If you know me, then you’re probably aware of my recent desire to move away
from my hometown which is quite possibly just me going through a
quarter-to-mid-life crisis. Before we can get the hell out of dodge, I have to
find the right career opportunity abroad.
I’m fortunate that I’m involved with technology because there are opportunities
in nearly every corner of the planet. I’ve been keeping my ear to the ground
and been selectively applying for opportunities, mostly out west. Those
phone / video interviews recently turned into an invite to fly out to Palo Alto
for a series of on-site interviews. Fan-fucking-tastic!
While booking my flight out, it hit me. I had never traveled alone before. Not
as a child and never as an adult. There was a period of time in my life when I
rarely took any vacation time off and thus, hardly ever went anywhere that was
more than an hour or so drive from home. All of my road trips were always with
friends and over the last few years our family vacations have been just that,
with the family 😉
This isn’t to say I’ve never traveled before. I’ve flown, rode the rails as
well as the high seas. I’ve simply never went an extensive distance without
anyone with me. I’m not ashamed to say that I was really nervous / anxious
about the whole thing. Some may say a little scared. Ok, more than a little,
the idea was a total mindfuck and I was even considering backing out of it like
a little bitch.
I later came to a realization. It wasn’t necessarily fear or nerves or anything
like that, it was simply the feeling of doing something I had never done before.
After 33 years and not many personal firsts as of late, I forgot what that
feeling was like. I’m hoping this is my first of a long string of “firsts” in
the coming months and years.
The more I think about the situation, I start to think that perhaps the reason
I’ve been in a funk and want to escape my hometown is because I haven’t been
experiencing anything new there. Getting back into the workforce recently
reminded me of why I left it to begin with, there’s only so much to see and do
and to be quite frank, I feel like all of my favorite restaurants have been
going downhill as of late.
Maybe it’s all in my head, or maybe my hometown is really killing me from the
inside out. Anyway you slice it, I recommend never running out of “firsts”, as
it can be a real fucking drag.
