truly madly deeply

this is one of the most electrifying moments of my year, literally. it was around 9:30 a.m. on a little speedboat in Cabo San Lucas. the sky above was cloudless and blue. but in the 15-20 minutes that i was waiting my turn to go parasailing, we could see, in the very far distance, a couple patches of flashing dark clouds building, growing, and coming in fast. i didn't get to parasail.

(i still can't believe my cheap-o $100 digital camera took this shot. i am extremely pleased with the picture quality of the outdoor photos.)

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the Mayor released his budget last Friday while i was in Mexico; my job is officially slated to be eliminated at the end of the year. i have known that this was a strong possibility for months, but now that it's official, i can be open about it and about what i might like to do next. having had started aggressively saving this year for a downpayment on a house coupled with the fact that i live very simply, i'm in a remarkable position to not have to worry about having a job for awhile.

one of my top ideas: well, as you know, i've been rather lazily trying to learn French. i've also been casually looking into spending a month in France, or another French-speaking country, to take intensive French lessons. i believe this is a first step to possibly moving to Dem. Congo, Rwanda, Chad, or Cameroon, where there is a need for food security officers and other community development personnel.

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i rewatched Truly Madly Deeply last night, which as one of my favorite films is in my very modest DVD collection. it's a story of a woman and man who shared a beautiful relationship at one time, but the man unexpectedly died. the story follows the woman intensely grieving the loss, their reunion of sorts (through supernatural means obviously), the acceptance of what was lost, and the genesis of finding new life, purpose and love. the story is both a celebration of the past, and a celebration of the future.

there are some similarities with this story and the crossroads i've reached in my own life. i thought it would be scary to be here - and for a moment it was, and now it is not. it is, in many ways, celebratory.