Columbus, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Connecticut, Columbus, Denver, Columbus, Birmingham. Sigh.
Obviously I'm new to this.
Yes, that is 4512 miles. Oilchangeriffic!
2010-04-18
D'oh, ridiculous route
This is what the first leg of my trip actually looks like, after some uncoordinated last-minute changes.
Columbus, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Connecticut, Columbus, Denver, Columbus, Birmingham. Sigh.
Obviously I'm new to this.
Yes, that is 4512 miles. Oilchangeriffic!
Columbus, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Connecticut, Columbus, Denver, Columbus, Birmingham. Sigh.
Obviously I'm new to this.
Yes, that is 4512 miles. Oilchangeriffic!
2010-04-14
Car trouble in Pittsburgh
In Pittsburgh. Check engine light came on in the Subaru at 8:55 pm (grr!), pulled over and started checking around and found a dry dipstick! The Little Red Wagon does burn some oil, but I topped it off less than a week ago, this is not typical.
I put in just over a quart of oil, but the light is still on. Hopefully I'll just need to have the trouble code cleared, but we'll see.
Note that this wasn't the oil pressure indicator that came on. Hmm.
Ah, the joys of 14 year old cars.
Update: up and running again. Trouble code is about the catalytic converter getting old. Nothing super extra scary in the end, but I guess I'm going to have to get back in the habit of checking the oil each morning.
I put in just over a quart of oil, but the light is still on. Hopefully I'll just need to have the trouble code cleared, but we'll see.
Note that this wasn't the oil pressure indicator that came on. Hmm.
Ah, the joys of 14 year old cars.
Update: up and running again. Trouble code is about the catalytic converter getting old. Nothing super extra scary in the end, but I guess I'm going to have to get back in the habit of checking the oil each morning.
2010-04-05
Goodbye Ohio
In about thirty hours I should be watching Ohio recede into my rear-view mirror. Some reflections:
I came to Ohio under some pretty crappy conditions. Everyone I knew in Seattle (a very expensive city) was jobless or expected to be soon; I was sick of the banking industry but didn't know how to get out of it; Chase made me an offer but I would have to move to Columbus. I took that offer out of fear, and as a result of that fear I didn't ask any of the questions I really should have. So I didn't realize I was stepping onto the losing side of a political battle, and that I would spend the next year marginalized and frustrated.
Ohio wasn't working for me. I wasn't making many friends (and none outside of work), most of my old friends had stopped talking to me, relationship stuff went from bad to worse, and I was turning into a miserable and nasty sunufabitch to be around.
Throughout this time I half-heartedly went on some interviews and even got a couple of offers. I was on the verge of accepting a job offer in New England and had started mentally packing when I had a realization; I would be moving across the country for the second time in a year for absolutely no reason. The only thing the job had to offer was that it wasn't in the banking industry. Otherwise it was just more of the same. Indeed all of the positions I had been looking at were the same. More big-organization paralysis, more unfocused infighting and jockeying for barely meaningful promotions, more re-organizations to cover the fact that nobody knew what they were doing or why. I realized that instead of acting out of fear, this time I was acting out of anger, that I hadn't actually made any efforts to formulate a plan and make good decisions.
I realized that I hadn't actually done anything to pursue my own happiness in...five years?
And just like that everything changed. In realizing that I'd been caring about all the wrong things, that I couldn't remember being happy or what had last made me happy, all the crap and anger and fear and frustration just fell away.
I kept going to work, but I let all the garbage roll off my back, gave up on being useful in a wholesale sense and did what I could retail ("Sure, I can fix your printer. Hey, I think I can save you 15 minutes each morning by changing this batch job in such-and-such way, you want me to do that?"). I found others who were equally dissatisfied and equally ready to make a change, and we talked to each other about our plans and shared advice and started moving forward together.
I started going places and making friends. I smiled at people, and they smiled back! I got invited to parties, had a good time, got invited to more parties. I even threw a couple. I started getting late night calls from new friends who'd dumped or been dumped by someone and needed coffee and distractions and supporty talk. There were communities I'd been wanting to be a part of for years but hadn't known how to make it happen, and suddenly it just happened.
Over the course of two months Columbus went from a hostile and foreign land to something that could be described as a home. I found some of the gems of the city, and they weren't nightclubs or museums or secret hidden greenspaces, they were happy people doing happy things for the sake of their own happiness. In no particular order, I shared stories and meals and heartache and joy and plans for the future with:
Paul, Tony, Sarah, Tim, Kelly, and Steph. Ting, Derek, Beth, Lisa, and Taylor. Pete and Chris. Both Mollies. Brian, Julia, Jessica, and Rita. Kayla. Stacie of the Big Doggies. Random people at coffee shops, on sidewalks, in grocery stores and ice cream parlors and farmers' markets and bars. Liz and Kari.
But the lesson here is not that I need to stay in Columbus, or even that Columbus is that great of a place or even just a perfectly fine place. The lesson is that I can make friends and a home for myself anywhere, and all it takes is being a happy person who moves forward and does things and has a goal -- even if that goal is to find a goal. Prioritize happiness. Talk to people. Smile. Be generous with hugs and cooking. Don't get wrapped around the axle when things don't go as planned. Know what's important, don't compromise or let it slip away, and don't fret about the other stuff.
I'll see everyone again soon.
I came to Ohio under some pretty crappy conditions. Everyone I knew in Seattle (a very expensive city) was jobless or expected to be soon; I was sick of the banking industry but didn't know how to get out of it; Chase made me an offer but I would have to move to Columbus. I took that offer out of fear, and as a result of that fear I didn't ask any of the questions I really should have. So I didn't realize I was stepping onto the losing side of a political battle, and that I would spend the next year marginalized and frustrated.
Ohio wasn't working for me. I wasn't making many friends (and none outside of work), most of my old friends had stopped talking to me, relationship stuff went from bad to worse, and I was turning into a miserable and nasty sunufabitch to be around.
Throughout this time I half-heartedly went on some interviews and even got a couple of offers. I was on the verge of accepting a job offer in New England and had started mentally packing when I had a realization; I would be moving across the country for the second time in a year for absolutely no reason. The only thing the job had to offer was that it wasn't in the banking industry. Otherwise it was just more of the same. Indeed all of the positions I had been looking at were the same. More big-organization paralysis, more unfocused infighting and jockeying for barely meaningful promotions, more re-organizations to cover the fact that nobody knew what they were doing or why. I realized that instead of acting out of fear, this time I was acting out of anger, that I hadn't actually made any efforts to formulate a plan and make good decisions.
I realized that I hadn't actually done anything to pursue my own happiness in...five years?
And just like that everything changed. In realizing that I'd been caring about all the wrong things, that I couldn't remember being happy or what had last made me happy, all the crap and anger and fear and frustration just fell away.
I kept going to work, but I let all the garbage roll off my back, gave up on being useful in a wholesale sense and did what I could retail ("Sure, I can fix your printer. Hey, I think I can save you 15 minutes each morning by changing this batch job in such-and-such way, you want me to do that?"). I found others who were equally dissatisfied and equally ready to make a change, and we talked to each other about our plans and shared advice and started moving forward together.
I started going places and making friends. I smiled at people, and they smiled back! I got invited to parties, had a good time, got invited to more parties. I even threw a couple. I started getting late night calls from new friends who'd dumped or been dumped by someone and needed coffee and distractions and supporty talk. There were communities I'd been wanting to be a part of for years but hadn't known how to make it happen, and suddenly it just happened.
Over the course of two months Columbus went from a hostile and foreign land to something that could be described as a home. I found some of the gems of the city, and they weren't nightclubs or museums or secret hidden greenspaces, they were happy people doing happy things for the sake of their own happiness. In no particular order, I shared stories and meals and heartache and joy and plans for the future with:
Paul, Tony, Sarah, Tim, Kelly, and Steph. Ting, Derek, Beth, Lisa, and Taylor. Pete and Chris. Both Mollies. Brian, Julia, Jessica, and Rita. Kayla. Stacie of the Big Doggies. Random people at coffee shops, on sidewalks, in grocery stores and ice cream parlors and farmers' markets and bars. Liz and Kari.
But the lesson here is not that I need to stay in Columbus, or even that Columbus is that great of a place or even just a perfectly fine place. The lesson is that I can make friends and a home for myself anywhere, and all it takes is being a happy person who moves forward and does things and has a goal -- even if that goal is to find a goal. Prioritize happiness. Talk to people. Smile. Be generous with hugs and cooking. Don't get wrapped around the axle when things don't go as planned. Know what's important, don't compromise or let it slip away, and don't fret about the other stuff.
I'll see everyone again soon.
2010-03-20
Not on the road YET
Haven't made any updates here in a while because there hasn't been much to say. I'm still in Ohio getting rid of stuff and getting my place ready to hand the keys over. Hanging out with friends, making a few new ones, reading some books, playing with my dog. Just typical days in the life of the gainfully unemployed.
Bear and I are taking a mini-trip overnight Monday to make a quick test of my setup before I toss out the last of my stuff.
One fun bit of news: I was asked to come back to Columbus in August to be a range safety officer for the 2010 US-Canada Police Olympics. So that's pretty cool, I think I'd like to do that.
There is now a tentative itinerary for the first leg of the trip:
Pittsburgh, Buffalo/Niagara, Toronto, Montreal, then do the Boston-to-DC run, visit some friends near Duke, and on to Birmingham.
That ought to just about fill up April, then I'll be pretty much sticking around Birmingham for the month of May to help get things ready for my new baby nephew!
Yay, baby nephew! Yes, he is made of fire.
I'll probably try to squeeze in a trip to the Keys somewhere along the way. We'll see.
Bear and I are taking a mini-trip overnight Monday to make a quick test of my setup before I toss out the last of my stuff.
One fun bit of news: I was asked to come back to Columbus in August to be a range safety officer for the 2010 US-Canada Police Olympics. So that's pretty cool, I think I'd like to do that.
There is now a tentative itinerary for the first leg of the trip:
Pittsburgh, Buffalo/Niagara, Toronto, Montreal, then do the Boston-to-DC run, visit some friends near Duke, and on to Birmingham.
That ought to just about fill up April, then I'll be pretty much sticking around Birmingham for the month of May to help get things ready for my new baby nephew!
Yay, baby nephew! Yes, he is made of fire.
I'll probably try to squeeze in a trip to the Keys somewhere along the way. We'll see.
2010-03-01
2010-02-23
Reactions
Over the last week as I've told people about my plans, I was fully prepared for folks to try to talk me out of it. You know, "these tough economic times" and all that. However, out of 40-ish people I've talked to so far, mostly at (former) work, only two gave me any grief about my plans (and I think they really meant well).
Wow. Just...wow. Either I've done an excellent job of surrounding myself with cool people over the last few years, or everyone else is just as disillusioned as I am. I'm not sure which, nor am I sure which is the more interesting explanation.
So I want to start things off by saying thank you to everyone I've encountered. I was prepared to do this in the face of discouragement, and to have a few dozen people get excited for me and tell me how much they wish they had the ability to do it....
Well, you can. I fully acknowledge that it's easier for me to do this since I don't have kids or a mortgage or whatever -- so what do I know? But there are folks who've done it, and sometimes they write books about it.
Check out Vagabonding by Rolf Potts and The Four-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss. Especially pay attention to Ferriss' chapter on honest risk evaluation.
Nobody can lecture you about your choices, or your journey, or your happiness. Including me. But if you're envious and wishing you could grab an apple and a good pair of shoes and just go, well other people in your situation have done it. (If you're not envious and not wishing you could up-and-go, then this is not directed at you. I'm glad you already have the life you want.)
Mortgages (despite the Latin root) aren't death sentences. Having three kids doesn't nail your feet to the floor. Wealth is the ability and willingness to spend your time the way that matters to you. Wealth is not a Lexus. Spend less money than you make, and find creative ways to make it. What are the three things you're pretty good at that, when combined, you're the best person in the world at? Are you really making optimal use of that while clicking around on your Dell all day? Etc, etc, etc.
In the meantime, you're welcome to follow me and Bear as we wander the continent. Watch this space. :)
Wow. Just...wow. Either I've done an excellent job of surrounding myself with cool people over the last few years, or everyone else is just as disillusioned as I am. I'm not sure which, nor am I sure which is the more interesting explanation.
So I want to start things off by saying thank you to everyone I've encountered. I was prepared to do this in the face of discouragement, and to have a few dozen people get excited for me and tell me how much they wish they had the ability to do it....
Well, you can. I fully acknowledge that it's easier for me to do this since I don't have kids or a mortgage or whatever -- so what do I know? But there are folks who've done it, and sometimes they write books about it.
Check out Vagabonding by Rolf Potts and The Four-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss. Especially pay attention to Ferriss' chapter on honest risk evaluation.
Nobody can lecture you about your choices, or your journey, or your happiness. Including me. But if you're envious and wishing you could grab an apple and a good pair of shoes and just go, well other people in your situation have done it. (If you're not envious and not wishing you could up-and-go, then this is not directed at you. I'm glad you already have the life you want.)
Mortgages (despite the Latin root) aren't death sentences. Having three kids doesn't nail your feet to the floor. Wealth is the ability and willingness to spend your time the way that matters to you. Wealth is not a Lexus. Spend less money than you make, and find creative ways to make it. What are the three things you're pretty good at that, when combined, you're the best person in the world at? Are you really making optimal use of that while clicking around on your Dell all day? Etc, etc, etc.
In the meantime, you're welcome to follow me and Bear as we wander the continent. Watch this space. :)
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