Life Works Out

Ok, I know that it has been a long time since I’ve posted, so I owe you an explanation of what has been going on since then. Well, in my last post I talked about the different things that I didn’t like about being a nomad. However, the nomadic experience brought me about a great opportunity that I just couldn’t pass up. If you want to read up more on that job, go here.

So, after being in Phoenix for three days, I got a ride to Las Vegas on Sunday morning, the 3rd of January. That week I started working with Despain Craftsmanship, and that was supposed to be my trial week to see if I was a good fit or not. Well, by the second day I knew that I wanted to take the job and stay in Vegas. Although a part of me really wanted to continue on my journey, I got really excited about having a job that I would love. So, I’ve been in Vegas ever since. I know, I”m sure a lot of people were disappointed that my trip didn’t last longer, and so was I. But really, I always told myself that I would continue on the journey until I found something else that I wanted to do. That’s how life should be. Too often we continue doing something we don’t want to do for far too long, but in this case, I found a job that is a perfect fit.

It’s really funny how everything just seemed to work out. I mean, even the fact that I wanted to live in a warm climate. There are lots of opportunities that could have arisen that I wouldn’t have wanted because of the location. Also, a lot of people told me having all those jobs after graduation would make me less employable. I totally see why people would think that, because potential employers would get the impression that I’m hard to please. Well, the interesting part is that my employer was actually impressed with all the different jobs I had. He said he was impressed that I was able to get so many jobs in this bad economy. A different way to think about it, but, the point is that it worked out perfect.

It’s also cool how all the different jobs I had have helped me to bring a different perspective to the table. I think you learn the most in the first month or so of employment. Often, you’re being introduced to an entirely new industry that you had you previous knowledge about. So, all those experiences helped me learn some specific things that have been a great help in my current employment. I’m just amazed at how all the pieces have fit together so perfectly.

I think about how different my life would be if I would have kept one of the previous jobs, decided to stay in Provo, or never had the idea of a nomadic trip. The fact that I was planning on the trip when I did, led to this job at just the time they needed somebody.

Anyway, I think that’s what happens when we just do stuff and have the faith that it will work out. Life just does sometimes. The eight months since my college graduation have been a very frustrating time for me because I felt like I really wasn’t accomplishing what I wanted to accomplish. It’s just amazing how all those experiences contributed and led me to do what I’m doing now.

So, now I start a new chapter in a book. My journey continues. I may not wander around like a nomad in the physical sense anymore. However, life will continue to have unexpected events, stops, and journeys that I could never anticipate.

Nomadic Negatives

Ok, well, I have to be honest. Being a nomad isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. So, here I’m going to talk about the different things that I haven’t really enjoyed as a nomad.

1) Memories are better when shared – It feels great to be able to go and do stuff every day, but, it gets lonely just wandering around by yourself. I’ve realized that a lot of activites are only fun because of the people that surround us when doing an activity. A lot of times the activity itself isn’t necessarily that exciting.

2) Not “having” to be anywhere is unfulfilling – One of the things I was excited about was the fact that I would have no strings attached and I could go anywhere at anytime. However, I also found that to be kkind of bothersome. I mean, maybe it’s because I was in Phoenix, and I’ve been there plenty of times, but I didn’t really have anything i really “had” to do each day. There wasn’t anything noteworthy that I had heard of that I wanted to see in Phoenix. Also, because it was a holiday, there weren’t too many people working. So, I kind of wandered around restlessly during the day. I felt kind of useless and unambitious because I didn’t have enough to do.

3) Planned spontaneity isn’t spontaneous – One of my opinions is that vacations should never be planned. You should only plan the destination. This makes way for more spontaneity, and so the events are more fun, just because of the fact that they were unplanned. Well, when spontaneity is a way of life, it takes a lot of the fun out of it. When you don’t know where you are going to sleep every night, it is no longer spontaneous trying to find a place to sleep, it’s how you live.

4) I feel like a mooch – This question came up from people about whether I thought I’d feel like a mooch. I didn’t really think so. My thought was that it would be like sales. Yes, my ability to live would be dependent on others, but that’s the same for a salesman. YOu just have to learn to gain people’s trust, and your success is based upon your ability to do so. Well, I felt like a mooch. I felt like people offerent me things out of sympathy, not because they genuinely wanted to enjoy the journey with me. I hate feeling like a burden to people.

5) I felt gross – I thought that if I brought normal clothes, had enough to wear clean shirts every day, and if I showered and shaved every day, that I would feel normal. Nope. I still felt kind of dirty. I had to wear the same pair of jeans every day, and they were getting dirty by the end of the week. I also was a little gross after walking around all day.

6) Hitchhiking harder outside UT – I know, everybody told me it would be, and I knew it would be as well, but I was kind of surprised. People won’t even roll down their windows or acknowledge you when trying to ask for rides. Of course these were all rides I was trying to get around town, so, there are a lot of variables to look at, but, the people of Phoenix seemed very frightened of a hitchhiker.

Ok, these are the main things that I haven’t liked about being a nomad so far. I think the main thing I didn’t like was feeling like I was a mooch and that I was unambitious with anything I needed be doing. It made me want to have a more normal existence where I can provide for myself and do my own thing. I’ve always been very independent, and I felt the strains of my dependence on others. I didn’t like that feeling.

There are some things I really enjoy and that I’ve learned so far as well. I’m going to put those in the next post. I’ve just been analyzing lately the things I haven’t liked as much as I thought.

Different Than I Thought

Ok, yesterday was my first official day as a nomad. I stayed in a hotel with my parents on Wednesday night, but I didn’t have any place to stay last night. So, it was pretty eventful.

To start out the day, I just went over to the Fiesta Mall in Mesa to sit and chill. I had a phone interview with the Associated Press at 10 AM, and then I also had a live radio interview with KSL News Radio around noon. I was very happy to see that the Air Force vs Houston game was being played on a TV in the mall, so I kept myself occupied between interviews watching that game.

One thing I was suprised with was that I just didn’t really feel like I had anything to do. I mean, I’ve lived in the Phoenix area before, so, I don’t have the desire to walk around and explore that I normally will have when visiting a place for the first time. I just planned on being here so that I could have a fun New Years Eve. So, I did feel kind of bored during the day.

Well, I have a friend from college that said I could stay with her family, so, she texted me her address and I decided to head on over to her place. I decided to try and test out my hitchhiking skills. I definitely had some problems, but it was mostly because of my frame of mind. It just feels a lot different here. Anyway, I finally went up to a car and tried to get a girl to roll down her window so I could ask for a ride. She gave me this death stare and then shook her head. haha, it was pretty funny. But, then I decided that maybe that approach won’t work too well here, and that I’ll need to talk to people before they get in their cars.

So, my next approach was to a guy at a gas station. I walked up to him and asked him how he was doing, and he said, “I don’t have any money dude”. Haha, wow, do I really look like one of those guys? After talking to him, we we’re joking about how I don’t really look like a drug addict, but anytime anybody approaches him at a gas station, it’s normally because of money. Well, he wasn’t going my direction, but, I think I’ll probably approach people outside their cars from now on.

Now, I didn’t really ask for more rides after that, but, I didn’t really NEED to be anywhere. So, I was totally fine just walking. It was fun to be able to walk outside in the awesome weather. Without a time constraint or anywhere to be, it was hard for me to motivate myself enough to get a ride. That’s something that I had when I was in Provo because I had to get to work in good time.

Anyway, my flip flops aren’t broken into well enough yet, so my feet were getting sore where the strap was rubbing. So, I kept taking them off to walk barefoot down the street. That’s why my calves are nice and sore today.

I ended up walking to a restaurant where I met up with some friends for dinner. I hung out with them most of the night. However, I never knew where I was going to sleep since I hadn’t met up with the girl who was going to let me stay at her house. I didn’t want to stay at her house unless I hung out with her, since I was going to be out pretty late. Well, it wasn’t until late, like 2 am, when I was at a New Year’s afterparty, that I found a place to stay. I was just talking to some girls that I had met before, and they offered me a place to stay. I ended up staying with one of their friends, who I hadn’t met until just then. An interesting turn of events.

So, my first day was quite an interesting one. I had a great time for New Years, and I really enjoyed hanging out with my friends. I was able to find a place to stay, even though I didn’t know where I was going to be for the majority of the night. I think if I’m fine sleeping on the grass, then it’s easier for me to remain calm about finding a place. I just have to be positive that things will work out, and, well, they did.