It's Official. Job Over in T-28 Days.

It's official.

I gave notice to my bosses today.  I thought that would be the best part about today, but my friends' support made me smile more.  

One of my best friends from law school changed his GChat status to:

Mentor grinds out for five years at a firm.  Mentor makes bank. Mentor saves and scrimps and buys her way out of debt.  Mentor gets debt free.  Mentor gets hammered on Tuesday night, quits on Wednesday and then bikes the length of the Americas.  My mentor > your mentor.

While we didn't get hammered, it's just about right.  I thought it appropriate that we ended up going to the opening night of the Banff Film Festival at the National Geographic, which features awe-inspiring adventure films about the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes (thankyouverymuchstevejobsforthequote).  They bring to life the extremes of climbing, mountain expeditions, remote cultures, and the world 's last great wild places (thankyouverymuchbanfffilmfestwebsiteforthequote).

Another good friend sent me my theme song for the day... and then suggested I go in packing heat, as in, be on fire, blaze of glory.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD74-1G9o_U&t=54s

Not so much a blaze of glory, but I'm leaving on a high note.  

I had a lovely review, got a lovely raise, and somehow managed to make my hours for the first time so I got a lovely, if surprising, bonus.  Did I say I could travel for 4-5 years?  Add on a year or so to that number... or maybe just a little cushion so I can start my mountain biking hostel in Bolivia...

The Biggest Risk (Or Walking Away From My Job)

I've done a lot of supposedly "risky" things in my life.  I've thrown myself over waterfalls in a rubber raft,  jumped out of airplanes, built a balsa log raft and floated on in down the Peruvian Amazon, trekked the Lost City in Colombia, backpacked through Southeast Asia, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, climbed frozen waterfalls in sub-zero temperatures, among many other random adventures.  I make it a point to keep myself on the edge of my comfort zone and fully engaged in life by completing goals off of my ever-evolving bucket list.

I wish Morgan Freeman could narrate my bucket list!

My life, however, has been an exercise in an orderly and well-planned existence with bursts of "slightly insane" interspersed.  I've always had a job of some sort since high school.  I've always had a plan well before I quit each job I've ever had, whether it was a new job already lined up, or graduate school.  Every step I've taken, at least on paper, was a logical step towards a robust international law career.  Long vacations were always timed to happen logically between stages of my life, so that I never really had to ask for a leave of absence.  I survived on adventurous long weekends and vacations taken after particularly grueling deadlines.

For the first time, I will be quitting my job with no plan.  For the first time, I will be quitting my job for no reason, other than I think it's time.  I do not have to negotiate a formal sabbatical.  I do not have to hope that my bosses will understand.  I get to simply walk away.  It's a little nerve-wracking.  For the first time, I am taking a real risk.

I had intended to give notice on February 1, but I just found out that I will have my annual review on January 30th.  It only makes sense to give notice at that time.  One week.  To the day.  Holy crap.

Cross-Country Road Trippin'

One of the hallmarks of American youth is the dream of the cross-country driving trip. While this won't be on Route 66 in an old convertible with the top down and wind in my hair, it'll be pretty damn awesome. Turns out that the cost of flying out west and transporting all my earthly possessions cross country, then getting myself down to the border with Mexico, would only be marginally cheaper than renting a car. A couple hundred bucks more and I get to visit all my people in between and go play in national parks?  My likely cycling partner wants to join me in Colorado for the rest of the road trip? My my travel insurance offers rental car collision coverage? I get to the border well in advance of the killer hot days of summer? Done and done.

Five weeks.  Me.  A Car.  U.S.... Watch Out!

My itinerary looks something like this:

March 1: Pick up rental car.

• Washington, DC
• Cleveland, OH (Efrain B-Day)
• Ann Arbor, MI (Katy)
• Lansing, MI (Godparents)
• Grand Rapids, MI (Katie and Marie)
• Chicago, IL (Lorien)
• Lincoln, NE
• Boulder, CO (Kiki, Noah, and Snowboarding n' Fun Stuffs)
• Grand Junction, CO (Lauren and Fruita MTB!)
• Moab, UT (Arches, Canyonlands, Moab MTB!)
• Zion National Park (Camping n' Hiking!)
• Salt Lake City, UT
• Boise, ID (Starry)
• Richland, WA (Parental Units)
• Seattle, WA (Bros and Leah)
• Portland, WA (Kate?/Mark?)
• Redwoods National Park (Camping and Biking!)
• San Francisco, CA (Vik/Scott?)
• San Diego, CA (Andy/Linda)

April 5: Drop off rental car and start BYK.

Time Passes... Happy New Year!

It's hard to believe how fast time flies.  Is it really less than two months until I ride off into the sunset?  Just twenty-six days until I give notice?

I had a conversation with one of the senior attorneys at my office a couple days ago.  He's the only "power-that-be" who knows I'm quitting because we have a good working relationship and I couldn't lie to him when he specifically asked me how I saw my future at my law firm.  It went something like this:

"So, I just wanted to let you know that I'm giving notice on February 1st with my last day being February 28th 

"Oh, so soon." 

"Yea." 

"I don't suppose you'd consider staying on as a highly paid contract attorney working remotely until the end of this project?" 

"Um... no.  That kinda defeats the purpose of quitting." 

"You're basically the only one I want doing work for me." 

"Yea, sorry.  No.  You do realize that I had originally planned on giving notice yesterday and that me staying through February is already a concession I've made for the team, right?" 

"Oh.  That sucks."

Anyway, in other news, I tested the Troll out over the holidays on snow and ice in Riverton, West Virginia.

Ain't she sexy?  In sleek snow riding mode.

We stayed at a huge house tucked away in the mountains just a hop and skip away from all the glorious mountain bike trails and climbing to be had at Seneca Rocks and Franklin.  Of course, we ended up basically getting snowed in... but that was just fine by me.  The house was gorgeous with a true chef's kitchen, a cozy fireplace, huge plush couches, and a ton trails to explore on the property itself. 

Going down is easy... its getting back up that's hard...