The Pasadena Expat

Much like The Prisoner's No. 6, I'm often asked why I resigned from my last gig at the newspaper.

Not nearly of the same Kafkaesque dimensions, my motives were driven by a happy convergence of imperatives. Push and pulse of the same restlessness that keeps me moving and reluctant to root. Also had planned a two-yearish lifespan there. And certainly in part the erosion of the profession as expressed in daily print form running up against my ideas of standards for doing a thing. More than erosion; corrosion at the hands of very smart MBA holders with the hubris to believe they're the first to "treat it like a real business." Despite the fact it's always been about profit. By being about product. That thinking has reached irreversible tipping point and all your blogs can't put Humpty's democracy back together again.

That said, it was in no way the crew at 911 E Colorado - they were more or less family (good and bad implications intended) nor the onerous leakage of testosterone and misplaced hostility from the Home Office in West Covina. They just made things churn unnecessarily and unhelpfully.

For me, it proved the right time to leave and pursue the next thing. In a macro-sense, turned out not to be the best time to make a big career move, such as realizing my long-held desire to join National Public Radio. But it is the right time to execute the alternative plan. My initial motive for returning school at 27 after a couple years of outstanding adventure.

So before the month is out, I'm moving to Marrakesh. With Ms. Vanity. Should make for compelling blog fodder.

No extra credit for Crosby, Stills and Nash references in the comments.