Start Your Engines (Kevin)

"The adventure doesn't begin until something goes wrong." Yvon Chouinard said this or something like this. If this is true then March has been an adventurous month. I have yet to place a foot outside of the country and I've already been swamped with setbacks. A month long illness that erased all the training I'd done in January and February. The uncertainty and stress I felt from not knowing if I would be quitting my job or taking extended leave (the leave was denied and I quit). The most devastating event happened yesterday when I lost my wallet. Yes, March 2011 is a record breaking month of travesties. It's no surprise that lately I've taken a twisted comfort in listening to DNTEL's album "Something Always Goes Wrong."

Before things were going wrong I was working as a crew supervisor for the Washington Conservation Corps (an Americorps program) out of Bellingham, Washington since 2008. In my spare time I hiked and biked and got outside as much as possible. Then I started climbing and mountaineering and I met Krissy. We've done a lot of climbing together and undoubtedly it was during one of these climbing trips that I complained about my job and confessed my desire to quit. Four years of a decent wage and reliable employment funded my weekend outings and even a month to New Zealand. But I still felt restrained.

After a particularly difficult year on the job I decided I had had enough. I booked a ticket to Kathmandu last August with Krissy and started down the path towards Nepal. After the initial excitement of booking my flight, quitting my job and departing for Asia was always far away. "Oh, I can look for jobs later. I've still got four months." "I can put off a training hike for just one week. I've still got two months." Then suddenly, behind a veil of sweet smelling cherry blossoms, March made it's inauspicious appearance and I never seemed to have enough time.

But you know, despite these setbacks the sun sure seems to shine brighter these days. I was talking on the phone with my buddy Brandon,* lamenting the decision to leave my job when he told me: "It's not like you're going to look back ten years from now and say 'I wish I still had that job with the WCC.' If anything you would be upset that you didn't go on your trip to Nepal."

And he is so right. Even as I'm scrambling to cancel credit cards and get a new driver's license I can't help but smile. I'm going to Nepal! Tomorrow!

*Brandon is graciously driving Krissy and I to the airport tomorrow. Thanks bud!