Wow, you’re like a regular Martha Stewart! That’s exciting about the house. What kind of dog do you plan on getting? I wish I had a dog.

Work couldn’t be better right now – mainly because I’m no longer doing it (and loving every minute of it). I had more knee surgeries in October and had my doctor write the leave for 3 months instead of the 6 weeks I got after the first one. It was a strategic move on my part. I knew they’d cut me loose as soon as my FMLA time ended and they totally did. I actually had a super scary dream the other night. In the dream my employer decided instead of paying the unemployment they’d offer me my old job back. I woke up so frightened I immediately called HR (thankfully I never get up before 11 am these days so that worked) and updated my address with them to my parents house and told the lady I was moving to NJ. I don’t really think they’d want me to go back, but figured I’d hedge my bets. This way I can make all sorts of unruly demands about relocation assistance back to MN if they do. Fuckers can rot.

The knees suck. I’m hoping to persuade my doctor to remove the screws ASAP. I really can’t do much of anything with them as they are. In fact, they’re much worse than they were before any of the surgeries. I’m confident the pain is associated with the screws and having them removed should resolve that issue. I will admit: I didn’t quite realize what I was getting into with all of this, but would make the same decision over again if I had to.

As far as the next few months, I’d like them to play out like this:

Move out of my apartment at the end of this month. Go to NJ for 2 weeks. Come back for a knee appointment mid January and have the screws removed shortly thereafter. Go back to NJ. Get cast in a Norwegian reality TV show and travel to Norway late April/May/June.. Fly back to MN to swap out clothes for things more suitable for Thailand. Fly to Bangkok roughly 6 months from today. Perhaps teach English, but definitely spend a few years traveling through SE Asia.

I’ve never actually written that out. It all sounds kind of crazy, but I’m deadset on never returning to a cubicle. Ever. Period. Done. Over it. I’d rather live under a bridge than suffer through that again.

There are ton of variables, so I’m basically waiting right now to see how it all settles. Normally at this point I’d be a mess with so much uncertainty in my future, but I’m really not. The past few months have given me a clarity I didn’t have before. The ability to just roll with things because I’ve got faith they’ll all work out. I’ve never had that before. Being able to relinquish control is a really beautiful thing.

Anyway, this email got away from me. Tell me more about Nashville. Have you been dating long? You and Nashville should plan on spending a weekend in NYC sometime this spring. The friends I’ll be staying with live in Newark which is like 20 minutes outside the city by train. I’d love a chance to catch up with you in person and NYC is always a fun place to wander around. I did meet a guy while I was out East in September. We’ve been texting quite a bit. He’s super sweet. I’m not sure where it’s going, but that’ll become clear as things start to settle. I’m planning on being gone for so long I’m hoping to keep it light, but the universe is maybe apt to throw a relationship my way when I’m least looking for it.

Best,