The Dream Studio
Just a few months ago I was living on $1000 / month and staying in hostels. My next steps were to upgrade to an airbnb so I could have a more sustainable work station.
I’ve gone and done that, and here I am right now in a stable environment, typing away at my workstation, making ends meet.
Life is good.
…
Now what do I do?
My original goal with moving to Argentina was to settle down for a year or so. But upon arriving I quickly realised that’s not entirely feasible for me due to a couple reasons I won’t bore you with.
Long story short, I’m headed back to Bali in around 40 days. Once I get there, I’ll be setting up shop and kicking things into gear for this next phase in the adventure of my life.
/the-vision
I feel like my life is just one endless cycle of dream -> achieve -> dream -> achive, going around and around and around and … Ad Infinitum.
That’s just how it goes though.
So what’s next on the ol’ todo list?
Well, I’m still very keen on the idea of setting up shop for the next year. So that’s what I’m gonna do.
Come the end of this year, I’ll be taking another swing at my dream studio setup.
I’m going to build the most voilently productive bachelor pad known to man. One giant workshop that’ll allow me to pump out the rest of these A-Z video games quicker than you can say the word Unity.
It’ll be an ambitious endevaour, but one that fills me with purpose. As we speak, it’s lighting a fire of excitement under my cramped up lower body that’s resting on top of this antique wooden Airbnb chair.
During my last quarterly retreat in Bali I stayed in a bungalow on some rice fields. Across form me there were these extremely quaint and adorable cottages. I’m thinking a place like this would be a excellent spot for the new pad.
The grass is always greener, indeed.
After I’ve got my long-term visa sorted, have found a location to call home, and have landed a 1-2 bedroom rental… it’s go time.
To kick things off, I’m going to need some essential gear to make use of my newfound space.
- a sitting -> standing convertor desk (byebye sore ass)
- a big monitor (byebye squinting eyes and hunched back)
- new webcam angle + new microphone solution (byebye dogshit video/audio quality)
^ those are the most important and pragmatic upgrades I’d like to have right off bat.
Beyond that though, there is a long list of things I’d love to aquire one by one for that extra bit of zest. This is my dream studio after all. So allow me a bit of wonder:
- a beautiful backdrop with amazing lighting
- an espresso machine ;)
- a nice painting or two
- a bass guitar
- external GPU for r a w p o w e r
- A WHITEBOARD, fuck yea
Lofty visions aside, it’ll be around $1,000 in startup costs for the essentials.
Next up, I’ve gotta think about the monthly budget for maintaining the place.
In Bali, my monthly expenses (in AUD) will look a little something like:
- $1000 -> housing
- $400 -> food + drink
- $100 -> gym + supplements
- $200 -> scooter rental + plane ticket averages
- $100 -> work related books, games, etc
- $100 -> misc
- $100 -> social + fun
- $188 -> fixed monthly bills
Which all in all adds up to $2,188 which I’ll round up to $2,500 for good measure. Any excess can be reinvested into the studio to bring those dreamy visions of mine into reality.
/target
With all of this in mind, by the 15th of December my target amount for cold hard cash looks something like $6,000.
- $5,000 -> two months worth of runway for the expenses
- $1,000 -> in startup costs
From where I’m standing, this number feels pretty attainable. Provided I crank the absolute living shit outta these next few games, releasing a couple of solid titles.
The clock is ticking.
Two months.
Let’s get to work.