Whirlwind

What a crazy ride is life. I haven’t yet become too reflective over how it is I’ve found my way to this point in life, but looking forward to the next couple of months I’m expecting an insane whirlwind of activity. Decisions to be made, moves to be undertaken, classes will start, writing again, working still, time for a life?

Most of you already know that I’ve accepted an offer in the philosophy MA program at George Mason University. Classes that I’ll sit down with the grad studies director next Tuesday to choose will begin on August 27. I’m excited and anxious to dive back into philosophy as a full time student. I’m afraid there’s a lot I’ve forgotten. I know my writing skills are rusty and my research skills unpracticed. I have absolutely no idea what will be expected of me or what to expect of the program. That being said, I can’t wait! I’m ready for something new, something interesting. For too long I’ve had a routine, and it’s time to mix it up a bit.

By the time classes start I’m hoping to have moved. I’ve both found a place and am looking for one at the same time. A college roommate has been offered an apartment near American University and has asked me to move in with him. For a long time I’ve wanted to live in the city, and this will place me only minutes from my office and about a half hour from school and from BL. I wish I could be closer to her and closer to school, cutting traveling time out of my life is going to be a big part of making this new schedule work, but in all likelihood I’ll be taking this apartment. The location, the roommate, and the rent are just too good a combination to pass up.

I’ve mentioned I’ll still be working; the plan there is to cut my hours by as much as possible while still keeping my benefits. I’ve got a great boss who in turn has a great boss who both have agreed to help me toward this end. It looks like I’ll be “working” around 30 hours a week. Some of that time will be spent working from home, and I’m sure a bit of it from time to time will be on the good will of my bosses and coworkers. A new twist, however, in this little scheme is that one of the VPs of our little company, even knowing that I will be a fulltime student come fall, has approached my boss about moving me into a new position…as a manager. This VP’s international sales pipeline is being backed up because of a logjam in the implementation department, and he would like me to come on as a second implementation manager to focus on his new clients. I love that this opportunity is being presented to me and that they think this highly of me, but I just don’t know how to react. A big part of me wants to jump at it. I love the idea of more responsibility, of taking a leadership role and making things happen instead of begging others to push the ball along. This is the kind of position I would thrive on, but I just don’t know if I can truly handle the time commitment come fall. There will be some discussions over the next few weeks to see if we can actually make this work.

Thinking about all of this tonight I’ve realized what it is that has me really and truly excited to be on the cusp of such uncertainty and potential craziness. Throughout high school and college I always considered myself a bit of a renaissance man (yes, I’m modest, I know ;-)). I always had a multitude of different activities between classes, sports, musicals, work, and play, going on at the same time. My days were full to the brim with very little down time in front of the TV or lounging around. Since graduation I haven’t had this. It’s been up in the morning, drive to work, sit at a desk all day, drive home, cook dinner, watch the tube, read and sleep. Occasionally the gym slips in there or some time with BL. Sometimes I have a happy hour or other event to get to, but not the same level and variety of activities I had in my past lives. I miss those activities, and I think what has me most excited is the possibility that my days will once again be filled. I’m sure I’ll bitch that I have no time to rest, that I’m stressed and don’t know how I’ll meet this or that deadline, but I strive on that level of intensity…I’m ready to have it back in my life. So here goes…I’ll keep you all updated on whether or not my head explodes.