*sigh*
Feeling sort of wistful about my job today. Love my job. Love the people I work with. But I've been here for five years. I'm 37 years old, and I just can't figure out what to aspire to. Should I try to be the Executive Director of a larger and more prestigious non-profit organization? That doesn't resonate. Most of my peers go into consulting. I'm actually familiar with how consulting works (of a sort) due to a job I had a decade ago with Ernst & Young. I'm leery of working on a consultant basis though. Most everyone I know who does that works all the time, and much harder than I do. You never know if more work is coming your way, so you never say 'no.'

I talked to my architect today to set up a meeting so we can go over their ideas for my place in Fort Lauderdale. We were on the phone for a good 45 minutes talking about art and architecture and sculpture. If I had to do it all over again, I would have been an architect. Next time I see my Dad I'll whack him one for discouraging me from that. Now it's too late. When I was managing the relocation of our agency down here, I just loved that. Fianlizing the design, seeing it all go up, working with the contractors. I've looked into going back to school for Construction Management, but it just seems so unlikely that someone would hire a person with my background. I haven't built anything beyond a chicken coop. Which is still standing I'll have you know. But, I like the independence, the concern with design, consensus-building leadership skills... and the fact that it has such the butch cache... (I guess 'butch' and 'cache' really shouldn't be used together, huh?)

Last night I was talking to a friend of mine and I spilled my bartender fantasy. I should talk to a bartender. I think I'd make a good one. I wonder if bartenders regret that they're bartenders? Especially if I was living in a place like Fort Lauderdale, where my condo payments come to a whopping $420-a-month, could I get by with only working three or four days a week?

"Hi, Dad. How are things? Good, good. What's up with me? Well, not much. Oh yeah. I quit my job and I'm tending bar now."