If I’m not worried, you shouldn’t be…

What the TSA woman said to me as the alarm system rang at LGA airport this morning – sirens raging and lights flashing for about 20 minutes. Sweet!!

About 22 hours of flying ahead of me, good thing I didn’t sleep last night!

 

 

And I’m going to miss this little man sooo much!!!!

 

Remember when he graduated college? Boy, does time fly!

 

He loves Montauk!

Bye Mom!!!!!!

 

Escargot, Red Drum, Sorbet and Whiskey

What a great meal with the family before my send-off! Although the service at the Culinary’s French room Escoffier was less than spectacular, much less, I was in great company – my Grandmother, Aunt and Mom.  

After our meal, I had to finish packing. Mostly, toiletries and such and about a million and a half Twizzlers for Stoner :). Regardless, a whiskey mindset provides for a comical packing routine. I absolutely had to adjust some items this morning before I left for my flight.  But it all fits in a large backpack to live out of for the next few months! Thanks all for the words of encouragement for the fact that yes, I am only packing that backpack much to your disbelief. AND it was only 37 pounds; I’m under 20 kilo!! Yayy!!!

I’m cleansing myself of corporatocracy…

my inspiration and reassurance

“I’m cleansing myself of corporatocracy…”

When asked why I would be taking a few months off to travel, the above was my answer.

…Along with, “to be free, to take the road less traveled, to find new challenges to overcome, to succumb to instincts and not fear, to find others that share my passion for love and life, to relish in the beauty of the world, to immerse myself in unknown cultures, to live uninhibitedly, to simply live…” 

And then I’m asked why? Why would you just quit your job and go? Well, if you have to ask me why, I guess you never really knew me…

Will your colleagues be mad? What will they say? Again, all that truly know me know that the travels I have endured throughout my years have shaped the person I am today. If my job doesn’t understand, resents me for leaving or has any ill will, it will only reiterate that I have made the right choice as the doubt of others reaffirms what a corporate world I live in and I was only a name-tag, email and face. Not a soulful being. 

(Side-note: when it came time to discuss with my job, they were all very supportive and happy for me which in twisted fate, also reassured my decision. They know me, know me well and know that I belong to the world. One colleague even told me "I always think of you as a little green parakeet the small ones with blue and yellow feathers mixed in…or a white dove that has special colored freckle spots." What a beautiful thing to say!)

Back to my thought - I’ve had this plan brewing in my mind for quite some time but for some reason as I get closer to departure, the signs are getting stronger and stronger, affirming my choice. You may have picked up on my usage of “coporatocracy,” which I have so eloquently borrowed from Mr. John Perkins, author of The Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.” Reading this book a mere two months (almost to the day) of my endeavor left an eerie taste in my mouth…

About three weeks prior, I had the opportunity to visit St. John Island and witness one of the most beautiful and passionate weddings of my life - the love the newly married couple exuded was uncannily refreshing. It was from their honeymoon castle overlooking Coral Bay in the midst of the night, splashed with bright stars and constellations, that I determined I needed more out of my life. Things HAD to change - it couldn’t be a dream anymore, I had to make it reality. I don’t want to ever look back and wonder.

The ironic part? As I read the book three weeks later, it was in St. John that John Perkins made the final decision to cut his ties with the corrupt corporate world and end his job with MAIN.

“A wooden boat with a rainbow flag sailed past us, its sails billowing out on both sides, down winding through the channel. A half dozen young men and women shouted and waved at us, hippies in brightly colored sarongs, one couple stark naked on the foredeck. It was obvious from the boat itself and the look about them that they lived aboard, a communal society, modern pirates, free, uninhibited.

 I tired to wave back but my hand would not obey. I felt overcome with jealousy.”


“Life imitates Art, far more than Art imitates Life.” - Oscar Wilde