Site Update & Matt's Slightly Early Midlife Crisis 2019 Edition

You might have noticed a slight lag in site updates lately.  This happens periodically as I get busy but this time there is something bigger going on.

The last year+ has been a real struggle.  Between a long term relationship ending, multiple acquaintances passing away unexpectedly, seemingly countless friends going through major upheavals, and to cap it all off at work (yes I do work) the previous owners of the company I've been at for the last 5 ish years committed major fraud and stole several years worth of payroll taxes (among other things) and seriously imperilled the stability of my position moving forward.

As a result I've been fighting all around burnout for some time.  Shorter breaks haven't helped and it's been getting to the point where it has started to affect my ability to get joy even out of my volunteer outdoor activities which have been my major passion for the last decade.

So with Jen's unwavering encouragement I decided it was time for something drastic.


My last day of gainful employment is May 24th at which point my plan is to spend as much time as I can manage over the next 4 -ish months outdoors. Jen and I are heading up to the Sierra this weekend for our traditional Memorial Day Massacre trip and then...I have time.  For the first time in a very very long time.

I have multiple Sierra Club / Wilderness Travel Course backpacks planned and I'll still do those.  There's a few dive classes / boats that have already been scheduled and paid for along with the big dive trip to Indonesia at the end of June. We may do the JMT again at a slightly slower rate than last time.  And more importantly I get the chance to finally take a bit of extra time vs always rushing back and forth between Orange County and the Sierra trying to jam in as much as humanly possible.

It's scary.  It's exciting.  And I have no doubt that things will change massively. But hey, we only have one life to live and it's way too bloody short for half the things I want to do.  So stay tuned because things are liable to get interesting :)

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