MODERN-DAY CONQUISTADOR SEEKING THE FOUNTAIN OF VERMOUTH
I’m currently lost somewhere in the Florida panhandle taking a blog break in a fast food joint I’d never frequent were it not for my need for connectivity. (Bad food; Good marketing!) Well, actually I’m outside Pensacola, but it sounds more romantic to imagine I’m an early Spanish explorer uncertain of just where in the swamp I am. In the age of GPS, getting lost is becoming nostalgia–a memory to be rescued from the shelves of dusty antique shops by thrill-seekers craving a bygone rush.
I left Jacksonville at 10:30 this morning feeling about half as prepared as I had hoped to be by my departure date. The blog is up and running but there are still scores of minor glitches and a few train wrecks. (If you haven’t been to the ‘HOW’ section yet, give it a few days!) I’ve been plotting this idea for nearly a year; I’ve been studying web design to conceptualize this blog for two months; yet it only finally came together in a readable format this past Sunday. By that point I was in a panic. I’d absorbed dozens of blog pages, podcasts, and youtube videos, yet with my mind absorbed in winding things down at work, planning this trip, and generally uprooting my existence of the past decade, none of it was making sense. So Friday I headed out on the previously blogged-about blowout and Saturday I largely stayed away from the computer to focus on packing, sorting through the work-stuff I’d brought home, and pairing down things in my condo for my eventual move. Consciously I felt like I was wasting time, but my subconscious must have known I needed a break. When I woke up Sunday ready to tackle this mess anew, I was shocked to find how quickly the blog fell into place. Within mere hours I accomplished what I was unable to during weeks of flailing. Once my mind was cleared of the clutter and my emotions processed, all that learning coalesced. Panic thwarted.
CHUGGING, SCHEMING, & DREAMING
Florida Farewell
Now I’m on my way to New Orleans where Better Than Ezra’s Krewe of Rocckus three-day event starts tomorrow evening. (You can visit WHERE & WHEN if you haven’t already to learn more about KoR.) I’m more excited than I can describe and more relaxed than I’ve been since…??? It’s been years since I could get behind the wheel and drive with the music on and without a care in the world or feeling rushed to get somewhere and get back ASAP. My soul let out a gentle purr as I chased the sun this morning and listened to itunes mixes I’ve made that are apropos to this trip. (One called ‘I-10 West’ that details various landmarks I pass along the way and another, ‘Mardi Gras 2000’ that is converted from a mix-tape I made after my first Mardi Gras.) The only real anxiety I experienced revolved around the urge to tackle the many things that need to be done on this website and trying to figure out where and when to stop and write this post. I need a driver and a wireless card!!! One day….
Until then, I’ll keep on chugging, scheming, and dreaming.
TIMELINE FOR MY QUEST & I-10 WEST
On The Road Again
Folks keep asking me when I’m moving to New Orleans and the answer is . . . I don’t know. I’m on my way there now for Mardi Gras and plan on staying for a week or so after to look for housing. Whenever I shelter is secured, I’m heading back to Jacksonville to pack and prepare. My return to New Orleans depends on when I find housing and when loose ends are tied up. I’m hoping to find a room to rent rather than unfurnished apartment so I don’t have to carry all my belonging west as I plan to keep a tentative toe in Jax. For example, my best friend is flying from Wisconsin to get married in St. Augustine at the end of March and my favorite weekend in Jacksonville–Springing the Blues–is the following weekend, so I hope to be in town a couple of weeks then. Of course, I can’t miss Wanee Fest in Live Oak. And, well, I can’t totally lose contact with all my peeps. One of the advantages to writing and making money online, should I pull this crazy stunt off, is that I can work from anywhere. I have deep ties to North Florida as well as the Virginia/West Virginia/Maryland triangle so, as I told my friend Jen Dew, I hope this project will free me up to focus on relationships rather than dilute them.
Maybe this is all just an impossible dream, for I have no true idea where exactly I’ll end up. Just like those Spanish explorers I love to romanticize, I have no clear plan or map for where I’m going–just a creative compass pointing down I-10 West! Rocckus on!