“If you dare nothing, when the day is over, nothing is all you have gained’
-Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book
The last ten months of my life have been spent in a frenzy of “hurry up and wait,” as we like to phrase it in the military. Life has been a rollercoaster from the moment the announcement was made at the end of August 2019, that my business unit had been sold, until the last week of June when I shut down my email and handed in my laptop and badge.
Many people were disturbed by my decision to package out. I was too young—committing career suicide. Shouldn’t I want to continue to work, develop my career? Some were jealous, chained to the need for a steady paycheck for personal or family reasons.
It wasn’t an easy decision, but as time went by and the date got closer. Any doubt in my mind that it was the right one disappeared.
Am I quitting working forever?
Not necessarily. I’m taking a pause to re-evaluate what’s important in life, and how much I really need to work, while Ray and I turn 31 acres of Alaska wilderness into an artists’ retreat and our future summer retirement getaway.
Alternative Energy
I’m definitely going to be putting my technical skills to the test, working on our new solar kit and performing a battery study this summer. I also plan on doing a wind study to eventually install wind turbines to complement our system
Writing
Even with all of the physical work we have going on, being disconnected from the constant chatter allows me to focus on my story and blog writing in a way that I just can’t in town.
Stepping off the Merry-Go-Round
Take care everyone. I’ll have some auto-posts on social media over the next few weeks, and when we come back into range for supplies, I’ll post updates on where we are at with our off-grid adventures. Hopefully someday some of you can come join us.
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far it is possible to go.’—
T.S. Eliot
Thanks for reading. Follow my blog or sign up for my newsletter if you would like to find out more. My first self-published novel, The Dark Land, is Available on Amazon.
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