Hope in all the right places

I have a very strange fear of dying of dehydration. Most of the time this works out to my advantage, because I drink a lot of water and eat tons of fruits and veggies to stave off said death. But once in a while I have to face that fear. And this week I am: I've gone to the desert. Las Vegas to be exact.

Those who know me know that I've sworn off this place. I've been here several times, and it's not really my scene now. Alas, there is a trade show here, and I want to be involved. So here I am. Again.

Once I got here I knew tons of old memories would come flooding back. And I was right. But they weren't the memories I expected.

The last time I was here I had just turned 27 and swore to myself that I was going to do all those things I had set out to do in life. People say that all the time, but dammit! I was going to do it. I was about two months into it and honestly thought I wasn't doing too bad.

I wanted to get paid to write. At the time I worked at a job I hated and didn't do much writing beyond emails. These days, most of my job is writing, and I even get to play on Twitter and Facebook.

I wanted to be in better shape so I joined a gym and worked out a few days a week. The weekend I was in Vegas I certainly wasn't going to work out! This was Vegas for god's sake! This week I packed my workout clothes without even thinking about it.

I lived in Minnesota, the state I grew up in. No way in hell I was going to spend the rest of my life living there. Don't get me wrong, I love the place, but have you checked the weather lately? No thank you! I can't complain too much about the weather in California...because it's CALIFORNIA! Oh, and I call it home now. Sick!

I started blogging then, and I tried really hard to update regularly. But months would go by and nothing would be posted. Lately my posts have been weekly and usually on the same day. (OK, OK I am a few days late this week, but c'mon it's Vegas!)

The few days I have been in the desert has been nothing but encouraging. And at the beginning of the year, with new goals in mind, I think most people could use the encouragement.

So in that spirit, I encourage everyone who has begun a journey, big or small, to look for the positive influence in something they may not have considered, whether it be that person who never has anything good to say or a place with nothing but difficult memories. You may be surprised at what you encounter.