The Danaissance

One of my favorite feelings in life is when things just work. Like the days when after dropping off my laundry I step out of the laundromat and the bus is just pulling up. It's the feeling of being in sync with the world, in tune with some great cosmic harmony. The resistance that makes life difficult just falls away, and though things may still be challenging, you know you're on the right path. I think of being on the right path in terms of my favorite video game from my youth - Dragon's Lair.

In this game, you were the noble knight Dirk The Daring, attempting to save Princess Daphne, a damsel who had been abducted by a dragon as damsels were wont to be. To reach her, you must wend your way through the dragon's lair, facing all sorts of challenges. And every now and again, to help you out a bit, there would be a quick flash of light in the direction you should go. It would generally occur at the last possible minute before your character would be killed, and it provided you with practically no time to react - but if you were watching for it, if your reactions were fast enough, the game would let you know the path you ought to take.

In that way insignificant things have of becoming significant, the way of proverbs, folklore, and religion, the video game-inspired idea that life will provide you with some last minute guidance if you're watching for it and leap when it occurs has become basic to my philosophy. I enjoy the way life changes direction so rapidly, the way your path can abruptly take an unanticipated turn -- be it a lottery win, a sudden and chance meeting with the love of your life, or perhaps a new job opportunity.

For instance, Memorial Day weekend 1998 I happened to catch a T.V. show on the city of San Francisco. While watching it I was reminded of how much I had wanted to move to San Fran when I was in my early twenties, and felt some regret for having missed my chance. By the time I was 28 I had a good job, a decent apartment, a dog, and as I remarked aloud to Zeke, now it was too late, and it was a shame I missed my window of opportunity for that particular dream.

Two days later my boss informed us that the fellow who managed the network and servers in my company's San Francisco office had given notice, and did any of us want to transfer out there? By the end of the day, it was all done but the details and I was moving to San Francisco.

This year, I began July with both a dog and a girlfriend and by August I had neither - and in the middle I went without power (and air-conditioning) for a week. That was not a good month for Dan.

Yet August and September were terrific, two of the best months I've had in years. I was part of a focus group which paid me in a video ipod; not a big deal, but sweet. I got into the alpha-testers group for a new video game I've been dying to play - again, no big deal, but something I was very happy to get to participate in. In August I fulfilled a lifelong dream, and last week had a very successful program at work -- one that I'm directly responsible for. In short, things are working.

Oh, and I got a great new job.

It was one of those flash of light moments, when my boss called me into his office to tell me of a position at our parent company, one he felt was exactly what I was looking for. Much like that day back in 1998, I lept at a chance as it presented itself, and my life is now heading off in another direction. My grand experiment as a corporate training professional comes to a dignified, and welcome, close, and my focus returns to information technology. A change of location, a change of responsibilities, yet I continue to work for terrific people in Human Resources, making a difference on a grand scale for a company that impacts hundreds of millions of people.

Though I had been considering taking my leave of NYC, instead I get to see what city-living without a dog is like, and I'll have the freedom to throw myself into the new position without having to accommodate anyone else's schedule or needs.

As it's said, you cannot cross a chasm in two short leaps. This fall, I'm taking a big jump and I'm looking forward to seeing what life looks on the far side.

I apologize for the paucity of posts these past two weeks, and despite the turmoil of life there will be more blog posts to come. Though I won't be writing about my job (keeping work out of the blog is rule #1) there shall be plenty to say on a personal level. I'm dating again, for instance. I had never planned on this being a dating blog, but my favorite blog is one of those, so maybe I'll give it the occasional try.

Last week for instance, I went out with two women - one who looks like a bird and didn't stop talking for three hours, and another who was lovely and charming, but with whom no sparks flew. You'd like to hear a little about them, wouldn't you? Yeah, I bet you would...

As with life I've no idea what path my writing will take, nor this blog, but if you're ok with me making it up as I go then stick around. It's a brave new world for Dan, a Danaissance, and I'm not entirely sure where it will lead...