Pit Stops

Despite all the negative consequences of quitting my job, living off savings, and diving into the ocean with only a balloon to use for air, I'm excited. What lies ahead? What will I see, experience, eat, dream?

This is my road map and the route that I'll be taking in the near future. Along the way are some of the most historic and most culture-rich cities this side of the continental United States. And you're damn right I'm going to savor these little nuggets along the way.

Just some of the major stops along the way:

Pensacola, FL
New Orleans, LA
Houston, TX
Austin, TX
San Antonio, TX
El Paso, TX(This state just never ends...)
Las Cruces, NM
Tucson, AZ
Phoenix, AZ
Los Angeles, CA

But you know, a road trip isn't a road trip without detours. "The Thing" in Arizona, Shield's Date Farm in Indio, CA, the Titan Missile Museum in Tucson, AZ, etc...There's just so many things that this country has to offer to those who can just take the time to explore.

I'll admit, I'm a bit of a foodie and sometimes snobbish when it comes to ethnic food. I want to sample a bit of everything that's local. And I'm dying to taste a good Po Boy from Domilise's Bar in N'Awlins. I want to have a green corn tamale from New Mexico not nachos from the Chilis next door. I crave the best damn barbecued pork and brisket in Texas. I want to taste the culture that has thrived there for hundreds of years, not the reassembled, rehydrated, reheated food of a chain restaurant. Give me what the locals are having.

When am I going to start this journey? Oh in a few weeks. So, right now it's all just prep stuff. Like, where I'm going to sleep, where to stop, where to eat, where to avoid the road pirates who may be disgruntled laid off employees looking for out-of-towners to run off the road so they can steal their monies....that kind of thing.

Til then.

Laughter and Lamentations

Plato once said "Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something."

Do I have something relevant to say? Among the teeming mass of opinions, facts, half-truths and insanity of the blogosphere, what can a man really add? What hasn't already been repeated ad nasuem and dugg, retweeted, linked or cc'd into oblivion? Something personal. I chose the name of my blog because that's my life. A web of uncertainty in a very large, and very inhospitable world. I see roads underneath my feet branching every which way, its asphalt scathing to the touch. It forces me to constantly keep moving forward, as the heat blurs the horizon.

Where am I headed on this life of mine? I've gotten this far so I might as well finish. There was laughter and there were lamentations. And it's all brought me to this point.

I'm 25 years old. I quit my job in the middle of the "Great Recession of 2008/2009/2010" or whatever it's called. I'm living off savings and I'm going to drive across country from Florida to California for a chance at a better life. What's that? INSANE you say? My job could be worse? What can I say other than it was right for me. I believed that there was a great adventure out there and that my life was stifling. I was missing out. There were experiences to be had and sights to be seen. No one ever got anywhere by being safe right? That's why I'm taking a chance. Who knows if it will pan out. I certainly don't know if my decision to quit a steady, secure job would be the right one if I never escaped my cubicle.

They say your outlook on everything changes when you travel across country. Your perceptions of what is large and small suddenly shifts and everything you've ever known somehow adjusts to fit this new perspective. Maybe that's what I need in my life. Perspective. 2500 miles of it. My journey will begin in Sarasota, FL and end in Los Angeles, CA. My goal? To always seek that new adventure, to live and to fully appreciate the time that I have available to me. To hell with recessions. I'm going to take a chance on my life.

What can a man really say? It seems I've only added more questions. So, won't you come and join me on this journey of discovery? There's a whole country to explore.

Self indulgent? Hell yes. I'm still a person and I've got a few things to say.