Cube with a blocked view.

You get one life - Live it.

Warning: I'm about to be extremely judgemental. Deal with it.

Last night, as I walked home from the train, I followed a man carrying six beer from the local liquor store. And as I walked, I wondered what kind of day (or life) he had, that he needed beer on a Monday night.

Now, I'm a social drinker. I don't drink to forget about my problems. I drink when I'm out with friends - and at most I have one or two. I don't need a drink to get through a day or a week, and I wondered (briefly) whether those beer were for the night or for the week.

Regardless, it made me wonder if he was living the life he wanted to live. I suspect not. Those who are, don't buy six beer on a monday night and drink them while sitting on a sofa. In fact, cheap beer on a Monday night reeks of someone who has given up.

Now, it's not like I'm perfect in any way. I spent about a year using WoW to hide from life. I enjoyed the heck out of that game, but when you get right down to it, it was just an escape. I'd stopped doing other hobbies I enjoyed (quilting, reading, the gym). The night a keylogger forced my to do a low level format, I realized how ridiculous the situation was. I cancelled my account that night and haven't played since.

In the meantime, however, J and I were talking about travel and goals and...well, I was whining about not being where I wanted to be or where I thought I'd be at this point in my life. I was wondering if this was all there really was to adulthood - bills, work, food and sleep. I didn't seem to have enough time to do the things I wanted to do (oddly now that I've dropped WoW, I feel less like that), and my life felt as if it belonged to someone else and I was just along for the ride.

I wanted to take a 3 month leave of absence from work. First, let it be said that J and I can easily afford it - especially since at that time we were considering remaining in his house which would have made us debt free. He looked at me and said, "take a month and go to Europe." I scoffed at the idea at first.

But now, I have a flight to London booked. I have tours picked out in Scotland and my passport is waiting. It'll be a little inconvenient at work since I've been placed on the security council, but life goes on and they can deal with it for a month.

It's time I took my one life and started to live it the way I always wanted to.

posted by Erin @ 7:20 AM