Back In The Saddle.....
Greetings all, I know it's been awhile since my last post to this blog, but my world has become exponentially more busy in the last month and a half. In my last post, I lamented about upcoming job interviews and other general issues regarding employment. To make a long story short, I ended up accepting a position with a mortgage company here in Indy. It's been going alright so far, although lately I've been discovering that the potential of the company is not quite as great as it first seemed. I had worked a bit in the mortgage/loan industry before, so I had a basic knowledge of how everything worked, but I definitely had to brush up on some things. In addition to the new job, I'm still doing free-lance delivery work at night, so needless to say my days are divided into two main categories: Daytime work & nighttime work. I'd be lying if said it hasn't been stressful, but I've found a somewhat decent balance between the two, and still manage to get between 4-6 hrs of sleep a night. Every day is a new challenge however, and even though my first thought each morning is "Son of a bitch, it can't be 9am already," I like the challenge of trying to master a new field. It remains to be seen how long a career like this will hold my interest (I'm a classic Gemini in that sense), but for the most part I'm enjoying the roller-coaster ride this industry can be.
In other news, I have recently returned from a week-long vacation in the Outer Banks region of North Carolina. The trip was great, and perfectly timed as well. I drove down with my girlfriend Kelly, and we stayed at a gorgeous beach house (or "sound house" as she likes to call it) in the small town of Salvo. We shared the house with several others, including her sister, niece, nephew, and several of her co-workers and their kids. There were 16 people in total, but in the expansive house we had, you sometimes forgot who was all there. It was nice not being on a schedule and having the freedom to get up whenever and do whatever for pretty much the entire week. We slept in late (well I did anyway), spent time on the beach, explored the various towns on the island, consumed many, many ounces of alcohol, and just generally took it easy. The only negative (if you can really consider it a negative) was that I had no cell phone signal on the remote islands. Normally, this would probably be a blessing while on vacation, but being that I had started my new job almost a month-to-the-day before we left, I had wanted to be able to keep in contact with the office and work on deals while out of town. Perhaps higher powers were trying to tell me something.....namely to slow down and just relax for a week. I probably should have taken that as a sign, but it's sometimes difficult for me to just put things aside and cut myself off. As a result, I spent a good deal of time worrying about things back home, and fiending for computer and telephone access. All that aside, still a great week and great memories for sure.
This recent trip made me realize a few things. Number one, I love road trips. Sure, flying is quicker (and depending on where you're going, possibly cheaper with gas prices as they are), but to me, there is something wondrous about driving to a faraway place, particularly when you have a good traveling partner. I love the sense of adventure. I love driving through the night, listening to CDs or the radio (quite possibly why I've stayed with my night job as long as I have). I love the faint glow of distant neon lights when approaching a new city. I love stopping for gas in strange, unfamiliar locations (as a side note, there is a picture in the liner notes of Wilco's Summerteeth album that I always think of when getting gas at night; MC will know what I'm talking about). I love watching the sun rise over the mountains. I love the smell of diesel fumes at truck stops, it just smells like traveling. I love looking at maps and following the progress of the trip. I love checking into a hotel late at night. I love the smell of hotels. I love browsing over the brochure stand by the front desk, looking at all of the cheesy tourist attractions. I love having a beer at a new bar or restaurant and observing the people there. I love being in a new location and just taking it all in. It makes me feel very alive.
The second thing this trip made me realize is that I am becoming extremely restless here in Indiana. I've been researching other locations to live lately, and traveling to a different part of the country has amplified my desire even more. I've always said that I want to be debt-free before I move, and I'm getting there, but I have a lot more traveling and scouting yet to do. I'm strongly considering Portland, OR. I have family there and have visited that area, but that was a long time ago. I'm curious to see how I would feel about it now that I'm older. Another area that intrigues me is New Mexico. I've been there too, but again, I was much younger and was there only briefly. For whatever reason, I've always been drawn to the West. I have no idea why, it just seems like the direction I should go. Perhaps another road trip is in order soon. Until then, I've still got my nightly "adventures" to keep me pacified.
In other news, I have recently returned from a week-long vacation in the Outer Banks region of North Carolina. The trip was great, and perfectly timed as well. I drove down with my girlfriend Kelly, and we stayed at a gorgeous beach house (or "sound house" as she likes to call it) in the small town of Salvo. We shared the house with several others, including her sister, niece, nephew, and several of her co-workers and their kids. There were 16 people in total, but in the expansive house we had, you sometimes forgot who was all there. It was nice not being on a schedule and having the freedom to get up whenever and do whatever for pretty much the entire week. We slept in late (well I did anyway), spent time on the beach, explored the various towns on the island, consumed many, many ounces of alcohol, and just generally took it easy. The only negative (if you can really consider it a negative) was that I had no cell phone signal on the remote islands. Normally, this would probably be a blessing while on vacation, but being that I had started my new job almost a month-to-the-day before we left, I had wanted to be able to keep in contact with the office and work on deals while out of town. Perhaps higher powers were trying to tell me something.....namely to slow down and just relax for a week. I probably should have taken that as a sign, but it's sometimes difficult for me to just put things aside and cut myself off. As a result, I spent a good deal of time worrying about things back home, and fiending for computer and telephone access. All that aside, still a great week and great memories for sure.
This recent trip made me realize a few things. Number one, I love road trips. Sure, flying is quicker (and depending on where you're going, possibly cheaper with gas prices as they are), but to me, there is something wondrous about driving to a faraway place, particularly when you have a good traveling partner. I love the sense of adventure. I love driving through the night, listening to CDs or the radio (quite possibly why I've stayed with my night job as long as I have). I love the faint glow of distant neon lights when approaching a new city. I love stopping for gas in strange, unfamiliar locations (as a side note, there is a picture in the liner notes of Wilco's Summerteeth album that I always think of when getting gas at night; MC will know what I'm talking about). I love watching the sun rise over the mountains. I love the smell of diesel fumes at truck stops, it just smells like traveling. I love looking at maps and following the progress of the trip. I love checking into a hotel late at night. I love the smell of hotels. I love browsing over the brochure stand by the front desk, looking at all of the cheesy tourist attractions. I love having a beer at a new bar or restaurant and observing the people there. I love being in a new location and just taking it all in. It makes me feel very alive.
The second thing this trip made me realize is that I am becoming extremely restless here in Indiana. I've been researching other locations to live lately, and traveling to a different part of the country has amplified my desire even more. I've always said that I want to be debt-free before I move, and I'm getting there, but I have a lot more traveling and scouting yet to do. I'm strongly considering Portland, OR. I have family there and have visited that area, but that was a long time ago. I'm curious to see how I would feel about it now that I'm older. Another area that intrigues me is New Mexico. I've been there too, but again, I was much younger and was there only briefly. For whatever reason, I've always been drawn to the West. I have no idea why, it just seems like the direction I should go. Perhaps another road trip is in order soon. Until then, I've still got my nightly "adventures" to keep me pacified.
posted by D at 7:50 PM
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