Mexico Fast Approaching

My Mexican Riviera cruise is coming up fast, and I’m officially in that chaotic pre‑vacation phase where I’m shopping, packing, repacking, and wondering why I don’t own a single pair of shorts that fit the way they did in 1989. It’s a whole situation.

Meanwhile, work has reached the “watching paint dry would be more stimulating” stage. My last day is January 31st, and while I’m thrilled to be wrapping this chapter up, I’m also surprised at how sentimental I’m getting. I walked through the office today looking at nameplates of people who aren’t there anymore, and it hit me — this really is the end of an era. Eighteen years of inside jokes, shared stress, potlucks, and hallway therapy sessions… and now everyone’s scattering like dandelion fluff in the wind. Life really does love a plot twist.

It also made me think about how complacent I’ve gotten over the years. I mean, I used to be the kid who packed up and moved to Atlanta at 19 to tour the country as a professional musician. I went to the Grammy Awards in 1982 for heaven’s sake. Then I left the music world entirely, got myself a “real job,” and moved across the country to Sacramento in 1988 to start over from scratch. Life felt big and electric back then — full of possibility and reinvention.

And then in 1997, theater came along and lit me up all over again. That passion is still there, still humming under the surface, still mine.

So now, with all these new changes rolling in — leaving Sprint, taking time off, heading into a new chapter — I’m hoping that spark comes roaring back. Maybe it’s already starting. Maybe it’s waiting for me somewhere between the ship’s buffet and a margarita the size of my head.

Either way, I’m ready for whatever’s next.