’m going to try and explain some things about me that I’ve been struggling with and the radical changes I’m making in my life.

The first thing that’s really different is materialism and my personal war against it. I just packed everything I own and with the exception of my bed and couch it all fits into a standard walk in closet and even this amount of stuff makes me a bit ill. Ever since I can remember I’ve led a fairly spartan existence. It’s always been a side effect of my penchant for moving every year or so. Several years ago I was unemployed living in LA the day ‘Fight Club’ was released. I saw it in the theaters 3 times opening day. The movie struck a chord with me that resonated very deeply and can generally be summed up in 2 quotes. The things you own end up owning you. & This is your life and it’s ending one minute at a time. After years of struggling with my suburban upbringing and it’s penchant for consumerism I’ve finally come to grips with the duality I’ve been fighting all my life. Settle down, get a nice home and fill it with crap was always the line I was fed as is with most Americans.There’s security in having “stuff”. It’s a way to mark your progress through life and rank your success. He who dies with the most stuff wins was always jokingly referred to as our family motto. I’ve come to believe that in our sanitized culture the thought of actually dying has come to seem like such an improbable event that most people don’t think about their life coming to an end. Let’s just work ourselves half to death and spend the fruit of our labor at Ikea. Lather, rinse, repeat. As I see it freedom from crap is the first step towards a truly happier existence. Anything beyond the bare essentials is being purged.

Health is another reason things are changing. As an engineer I spend extremely long days sitting and typing. This has led me to be the most unhealthy and overweight I’ve ever been in my life. I haven’t been really in good shape since I got into this business about 14 years ago. I’ve watched what this life did to my Mother and it’s ruined her to the point that she can’t even travel and a lot of days can’t even get out of bed. That’s not going to be me. I’m going to get back down to fighting weight as quickly as possible and to do that I need a change of not just scenery but a total lifestyle overhaul. It’s so easy to fall back into the same habits when you don’t change everything. Getting in shape is hard work but it’s fun when you aren’t stressed about other things like getting to your desk on time.

Which brings me to business. Most of us in the web business know that typical business hours and office life doesn’t work well for us. We like to work odd hours and most aren’t down with sitting in a cube. Most people who do what I do tend to jump jobs a lot and have bouts as a contractor in between. I’m no different. This time around I’m trying something new. I’ve spent almost 2 years at a desk doing the grind and now I’ve left to do contracting work. The difference is I’m basically doing the exact same job I was doing. I work for the same company and do my same job. The difference is now I can do it from anywhere and whenever. I don’t spend time and energy commuting or sitting in meetings. I just do my job and get paid for it. It’s the most efficient set-up that I think is possible for an engineer. I work for 5 hours a day which leaves a massive amount of time to devote to life or other pursuits.

Recovery is my last point before I wrap this up. I have always been a workaholic and haven’t paid enough attention to a properly balancing my life. When I’m not working at an office I’m working at home on other businesses or just researching and learning. I almost never take time to just recover and absorb and re-learning how to do this properly is of the highest priority. Arranging my life, time, business finances and possessions to give me the most recovery time to soak in the world around me is what all this is about.

I’ve got a lot more to say on each of these topics and will expound on them as they become clearer to me as I walk each of the paths. But for now I’m ready to roll. Bags are packed and it’s a waiting game beore I pick up the truck on Friday and hit the road. Goddamn I can’t wait…