You probably already know the story, but it goes like this:
I recently left what from the outside looking in was a pretty appealing job*.
I did this in an economy where many people that share many of my characteristics and qualities are struggling mightily to find a job.
There are times when I couldn't be happier with my decision.
But, the truth is there are times when this freedom and beautiful recklessness** is alloyed with the bittersweet circumstances under which I left Portland, my home for the past 4 years.
I won't go into explicit detail, but due to a number of factors, one of which I've alluded to above, I decided to pack up and ship out.
And that's when this adventure began.
Which is why this blog exists.
Deep stuff.
But anyway, once I decided to do what I've done - a decision, by the way, that I considered for about half a year, making it likely the most diligence I've ever paid a decision in my life - I began planning for the trip that was to come.
The most important portion of that planning, in my mind, was sending an email to very nearly every person I've met over the past 10 years, roughly since I graduated from high school (though some high school chums were in there, too). These people ranged from dear friends I've known for years and have a wealth of experience with, to people I've met only once before, but for some reason must have made an impression on me.***
This email amounted to basically this: "You may not remember me, but I remember liking you, and I'd love for you to share your knowledge and/or time with me in the form of adventures or recommendations". I've pasted the full text of the email below, in case for some reason you didn't receive it****.
It felt good to write that email, great to send it, and wonderful to receive the replies.
I concede that it was a bit of an unusual email. You can take that as you like.
But I truly believed, and believe, that it was a good email to send, that no harm could come of it.
And I was surprised and delighted to receive the replies, which ranged from one sentence recommendations or "congrats!", to multi-paragraph, bulleted treatises on friends-of-friends I could stay with, national parks I should visit, festivals I should attend...(etc. you can get a feel for the sort of responses one might receive if they sent the email below). That being said, I know I shouldn't have been been surprised, considering the caliber I believe I've noticed at some point in the recipients of the email. Perhaps grateful is the more appropriate word.
So, that's basically the story of how this blog got started, why it existed, and why I'll probably keep writing it for the foreseeable future.
Again, thanks for the replies. I cannot say that enough. And even if you replied and you never read this, it feels good and right to give thanks. I will endeavor to repay the time you gave me in some way, somewhere, sometime.
Next blog post: what I'm actually doing***** with my time since I quit my job.
The unabridged email, entitled "This Summer"******:
Friends and Acquaintances,
Good news - I've quit my job, and plan on enjoying the summer while gainfully unemployed and on the road.
I may have already spoken to you about my plans, and we may even have begun scheming for adventures.
If not (or if you want to further elaborate on our previous chats), please let me know how things are looking on your end:
- Want to grab a beer?
- What are you up to this summer?
- Any adventures on the docket?
- Are you looking for adventures to add to the docket?
- Want to join forces for a bit?
To that end, I hope to shoot out an email every couple of weeks or so to reap what I hope this email will sow: new leads. If you've got a friend I should have a beer with in Topeka or a great-aunt I can crash with in Des Moines, let me know. If you're planning on hitting up a Zydeco festival in July, let me know. If I absolutely can't afford to miss some state park / national park / festival/ seasonal phenomenon / brilliant road book / tiny town/ backwoods campground / Midwestern city I would never think to go, let me know. And if you're planning on flying to Halifax for no conventionally-good reason, that's my kinda plan! And: I want in.
I'm hoping this mass email will result in more adventures for not just myself, but a summer enriched by the insights, inspiration, and inclinations of my friends. We may have not seen each other for years, or we may have drank too many beers just last week in Portland. Either way, I look to you because I've known you to be awesome, and I figure you can add something awesome to the pot.
To something I've been wanting to do for a long while. Thanks for reading. Have a great summer.
Cheers,
John
*******
*I was working as a media planner on the Electronic Arts business for Wieden+Kennedy, a renowned, independent ad agency based in Portland. I'd been there for just over 2 years, the longest I've ever stayed at a place of employment.
**In some sense; time will tell.
*** Okay, not really "must have". More accurately would be to put it at "clearly did", because I bothered to include them in that email. If you're curious, ask me about that impression. I've got a good catalogue in my head for those sorts of things.
****Shit. If you didn't receive it, my bad. I still think you're cool.
***** Besides writing this inane blog, of course.
****** Yes, I may be either a latter day hippy, beatnik, or space-child, depending on how you want to sum it up. Figuring it all out is one of the goals of this summer.
*******Yes, this is a horizontal line. It demarcates the footnotes from the main blog content. Yes, I used fancy HTML coding to make it. Cue the Jeffersons' theme song, because I'm moving on up!
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