Time is a funny thing. We live and die by time. Its easy to lose and impossible to get back. Time is the undefeated heavy weight, stalking us in the opposite corner of the ring. Time is fleeting and the most common feeling towards time is that we all wish there was more if it.
My time in Arizona is ending. This coming week I will undertake a journey that dwarfs my previous journey to the Desert. Before the sun rises on Tuesday, I will be in my car, with all of my possessions in tow, heading for South Carolina to start the next chapter in this saga.
I think Morgan Freeman said it best when his character, Red from The Shawshank Redemption, recites the line: "I find I'm so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think its the excitement only a free man can feel. A free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain."
What is it that has gotten me so excited you might be asking. What about my job with the cardinals? Just what in the hell is going on?? These are all good questions and the answer is simple. Last Tuesday I was offered an opportunity to get back into intercollegiate athletics at the conference level at the Southern Conference and I accepted without hesitation. Although my stint with the Cardinals was only a couple of months long and challenging due to factors outside of my control (I'm looking at you Derek Anderson) I had a great experience, met some great people and learned a lot. However, the plan had always been to move out here temporarily until an opportunity more in line with what I wanted opened and one finally did.
The position will be in Multimedia Services, which is similar to the work I was doing with the OVC last year. Its technically another internship but its paid w/ overtime. Finally, I'll be getting compensated for what I love to do. They asked me to start the first week in February, which leaves little time to waste seeing as the drive from Phoenix to Spartanburg, South Carolina will be in the neighborhood of 30 hours. I've learned just how tiring driving all day can be after my move in October, which is why I've decided to break this trip up and stay the weekend in Nashville, catching up with old friends and meeting new ones, most likely named Bud Light.
Before I leave Arizona, I'm trying to take in as much as I can. I was finally able to hike a mountain this weekend. The experience of seeing the city of phoenix from an elevation of 2,000+ feet was incredible. I would encourage any of you who read this blog to get out wherever you can and experience some of the beautiful and amazing things offered by nature. Although it wasn't because I'm leaving soon, I also was able to attend the Insight Bowl this December which featured my beloved University of Iowa Hawkeyes and the neighboring Missouri Tigers. The experience was a great one and what made the occasion even more exceptional was my buddy from college, Phil, was able to come down from St. Louis to not only join me, but provide some bomb ass tickets, courtesy of Anheuser Busch.
There are countless other experiences down here that have been new and enjoyable and I can say without a doubt this has been the very best winter I have ever had. I've met some great people and reconnected with others. I was able to experience a way of life that always seemed like a dream to me (70 degree weather in January?! Thank You AZ!). Now I'm leaving it all behind in the pursuit of a new challenge. But while I'm still here I can't help but think of all the things in the coming weeks and months that I will be missing out on. If only there was more time.
See ya in the Eastern Time Zone
