adventure

You know the end of March is here. Guess I have a lot to talk about.

This past week I was sent to Fort Myers Florida for a sales off-site. Tuesday thru Friday. It was sunny and 75 everyday and the resort was gorgeous and lush on the gulf with two pools, a tennis court, a spa, and a fully stocked fitness center.

Not bad.

It would be the first time I got to go to, as I like to call it, a swag fest with this company. Was lucky enough to go on one with the previous one.

When going on one of these things I am immensely flattered. There is always as much downtime as there is meeting time. Sure you have to be 'on' for the social events, so it isn't necessarily 100% percent restful. But the food and booze is free for several days, who can knock that?

Being in such close quarters gave me the chance to get to know my peers much better, which is always fun. At this job it has been hard to crack the surface of folks. Most likely because I am the enforcer and the problem solver. Rarely is there a phone call from me that is good news.

Whenever there is a lull in a conversation I can always rely on one of my tried and true stories to get it going again. Drop a line about being a flight attendant, meeting Michael Jackson, working for GM, or being a carnie and the questions that follow always tranistions into more interesting dialogue.

Thing is, as time goes on I become more and more painfully aware that all my stories are being repeated more often. Because I stopped making new ones a few years ago. As far as anecdotes go I have been boring as hell for the last five years. The more money I make, the more responsibility I get, and the more secure my life is...the less life I'm living.

Now this is not a shock to you or me. I've talked about this before. And I've got a plan to get back into the game.

Just as an initial disclaimer the F and S goals had nothing to do with my next career choice. The bravest moment in my life will have nothing to do with jobs. I can always find a way to get paid. But that reveal is for tomorrow.

Honestly I do know what I want to do next. I am such a spontaneous person; I have been chomping at the bit to make the change. It has been a comfort knowing there is a way out, but torture at the same time.

In order to make my next move I have to put some things into place, and my challenge at this point has been patience. I want the change to happen NOW.

On the way to Florida I happened to look out of the plane window and see this river down below. For your benefit I snapped a pic with the iphone.

Looking below I was entranced by the way the river twisted and turned. Sometimes it stopped in a lake, or even went backwards for a bit.

Why? Thinking about it I could not get why it just didn't go directly into the ocean. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line - yet here this river bent and moved in every way but how it logically should.

Then it occurred to me that nothing in nature is straight. By looking at our lives on a neat orderly calendar or by counting the minutes or hours of a day we trick ourselves into believing that life is meant to move forward in a regimented fashion. But it doesn't. Our lives twist and turn, sit stagnant for moments and at times even move in reverse. Life is a journey, and the direction at any given time is immaterial. Eventually you will get where you need to go. In your own time and on your own path.