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It’s all a pleasant journey. :)

Had to turn down the job of a lifetime yesterday because of my trip of a lifetime in September. Taking the chance that it’ll still be around for me in November. 

Chinese delivery for lunch today, because I was just a tad on the mopey side. Thanks, fortune cookie. 

  

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Perfect. 

“In my opinion, there are two types of perfect. The first is the type that seems so obvious and intuitive to you and everyone else that in a perfect world would simply be considered standard; but, in reality, in our flawed world, what should be considered standard is actually so rare that it has to be elevated to the level of ‘perfect.’ This is the type of perfect that makes you and most other people think, ‘Why isn’t everything like this? Why is it so hard to find…’ a black V-neck cotton sweater, or a casual non-chain restaurant with comfortable booths, etc.-‘that is just exactly the way everyone knows something like this should be?’ ‘Perfect,’ we all say with relief when we finally find something like this that is exactly as it should be. “Perfect. Why was that so hard to find?’“The other type of perfect is the type you never could have expected and then could never replicate.” 
-B. J. Novak, “Sophia,” in One More Thing

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So I’ve come to believe

“I’ve come to believe that there exists in the universe something I call “The Physics of The Quest” — a force of nature governed by laws as real as the laws of gravity or momentum. And the rule of Quest Physics maybe goes like this: “If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting (which can be anything from your house to your bitter old resentments) and set out on a truth-seeking journey (either externally or internally), and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared – most of all – to face (and forgive) some very difficult realities about yourself… then truth will not be withheld from you.” Or so I’ve come to believe.”
Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

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RWE, Ron Burgundy, and Camino-talk

“Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

I am typically an open book type person. People in my life tend to know exactly what’s going on with me – good, bad, or ugly. I have found that the bad and ugly things make for the best stories, especially when told with a good dose of humor. There are very few things that I refuse to talk about. I think learning more about each other and our struggles makes us better people, generally, and helps us to know that we’re all in this together. 

That being said, I think I’ll keep my whole Camino conversation confined to this blog and the Camino de Santiago forum. There’s a strange feeling I have about it — I want to talk about it ALL THE TIME, but it’s also intensely personal to me, and I have difficulty when folks are less than supportive, or don’t understand it. Last night at trivia I spoke to one of my regulars about it, and about halfway through, I could tell by the look on his face that he either a) thought it was a terrible idea, or b) figured this was a silly phase I was going through, and I’d be over it in a few days. My reaction about sharing this with him:

Lesson learned. I’ll talk to family and very close friends about it, who understand this strange calling/compulsion I have to take this journey. That will be good enough. I’ll fight the urge to make my whole camino about my ego and proving the naysayers wrong. Struggle alert! See y’all later. 🙂

PS If any other Camino folks are reading this, and can identify, pop a comment down there. I’d appreciate it. ❤

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Boring snippet of the day :)

I love my job. All day I help ladies feel good about themselves, make them up for special occasions, help them take care of their skin, all while enjoying the thrill of a sale. The people I work with are a joy, for the most part, and we all help each other out whenever possible. But I’m leaving. The 29th of August will be my last day there, mainly because I have an hour to drive, there and back, daily. The gas money is killing me, and with Abby starting college on the 25th, I need some more $$$. 

So the next logical thing to assume would be that I have a job all lined up, right? Nope. Shawn has said, “take your time, find the perfect thing,” so I’ve lined up some volunteer work at the closest St Vincent de Paul food pantry/thrift shop and we’ll just see what happens from there. I’ve already started thinking that The Camino Will Provide. I really do feel as if I’ve already started it. Now, at this point in a conversation, my mother would start to worry that I was going to sit on my laurels and mooch off of Shawn while my head is in the clouds/on the Camino. Not happening! I’ll likely pick up another trivia and do some other things until I find something I enjoy that’s a little closer to home. 

Ugh this is boring, I think.

I picked up another book about the Camino last night – I’m Off, Then: Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino de Santiago. Pretty interesting so far (in contrast to this morning’s blog – my apologies) and it’s nice to read a more light hearted, honest approach. 

Time to get ready for work! I’ll leave you with this:

14 days til FSU football!!!
14 days til FSU football!!!