Old Blog, New Blog

If you are reading this then you either just stumbled on my latest blog, or you already know that after 3 years I have retired my original blog.  Welcome to my newest one which, other than the name, really will be just a continuation of the old one. 

Why the change.  Not sure, part of it was that the old name, L’Adunata, doesn’t really give any insight into what the blog is about.  Part of it is that I thought “I wonder how many people expect my blog to be in Italian, so pass it by because of that?”  And it has something to do with turning 50 real soon.

WARNING, WARNING!
You are now entering an Amateur Philosophy Zone.
Please update tour tweed jacket, fill your pipe and let your beard grow. 

You see them everywhere you go, people in a hurry to get somewhere.  Gotta get to work, gotta get to the store, gotta get a career, gotta get a family, gotta get that promotion, gotta get there now.  Not that having goals isn’t a good idea, I’ve got goals for the next few years, I’ve got goals for retirement (#1 – pay off the house).  Goals are good, but you see and hear people so obsessed with the goal that they’re missing the trip getting there.  This concept first entered my consciousness several years ago when we were on vacation to Canyonlands, at the store right outside the park picking up some stuff for the camp site.  We’re rushing around, getting this and that, encouraging the teenage family members to hurry up.  As we’re standing there at the counter, telling them to pick something and get over here, the owner says to us, in a folksy rural-Utah way, “Yeah, better hurry up.  You’re on vacation.”

That stuck with me.  Why the hell were we in such a hurry?  To get back to camp so we can sit around and relax?  Yeah, let’s stress ourselves out getting the stuff we want for relaxing.  Duh!

I first started hearing Jo (of Life’s Little Rambles fame) use the phrase “Enjoy the Process” during one of the first assignments of our Master’s program.  And although I was very happy when we got done with the program, a year after it I now kind of miss “the process”, the nights working with the her and our friend on projects, seeing them twice a week and talking about all the things we were supposed to be learning.

As I started thinking about what became my other blog, the stories from my life, I thought about the process, the journey that brought me to where I am now.  It’s been great.  Yeah, there have been times that were miserable, hurtful and depressing.  No doubt.  Rare (or nonexistent) is the life that has no major setbacks.  But overall I wouldn’t change a thing.

Two summers ago I spent a couple weeks driving around So. Utah, Nevada and parts of California simply searching for ghost towns.  There was no final destination, the journey was the vacation.  It was a great vacation.  Often I will just hop in the car and head out, find an interesting looking state road, heading who knows where, and see where it ends up.  One of the reasons I stay in Utah; there are a lot of those roads.

My life has been an awesome journey.  From pizza man, to bankrupt pizza man to a teacher that has made his rounds all over the school district.  I’ve had a lot of great experiences, I’ve met a lot of fantastic people.  And I’m not stopping yet.  Don’t know where I’ll end up, don’t know what other great places I’ll go, people I’ll meet, but I’m looking forward to finding out.  Here’s to the journey, have fun with the process as you get to where you are going.

End Philosophizing.
Feel free to return to your sweat pants and Motley Crue t-shirt.

Whew!  Mah brane akes now.  I know that’s a bunch of babbling, but maybe it helps see why I decided to change blogs.  My apologies to everyone that followed me on the old one, and now has to add this one to their list.  Hope to see you around, and thanks for listening.

 

 

P.S. – I am going to keep the Max Sartin pen name.