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Disorientation

Orientation lasted two full days last Thursday and Friday and was replete with seminars, lectures, affinity groups, small groups, lunches, dinners, chapel service, too many new names and faces to remember, and lots and lots of handouts to peruse. (Aside: until recently, I thought that "peruse" meant to read casually, when it in fact means the exact opposite.)

I told my affinity group, which comprised second-career students, that since I had left work only the prior Friday, and since classes had not yet started, that I felt as though I were merely on vacation and not embarking on some crazy--albeit inspired--midlife U-turn. Conversely, knowing that come Monday morning I would not be taking an 8:30 bus into New York to get to my office, but rather an 8:30 class (Systematic Theology--ack!), I also felt a bit like the coyote in the Warner Brothers cartoons, who after chasing the road runner off a cliff, finds himself momentarily hovering in mid air before plummeting to the ground.

Meep meep.

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 25, 2010 at 2:16 PM

    peter not touching my mac wants to write in response to this post:

    u turn or fork? ... peter chung


    ppat

    ReplyDelete
  2. JohnSeptember 25, 2010 at 8:59 PM

    I feel that it's too dramatic a turn to be considered a fork. The path I was on was career-oriented, offering a good salary, benefits, and a comfortable life. I turned away from that (wisely or unwisely), and in some sense I'm now back on the road I was on 20 years ago.

    ReplyDelete
  3. joeOctober 1, 2010 at 5:43 AM

    it hurts me to see you use the word "midlife". we should get matching sports cars (like the pastors: eugene & jay).

    ReplyDelete
  4. JohnOctober 3, 2010 at 4:02 AM

    You own a motorcycle, don't you? Seems like you've already had your midlife crisis. As for me, a hybrid SUV is as edgy as I get automotively. Saving gas is cool!

    ReplyDelete
  5. joeOctober 6, 2010 at 11:57 PM

    actually one of my justifications for riding the motorcycle is to lower my carbon footprint. it gets up to 60mpg. we should start a midlife hypermilers club.

    ReplyDelete

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