A FRESH START

Well, after a two week self-imposed “blog break”, I’m back! And in a much better place now. Figuratively speaking! Like I told Ken the other night, I realized I’d been harboring some resentment over the whole Georgia ordeal (I think that was pretty evident in my last few posts!) and that’s not the person I want to be.

So I took a break. To clear my mind of all the bitterness and negativity I was feeling. And I’m glad I did! Because that’s not what this blog is all about, either. This blog is about sharing my experiences with you while I’m on this “life changing journey”. And ultimately, this “life changing journey” is about just one thing:

POSITIVITY!

So I’m making a fresh start! No more negativity. Too much good has been happening on this trip for me to dwell on the bad. I am the happiest I’ve been in a LONG time! I’ve been having some good luck here in Charleston! And I have a sense of fulfillment like I have never felt before.

It’s difficult to explain but I feel like I’m on the verge of something, you know? I don’t know what, but my intuition is telling me I’m on the right track. Like I am close to finding a purpose in my life. I know this all sounds counterintuitive because I’m not really “DOING” anything, but I feel like I am finally achieving something!

Right about now you’re probably saying, “Okay JP, you’ve been on the road a little too long! Time to come home, you’re starting to sound cuckoo!”

First, let me just reassure you. Any mental deficiencies I have now I had WELL before I ever left Texas! So don’t worry about me!

Secondly, I realized quite a few years ago that I’m not a “conventional” type of person. Doing nothing might just be exactly what I need. Marriage and children, a mortgage and a SUV, settling down, retiring, blah, blah, blah….are all great things. They’re just not for me. (Although, if I’m being honest, my one regret in life will be that I didn’t have kids. But who knows what the future holds? Maybe I’ll knock up some chick on this trip!)

So let me catch you up on some of the good things that have been happening for me here in Charleston…..

I have found SO MUCH work here! The staffing agency I originally got on with loved me because I am reliable, have a strong work ethic, and I kept getting “repeat” requests from companies so that made the temp agency look good! So everyday I showed up looking for work I’d get to choose my job. They’d even save specific jobs just for me!

They just didn’t pay much. And I was working my ass off! Another staffing agency heard about me and offered me more money to go with them. Then two days later I received four permanent job offers in one day! I took the permanent-temporary supervisor job at the UPS warehouse in Mount Pleasant!-Steady pay for a couple months! Been there two weeks now!

By the way, my coworkers at the UPS plant love me too!

I’ve also met some pretty cool people here. I posted a profile on roomies.com saying I was looking to rent a room for a couple months. After being bombarded by numerous scammers I was finally contacted by a legit surfer chick. Her and her boyfriend were looking for a roommate to split rent and utilities three ways with them. Her name was Kristin (shout out!) and she seemed really cool! Bad news is the day we were all supposed to go check out this sweet little house on James Island she texted me saying her bf shared with her that he would feel more comfortable if they had a female roommate!! No shit!! Wouldn’t we all?? I couldn’t really blame the guy though!

It was kind of fortunate for me that fell through. A couple days later I booked a cozy, quiet, and secluded “cottage” through Airbnb for a month, also on James Island! About 10 minutes from Folly Beach! I will be beaching it every weekend!!

I joined a gym!! Technically I just joined so I could use their shower, but managed to go everyday last week and workout! So there’s that!

What else has happened? Oh yeah, I sold one of my travel photos!! But you already knew that!

Which reminds me, my online photo store is now live on Picfair.com. I’m still in the beginning stages of creating my gallery but please check it out. So far I’ve added 20 or so of my personal favorite pics and given them clever names with short descriptions.

And finally, today I picked up a pencil and a sketch pad for the first time in over 20 years! Thank you Jennifer Coy (shout out, Jen!) for suggesting it. I’m out of practice but it sure felt good to be drawing again! It’s hard as hell to reteach yourself perspective drawing after this many years, but I’ve got plenty of time on my hands.