Onward and Upward

I have officially departed St. Thomas.  Bittersweet as always, I look forward to moving on but if I wasn't sad about leaving than I would have done it a long time ago.  I had a great time with a lot of great people whom I will miss intensely.  I learned a lot about hotels and hotel management and island living, and so much more.  I get a little misty every time I think about the fact that I can't just pop over to St. John on my day off anymore, every time I think about what I'm going to miss this winter (Gremlin's Birthday first and foremost, but also the beginnings of my friend's new business, all the boat trips, discovery days, and local events), whenever I think about all the fantastic friendships that I made there, and every time I consider how freaking cold it's going to be at home!

So here I am, unemployed and adventuring once again...first big question I need to tackle: to go abroad again or stay in the US...or maybe another US territory...Guam anyone?  Next:  to grad school or not to grad school?  And finally, if yes on grad school, what exactly do I want to study?  I know I already have plenty of options open with just a bachelor's in engineering and if I study something different but similar it would open up new doors without closing existing ones - so for me that would be ideal, the more doors the merrier!  I love doors!  Options are my favorite, except for times like now, when I am paralyzed with indecision at all the options that I do have.  I think the most important thing I need to remember right now is that all of my options are not going to pan out, that's life, so perhaps I should just apply for every single thing I am considering and see what I get before I get too caught up in making up my mind.  For that I will need a list of everything I want to do (or what I want to do the most right now because I'm pretty sure making a list of everything I want to do is impossible...because I would like to do everything eventually...) So here goes:

Grad School - either here or abroad, in an environmentally or developmentally relevant field either in the state or abroad....if I go abroad I would like to go to either England, Ireland, Australia, or perhaps Poland or Belgium or somewhere else entirely....

Job - entry level environmental engineering job...sounds tempting but also very scary because that had the ring of career to it, and if I'm finding something career worthy I damn well better love it.  So in this area I have every right to be, and definitely will be picky.

Volunteer - You all know my Peace Corps term got cut short...it was pretty devastating in the moment, but now that I've had a few years to work and travel and generally work towards recovering from that, I think I might be up for another go...I also adored AmeriCorps and would be just plum thrilled to do that again for the right opportunity as well.

Short Term Job - temporary solution, all about having money in the here and now.  Tempting, as something to hold me over in the moment, but also tough to commit to because it can make things so easy in the moment that its hard to move on to the bigger future-making and goal-relevant type ventures.  I have done this a bunch of times (ie. Seasonal trail guide, UPS holiday helper, sales person at pet store, grocery store sale tag changer, etc) and every time it gets me through the moment but also slows down the real hunt for my next adventure (with the exception of the grocery store one, I hated that job so much it made the hunt for a new adventure more furious and I put in my notice 3 weeks early because I just couldn't wait).

And those are just the broad categories of options, within those categories there are a million possibilities!  I love potential, it's like all the things you are capable of being and doing quietly waiting for you to reach out and pick one thing to strive for.  The important thing is that whatever I do next I give it all I've got, and learn everything I can from it, because that is what life is all about!

Wondering what I'm doing now?  Hanging out at my friends place in Tampa, FL, dreading my return to the great frozen north, and playing with her puppy dog while she's at work.  Got a few excellent shots of little Gizmo yesterday...included below.  Taking pictures is my favorite.  Someday I'll make that my job, when I win the lottery.  For now - Gizmo glamour shots are still a hobby!