A Little Bit Crazy...

Yep, have been away a while. Sorry. Life sometimes gets in the way of blogging. We deal with it. Last time I posted I was trying to get caught up at work in anticipation of a little early October jaunt to Mexico. Life has gotten plenty interesting since my return. How interesting? Nice of you to ask...

Now that the government has posted a travel advisory for U.S. citizens considering trips to Mexico, it only makes sense that I'd develop a hankering to go. In my visit last month, I enjoyed running the roads with gangsters and Federales, I've decided to make it a long term project. Really? Well, no, not really. Well, sort of. Hmmmm...

Okay, so here's the deal. I've been sitting behind a desk hunting heads with a fair amount of success for more than four years now. Prior to this, I've never sat in one place or worked for any employer other than myself for more than two years. Ever.Well, okay, I carried a weapon for Uncle Sam for three years, but we weren't sitting still in one place, believe me. So, yeah, maybe I'm a little bit stir crazy, but coping. Ya know? Then, a couple of months ago, my cell phone begins vibrating one morning...

"Hey, what are you up to these days?" greets my former client. "Still headhunting," says me. "How's that going?" says he. "Okay," says me. "Interested in looking at a project in Mexico for me?" he asks. "Tell me a little bit about it..."

So I bounced it around with the spouse, dickered terms with the client, spent a week down getting the lay of the land, determining viability, communing with my friend the sea, and convincing myself it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. Didn't take a lot of convincing...

So, today was my last day as a full time headhunter. I told the bosses I'd stay on a "as time allows" straight commission basis to wrap up a few projects ongoing and help train my replacement, if they can find one. Meanwhile, I'm going full immersion into the Rosetta Stone, boning up on Mexican land law, water law, formalized graft system, political undercurrents, etc. Dealing with title companies, engineers, surveyors, Mexican government officials, lawyers, shysters and con men. Will be developing an off-the grid seaside community along one of the most beautiful beach fronts in the world, playing daily in the body of water Jacques Cousteau deemed "the world's aquarium." Am I pumped? Really? Oh, yeah...

This is going to be about as big a lifestyle transition as I've ever encountered - going from the predictable structured 5:30 to the gym, 9-6 work day, AA meetings on Friday evening and Saturday morning, Sunday bike ride... to setting my own schedule, traveling incessantly, intensive periods of 18 hour workdays followed by leisurely weeks off, finding an AA group in San Felipe (just looked it up - its there) and connecting with a whole new group of friends in recovery. Comfort zone? What comfort zone? Yikes!

But really, yes, I am pumped. And not least because this is the first one of my hair-brained adventures that I've actually cleared in advance with my family. Did I forget to mention I can be an asshole? Oh, sorry about that. Innocent slip...

But yes, the family is excited, too. We've all begun earnestly planning our escape from the increasingly rancid atmosphere of red state Texas, and perhaps Los Estados Unidos as well, as our native country does seem to be taking an ugly turn that might really be more unpleasant than we care to face at this point in our lives. Worst case scenario, we wind up fully transplanted to a seaside oasis where the sun greets us from across a sparkling sea each morning and bids us farewell in the evenings as it slips away over the adjacent purpling mountains. Best case, America doesn't fall apart, and we split time between some civilized state like Colorado during the blistering summer months, and winter at our Mexican getaway.

And in either case, I come away fluent in the Spanish language, expert in navigating the Mexican bureaucratic process, fully conversant in a culture I've lived alongside my entire life without sharing so much of its beauty, and newly versed in foreign building and living practices alien to the average American. And I'll have a whole new slew of friends with whom to fight the pull of the jugo del agave...

Bienvenido a mi vida loca!