Foothold

So....

I'm in Nebraska.  I'm going to be here for a while.  Details are unimportant at this point other than to say if anyone had ever told me I'd have an extended stay in Nebraska I'd tell them (a) only if my car breaks down there or (b) you must be smokin' crack.  But in all honesty, if they'd told me that about South Carolina a decade ago I would have said the same thing.

I'm here for a purpose.  And, I'm here with an open mind, which I've learned from experience is key.  So far so good.  The flight here was uneventful.  I'm staying with some dear friends while I get my feet planted, so I don't feel at all isolated or alone.  I can focus on what I'm here to do.  I've already been to the fitness center to establish as much of a routine as I can.  All in all - it has been a good week so far.

If you've followed my adventures for any length of time you may remember me saying that my career would most likely take me to places outside Charleston.  I also indicated how tired I had become with the weekly drive between Charleston and Raleigh so I hoped my next endeavor would involve flying rather than driving.  Well, all have come to pass.

Some would ask, "Why Nebraska?"  Well....that's where the opportunity is.  I had several options but, in all honesty, most were more of the "same".  The deciding factor wouldn't be one about learning or doing new and interesting things.  It would be about money, and whichever city seemed to provide the best quality of life (and proximity to Charleston).  But this particular opportunity is unique, and different, and in my way of looking at regret , well, I would have regretted passing it by.

One thing about my nature - I am drawn to unique, to different, to "other".  It is a strong motivator for me, as there is very little that could have pried me away form my little heaven in Charleston - especially in a place that has a winter.  But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.  For now, I'm at the beginning pages of the new chapter in my life that I've been mentioning.

So - here I am.  We've had storms come thru every day this week.  In Charleston the threat is Hurricanes.  Well, here the threat is tornadoes.  It's more humid than I imagined - not that it has any significant bearing on anything other than how my hair behaves.  If you want humid - visit central Texas or South Carolina in the summer.

I've only got a foothold here.  I'm staying thru the end of next week to find a place to live and make other logistical arrangements.  Now that I'm comfortable that this will endure for a while it's time to take care of business.

I've already been pleasantly surprised.  There's lots to do.  There's a Black Crowes concert here on Saturday that I might go to - I'd love to see them.  One of the local cities even has a team in the "Lingerie Football League" (link here).  Who knew?  I got a groupon offer for tickets to one of the games and over 300 have already been bought!  Sheesh.  Anyway - like I said earlier - open mind.  I enjoy being pleasantly surprised.  It helps to offset some of the disappointments.

I've already make arrangements to fly back home next weekend.  And although I've got no complaints here so far I'm already looking forward to it.