Act II

Today was my last day at my job.  I'll start going through things and packing up in order to head out to Oregon here shortly.  Kind of feels like Act II of my life is ahead of me.

In 1998 when I rolled into Aspen I never would have guessed I'd still be here today enjoying the simple, but satisfying work in a grocery store.  In many ways this job has been the perfect one for me here.  One of the biggest positives was the feeling of being part of the community by helping provide a nice environment for people to shop for their food.  Sounds kind of corny, but getting to know regular customers and people of the town in this way was pretty neat.  Even the seemingly morbid though of knowing at least 20 co-workers and customers who knew me by name that have passed away since I arrived is a feeling that cements my time to this place.  Lots and lots of memories in that store.  Lots of faces.

At 15 years, I was only 10th in the store for length of tenure.  So when I say it was like a family there, you know I'm not kidding.  And not being a big corporate company, I didn't feel like a small cog in a big wheel either.  I had a lot of autonomy and trust in my position there.  Also, there's the whole benefit of the medium manual labor entailed in a grocery store, lifting and putting away odd sized objects most days of the week.  Anyway, I'm just gushing over how much I enjoyed my job while here in Aspen.  I'm quite certain that if I had to endure the restaurant biz here I wouldn't have ended up staying nearly as long.

All of this isn't to say that I'm not slowly coming around to thinking about the next chapter of my life.  If I wind up in another grocery store somewhere down the line that will be fine (this is, after all, where I'd consider myself an expert now).  But I do think a job that will challenge me more mentally is probably in order (I do have an Aerospace Engineering degree after all!).  I LOVE to analyze things, so I need to take this into consideration also.  Ah, I'm just thinking out loud at this point. 

Probably sounds like a lot of gushing over a little job, but 15 positive years at one place is pretty cool.  I am, however, not going to miss those florescent lights and that damn Kenny G song you hear in every grocery store and elevator that is seemingly infinite in length.  I actually have a theory about Kenny G - I believe he only recorded 3 minutes of unique material and the rest of his music catalog is a perpetual repeat of that cacophony.  I can't be the only one to have come to this conclusion, eh?

A funny

Lots of memories going through my brains in these waning days I have left in Aspen.  Out and about as well as at work.  Today I recalled a funny that happened the first year or two I was here, which means like 13 or 14 years ago.  An elderly gentleman (in his 70's I imagine) was in our vitamin aisle and asked for some assistance.  He wanted to know if we had any colloidal silver.  Indeed we did, so I lead him to it and pulled it off the shelf.  He then asked me to read the directions.  I obliged and read out loud the exact directions which you see in the picture (read them now). 

After I read them he looked at me and with a straight face and in a deadpan voice said, 'Well, I guess I'll have to kick my wife out of the house when I take it'

Funniest line in the history of ever.  

Helping Others

I don't have anything lined up work wise for when I move to Oregon.  I'm going to take a break first and think about things while I just enjoy being with the family for the holidaze. 

Always in the back of my mind though, I think about helping others.  Is there anything I can offer or do to help others become healthier so that they may enjoy their lives more?  I feel like I have a lot of knowledge and personal experience in this area, but I don't necessarily see myself as doing anything more than just setting an example.  And this blog has been exactly that ... me sharing my experiences and thoughts and using this space as a creative outlet for my own good.  On the flip side, I do think there are lots and lots of people who very much want to feel better but are frustrated, confused, and overwhelmed with the information out there and could use some basic guidance.  Not everyone is fortunate enough to find stuff on their own that makes sense and works for them.   And there is the key.  The Wonka golden ticket - finding stuff that works for you. 

So, what does basic guidance in helping people find what works for them entail?  Information?  Of course.  Instruction?  Sure.  Igniting a desire for the person to become responsible for their own health through their decisions and actions?  Well, no doubt.  But a lot of people feel like health and nutrition information is confusing and contradictory.  And many have had instruction or taken classes that ultimately did not end in lasting results.  These things dampen the enthusiasm people have for believing they can permanently change their health for the better.  This scenario is no longer becoming an acceptable option in my opinion.  Look around.  Look at the state of health of our nation as a whole.  Maybe I'm fit and healthy, and maybe I hang out with some others that are too, but this is not the direction we're headed in as a society.  And this trend is going to become a burden for us all.  Financially of course, but far more importantly for people's overall happiness.  For their enjoyment of life and their ability to contribute to bettering this whole planet we all call home.  The deteriorating health of us as a species is nothing short of threatening our very existence.  The more unhealthy people there are, the more unhappy people there are.  Helping individuals become healthy is a grassroots effort to helping make the whole world a happier, safer, and ultimately better place for us all to live.  

WOW.  I'm not quite sure where that rant came from.  Writing down your thoughts can certainly help bring about and cement ideas that have been floating around in one's head now can't they?

Anyway, I think the feeling of wanting to help others is just a part of being human, something that's hardwired in us somehow.  It probably goes back to helping the tribe, helping in the ultimate success of survival.  There are of course many ways to help out as well.  Better health through nutrition and fitness just happens to be my cup of tea in this regard. 

No matter what I end up doing, I am excited to reach out and actually meet some like minded people in my future new home.  There aren't that many crazy people like me up here in the mountains.  Well, paleo/primal crazy that is.  Lots of actual crazy people here though

I'm moving to Oregon

Yep, it's finally time to live near my family.  I should arrive there at the end of the month.  I'll likely be posting more on the switch up soon, but for right now the major reasons.

I'm moving to Oregon because I need more of this

I'm leaving Aspen because I'm done with this