40 minutes remaining here at the fly shop. It is officially (but probably really unofficially) my last day of work here at Cimarron Creek. As I pass these remaining minutes at what has undoubtedly been the best place I’ve ever worked, something is vexing me. You see, there are two donuts remaining in a 12-count box of assorted pastries sitting on the desk to my left. I have reason to believe that they are at least a day old, since they have a special “manager’s special” discount on them. $1.99 for twelve assorted pastries. Meaning, they were probably made in the environment of 36 hours ago. And yet, they tempt me. One is sugar-coated, the other is topped with chocolate and sprinkles. I have little reason not to eat them; they are just sitting there. Who will want them? I’m closing shop, which means by the time another employee comes across them, they will then be close to 48 hours old. Really, though, I shouldn’t eat them. They’re not mine. I was never given permission to take from the 12-count box of assorted pastries. Though it was probably a box of 12 donuts. Not pastries. No, I will not eat either of them. And yet, they still tempt me.
I move to Denver tomorrow. People ask me why. I say, “because it is time.” Which it is. But why Denver, I am asked. ”Because an opportunity presented itself and I took it,” I say. Not opportunity in the way of a job. Oh no. In fact, I am leaving two wonderful jobs here in Montrose to pursue gainful unemployment in a city where I know three people, my roommate included. One day my friend Amy sent me a text message that said something to the effect of “hey joel, wanna move 2 denver? i need a roomie” 72 seconds later, I responded, “ok.” And the rest is history, in a manner of speaking.
I want to say a big thank you to the city of Montrose, Colorado. It is the town in which I grew up. I received my primary and secondary educations here. I fostered many friendships here. Many of these friendships are still in the process of being fostered. Following college, Montrose brought me back and let me prepare for two years in Africa. I never really missed Montrose until I was 6,200 miles away, sitting in my broken blue chair inside my dry and stale mud hut in the Sahel of Burkina Faso. I missed the red light that would never turn green on 5th and Townsend. I missed the hogback. I missed shoveling snow from my neighbor’s sidewalk. After two years of appreciating the town that I left behind, I came back. I spent the fall selling fishing licenses and wool socks at the fly shop by day and selling 20 packs of Coors Light and Firestone Riesling by night. And it was awesome. I even got to shovel snow. In fact, I shoveled a lot of it this morning.
Probably the best part was spending a little bit of every day with my family. Whether or not they know this, they’re pretty cool people. All of them.
So there really is nothing drawing me away from Montrose. But I leave tomorrow, regardless. Ostensibly, it appears to be the end of my readjustment from Burkina Faso. That being said, I know that living in Denver will force me to confront certain realities from which the comforts of Montrose have protected me. Namely, paying rent. Yes, I am 26, and I live with my parents. But only for one more night.
15 minutes until close. I’m still eyeing those damn donuts. There really isn’t any internal turmoil going on here about the pitfalls of consuming too much junk food. I just don’t know the owner of the donuts.
My non-resolution resolution for 2009 is to write more. Here goes.
I like your non-resolution resolution. I fully support it. In fact, it makes me ecstatic.
And don’t worry – a mentiony-mention of your other internet writing venture is forthcoming on my blog. You’ll get some traffic.
When I moved to Seattle, I didn’t know anybody. At first, it scared the living daylights out of me.
Now, though, I am certain it was the best decision I ever made. Sometimes, doing something just because it’s time is all the reason you need.
I hope that your move goes smoothly and that even more opportunities present themselves once you get settled in Denver. While it wouldn’t be my city of choice, there are many things I like about it. (Mainly my dad, my sister, my dog, and my friend Grant.)