So, I left my apartment of 5 years, because I couldn't find a stable job, my lease was expiring, I absolutely refuse to move back in with my mother, and moved in with my friends because they had a somewhat available room. That was in January. It's March now, and I'm only just now entering into an employment situation. I do enjoy it here, a lot more than I would have expected for my first roommate scenario, another instance wherein luck simply has my back, though I feel perpetual guilt as regards my inability to chip in on grocery runs. For what it's worth, Ian has an excellent job wherein he makes considerable cash-money, and has a tendency to waste it on things, so hey, he's definitely helping me. That's sort of noble, right? At least he doesn't feel like he owes me anymore.
That's good, right?
Anyway, over the Christmas break, it was brought to my attention that the older of my two brothers, they both being older than myself by a good many years, is absolutely intent on my joining him in literally running away to the circus. A little background is necessary. One of my brothers' old friends went to work lighting for Barnum and Bailey a long while back, ended up marrying a performer, and now they have two kids. The younger of my brothers planned to join him once, but his fiancée got pregnant, thus anchoring him to a specific location. The older brother, however, took their old friend up on his offer to come join him years later, and is now thoroughly enjoying a life on the road.
I mean, living on a train, how can you not?
He performs basic labor work, but really loves working for the circus, and can apparently get me a job doing the same. Knowing that my time in my beloved apartment was up, I began to investigate the offer, but eventually backed down after realizing how little money he actually makes. At the time I was laboring under the delusion that I could gain employ at the same location as Ian. Needless to say, that didn't pan out. Now, three months later, only just having secured a position at Lowe's, I'm beginning to think Matt, said brother, has made me an offer I can't refuse.
You see, I've been wanting to move to the Pacific Northwest for as many years as I can remember having any sort of plan for my life. Before I graduated, I planned on staying in Denton for a few years to save up money, then make the move when I felt I was suitably wealthy for such a journey. Ian and Sam, his girlfriend, have similar goals, as have all of my closest friends over the years, so I felt living with them and making one mass exodus would be the best way to ensure a safe transition. As I sit here smoking my pipe, I feel a certain pang of short-term nostalgia, having this grand feeling about my future whilst writing a simple press release for my mother, feeling like writing was the ideal career for me, tobacco smoke wafting in front of my miniature laptop. Sometimes simple little choices, like choosing to take a class on writing fiction just to fill some elective hours your last semester of school, can change your entire life.
Or at least the life you were planning.
I'm beginning to feel that the wanderlust that has always gently prodded the back of my mind for the better part of my life, never getting any real attention as I am such a sedentary, and dare I say hermitic (I'm only just now, some months later, realizing I originally used the word "hermetic" here, which is an interesting word in itself, but not quite what I was aiming for, and yes, spellcheck, I'm using the right word now, go away), individual, has finally been given its time in the spotlight. I have the chance to look at my possessions, which I did oh so recently, and trim them back even further, until I'm left with only what I must keep by necessity. At which point, I will pack a few bags, get on a train, and never be tied to any one location again. I have the opportunity to remove all the distractions that keep me from writing, and live with an cast of interesting characters, in a fascinating environment that constantly changes. I know it sounds vaguely cliché, but I don't see a permutation of events wherein I can possibly avoid writing daily. About wildly engaging subjects, no less. Furthermore, it's an opportunity to take the sedentary nature out of myself, remove the consequences of eating out of boredom, and get regular exercise as part of my job description.
It's a chance to change.
I wanted to move to the Northwest as my next step, and I still intend to, eventually. But I think, before I'm too old, I need to get up, go outside, and see what's going on in the world.
This is my chance to finally have those interesting stories I've always wanted to tell.
