I am on a quest.

As most everyone knows these days, I have been, well, a bit disgruntled you might say. Restless. And just a few weeks ago my life sort of switched gears a little (see previous post). And by a little I mean alot.

And by restless I mean anxious. And by anxious I mean ready for something. What? I'm not sure. I nice ice cream cone perhaps. A walk. The new Nickel Creek Album. More likely though, I am ready for a change.

You see, I fear change. I dare say most people in my family aren't too keen on it, and I am a wonderful example of that lack of keenness. In fact, I might have the opposite of keenness for it. I'm not sure quite what that is, but I think I have it. A type of anti-keenness born of a whole bunch of change thrown at me like a wet blanket when I wasn't looking.

Change #1: I am considering a break from school. At least, my current program. Not a permanent thing, mind you, and not until this time next year, but a change. I have been in school for 19 straight years now. What's next, you might ask? Not sure. I'll be applying for the Rhodes (again) and a Fulbright fellowship. Maybe I can be a roadie on the next Nickel Creek tour. Maybe I'll go to more school, just for something else. Like Medical School. Why, Joe? You might ask. Well, this is because of change #2: Grandpa's death. I went to Grad School to help people with strokes. Through an unfortunate and unforseeable sequence of events, I haven't done that for the last two years. And it looks like where I am now is not the best place for it. And my sudden enthusiasm for personal challenge sprouts partly from change #3: Jenn's breaking up with me. To be completely honest, I was forming the next few years around being able to be with her, and being able to follow her. Since this no longer applies (see previous post), I am more gung-ho about getting out there and doing something else. "Out there" could be many places. "Something else" could be alot of things.

But anyway, back to the quest: All of this has inspired in me a sort of want-to-be smarty-pants-ness such as I haven't had since attending my dear old Alma Mater. There I began a classic, liberal arts education. The problem is, I don't think I finshed it. So my quest is to at least continue it by reading. I am (no joke) currently working my way through Einstein's Relativity and need more once I finish. I am thinking things like Cicero, Augustine, Virgil, general histories of things (like presidents) and the like. You know, things I probably have no business reading. Any suggestions are most welcome, about any of this. Let old Joe know.

I hope everyone is well.
Peace,
Joe