So, let me start by saying, Nich.. ..you suck for attempting to derail my train of thought — CHOO, CHOO, BANG! — right as I begin writing my inaugural blog post.
..ahem..
..not that I really have anything all that compelling to say, anyhow.
*inhale*
We’ve been traveling for almost a month now. I’m going to attempt the 15-second elevator pitch on how this trip got started, where we’ve been, and where we’re headed.
I’m pretty sure I’ve either:
a) devised with the most brilliant plan of my life, or;
b) somehow wandered further down the path of “batshit crazy” with full on delusions of grandeur [think: meglomania]
In the last 12 months, I lost what I might describe as: “a shit-ton of money“. It occurred to me that I had been hard at work, almost drifting through my life, progressing from day to day, in an effort to stockpile the aforementioned lost funds. [think: worker bee]
In other words, I’ve spent the better part of 5 years chasing something that has now vaporized. In doing so, I passed up numerous prepaid vacations, opportunities to see family and friends, destroyed personal relationships, and ultimately ended up right back where I started.
Most recently, a little over a month ago, I saw the last vestige of my success destroyed on a whim. Literally, taken overnight. Say bub-bye! And so it goes.
I’ve always been fond of two quotes:
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”
..and..
“What would you do if you knew you could not fail?”
So, here I am, 30 years young, in the midst of a post-apocalyptic journey to explore the world, sitting in a Volunteer’s of America clinic lobby in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, waiting on one of my two girlfriends to finish getting some anti-baby device shoved in her womb while simultaneously trying to articulate and summarize the insanity of both what has been, and what’s planned to come.
If you just thought to yourself, “What the fuck?”
I’d reply: “My sentiments, exactly.”
In short, I’m done with the monotony of the past 5 years. The rat race. The corporate bullshit. The dog and pony show.
It seems like exceedingly poor financial timing, but alas.. ..I’m ready to live. I’m ready to see the world. I’m done playing the role of the hamster on the wheel, taking every day for granted, only to look back and see a mundane blend of drab and lackluster days.
Unable to resign myself to repeat any portion of the ascent in my career, or the series of events that had befallen me, an epiphany railed into my psyche like a freight train:
SCHWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAACK!
What if.. ..what.. …if…
..what if I tried a hedonistic approach to life?
..what if I made time to visit all the places I had so desperately wanted to see?
..what if quit convincing myself I can’t; and simply started doing?
..what if I just set out? ..left today?
Why not?
It occurred to me that only self-imposed psychological barriers were holding me back, and so the three of us set off north-bound in our little blue sedan. With no particular destination in mind, the adventure began. Almost a month in, we have traveled through a number of states:
Texas,
Oklahoma,
Colorado,
Missouri,
Kansas,
Iowa,
Nebraska,
South Dakota,
Wyoming
Somewhere along the way I realized that we should document our adventure, and so this blog began. Where to from here?
Anywhere.
That’s the point, isn’t it? As I always say, the plan is to make a plan.
Currently, we’re venturing to see all 50 states, but this trip has limitless possibilities. I’m confident our journey will continue to morph and transmogrify. Without doubt, the three of us share a variety of motivations and abnormalities, but one commonality binds us: we’re resisting normalcy.
Who knows — we could even end up with sponsors, eh?
