The idea of a new adventure can be a daunting one, mainly when one is already used to the notion of certainty in many precarious situations—a trip to Japan and South Korea for the fall and then a trip to Japan this winter is one thing, but to uproot my life from what I have known for the past 5 years for a new home, a new beginning, an opportunity, and an investment is quite another and yet that is precisely what I Roosevelt and Churchill intended to do. Together, the Big Three, Gonkers, and the Cat intended to set out on an adventure. The time had come for us to leave behind what we thought we knew and had, embrace a fantastic new beginning, and have room to spread our wings. 2025 will be nothing less than spectacular; I am knowingly pushing myself to the very limits of what is possible and what I am capable of.
My trip to Texas as a boss was an enriching experience. At first, I worried about the success of my mission and whether I could turn the corner. Texas was a significant investment and risk that might not pay off. As I began the incredibly long drive, I had plenty of time to think over what I had promised to deliver and how I would do it. I found myself in similar circumstances to that of Eisenhower during the invasion of occupied France with the invasion of Normandy. Like Eisenhower, I had paramount goals and objectives, and despite having intelligence of what would be available to me and where things would be, I knew that certainty was not a sure thing. Failure would put everything I have worked so hard to accomplish and what I had planned for in the future, both at work and outside.
Surprisingly, everything went better than I could have expected and hoped for. My commercial vehicle fleet was available to me for the upgrades, and I completed 95% of the fleet, leaving the Desert agents with only a few vehicles to upgrade. But what surprised me the most was myself. When I left the desert in 2020, I was young and still somewhat of a "green" worker. Today, I was anything but. I was confident to jump in a truck and speed down the road, ready to tackle opportunities. From allowing others to take the lead and bear the responsibility for the job or events here, I was now front and center, absorbing that role and taking on every more. I wasn't used to the adjustment from worker to boss, and I often had to mentally stop and think of how I should handle various situations and circumstances.
The last day was my actual test of how far I had come. Not only did I step up to the plate, but I swung for the fences and knocked it out of the park. Leaving was bittersweet. I missed the action, the fast pace of everything happening, being in the middle of it, and being a part of it, but I did not miss the dust.
Texas also did something else; it allowed me to test my suitcase cases to see what I would and wouldn't need while traveling abroad. I can't begin to explain my frustration at lugging around too much, especially stuff I didn't need, which only weighed me down and kept me from buying more or enjoying the trip as I often fell over or lugged my belongings around. The one advantage of this was that you could send your suitcases from hotel to hotel using Japan's services throughout travel. When considering I wouldn't be flying back to the States from Tokyo but to Seoul instead, the last thing I wanted to do was haul a bunch of stuff with me, especially when I needed to be flexible and free to move as I would be in a country where I would be truly out of my element.
South Korea doesn't use Google Maps, so navigating and moving from place to place was a welcomed challenge. Not to mention everything else that I have to figure out, such as customs, immigration, and getting to my hotel, the goal will be to send back the vast majority of my stuff through the mail, although I have no idea how that will work. The amount of books I bought was incredible, especially after considering the last debacle when I came back, and my suitcases were so heavy that I had to pack an additional four bags for check-in. The library I was bringing home still left me with a backpack well over one hundred pounds. The Sheree feat of carrying it through the airport was incredibly overwhelming, not to mention attempting to stuff it in an overhead bin. I could imagine the whole flight falling out onto someone.
Each day, I grow increasingly excited about my trips, life, and everything in and around me, provided I keep harmful individuals out of it. Individuals who would rather preach and speak out of a place of fear and anxiety ultimately result in me questioning my sanity and everything I have worked so hard at. I can not answer everything; for many things, I have to connect the dots with abstracts, faith, and will, something that goes counterintuitive for people who want a store thing from point A to B, but ever since we set sail in search of new and enchanted lands there has never been a sure thing only new frontiers of possibility. What would my story and life be if I remained in Plato's cave, never risking anything or taking a chance at anything?
Even before I have accomplished the excellent and impressive trips of 2025, I look towards the horizon of the next big trips of 2026 and what they will bring. Already, I have planned China, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Thailand, Bangkok, and Japan, The Northern addition. Life is a religion. You believe the narrative you want to the rest is just heresy.