Well, I'm back in what some folks would call the Real World, but I'm still feeling a little bit out of place and frazzled. Got me a haircut & my business casual clothes, I'm a working stiff again. If I'm going to have a J.O.B. this is the best one I could imagine, in fact it's the J.O.B. that I've been trying to get for the last 15-20 years. I spell out J.O.B because I have trouble saying the word, I frequently spell it out in conversation, but this is a conversational medium so there. At any rate, all I had to do to get here was retire and it found me. Not bad, really. Maybe I'll expound on that at some later date but for now . . .
Friday, before I crossed the Cascade Mountains, I felt like I could easily turn around and head east, keep going until I hit water, then turn back & do it again. Then Saturday, I actually felt myself transition back to the life that pays for these little excursions; back to my family & friends, back to familiar. By the time I arrived home at 6 PM that day, I was done, beaten & sore, tired & run down, ready for my own bed. Monday the transition continued although I was pretty much worthless at work (a cultural norm) but I got a few things done, and through the day on several occasions I could feel myself drop into various lifeslots with a CLUNK! No more gentle transition, just bits of me dropping into the slots I've made for myself over the many decades I've been living this life. Today, Tuesday, I'm back to the transition, much more gently and almost fully back in it.
I feel like I've put another me to sleep or in hibernation, a very natural me who doesn't fully belong in this life, or can't quite make it here. As I was gassing up Saturday I had my back to the street where a couple young ladies were walking, I'm guessing they were with a small group of riders with push-button (new) bikes. I was all leathered up, my sheath knife sticking out. One said "...blah blah blah look at his HAIR blah blah blah . . ." and the other replied "...blah blah blah HARD CORE blah blah blah ...". I guess it was good news bad news, we all want to be badass, but my own thought was "Oh sister, if only you knew. In two days I'll be a weenieboy engineer again."
It's not over, not by a long shot. I have a bit more to add to the blog and I'm already starting to plan next year's excursion. If we're not in the middle of a big, hot program here at work I think I'd like to do a major run, maybe to the east coast, maybe back. My original plan to do the whole US is still in place but with this professional change I can't do it all in one summer until after I leave here. So I'm hoping to do it in pieces for now. Do many little runs = ONE BIG RUN? I guess we'll see. I'll just have to monitor my level of peace and personal satisfaction.
I discovered I may be able to upload videos from a computer, I was unable to do it from my phone, so maybe I'll have some entertainment for y'all in the near future. I'll also add some more pics. I took a bunch of black & white photos with old cameras, like 1950 or so. Hope they turn out.
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