exit stage left, enter far east

Off we go!

Tomorrow marks two big departures for me.

First, and a bit of big news: Tomorrow is my last day as a full-time lead designer at 42 Entertainment.

I'll still be very involved with the company, which is something I'm very happy about, because there are so many amazing immersive entertainment projects on the horizon for us. But leaving full-time employment is a significant change for me, in terms of how I spend my day to day and my ability to work with different organizations.

Going forward, I'll have more time to explore some very exciting opportunities, and I can't wait to see what other cool things pop up. (Needless to say, feel free to contact me -- my dance card still has room for interesting work and engagements over the course of the next year!) I'll save the details on what I already have planned for when I get back from our around-the-world trip. (see below!) For now, I'll just say that I'm looking forward to putting more of my day-to-day energy into future forecasting, design research, publishing, and public speaking. (Not to mention, teaching!)

The second big departure is this: Tomorrow, Kiyash and I leaving our very first, around-the-world trip! We are flying westward around the entire world, making stops in Hong Kong, Delhi, Udaipur, Agra, and Copenhagen. Because of the opposite climates of Scandinavia and far/south-east, I had to create an Excel spreadsheet to work out how to pack effectively AND fashionably for the extremes of 85 degrees versus 30 degrees in just one suitcase. :)

We'll be gone almost a month, but I'll be on email and blogging and looking forward to staying in touch during the trip! (And in case you're wondering, Meche will be staying with her best friend and our neighbor, Maurice the dachshund, so while we expect to miss her like crazy, we also think she'll be very happy.)

I'll check in again this weekend with initial thoughts on Hong Kong, after our 15-hour Cathay Pacific overnight flight! (I have a feeling MAJOR jet lag is in store.) We'll be spending 5 nights there before flying on to India, where we'll have 10 days, including taking part in a big week-long Indian wedding complete with elephants and camels in the ceremony. Then it's on to Copenhagen for a week, where I get to give some cool lectures and organize some Werewolf games, and finally back to San Francisco.