march

as my friend kristen made me realize, the beginning of each month brings a fresh start. i guess it is along the same lines of switching the year on a calendar and deriving a new resolution, but in this case we get the same opportunity twelve times a year. this idea made me think, much like kristen's new monthly to-do list, what do i hope to accomplish this month. so i made up a small semi-manageable list of personal conquests for me to fulfill over the course of 31 days.

first, it is florida so i want to enjoy to outdoors more than i usual. right now the temps have been hovering around the mid 70s during the day with mild, with windy drop offs to the mid 50s at sun down. i have begun riding my bike (maybe without much choice) to and from work each day. the twenty mile round trip is relatively easy considering i live in a flat state with sidewalks and bike lanes the entire way. it has been a nice way to start and end the work day, not only do it get a quality workout, i have also made a slight transition to the "green" side of life. next, i need to make time to see the gulf a bit more. i am a bit ashamed to admit this to my beach loving northern friends, however, i have only seen the beach twice. once back in october while i was in naples, but only for a second, and the second was during the night while visiting a bar on fort myers beach. like i said, a bit shameful right? so i will set out to see more, maybe sanibel and captiva islands one weekend for some kayaking, that sounds nice right?

next on the list is to make another large dent in a book i have been reading off and on for about nine months now, the innocence abroad by mark twain. now i know what you may be thinking, nine months to read a book, but let me explain. there are certain books that you cannot just pick up and read straight through and this is one of those. i have read three or four books in between only because my interest is in a varied state. its five hundred pages of transcendentalism writing much like another book i have yet to finish by thoreau. both books i enjoy immensely, yet can only muster small portions at a time. i have however been able to read a few other quality books throughout that time such as into the wild, walk in the woods, eat, pray , love and my personal favorite the giving tree just to name a few.

my next goal may be the trickiest of all...i would like to figure out what the hell i am going to do with my life. okay, its not really that dramatic of a need. i am very happy doing what i am currently doing now, coaching soccer (refer back to can i really call this a job? and that will explain my feelings toward my employment.) the real clarity comes in the question, do i really want to do this the rest of my life? now, this is a question i cannot answer right now and one that i do not need to even contemplate at this point. what i am contemplating is that i am young, there are many things that i have a true deep passion about, travel and soccer to name two, and there will be a point in my life, most likely in the near future, where i will become too comfortable and settled to take that risk. maybe it will be a job, a girlfriend, family, kids (scary i know) but one of those things (hopefully with a sort of organized order) will creep up on me before i realize it and i do not want to end up like most; looking back and thinking remember when i wanted to do that.

i have this idea of me as a grandfather sitting in a rocking chair with my grand kids on my knee or sitting indian style around me, and i am telling them one of two stories. the first starts out with "let me tell you about the festival of san fermin in pamplona, spain called the running of the bulls." the second starts with "let me tell you about when did the running of the bulls at the festival of san fermin in pamplona, spain." it is a bit silly, but i hope that paints the same picture in your head as it has in mine for the past few years, and i do mean years. these are things i think about more often than not, at work, reading a book, calling recruits, coaching, all the time these thoughts pop in and out of my head. so when i talk to my mother about them, and i know she does not understand, they are not just ideas that come when i am bored. either way, i oscillate back and forth between this and i have begun to realize that this oscillation has become a bit more one sided of late and i have begun to seek out the options for a life abroad a bit more seriously now.

it will be nice to see where i will stand at the end of the month, which goals have taken flight and which ones will be carried over to the next. maybe come april i will be fit, well read, and soon to be well traveled.

and just if you wanted to watch it here as well