Flutists on the Move! By Barbara Siesel
This summer The Flute View moved!! Each one of us moved to a new home and through the grapevine it seems that many of you have moved as well. Moving is so disruptive so I thought I'd ask the Flute Viewers about their experiences.
Here's what Viviana has to say about her move to a new home in Half Moon Bay, CA.
I'm trying to embrace the moving process. I'm thinking of it as prime time to purge, organize and lighten up. But trying to move while maintaining a busy schedule is quite the challenge! I've been scheduling the process as if there weren’t any other to do item in my day. I've been unpacking every morning before Pilates and Practice and then with my husband we do a little more in the evening before going to bed.
Another thing I'm trying to do is use this experience to expand my creativity! I'm planning to paint, decorate, re-do fixtures, and even install a waterfall in the back yard. Having been an Urban Gypsy (performing in 122 countries) all my life, now getting married, buying a house and being "normal" is very new to me. I'm used to leading a minimalistic lifestyle (out of a suitcase). So again, I'm embracing the process and diving into the creativity & opportunity that moving presents.
Wow! That's inspiring especially for this writer – who also moved …
Fluter Scooter moved too! – Here’s what she says about moving... a lot!
I've moved, once again, back to LA! I think this is the 5th apartment I've lived in here – of course in a totally different neighborhood. What many people don't know is that I've lived in well over 60 different apartments, mostly in NYC but also throughout the world! Most people think I'm crazy for doing this, but I see this excessive moving as totally natural and giving me the ability to evolve and be inspired as an artist, first and foremost. I see this constant change as inspiring, always being able to see new things and meet new and interesting people, and it keeps me free! If I stay in one place too long, I get very bored and feel the need to get on a plane and fly somewhere new. Will I ever have a "home base?" I don't know – but I don't think in this internet age, musical entrepreneurs really need one.
While I absolutely despise dealing with realtors/apartment owners (so boring...yawn!!), I love the ability to be able to wake up in a new surrounding every few months. Keep in mind I now fit all my possessions in 2 suitcases! Always good to purge I think, as I've never been one to hold onto material things. I say the only things I really need in life are my flute (duh!), my laptop, a few versatile outfits, and my brain! Oh...and my Fluterscooter bags!
And last month my husband and I moved from our small apartment in the East Village of NYC to a larger apartment in Upper Manhattan. I don't even want to discuss the process of finding a new place in NYC – but I'll say this, it’s fun to see lots of different neighborhoods in our great city, but that's about it. Renting a new apartment is harder than buying a house in other parts of the country! I actually love having a home base to come back to after touring, I love joining a local community, having a work and separate home life, so it was important not to move too far away from my community.
We did finally find the right place IN MANHATTAN and moved into a beautiful 2 bedroom apartment that was totally renovated (really – this is true.)
That's when it got hard....moving itself was a nightmare, in typical NYC fashion the price of moving itself doubled on the day. Then we left town on tour. We got back and my days have been consumed with finding new furniture, making sure the design works, visiting stores, imagining different colors...all very creative and exciting for me and it's going to look great I think! I'm working hard to maintain a schedule – yoga, meditation, practice, work...work? Maybe I need Viviana's paragraph taped to the wall!!! All I can say is that moving is inspiring, creative, challenging and exciting all at once – but – you shouldn't do it too often!!!
We would love to hear your moving stories too. Are you a homebody, do you have wanderlust, or both??