monad

Tomorrow, I'm getting up at the crack of dawn to go to the airport. I'll hop in a plane that's flying to Denver, and then I'll get on a plane that's flying to Seattle. I'll hop a cab to my hotel and check in.

Tuesday, I'm going to hop a cab to the offices of the company that's footing the bill for this trip. I'm going to get there a little over an hour early so that I can find a quiet place to take a phone call. After the phone call, I will go into the offices for an all-afternoon face-to-face interview. I'm sincerely hopeful that it will result in a job offer. The ratio of cool-problems-to-work-on versus cost-of-living is just about perfect at this company.

Wednesday, I'll head to the airport shortly after lunch. Plane to Denver, and then back home. I'll deplane about an hour before midnight and fall into bed an hour after that.

I've been doing a lot of this. Two day-trips to Chicago. A week in San Francisco. Oodles of phone calls. I've been unemployed for over two months, and I hate it. I really hope I get a job soon.

To anybody in the Seattle area who might read this, I'm free Monday after noon, Tuesday evening (probably), and Wednesday morning. I'd love to meet up.

If I can't do it in my house, I'll never be able to do it on the road. That's what I have to start telling myself. I shouldn't have to motivate myself that way. I'm an adult. I've been living on my own for a decade. I should be responsible and do the things that need to be done whether or not they're fun and pleasant.

I know that even adults have trouble doing things. That's one of many reasons why the self-help section at the bookstore is filled with volumes to teach readers how to get off their asses and get things done. I am not alone, but I alone can change what I do.

My wife and I have decided to travel the world. It is not going to happen tomorrow, but it's going to happen (and I'll write more about that in a separate post). We want to adopt the vagabonding lifestyle, and that implies a lot of things. First and foremost, though, it implies that we are signing up to do a lot of work — work that's neither fun nor pleasant.

Before we can even step out into the world, we must earn our freedom. We have a mountain of student loans, and a molehill of consumer debt to pay off. In order to break free of these obligations, we're going to need to live beneath our means. To do that, we're going to have to be disciplined about keeping our home clean and our kitchen useable. We're going to have to eat at home and find cheap or free entertainment. But it will be worth it. The skills we learn now will be put to use when we're on the road.

When we do set out on our travels, we're going to be facing a different lifestyle. There'll be chores that must be done, and they'll need to be done in a timely fashion. We'll find work that is not what we're used to, but we'll need to do it. There'll be slogs we'd rather not make, but we must. There's adventure in the world, but adventure is not a night at home on the couch, it's hard work.

So, when I'm sitting on the couch and there's dishes to do, I have to remind myself: if I can't do it in my own house, I'll never be able to do it on the road. That kind of attitude will help me win the battles I've been losing against my sloth, and help me build the discipline I need to achieve my dreams.