King of the World

A friend and coworker of mine said we had to have lunch this week or next because he’d be gone the following week.  What?!

Over chile rellenos, enchiladas, and chimichangas at Mercedes Hair of the Dog on Commercial Street, I asked him to spill it.  “So where are you going?  Are you leaving-leaving or are you just going to another department.  What’s the deal?”

“I quit.”

I gulped.  “Wow, I mean, no one quits in this environment.  Why would you do that?  I don’t get it.”

“There are so many other things to do besides work.  I’m going to travel.  Maybe South America, Europe…probably South America.  I’m not worried about a job.  I know I’ll find one when I want to find one.”

Hell yeah!  I love that kind of resolve.  I just don’t think that way anymore.  Maybe because I’m about to get married.  Maybe because I lived that life already.

Eleven years ago, I did exactly what he did.  I quit because I hated my first job out of college and I was so confident in my abilities I didn’t have a care in the world.  I stayed up late, woke up late, checked my stock portfolio, and hung around San Francisco.  When the time was right, I started looking and landed that coveted startup job that pays you so much more than what you deserve.

Good for him.  Today, someone reminded me about absolute happy sheer self-confidence.  Can you imagine?  I’m the king of the world!