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phatires
Oct 8, 2004, 2:25 PM
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So,
I think most of us have faced or had to answer this question. Of course the actual question does elude me.
I am 32 years old. I have been living off a two year technical degree in a field (machining) that I real do not enjoy. I have busted my ass to make my house payment and contribute to my 401k. I climb from time to time. Not nearly as hard or often as I would like. I am an avid cyclist and solid out door enthusiast.
But I stare with envy at friends with so much less doing so much more. Part time room renting people who can take off three or four times a year on trips.
Were is the balance? To feed the soul do I just drop everything. Even if only for a year. And immerse myself in climbers lifestyle?
Is this just a passing midlife crisis or a common dilemma that so many have had to answer?
I am at a point were I am between jobs. My truck is broke and someone stole one of my bikes off my porch. I have a close friend who is thinking about buying my house. So I am thinking of throwing in the towel on the 9-5 and doing a bit of soul searching.
I would love to hear your opinions and stories.
Matt Stone
St. Cloud, Minnesota
:?:
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numbnut
Oct 8, 2004, 2:41 PM
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Here is a bit of advice. Whatever you do, don't rack up credit card debt. Sell your house, live in your car, go out on the road dude. But whatever you do be smart. I know a lot of people who live that transient lifestyle and do it well. They bust their hump for a few months to travel for a few months. Just don't do anything your going to regret when you want to come back to the humdrum.
I also think the hardest thing to realize is all the comforts you give up. You can't go out to dinner whenever you want. Can't buy anything you want etc. You don't realize how much you like 'em till their gone.
Also, I just injured myself climbing. Broke my ankle. It cost $21,000. I was glad I had health insurance. This is something to consider.
I feel your pain. The humdrum lifestyle of going to work to pay for shit you're not so sure you want is a crippling feeling. You feel like every other American schmuck. Climbing feels a lot more noble and "in touch" than working for the man everyday.
Another option is to move to a place with a lot more climbing in your backyard. Sell the crib, come out west, get a job and do routes after work that you drool over in magazines back in MN. I'm sure Taylors Falls is cool, a lot of great climbers started there, but eldorado and RMNP it ain't.
AS you can see I have a lot to say on the subject. But in conclusion, I think your best bet would make a plan, save some dough, go on a long roadtrip, and end it someplace with a shitload of climbing and live there. :D
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*thriller*
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Oct 8, 2004, 2:45 PM
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just do it.
just take off and live on the road for a while. of course I'm saying this from my office on downtown toronto...
I just finished 5 years of school to become an engineer. between the end of my exams in april and my convocation in june, i went on a solo 9-week road trip down to mexico, across to yosemite, up to squamish, and back to ontario. I would say it was probably the best time of my life. If I didn't miss my gf so much, i would have never wanted to come back. i met so many people who were just travelling and making a bit of spare change here and there as they go, setting off for another distant destination not worrying about how they'll support themselves once they get there. i'd love to do that. unfortunately, right now, i have a decent bit of debt from a university degree to pay off and my girlfriend is still in school. So i found a job. Yay me. i wish i was out climbing. i've become a "weekend warrior" as much as i have that term. leaving work early today to get a jump start on the weekend travel to the best limestone in the province, but on tuesday i have to be back at my desk. The only thing i have that really keeps me going is the plan that in 2 or 3 years i'll be out of debt, my girlfriend will be out of school, and we'll be able to take off and travel without worry. and when i do get old and decide to come back to "real life", I'll have a few years experience under my belt to help me get back to a real job - if i still want one.
so my advice is this - if you can afford to leave it all behind - go travelling. it doesn't have to be to some exotic place - just get moving. go to yosemite and live the valley life, follow the weather south with all the other nomads, enjoying climbing and living under the stars. Explore your country, have "no fixed address", and find out what you are really passionate about. if you find that the dirtbag lifestyle isn't for you, go back - you'll be right where you are now - just maybe with a little less cash, but a lot more stories to tell.
-Ian
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dingus
Oct 8, 2004, 3:19 PM
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A 32 year old with his own house?
Dude, you don't sound like someone who can just 'chuck it all.'
One of my best climbing partners didn't chuck it all. He never took that route in the first place. Oh, he tried, I guess. But 9-5 isn't in him. Now he lives out of the back of his truck, works to sustain his adventure habit and basically lives an itinerate life.
I look at him wistfully sometimes, feeling perhaps a tinge of jealously at his freedom.
But I could no more go his route than he mine. We are simply not wired the same. Our circuits do cross of course, we climb together. Climbing scratches my freedom itch in a big way.
So say I'm in my mid 40's, house, kids, cars, job, 401k, BENEFITS, debt, net worth, the whole magilla. And he's hit the midpoint too, truck, some climbing bear, a bedroll, and the cash in his pocket (it is a very thin pocket).
I realized a long time ago with some old people you could look at their smiling faces and not discern a goddamned thing about their lives. They could be Bill Gates, Fred Beckey or some unknown wino. If we make it that far age seems to level things out. We're all headed for a dirt nap afterall.
So I don't think there is a final reckoning, in any sense of justice, for either of us. We will continue to blumble through our lives as best we can and when we get old we'll still look back at the paths not taken.
Yet the old man, smiling at the base of the cliff in the bright October sunshine, pauper or millionaire, the vertical realm of climbing seems to 'level' it all out.
The free spirit in me says 'go for it.' The mortgage holder in me cautions that you appreciate security, perhaps even more than I.
And finally consider this... my house has appreciated more than 100% in 7 years. While I am lucky in that regard, it remains the best performing inventment I have ever made.
Don't do what anyone else says you should do. Listen to your heart and do that instead! And no matter what you do you'll always wonder about the path not taken. Try not to let it bother you too much when you're depressed sitting in some lonely airport at 1 am or sitting in your truck wondering where the next meal is coming from and if you have enough gas to get to it.
Cheers
DMT
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toddtar
Oct 8, 2004, 3:37 PM
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WOW!! and I thought I was the only one stuck in cube-world wishing for something better or more free. At 39 with wife, kids and everything that goes with it, I will be in cube-world for some time. I do however see the light at the end of the tunnel. My wife wishes for the life as much as I do and when the kids are gone and if the body is willing our adventure will begin, but until then short trips and day dreaming will have to suffice. If you can do it do it now!
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subtle
Oct 8, 2004, 3:39 PM
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So, you want to live the life, eh?
I did, for about three months. I was in a terrible job situation and had turned my private life into a cesspool, so a clean break and a 3000 mile drive to Bishop, CA seemed like just the thing to do. As one would expect, there are positives and negatives.
First and foremost, unless you're planning on cranking V15 and picking up a few sponsors, realize that this will be a temporary adventure and don't do anything that will hurt you long term. If you want your trip to be a life change, then all the best. Just realize that there is something at the end of the road...
Second, make sure that you're up to it. Be sure that you want to climb a lot, are physically capable of it, and at a level that would interest you and keep you motivated. Are you more interested in the climbing or the associated life? Are you going alone, or with people? I got terribly lonely, at times, being the only person in a bouldering area (yeah, even in Bishop, it happens) for a day or two. My point here is, pulling down with your posse on day 1 of a cool trip is a whole lot different than sitting under a problem for a week you think you should be able to do but can't in the middle of nowhere with nothing else to do. Some people prefer one, some the other.
Living on the road can be as cheap or expensive as you like, depending on how you choose to go about it. I rented a room, since living in a tent for three months was beyond my capabilities. You have to decide if you'd rather do the migratory climber thing or establish yourself at one area for a while. Both have advantages, I suppose.
I suppose I could go on and on about how it was different or the same as my expectations, and I will if it would interest you, but the key thing is...you're going to define some sort of an experience for yourself by doing this, if you choose to. Think carefully about what you'd like to do, ask a lot of questions, then go. I found that my trip changed me in many ways, and that stepping out of my life for a while gave me a whole new level of perspective.
Although if you'd have asked me after I fell off Iron Man for the 498th time into the snow, then yelled profanity that no-one could hear since I was all alone...I might have told you differently.
Good luck, whatever you choose.
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sarcat
Oct 8, 2004, 4:01 PM
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In reply to: WOW!! and I thought I was the only one stuck in cube-world wishing for something better or more free. At 39 with wife, kids and everything that goes with it, I will be in cube-world for some time. I do however see the light at the end of the tunnel. My wife wishes for the life as much as I do and when the kids are gone and if the body is willing our adventure will begin, but until then short trips and day dreaming will have to suffice. If you can do it do it now!
Almost an exact ditto.
I did however find a small out. It's a pager the County Sheriff gives S.A.R. members. When it goes off I drop EVERYTHING to respond. It's taken some effort for work, wife etc. to accept. If even for a few hours a few times a month it's a "livestyle". When 50 hits hopefully I'll be able to look back and see I did more than the cube-world.
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pancaketom
Oct 8, 2004, 4:26 PM
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beware of what you ask for. but it can be pretty good too. I hit the road after a series of events including losing my gf and job. I won't say it was a bad choice, as I have been able to do many amazing things that there is no way I could have with even some of the "full catastrophe" of job, mortgage, wife, kid, and dog (or whatever exactly is the catastrophe). But also look at what you will be giving up. There are days when things seem pretty grim, and if you cannot live without certain things (like tv, starbucks coffee, showers, a SO, someone cracking the whip, ... fill in your need here), then it will be tough. One possibility is to enjoy what you got a bit and save up enough for a limited road engagement and test it out (if you can't save money now, you are going to be hurting with no income). or just do it and hit the road. Either it will work for you or not. But selling the house etc. etc. might be a bit of a leap of faith if you have never been on an extended roadtrip. some people just don't like it at all, while others do, but are unable to cope with some of the aspects of it. Others thrive and wish they had done it years ago. I guess my advice is to figure out a way to dip your toe in the water and see if you like it before you leap in.
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wlderdude
Oct 10, 2004, 5:11 AM
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In reply to: So, I have busted my ass to make my house payment . . . I have a close friend who is thinking about buying my house.
I don't pretend to understand your financail situations or your realtionship with your friend, but be carefull. Friends are rarely willing to pay market value. If you are looking to liquidate to go on a long vacation, it might be worth your while to hold out for an offer on your house that would better provide for you than an offer from a friend.
I just graduated from College and spent the whole summer looking for work and fixing up my Grandma's house. I never found a climbing partner in Albuquerque, didn't climb much and I feel like I may have wasted my summer.
Now I am moving to Houston to live at home as my money is almost gone. I travel cheap and am regretting not having taken the road trips I wanted. It would have worked out so easily, but I just sat around surfing the web and keeping myself avalible for interviews that never happened. What a waste. I am headed to grad school and I don't know if or when I will have another time of such avalible time.
Well, I guess I shouldn't let regret get to me.
Good luck figuring out what you want and having the courage to persue it.
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david.yount
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Oct 10, 2004, 6:12 AM
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Matt, you could body pack that house of yours (at least 1 person in each bedroom but really try to find couples for each room) (and you won't have a room, you'll live in the basement or garage or garden shed) and require rent in cash only please. Concurrently, stop spending money, just don't do it.
Now you've set yourself up. You got positive cash flow that easily covers annual property taxes as well as modicum in maintenance. Your super cheap lifestyle stretches the remaining cash in hand.
Now, find other climbers with vehicles and go on short roadtrips. Live the life, in small steps. Make bigger plans for longer trips involving multiple states of climbing.
It helps to have a friend living in the house to act as your agent. Always have each renter sign a monthly rental agreement and get 1st month and deposit up front, no exceptions. Then collect "last month's" in 3 equal payments (or up to 5 monthly installments).
Your house will get used, neglected, abused. So what? When you want to move in solo or sell the house, simple work will fix most all and the remaining booboos will be repaired by a carpenter with money you kept from damage deposits.
The cheaper you live on the road.... the longer the journey can last!
david yount.
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kevanrobitaille
Oct 10, 2004, 6:50 PM
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wow this is a good thread, lots of insite. (insight?) Anyway, heres my one cent as I cant afford the second. Do what makes you happy, and keeps you healthy. Its crazy how hard something that simple can be to find. Especially in a world where you need money, or alot of dedication and atleast some land to farm or something to keep yourself alive. Id suggest movin to Squamish or atleast makin your way there. American dollar would go farther for longer, free health care (kind of), endless bouldering, great people, its a short drive from whistler, pemberton, and vancouver. Good luck, I wish you well.
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phillygoat
Oct 10, 2004, 8:35 PM
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I think it's important to realize that there are different degrees to this 'cubicle vs. freedom' issue. If you're feeling stifled in your life, of course you need to do something about it, but it's never quite as simple as romanticism would suggest. As a guy who's done some soul-searching and can relate to your questions, here's my theory: The fact that you've asked these questions seems to prove that, while you crave a sense of freedom, the full-on 'life style' probably isn't for you. This doesn't mean that you can't go on adventures and explore what's out there, but you will have to work hard to find that balance. It seems to me those people who inspire us (whether artists, writers, athletes) don't spend too much time wondering whether or not they're doing the right thing- they just do it.(forgive the Nike pun) All this is coming from a guy who's pretty OK at most of the things I'm interested in, but was always waiting for that 'bolt of lightning insight' to tell me once and for all what my calling was. So... my last two cents... I also think it's important to remember that the balance we seek in life isn't static; it's not some place we get to, but a constant state of flux that we mindfully have to keep in check. So yeah, sounds like you need to shake things up, but it doesn't have to be as cataclysmic as you think. Even some minor changes will have you breathing easier. Whew, good question. Thanks for letting me vent. phillip
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andy_reagan
Oct 10, 2004, 9:05 PM
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Take it in stages. It doesn't have to be black and white. You can take road trips while still maintaining a job, family, and mortage. You might have to change your home base as someone suggested. That might not be a bad thing if your home base is Minnesota. :lol:
Do you dip your toe in the pool to test the temp or jump in fully clothed? It doesn't matter if you eventually end up in the pool (happiness).
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jfreeham
Oct 10, 2004, 9:24 PM
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You're a machinist? Isn't that a portable job? What i mean is, with some searching wouldn't you be able to find a job in your trade near a climbing area? By the way, who makes all of that metal gear we use, aren't they called machinists?
Maybe all you need is a new job in a new part of the world where climbing is readily available--you would probably be able to get out at least two full days a week--that ain't so bad, more than the vast majority of climbers are able to manage--and in the summer climb after work until the sun sets. Also, some of the best climbing areas are in places that you might not think of initially, for example, western North Carolina, where there is also great mountain biking and enough space in two lush national forests to get lost for a lifetime. But don't tell anyone else how good it is there, because if word got out they would also want to move there and it would get crowded.
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gunkiemike
Oct 11, 2004, 1:24 AM
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In reply to: Take it in stages. It doesn't have to be black and white. You can take road trips while still maintaining a job, family, and mortage. You might have to change your home base as someone suggested. That might not be a bad thing if your home base is Minnesota. :lol: Do you dip your toe in the pool to test the temp or jump in fully clothed? It doesn't matter if you eventually end up in the pool (happiness).
Hear hear. Too many people feel trapped in their 9-to-5 workaday job even while they are hitting the crags every weekend. They look at the dirtbag climber sleeping under the boulder and think he's got it made because he's gonna bum a ride to some sunny crag for the winter. Yea, that's the ticket, they think: sell the house, climb year round.
Realize that that dirtbag climber (I use the term affectionately BTW) probably has lousy gear, ratty clothes, eats poorly, gets no medical care and has no health insurance. He likely has no one to come home to and cuddle with after an especially good (or bad) day.
There's lots of middle ground that allows for a varied and rich life, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT. Ask yourself: do you want to own a house? Do you want a spouse? Kids? Disposable income? The ability to travel to other climbing areas by some means other than hitchhiking? And sleep in a bed with sheets when you get there? Would you like to retire comfortably someday and provide a secure future for those possible offspring?
THESE are the reasons why people haven't dropped out of the rat race. Yea, they may be gumbies on their weekend outings, struggling on a 5.7 and then rushing back to the city in their new Volvos and Subarus. But they've made choices about what sort of life they want to reflect back on when they're in their rocking chairs at the Old Climbers Home.
I've tasted a bit of several climbing lifestyles. Broke college student sleeping in the dirt and drifting from crag to crag during the summer. House-bound new Dad with too little time for the outdoor activities I used to do without a second thought. Established corporate employee with the occasional California business trip that always seemed to include a weekend layover near JT or the Valley. Unemployed mid-life career changer logging 100+ days/yr on the rock.
Ya know what? These lifestyles all felt limiting at the time. But in retrospect, they were each satisfying and worthwhile.
Summary - Don't do anything rash. Be true to yourself. Don't chase someone else's dream.
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greyicewater
Oct 11, 2004, 12:46 PM
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ah... living out of your car to climb, the best life ever. plus, if you have a part/full time job, living out of your car is an awsome way to save money. no rent to pay, basically just food and climbing gear. oh yeah, and the saving part... ;)
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treesail
Oct 11, 2004, 2:33 PM
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Doesn't sound like you're married or have children, just a little fear about lacking security. You climb, so you know how boring it is to only climb routes that you've dialed -- there's nothing quite like ignoring the fear that says you can't make the next hold, & then you stick it or fall trying: either way is freedom. I wouldn't recommend living out of a truck tomorrow, but you can move in that direction at any time -- like some of the other posts recommending you move closer to a good crag. Also, learn to live with less: I've got a friend who every time for six months when she'd leave the house, she'd put one more thing she owned in a box by the door, & when the boxes were filled, she'd take 'em to Goodwill. She didn't get rid of all her stuff -- & certainly not anything she truly needed -- but she began to have a different relationship to "stuff" in general, and realized that every pile of mere accumulation is a pile of dirt on the grave. You don't need to jump off the cliff, but you can rappell -- & that first step over the lip is the only hard one.
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petro
Oct 11, 2004, 2:34 PM
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Excellent Thread!!!
Keep talking big and dreaming. No matter where you are, and you're doing it right.
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greyicewater
Oct 11, 2004, 3:26 PM
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just do it if it's really what you want to do. get used to not having much and eating less. for me, climbing comes before everything else. i'm even trying to find a job around climbing!
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phatires
Oct 11, 2004, 3:35 PM
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Wow,
Ok crazy weekend so it has taken me a while to respond. I love all the feedback, ideas, and verbal “spotting”.
I use climbing metaphors a lot in life so I will continue that here.
I so want to take off. Even if only for a little while. But the “what ifs” are what requires the spotter.
I want to do the dyno and jump at the chance of cruising along uninhibited and unabashed. But we all need to cover our selves, to have some type of back up. Only a few can truly solo. Injury, retirement, necessity, lifestyle, and personal comfort. Theses all mean different things to each of us. These all carry a different weight to each of us.
In my situation I have the added fact that after a divorce a few years ago I went on a bit of a spending spree that I am still paying for.
NOTE TO ALL READING!
You really do not need nothing that you can not pay cash for!
Airline tickets and passports will not take you away from your problems,
long enough to truly make a difference anyway.
And the most expensive drink is the free one you get in a casino!
Now I have heard many worse stories. But the fact of the matter is that I did make some bad decisions. The house I bought is with in sight of Saint Cloud State University. I put up a 200 sq foot climbing cave and offered free high speed internet. I have had one of my roommates, who was a close friend, get killed in a car crash, had to call the cops on roommates, had them steal from me, and am still owed money by a few of them. So I did try the rental deal. I about lost my mind.
Part of my increased restlessness comes from the fact that I seem to have made a long string of decisions that didn’t really work out to well. Now I refuse to stand up and cry “woe is me” I still can come out ahead financially and am still living Prozac free. But the system I have tried to work in and live under just doesn’t seem to be the right one for me. May be I just want everything to stop for a bit and allow me to catch my breath. Some thing everyone needs from time to time. So my decision making process is not a total “fu*k it I am going to go play” it is the accumulation of long hard hours of work, thought and dreams.
“Don’t chase someone else’s dream”
“… and looking back on what had promised to be our own unique, unpredictable and dangerous adventure. All we find in the end is such a series of standard metamorphoses as men and women have under gone in every quarter of the world in all recorded centuries and under every odd disguise of civilization.” ~ Carl Young
Thanks for all the input, I’ll keep you posted.
Matt
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jay07
Oct 11, 2004, 4:24 PM
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Matt-
You sound to me like you really need the change. Deeply. As another poster said, pack the house with renters, acknowledge they will trash it but you will retain most of your equity investment, and GO. If the day ever comes when you want all the traditional "security", sell the house and buy a new one in a great place like Lake Tahoe. Get a humble job, and climb on your days off within 60 min drive of your home.
What I think I'm hearing in your messages is that the cube life is poisoning your heart. Not everyone can stomach it. Go.
Best of luck!
BTW I think all the other posters have given excellent advice.
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david.yount
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Oct 11, 2004, 7:22 PM
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I'll further my ideas of packing your house with renters.... also you need to move EVERYTHING you own out of the house and place into storage. Leave NOTHING in the house. Search around for cheap storage, there are almost always move-in deals. Cheaper rates are always outside the city limits. Don't worry if moving your furnishings is a pain; you'll only do it once. Each month you save money on the storage cost you'll be happy you moved it further out of town. Oh, and really pack that unit with your stuff. Do NOT expect to access any specific items after packing, unless you leave it at the opening.
Don't worry about the damage that 5 boys in college may cause. Their damage deposits will mostly cover contractor's costs, and the total repair bill will not significantly impact the positive monthly cash flow.
You might enlist a friend in town to act as your "agent" but that's really not necessary.
Sorry about the housemates that didn't work when you were living there too. It's typically much easier to find reasonable renters than reasonable housemates.
Time to Climb,
david yount.
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fenix83
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Oct 12, 2004, 3:06 AM
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Well, I think I got to the party a little late, but I'll post my $.02 anyway.
Well, I'm 21 and I have worked and studied full-time since I turned 18. On top of that, the role of "man of the house" was kind of thrust upon me when my parents split up, increasibgly so after I got a job and started paying my own bills. The point of all this is to say that I too feel like I am stuck in a cube, and feel a pang of envy whenever I hear about or see someone who seems to have broken out and is following his dreams...
A few months ago I met three guys from Cali who had been on the road for 9 months, driving all the way down here, doing odd jobs on the road, and pretty much just surfing. These guys pretty much sold everything they owned, quit their jobs, and went for it. From talking to them there are a couple of things I learned, which you might want to consider.
-DO NOT GET IN DEBT. The dirtbag lifestyle is not for everyone, and very few people can say they never turn back. If you spend every penny you have and have to start from scratch, chances are you will make it, but if you have to start from scratch will fighting off creditors, you will probably sink.
-If you are going to do this with somene else, make sure you are compatible. It is two completely diferent things to go out on the road for a week, and to have to make decisions on where you will stay, what you will eat and the like, with someone else, when those decisions will have deep ramifiactions and long term impact.
-Make a plan, and commit, but be flexible. These guys talked about how much it meant to them to know that they had somewhere to go, when the fell on hard times or bad weather...
Whatever you choose to do, I wish you the best of luck. Personally, I hope to finish school, and just fall off the face of the earth for about a year, before I really take up family. mortage or other similar responsabilities.
-F
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happiegrrrl
Oct 12, 2004, 4:57 AM
Post #24 of 45
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Registered: Mar 25, 2004
Posts: 4660
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I did a similar thing to what you are thinking, though it was working as an artist instead of going dirtbagging.
I will say that the period in my life where I said "F- - - all of THAT(meaning working for others) - I am an artist, and am going to make art!" was actually a very fun and happy time for me. It was about 4 year from the jumping off point through transitioning into a place where I felt *stable" again.
However - it was also the most frightening period of my life, to date. All of my friends would ask how I was doing and when I told them, I could visibly see they had queazy stomachs. They begged me to go back to work. They were not supportive really, but I can't say that I blamed them. I was subsisting on fumes and paltry sums of money that didn't come close to keeping my bills paid in a timely manner. I wonder if they weren't afraid I was going to come knocking on their door and ask to sleep on their couch!
The one thing that is important to accept, I found, was that the reality of any decision I make, regarding those type of life changes, is not going to go the way I envision in my fantasy. Scenarios come into play that simply cannot be imagined......
One incredible thing I got through that life experience was that, even in my most darkened, frightening hours, I found I was *taken care of.* At any moment, when things got hairy (and oh...how hairy the got!), if I stopped and asked "Do I have what I need "right now?" (not, what I want!).... the answer was always yes. It helped me to be humble with what I felt I needed in order to survive. It also helped me to have more compassion for those who live in dire and/or destitute situations. And it helped me to see that I can persevere, even when paralyzed with fear.
The way I got to the "jumping off" point, where I decided to 'chuck it all" was by doing a writing exercise called the "Morning pages" (from The Artists' Way, by Julia Cameron). This is a daily written meditation. Get a big spiral notebook and each moring, first thing, write 3 pages of stream of consious text. Whatever come out, put it down. Don't show it to anyone else. Don't edit yourself. Just write.
This exercise may help you to gain more clarity on some of the subjects you mentions in your update post.....
Oh - one other thing I learned. There ARE no mistakes. Even things we might see as having been mistakes actually can quite often have incredible possibilities arise from them....
Did my life "turn out" the way I had thought it would when I jumped off the fast track? 6 months ago I would have told you I was in a hell of a place, and could not believe I'd brought it on myself. Today, I can see that I am actually on a pretty solid path to the lifestyle I was looking for when I jumped.
But....those first few steps were doozies.....
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okie_redneck
Oct 12, 2004, 5:09 AM
Post #25 of 45
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Registered: Apr 25, 2004
Posts: 303
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I'm going through something simailar. I just got fired for directly upholding my ex-company's policy. I am furious and feeling vulnerable at the same time. I as soooo tempted to just file unemployment, use my Dad's address for a permenant residence, and go climbing. I can find plenty of places that wouldn't hire me all over the country for 6 months. I used to work for MCI Worldcom in their datacenter. We used Compaq Proliant servers for desktops, but lately, I was working in a call center trying to talk people out of desconeccting their phones for a crappy cell-phone co.
You know what? I'm going to file wrongful termination because I actually love my current life despite not having such a "glamorous" job. I've been able to build a very large indoor wall by spending wisely, I have friends, family, and beloved local crags. If I still worked in IT, I'd be on call all the time and I couldn't take the trips that I really like. I am content to make $12/hr and have a flexible life. I currently have an application in at Applebee's to wait tables. It's a flaky job, but I'm only concerned with being able to climb when I want to, which will not be an issue there.
I can tell you from experience that being jobless and homeless is not a life worthy of envy. From time to time, my friends take trips I wish I could take, but they don't have a 17'x18' home wall, b/c they have no home. It's been raining for days here, but I've done a good bit of indoor bouldering.
If you've got a burr up your butt, get a climbing roommate, a crappy job, and a list of dream climbs. A hard-core roommate with would fill a social and financial gap at the same time.
I have a job offer to make over $100k, but it's in Florida. I can be bought, but that's not my price. I prefer to stay where I can climb within 7 hours of where I live. I am not concerned with how much I make. I simply make enough to climb.
That does not equate to being a bum.
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