Going through our archives, we came across this great post by Dr. AnnMaria De Mars from August 7, 2015 “My Exciting Life“ that we wanted to share in case you missed it the first time around.
Having been in Rio the past two weeks where Internet access occurred in five-minute increments roughly 11 hours apart, I have a few blog posts saved up I was unable to upload. Expect a few more over the next few days.
July 26,2015
I was in our office at the Water Garden exactly 1 day before heading out of town again. I’ll get back in early August, be home for less than 24 hours before leaving again.
The receptionist at our office (are they called receptionists still, or do they have a new title at the same pay, like ‘telecommunications operative’ ?) said to me:
Wow, you have a really exciting life!
It was funny because I had just been thinking how this was getting a little old. Most of the time, whatever airport I’m in, my laptop connects automatically to the wi-fi because I’ve been there before.
Whether it is Minneapolis, Washington National or Tokyo, all airports are pretty much the same and I know the drill – change planes, eat mediocre airport food, which is marginally better than nasty airplane food, pick up luggage, get car, get to hotel. It doesn’t matter if I’m in a hotel in Dallas or DC or Devils Lake, my routine is pretty much the same – get some exercise, get on the Internet to get some work done and get to sleep.
I work pretty much every day, so I have trouble keeping track of what day it is or what time zone I’m in. My iPad says it’s 9:08 because that’s the time in Texas, which was the last place I had an internet connection. It’s 7:08 at home in Santa Monica and 11:08 in Rio.
My point is that you do anything often enough it becomes routine. I’m guessing that the person who does the fireworks show at Disneyland every night comes to work and says,
Ho, hum. Another day of explosions, another dollar.
This isn’t to say that my life isn’t really fun and awesome at times. It is. The fun times aren’t so much sleeping on a 10-hour flight to Rio, though.
The most fun I have had lately has been with people.
At Spirit Lake, I went to dinner with the teachers and site coordinator who were involved in 7 Generation Games from the very roughest alpha version. Dr. Erich Longie, whom I am proud to call a friend, had to leave early for an event the next day honoring the president of UND who had overseen the retiring of the Fighting Sioux nickname.
The teachers and I spent the evening lakeside sitting around a fire talking about our children, love lives (or lack thereof) and future plans. As a female tech entrepreneur, one doesn’t get a lot of chances for “girl talk”, so it was precious time just hanging out.
It’s the closest I am ever going to get to camping since The Invisible Developer believes that sleeping outside on the ground is ingratitude to our ancestors who evolved to the point where they could build houses.
I’m not so jaded that I haven’t taken the time to take in the sights in Rio. Everything from whatever this is (papaya?) and espresso for breakfast to the flavelas. In fact, I’m actually taking more time to “stop and smell the roses”, or, as in the North Dakota State Fair that I stopped in on last week, the sheep manure, than I ever have in the past.
In part, that is because as I get older, I am beginning to appreciate the opportunities I have had to see everything from Athens, Tunisia, Beijing, the Grand Canyon, New York City, to the Peace Garden, the Minnesota State Fair and Disneyland. Some of the time I have taken full advantage of the opportunity and others not so much.
More and more, I’m having the sense to realize that those opportunities will not be infinite and not to let them pass by.
There is also the fact that I’ve spent so much of my time in various ‘exciting’ locales working and I’ve come to accept there will never come a day when I say,
“That’s it. I have done all of the work there is to do.”
So, I may as well take a break now and then and take in the scenery. It’s also taken me about 30 years in business to quit worrying that I will run out of work if I don’t take every single opportunity that comes down the line.
The other thing I have learned about my exciting life is that just about every place I land has something worth seeing. Sully’s Hill Game Preserve on the Spirit Lake Nation is definitely worth spending a day or two exploring. So is the Prairie Village in Rugby, North Dakota. Maybe it’s routine to you but to me it’s exciting.
Which is why, when I finally get some time at home late next month, I’m going to take an afternoon off and spend it lying on Santa Monica Beach.
——- My Day Job
Stuck in an airport and bored? You can play Fish Lake and get smarter.
(You don’t have to be stuck in an airport. You can play it if you are bored at home, too.)