ResistedNormalcy

6 figures in 18 months.

Yay.

Company paid living expenses.

Yay.

Company paid travel all over Europe.

Yay.

Girlfriend I love to experience it all with me.

Yay.

Family being 310123912312312.2 miles away.

Boo.

Opportunity for family and friends to visit me in Ireland.

Yay.

So, things are going well.  Come to find out, we may be hopping around a bunch over here.  Switzerland, the UK, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, who knows?

I’m anxious to see how the next 6 - 12 months play out.  I’m living my life for the moment, it’s bizarre not really have any worldy possession except for your clothes..  ..but there’s not much use over here. 

You just need a home, some clothes, and some money.

I’m still consistently amazed at how stylish Dubliners are — I guess Euro-style as a whole beats the pants off the US, at least in a place like Dallas.  I’m getting a good chance to jazz up my wardrobe, there’s a whole new selection of music to listen to, new foods, new scenery, and yet it’s all so comfortable.

No culture shock in sight.

I can’t help but wonder where I’ll be in another 5 years?  Another 10 years?

Hell, honestly, I can’t help but think where I was 5 years ago.  I guess these are my “roaring 20s”.

So far, the phases of my life have been as follows:

1 - 11: Living in Ft. Worth area.  Only child.  Divorced parents.  Life is good, Christmas and birthdays are bountiful.  Heh. “Innocence.”

12-16: Move to Stephenville. (Cowboy Capital of the World) Both parents suddenly remarry and have children, I go from only child to 6 siblings. Significant change, new friends, new life.  Begin the “troubled youth phase”.  8th grade was phenomenal, got kicked out 9th, 10th, and 11th.  Graduated a year early from alternative school. “Prelude to the crazy days”.

17-18: Decide to wait a bit on college, flip out with all the free time I have on my hands.  Spend the two years trying to figure out life.  This period is fondly referred to as my “Crazy Days”.  Heh.

19-21: Achieve 7 figure success via illicity activity, hop in and out of college, develop a nice drug habit at 22 and remove myself (relocating back to Stephenville from Dallas) from it all, in the processing losing all my money and possessions, while discovering everyone I thought of as “friends” — weren’t.  “Life in the Fast Lane.”

22: 6-12 month recovery in my home town, adaptation to normal life.  Get clean, develop a plan to get back in school and move back to Dallas. “Recovery.”

23-24: Move back to Dallas, enroll in school — again, stumble upon my dream girl within the first two weeks I’m in Dallas.  Get back to normalcy, hold a couple different jobs over a couple of months, then somehow stumble upon an ad on Monster that leads to my dream job, end up with a promotion rather quickly, and relocate to Dublin, Ireland.  “Prepare for take off.”

That’s one hell of a summarized version, but it’s bizarre to look back over.  Hell, with all the change I’ve had in the past decade, I can’t begin to fathom what the next will bring.  I’m stoked.

Good, or bad — if nothing else, my life has been interesting to say the least.  Looking forward to the next chapter.

Filed under: Blather on April 27th, 2006