On Having My Head in the Clouds

Last week, my group received word that there is going to be a rather large reorganization of our business unit. For me, that means we're about to be doing some downsizing. Talk about a gut check. Now you can be positive all you want and focus on things that you actually have control over (doing both already), the fact remains that if everyone is doing that someone is going to be disappointed.

In a semi-sadistic way, I almost want to be cut. Maybe that would be the proverbial kick in the ass I need to go after something I'm really interested in. I have this daydream occasionally of tinkering on a project in the garage, building my own workspace from scratch in our garage. It's an incredibly simplistic dream but one that I find heartwarming nonetheless. Clearly, losing my job would afford me the time to go after that but I'm pretty sure that would not be the best thing for securing my family's well-being.  Just a hunch.

I've had an equally heartwarming but even more unrealistic dream of hitting the lottery. I don't know why I even let that one exist.  The odds of "winning it big" are greater than me meeting my fave celebrities, Dwayne "The ROCK" Johnson or Jennifer Lopez, and those odds are incredibly tiny themselves. Still, it's in that fantasy that I'm able to think of the things I'd do. Let's dream a bit. Assuming I pick the right numbers or enter the right contest, here's my plan of attack:

1. Tell Alissa she doesn't have to work anymore unless she wants to. Ahhhh, that felt great.
2. Time to give the job the boot. It's been real but it's time to leave. Yeah, I'll be nice and give you two weeks' notice but you better believe I'll be more or less keeping a seat warm more than anything.
3. Now that I've rid myself of that crap, time to go back to school. I want to tinker but I need to know how stuff works.  One of the most fun memories I have as a kid is taking apart my bicycle and putting it back together. I have a knack for building things but when it comes to soldering, knowing what chipsets and other tech-bits are needed to build something functional, I'm not that educated. So, off I go to school to figure that part out.
4. Time to move. Ok, maybe that should be #3 to limit the schools to research. Atlanta sucks, the end. I'm moving somewhere that is:
• Closer to family, preferably within a 20-30 minute drive
• Provides a rich, culturally diverse environment for my kids that fosters free thought and a progressive way of life - no editing of textbooks and hindering the free-flow of, you know, FACTS for these kids
• Gives me some opportunity to have a job with my new-found education
5. Relax for a month or so. Well, relax as much as you can with two kids 3 and under at home.
6. Make something really cool with the new-found talent of making widgets.
7. Change the world.

There you have it: a totally realistic plan to start with. And all it requires is an incredibly unlikely stroke of unadulterated luck.  What a nice dream.