what makes people move?

i dont know what it is. must be the changing of seasons from summer to fall. or maybe just because. but for whatever reason it is, the past days, today included, seem to be filled with the theme of people moving.

in the office alone, a lot of movement. danette, a senior account VP who's been in the company for at least 5 years is leaving next week. kinda sad actually coz she's one of the better ones. but it seems for the best though. just got married few months ago. bought a house upstate new york. found a job nearby at a PR firm so she wouldnt need to take the hour or so long commute to work anymore. new job doesnt pay as much. but one of those quality of life choices. so im happy for her.

several others have been let go/asked to leave the company as well. 2 associate creative directors. 1 recently hired account VP. and one senior writer who's been in the company for 20 years i think. and of course, people are moving in too. i see new faces in the office every so often.

the pomme frites boys have been talking about moving as well. sammy's flying back to the philippines end of september. his visitor visa is about to expire then. he has his family here though. wife and kids. in a way, for whatever it's worth, it seems as though it's not much of a loss for them coz he never really grew with them, having lived separately in chiba japan for 14 years while the family was based in manila/here in the US. he's a bit sad leaving though coz in a way, he's established some connections here. eric's leaving come december. his wife's pregnant and they're expecting a boy in december so he's flying back. he enjoys new york though but is torn between earning (more) for his family while living here and living there with them but earning less.

some of the folks i met in the picnic over the weekend just moved here as well. quit their jobs in manila and are now enrolled in wharton. seeking to venture into the world of hedge funds, whatever business jargon that is... an ongoing online email debate ensues among former ogilvy officemates on the merits of leaving the philippines (or not)... an online article about a guy who's considering leaving the states to live in amsterdam instead.

what makes people move? and of course, flipside is what makes people stay? brockie, the brit, the other jason in the team, just got his green card the other day and is on his way to getting legally settled here in the states with his wife. what makes him want to stay here?

as there are people who are dying to move, i guess there are those hoping not to ever need to. but my guess is there are more of the former than the latter. well, at least i hope so. otherwise it would make for a very boring world.

the grass will always be greener on the other side. whether it be perception or reality is beside the point, i think. you just have to go (or sometimes you're forced to have to) and take a look for yourself, and see if the grass really is greener out there.

go.

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not that the world needs to know but here's my planning (but you know how i like to shake things up so these aren't at all etched in stone)—stay put in new york while the happiness/sense of wonder is still there, get a green card by 2-3 years as a means of greater mobility (unfortunately the world's setup in such a way that developing country citizens arent given as much access to travel), move to europe (maybe spain, italy, or france. no UK. who knows maybe amsterdam) and live there for a year or 2 to hopefully absorb even just a little of the great way of thinking and living (yes, i understand that a pay cut will be necessary but the quality of life doesnt depend fully on it anyway, if at all). after the european stint, back to manila, if not, asia. oh wait, i would have a green card by then. so maybe half a year in asia. the other between europe and US. oh wait, i would like also to have a family by then too. hmmm... we'll see. maybe ill just sell my soul to corporate america to make things easier.

but anyway, fiirst things first—almost done with my personal project. and here's yet another incomplete spread. the photo on the left is 100% unphotoshopped. can you believe the quality of light in NL? no wonder rembrandt and vermeer had so much depth of light in their paintings.

spreek je filipijns final spread art—project realease coming really soon. seriously.