Preperations….
18:00, Saturday, November 24, 2007 ..
OK, November has been a month of torrential travel for me. Vacationing 3,000+ miles from home base, Thanksgiving travels to mom and dad’s; both round trips in addition to all the normal travel with work. Needless to say it’s approaching 10,000 miles of road time by the final day of the month.
I don’t travel nearly as well as I once did, nor do I enjoy it as I once did… don’t get me wrong, the destinations are fine; it’s just the getting there part. However, travel does allow a certain amount of reflection and meditation and that is very therapeutic I believe. Especially Thanksgiving evening coming home… therein is a constant train of thought of what the past year has brought and what might the new year bring about. I’ve come to dislike a huge portion of the holidays as the meaning seems to have drifted to a more commercial mindset and the celebration of life and family has been somewhat lost. Although in our beloved America it does seem to me that the meaning of family has become somewhat convoluted to fit into a box convenient for the few and scare the masses into complacency.
My meditation on the way home this year… is all about the upcoming year. I’m still determined to be out of my office sometime around the first of the year with a new job, any new job. I’m just before bagging groceries right now. However, there are those who are calling expressing interest in employing me and I’m getting that process underway with interviews beginning the first week in January. North Carolina and Oregon both have positions available and have expressed interest in my interviewing with them… time and the cost-benefit ratios are the mitigating factors of the moment.
I’ve always lived in the southeast and mostly in North Carolina; I’ve told mom and dad there’s a chance I may be moving cross continent and needless to say a stroke may have had less drama involved. Dad asked me if I knew how far Oregon was from North Carolina… as though I hadn’t just flown back in from over that way recently! Mom doesn’t know how anyone can afford to live “over there” as it’s sooo expensive; although the real estate is cheaper than where I’m at now and the other factors I looked at in the Cost of Living Comparison are equal or less.
Like all changes, my parents will come around eventually…it just takes a bit of finesse and time, but aren’t most all people that way?
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21:05, Saturday, November 24, 2007 .. Posted by Anonymous
Did you really do some checking into jobs in Oregon? I can understand how your mom and dad feel, but it sounds like a wonderful and exciting adventure ! I’d love to run off to Oregon, or almost any where for that matter. The thing is, I’ve moved so many times over the past 20 years, I’m tired of moving. Not so much tired of new places, or new people, but just the packing, and arrangements, etc- such a headache! I’d really like to make my next move, my last move, so that I can finally feel settled and put down roots.
I vote: Follow your heart and be happy (just don’t forget about your old friends!)
Love ya,
Susan
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22:11, Saturday, November 24, 2007 .. Posted by Christopher
I shall never forget an old friend; nor a young one for that matter!!
Steven (Oz)
00:29, Sunday, November 25, 2007 .. Posted by Anonymous
I so agree with you that holidays have become so commercialized, particularly Christmas. To see Xmas trees up in retail stores in early October and a radio station starting all day Zmas music the day after Halloween. AARRGGHH!!
As it’s been said regarding jobs, follow your heart. But make sure your gut makes the final decision. Sounds like Mom and Dad are hesitant to see their son leave the area.
Looking forward to seeing what develops.
