The Jumpstarted Tomorrow
April 25th, 2007.
Previously…
Brave new world, figuring out my new life and what it entailed. I still didn't know what I was doing exactly. And I really didn't have a problem with that. Flying by the seat of my pants was exciting, worrying about the ramifications could always wait. My only issue now was that those ramifications were coming to the forefront. It was suddenly a wake up call to see all of these changes.
A disclaimer: I didn't know that I would've been successful getting my new job. I thought I was going to lose. Yes, as unbelievable as it could be, I didn't believe it was all going to work out. In the back of my mind, I was completely doomed. After 2 years of trying to fix up everything, another loss wouldn't have meant much. But that most certainly didn't happen this time. I won. I won big.
So, here we were, new job, new prospects, new future. Where would it lead? I honestly had no bloody idea! And that was fine with me. Seat of my pants, remember? The wild trip was about to begin again. And here it is.
And now…
Back in the day, when I worked for ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Florida Hospital, the commute to work was predictable and planned. Beat the bus before it passed in front of the neighborhood, hang in the right lane on Maitland Blvd till I-4 popped up, and make sure I had enough coffee to drink on the way. Easy stuff. It took me 20 minutes to get to work, 15 if I was aggressively creative on the roads and avoided Maitland's finest (take that as you will). That was 2 years ago, give or take a month.
Today, the commute to the other side of the city, well, that didn't go as well as I wanted it to. 45 minutes. Yeah, you lot heard that right. For those not in the know, I live in what's known as Lockhart, a community about 10 minutes north of Downtown Orlando, on what's pretty much the northwest part of the city. Basically, it's right next to Rosemont. My employer is located the exact opposite of town. So I had to navigate through Winter Park, notorious for its ridiculous speed limits (if that's what they could be called), and even more notorious police. But it's a community of the elderly. Take that as you will. Either way, it was a long trip.
Armed with a folder full of random stuff, I walked into the office. The office was actually a nice place. Nice lighting, too. I actually started a couple days ago, but I really sat around and didn't do anything, which was quite splendid. Splendidly boring. So today was much better. I got my computer, and all of my desk stuff. You know, pens, pencils, and other niceties. Oh, even a phone. It felt funny, though, having a proper desk again.
As for my job, I'm a technical writer. Writing up software manuals and such. Boring stuff. Not too interesting. But it paid the bills. So I didn't mind at all. Most of the interesting things happened during my cig breaks, most of which I took with a guy by the name of Felix. He sat in the cubicle across from me, so I usually sent an email letting him know that it was probably a good time to perform an air quality survey.
Felix was a body builder, and you could definitely tell by looking at him. Stocky, sturdy, and muscular, that was him in a nutshell. He was also the only person in the office I really felt I could relate to. We talked about our respective careers in the military, and what we did outside of work. All in all, he was good people, and that's all that mattered to me.
Every once and a while, a few other folks would show up, and we would all shoot the breeze about what we did, and we'd exchange stories about how crazy the people in the building were. Water cooler talk, that kind of thing. I got a lot of dirt on a whole lot of people, which was fun, and silly. Just like high school, only with juicier stories. This was going to be brilliant.
So that was my day at work, in between writing, checking my email, and talking to the boss about what was planned. At the end of the day, I grabbed my folder of goodies, shut off my computer, said goodbye to everyone, and off I was. That's when I learned that the commute home was a whole lot more arduous than the commute to work.
Let's just say that it took me an hour to get home. I won't say anything else, because I'd probably start cursing and that wouldn't further the story. Still a sore spot. Moving downtown would have to be in my plans, if I was going to stay with this job. Something else to wonder about. Too many other doors opening up, all at the same time.
Getting home was nice. Everything was quiet. No one was home yet, and I just plopped into my couch and watched some television. Not a bad life, really. I slipped off my now uncomfortable shoes, and enjoyed the moment. The quiet was nice. Sure, everyone would be home soon, but I had one peaceful moment. My time. It felt great.
Later on, Lu randomly called me up, and invited me out to the Improv. I probably shouldn't have gone out, but he was going to be leaving for the Philippines in a couple of weeks, so off I was. I didn't have a computer still, and it was better than sitting around on my bum at home.
One of Lu's mates was performing up there, and we got a few drinks from the ever reliable Rudy while checking out the show. It was funny overall, considering that it was mostly amateurs. Afterwards, we hit up Kres Chophouse, where our friend Marion was working. Actually, it was my first time there ever. Nice joint, the type of place where couples would go when they wanted to spring some serious cash on a nice dinner.
We caught up on old times, talking about Caroline and Britt's wedding, what we remembered and didn't remember about that night. Especially how funny that whole thing got (I'm not telling, so don't ask!).
Somehow during the evening, we ended up at the Dragon Room. Let me tell you a little something about the Dragon Room. It's a decent place. It really is. In another time or place, it might have been a good place for me to hang out. But it was a mighty expensive place. I mean it, really. It was M's birthday, so it was all good. Red was there as well, and the whole lot of us pretty much partied well and good. Sure, I was going to feel it in the morning, but sometimes a good time is worth the hangover.
So there it was, a part of a new thing. This new life. The other pieces had to fall into place, as to where I was going to live, amongst other things. But for now, everything was okay, and that was perfectly fine with me.
Next: A crawfish flashback with Red and Alicia, family business, and the wonderful bit of dancing that we all do in life. Where's all of this going? I have absolutely no idea. Oh, there's something about the happy.