I basically found myself out of a job at the end of August in conjunction with a corporate acquisition. As fate would have it, I then wound up re-injuring my knee and having to cancel my trip to Peru at the last minute. (That still makes me sad - but one day I will get to Peru. I promise.) I wish I could say that I have a good/funny explanation for how I re-injured myself, but I don't; the truth is rather pathetic and a sure sign that I'm getting older. I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. (I wouldn't want news of something like my human frailty getting out, you know?)
Anyway, the knee injury also forced me to reevaluate my daydream of heading to SE Asia for a few months in my new-found unemployment. Physical limitations suck, but it's better to recognize them than to wind up in some remote location needing a med-evac or something of the like.
Allowing myself time to recover from the knee injury basically brought me into the holiday season, when hiring traditionally tapers off and people think about more important things like their families and their own vacations. I did, however, fly up to Oregon for third-round interviews with two companies--which meant I was also able to squeeze in a wonderful weekend visiting old friends and colleagues in Eugene. I got to visit the old Whiteaker neighborhood where I used to live, eat at Keystone, and take a nostalgic tour of the old college campus. End result: I felt younger and more optimistic than I have in years - and that's a good thing.I'm not sure what the future holds, but I'm staying positive. Life is about growth and evolution - and that's not always an easy, linear path. And that's okay. I'm a spiritual person and my motivators are not strictly financial. I would rather be "happy" than rich; I would rather be "fulfilled" than merely existing. And, yes, these are idealistic notions - but why not? It's not like this thing called life is a dress rehearsal. It's up to each of us to make our dreams come true; it's up to each of us to find our place in the world. No one else is going to do it for us; that's for darn sure!
In the meantime, I'm building skills by taking programming courses: C, JavaScript, AJAX, etc. Woo?
Also, I'm saddened to report that it appears Spirit Airlines has canceled their LAX-GUA route - so I'm not likely to (affordably) return to Guatemala any time soon. I'm glad I took advantage of it while I could!
