Four Years Ago Today

It was four years ago today, on Thursday, July 10, 2008, that I endured my last bit of bullshit as a full-time employee. I left the office feeling miserable about what had happened to me at work that day, climbed on my bike to ride to my chiropractor appointment just before 5:00, and discovered, by the time I got there, that I'd actually decided to quit. Ironically, it was my future-friend Julie ("just" my chiropractor at the time) who learned about this dramatic turn of events before I'd even gotten home and could tell Vicki.

Of course it wasn't really just that one odious event that did it, but it did take a final straw being added on to break this particular camel's back. With the hindsight of four years, including knowing what transpired at that office in the years after I left, I'm happy to say that I've zero regrets about making that change. As Julie and I were talking about over the weekend, so many good things came out of that decision which likely wouldn't have happened if I'd kept working. My first two novels would certainly top that list, as I simply can't imagine having the peace of mind to write either of them had I still been caught up in the rat race over the past four years. Also up there would be the reconnecting with family members I've been doing, which has obviously been much easier to accomplish with the free time I'm now lucky enough to have.

So here's to four good years so far, and hopefully many more to come!