Due in large part to my own personal laziness and tendency toward irritability at having to answer the same questions with the same answers over and over again, I thought it might be helpful to provide, in one convenient location, the Details About Everything. Troof 'n' FAQs, if you will. So in no particular order, here's the deal:

Where are you going?

I am moving to the Himalayan Institute. Which, confusingly, is not in the Himalayas at all, but in fact in a remote part of the Poconos Mountains in Pennsylvania, about 3 hours north of Philadelphia, or 40 minutes northeast of Scranton (if you're a local).

What's the Himalayan Institute? It sounds like a cult.

Dwight Schrute, famous Scrantonian, demonstrates use of a Neti Pot. Image from Buzzfeed

Well, their website provides a lot of good information: www.himalayaninstitute.org, but broadly speaking it's a fully functioning ashram (like a monastery-slash-school, but for yogis instead of monks) in the Himalayan tradition of yoga, which is heavy on experiential learning (Tantra), meditation, and self-study, and light on Instagram selfies of fancy yoga poses (but I plan on taking some anyway, because I'm a rebel). It's set on a beautiful piece of foresty hilltop, and they offer a variety of retreats, training programs, and an Ayurvedic (Indian medicine) spa. They run a publishing house that has put out over 100 books, founded Yoga International (www.yogainternational.com, a major provider of yoga teacher source material), have an on-site coffee and chocolate factory that sources beans from their own (mission-driven) plantations in Africa and South America, and have a couple other ashrams in India. Aside from all of that, they were the original importers of the Neti Pot to the US, helping millions to clear their sinuses while looking absolutely ridiculous in their bathroom mirrors. One particular aim of the Himalayan Institute that resonates with me is the desire to bring together the positive aspects of Western civilization with the highest forms of Eastern philosophy and tradition to find a more unified, better way forward for everyone.

Okay but it sounds like a cult. And you're avoiding the question. Is it a cult?

I don't think so, but I guess one can never be THAT sure. All I can say is from multiple visits, I've seen no evidence of group marriage, creepily charismatic leadership, idolatry, or goat sacrifices (they're vegetarian). People from all religious backgrounds and non-religious people alike live and work with these philosophies with no issues, if that helps. Yoga, generally, is a non-denominational, non-dogmatic set of principles and practices.

When are you leaving [already]?

My last day at my current job is January 31, 2018. I ship out of the Bay Area on February 7, 2018. I am due to arrive there and begin my new chapter on February 14, 2018. Why yes, that IS Valentine's Day. Yes, I'm a huge dork.

How are you getting there?

Driving across the country in 7 days with my best friend (called Nick) in my purple crossover SUV (called Wolfram). Here is our route:

And you're moving there to do what, exactly?

Broadly, to be of service. More specifically, I'm going to be using my business/accounting/finance skills to assist their operations team. I'll be working 9-5ish like a normal person, and in my spare time I'll be able to immerse myself in their programming -- basically, become a student again. Along the way, I'm also hoping to become a little more patient, empathetic, and gentle; living communally with your coworkers is pretty much management and tolerance training on Beast Mode.

For how long?

I've committed to a minimum of 12 months. Obviously, if it's not a fit on either side, it will be less time. But part of this is trying to let go of unnecessary expectations, so I'm not trying to be rigid with planning in either direction.

Why? Why leave a high-flying executive role at a growing company that lets you have purple hair and a nose piercing to move to a commune the woods, away from your friends and family and all of your beautiful THINGS?

Well, ultimately, because it feels like the right thing to do for me, right now. I've been considering it for two years and the actual opportunity has been in the works for almost a year, so it's not exactly a spur of the moment, impulsive decision. But in a nutshell, I'm going because I'm in a position where it's financially and responsibly feasible for me to:

Improve myself in the ways I know I want to improve (patience, empathy, kindness)
Further explore the practice of yoga I've found to be so beneficial in my life, and delve deeply into ONE lineage
Learn new stuff about myself that I DON'T know I need to work on yet (isn' t that always the case?)
Remove the rest of the pressures and distractions to allow the above to happen. There are always a million different directions you can go in, especially living in the Bay Area. I'm trying to limit the noise of nearly all of them so I can pursue one, with focus.

What are the living conditions there? Wait, did you say VEGETARIAN?

I will have a private room which I'm furnishing to make it cozy and home-like. More on the room in a later post. The kitchen is communal, with three meals provided per day -- this also means I won't have a kitchen to play/bake/mess around in anymore. There may or may not be social clubs for such frivolities. Yep, the premises are no-meat. I think I can get a steak in town if it's an absolute emergency, but it probably won't kill me to cut down on my meat consumption anyway. But there is butter and dairy with each meal, which is critical for my survival.

Fin.