So, today is the day.
In fact, this hour is the hour, considering that this blog post comes to you from Terminal 5 at O'Hare International Airport. Fun fact: before settling on Terminal 5, this terminal was originally called "The Terminal of Bad Decisions and Endless Rage." It's true ... Check the Wikipedia article I just updated!
Now that I'm sitting at the gate, I'm not nearly as jittery as I was closing things out at my condo and then riding to the airport. Compartamentalizing I guess ... When push comes to shove just gotta block out the bad and get things done.
So, what's the status update? Bags are checked; bulkhead row aisle seat secured (a little extra legroom), and ready to board. Ready for a change. Ready for an adventure (or several!). Car and hotel are booked, confirmed, and waiting. Paperwork at old and new employers is finished. All that's left is to get there, get a local SIM card for phone & Internet, get into an apartment, and get to work!
I won't lie (as promised in the Ground Rules post): there's still plenty of trepidation dogging me on this trip. I don't expect it to just go away overnight ... But I'm pleasantly surprised that its not as bad as I feared it might be. Hopefully that means that this is the right thing to do at the right time, for the right reasons. Things have continued to work out for the best so far, and this will be a valuable change for me. No super detailed plans. No incredibly specific itineraries. The next six months are "we'll see."
I'm so grateful and feel so very fortunate for all of the friends and family who have shared their best wishes for this journey. I'll do my best to keep you posted on my whereabouts, adventures, successes and failures. This blog is therapeutic and valuable for me to accept some risk & share details I wouldn't have in the past. But it's also a vehicle for me to keep you all close by.
Below: just a tiny line at security in The Terminal of Bad Decisions, and a snapshot of the first destination of many.
