Day 327– February 28, 2015

I may have a job. Although friends (spies!) at the prospective company, including my future boss, tell of an impending job offer, I hesitate to notify the world and myself of employment lest this job offer collapses and I must start anew. The company’s head of recruiting called yesterday to ask for references. To answer the unexpected phone call, I jumped out of bed naked, reading about heroin.

I may like the job’s salary. I may like the position, my colleagues, the short bicycle commute, and simply working again. I’m excited and scared to learn functional coding – not just for art projects – and prove myself in a different vocation. Still, I have yet to receive a job offer.

The head of recruiting inquired about possible start dates. I told him about my upcoming trip (to Vietnam) and offered to start work well before the trip, possibly Monday, March 9, just ten slim days from now.

I freak out after the call from excitement for the future but also panic for my dwindling free time. I draft a list – always lists – called “What’s Left” to itemize what I should do before returning to work. I expect pages of tasks, but happily get stuck with just a few items.

I need to prepare for Vietnam with passport photos, an entry visa, immunizations, and internal flights. I’d like to file my taxes. I want to start an art project to bridge free time into work time to show myself that personal projects need not end after I return to career.

Two main objectives remain. The first: visit friends Alex and Ruben, both of whom I neglect when working, as they live over an hour away. I will tour the zoo next week with Alex and his kid. I drive to Sacramento midweek for one last hurrah bender with Ruben.

The second: make a last gesture to freedom to close out the year. I may rent a car (sorry, Toyota) to camp alone for a few nights in southern California. I can hike, cook, sit, and reflect by a lake.