Hit the ground running...

My days as a professionally unemployed person officially came to an end last week. The month without the burden of a paycheck flew by all too quickly. Upon explaining to friends, family, co-workers, clinic patients and the checkout guy at the grocery store that I was quitting my clinic job in August and not starting my Young Life job until October, most replied, "And what are you going to do with a month off? You're going to be bored to tears!." Well, to all and any who lost sleep over the fear of my being under-occupied, you can flush the Snooze-aid.

In the last five weeks, I (in more or less chronological order):

• Sat on my front porch and drank tea and watched the rain fall until all hours of the night
• Began training for the Rushmore marathon
• Wrecked a mountain bike in North Dakota/sprained my ankle/gave up training for the Rushmore marathon
• Had my wisdom teeth removed
• Went to Denver on a bus with 40 teenagers to see a Rockies game and hang out at Elich's
• Innertubed down the Niobrara River
• Moved out of my apartment
• Lived nomad-style out of a suitcase (4 hotels, 3 houses, a cabin, a retirement center and a church)
• Bought a mountain bike
• Waded in Rapid Creek
• Watched the fountains at the Belagio at midnight
• Swam in the ocean
• Met Mickey Mouse
• Hiked, hiked, and hiked some more
• Read a few good books
• Spent some much needed time just sitting in coffee shops and brushing up on my long-neglected love of writing
• Spent too much money at Borders
• Fulfilled my life-long dream of being a Barista
• Substitute taught at the high school
• Met at least 100 new, wonderful people

It's been loads of fun, but I am becoming anxious to get going with all this new stuff in my life right now. I'm pretty sure I haven't experienced this much change at one time since...ever. It's a little nuts. I have that sort of terrified/excited/adrenaline-rush feeling you get just before you try something crazy, like flying Kamakazi (sp?) style down a single track on a bike. (Which, in the past, didn't work out so well for me...which is where my analogy sort of breaks down...but, um, anyway...) It's going to be great. I often think, "Whoohoo! I have no idea what I'm doing!!!" But whatever happens, it's going to be good, right? I mean, it's not necessary all going to be fun, but it's all going to be good, in the long run. (Which is my philosophy about travel...which is an entirely different journal entry...) I prayer regularly (and selfishly) that God would fill my life with adventure. He hasn't let me down yet.