Thursday, May 31, 2012
Lifestyles of the Non-Rich and Non-Famous
I am thinking about lifestyles today.
Mine seems awful to a lot of people. Many others think it sounds vaguely glamorous.
The reality is that it is neither, and both, and many other things.
My life is screwy. I miss walking on the beach at sunrise and sunset. I often think that I would like to have someone to walk on that beach at sunrise and sunset with me.... but who would put up with me being gone 80% of the time and exhausted or preoccupied the other 20%?
Mine seems awful to a lot of people. Many others think it sounds vaguely glamorous.
The reality is that it is neither, and both, and many other things.
- I work a lot.
- I travel a lot.
- I get to go to some interesting--- and not so interesting-- places.
- I usually can find something interesting to do no matter where I am, but there have been projects in areas so devoid of charm or so unsafe that I felt unwilling to explore them on my own. They are few and far between, as I am not a sissy about most things, but a law enforcement friend of mine taught me long ago to trust my gut. If someplace really feels wrong, (even if you can't completely identify why) it's usually because there is something wrong.
- I stay in nice-enough hotels and other people cook my food and clean up after me 80% of the time. At home, a very nice lady comes by regularly to make sure that social services doesn't report me to the health department. She is part of my mental health program. I clean up before my housekeeper comes because I'm easily embarrassed by my own mess.
- I drive rental cars. My personal vehicle is 10 years old and has less than 70K miles on it. And most of that mileage was put on the car in the first three years I owned it, when I was driving back and forth from Tampa to Tallahassee every week. I lent it to a friend for a couple weeks not long ago while hers was in the shop. She put more miles on it in 2 weeks than I had in the previous 5 months. It probably felt like a thoroughbred who hadn't been exercised properly for a long time.
- I get to be creative, I get to learn new things nearly every day, and I am rarely bored.
- Life on the road isn't for sissies. I've been deathly ill alone in hotel rooms literally half a world away from home, driven three hours between appointments with a 102 degree fever, and stranded overnight in airports socked in by bad weather. You learn to cope and move forward.
- I've also seen Spring Festival in Shanghai, Mardi Gras in Baton Rouge, St. Patrick's Day in Savannah, the sun rise and sunset on both coasts, roamed the deserts in Arizona, NM, Nevada, and elsewhere, slept on Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf beaches, wet my toes in every one of the Great Lakes, explored the Mississippi from source to mouth, photographed the Grand Canyon and desert with some of the most extraordinary living photographers, danced on South Beach, walked in the footsteps of the Founding Fathers in Boston, Philadelphia and Washington DC, and on and on and on....
- I've driven through blizzards in Minnesota and New England, had hurricanes disrupt my travel on the East Coast, been evacuated from hotels in the midwest because of tornadoes, lost power for days in Atlanta due to an ice storm, and had a training facility closed because the bridge washed out in a flood.
- I've missed important events in the lives of family members due to forces beyond my control. And cried bitter tears about it when no one could see me.
- I've spent Christmas eve in the Detroit airport, New Year's Day in the Charlotte BOA business lounge, Valentine's day alone and without luggage in Spartanburg, SC, and my birthday in a hospital where none of the doctors spoke English.
- I do not have pets, indoor plants, or the time for things I would enjoy like joining a book club, doing more volunteer work, and painting seriously again. I haven't really painted since I went back to consulting. Thank you, Al Quaeda. Even if I could find the time, traveling with paints and equipment post 9/11 makes the TSA go twitchy. All those chemicals. All that liquid. All those strange implements, some with pointy ends.
- Work days are long, weekends are never long enough. Finding time for a haircut, doctor's appointment, manicure or movie takes real planning. My ophthalmologist thinks I've died. I need to get my prescription glasses adjusted, and I have made and cancelled three appointments since the first of the year.
My life is screwy. I miss walking on the beach at sunrise and sunset. I often think that I would like to have someone to walk on that beach at sunrise and sunset with me.... but who would put up with me being gone 80% of the time and exhausted or preoccupied the other 20%?
My grandson thinks I have a cool job. And I kind-of do. I usually love it more than I am frustrated by it. It works for me, most of the time. But everything has trade-offs, and there are days when the personal cost overbalances the professional satisfaction.
I think they call that life.
I think they call that life.
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