It has begun! Week 1…

This post is part of the “My Life Off the Comma” series about my Nomad journey. If you haven’t read my earlier posts, I strongly recommend you go back upstream and read these earlier reflections, so that this post will make more sense for you.

Greetings from the road! As of this writing, my nomad adventure has begun. While I still very much have a home in California and that is my home base, address and voting location, I have begun the travel adventure for a little while.

My trip was delayed by a week due to an unplanned contingency, but I was able to get that resolved and continue as planned.

Since I’m behind and needed to catch up, I’ll be brief in my descriptions and include a few pictures. Those are at the end!

I’d like my posts to include at least 2 parts: What did I do? (will include where did I go) and What did I learn? (will include reflections, etc.) I’ll try to follow that with What’s next. For Week 1 of the adventure…

Here’s what I did:

• Departed from home with everything packed and ready for the road.
• Enjoyed a LONG drive almost completely without music, podcasts or any other media. I sure enjoyed the quiet and just watching the road for long stretches of time.
• Arrived in the Phoenix area to stay with one of my longest and closest friends. (NOTE: I think I will keep people anonymous here until/unless they ask me to refer to them specifically. Keep that in mind for future posts. I hope I don’t forget my own rule!)
• Spent the thanksgiving holiday with my friend and her doggie. She was gracious to include me in her festivities with her friends and they were generous with sharing from their feast.
• Got to practice a few days of juggling work with visiting and socializing and also helping around the house, where possible.
• Began the leg from Phoenix to San Antonio with a stop in El Paso for the night (to break up the long drive). Another friend recommended I check out the scenic drive up the mountain, above downtown. I’ve been to El Paso before, but never this view. What a treat to be able to see the view over El Paso and Ciudad Juarez!

Here’s what I learned:

• My friends are so wonderful and I’m grateful fortunate to have them. Not just the friends who have (and will soon) open their homes to me, but also all of the folks who have been texting me and asking about the trip, how I’m doing, what it’s like, where I’m going. Thank you for each and every one of you!
• I’m so grateful for the roads we have in this country that allow us to get around the way we do. To think that I’ve crossed 4 states in the last few days and have seen such amazing beauty. I could write for hours about all the beauty we have out here in the western US.
• My systems are so vital to how I operate – physically and mentally! Now that I am on the road, I’ve turned my trunk into my closet. When you build a new routine that involves moving in and out of places every few days or weeks, HOW you pack and organize your stuff is very important! Over the course of this week, I was able to see what worked and what didn’t. I rearranged some of the things in my suitcase and bags. I rearranged my trunk. I bought a new container for some of the things. I spent a lot of mental energy figuring out the most efficient way to “use” my things. Which ones need to be used the most? Which ones are just for backup? Which things are for later, when there might be snow? Etc. etc. etc. I now have a system that I believe will work well for me in the weeks ahead. The effect that had on my mental clarity and relief was truly a big deal!!!
• My routines are also vital to how I operate. Although this was a holiday week and I had some work to do, along with quite a few podcast recordings, it was a little disorienting trying to figure out how to dedicate time. This is mostly because I’m used to having time blocked and working from a home office that is already setup and easy to just walk into and use. Now, although I have everything I need (and it is well-organized LOL), it is still a different routine. I also need to factor in setup and packup time in the routine. Once I get setup and working, I’m fine. It’s just the preparation and the focus that takes a little time. Many thanks to my friend for her patience with me and for letting me sequester myself in her spare room to get the work done! I so appreciate you!!!

Here’s what’s next:

• This week ahead, I will work from San Antonio. I’ll be staying with another great friend and will also make time to visit other friends who live in and around the city. I’ll report on where I go from SA in the next week’s post!

Closing thoughts:

So it has begun. It still feels surreal and I have a huge mix of feelings. On the one hand, I’m very excited for the adventure and for all the surprises that lay ahead. On the other hand, I’m a creature of routines, habits and systems, so I am also nervous about how I’m going to maintain my level of productivity and standard(s) of work quality. But… I trust that this will works itself out. It may also change how I view work and redefine some of my standards. We shall see!!!

As always, please feel free to interact with this post. Send me your questions, your thoughts, your comments. I’ll reply when I’m able.

I hope this post finds you recovering from your week, your holiday (if/however you celebrate) and doing well. Wishing you nothing but good things and peace and fulfillment, my friends!

~ Paul