8. Excitement Is A 7th Sense

so the blog… this was something i promised myself that i would do. i knew i wanted to capture the stories, the people, the joy of the people, the challenges, what I learn- all of it. i thought i would start it the week between puerto rico and argentina but didn’t because of wrapping up everything else. i then thought when i got to argentina i’d start it immediately but of course got caught up in the fun of being somewhere new.

then Monday came- where I said i’d take the day to start. it was hard to take a day from exploring to focus on yup- technology- what i find as a flaw for myself. after a run i found a small, organic café to settle in and figure out how to set up a website. knowing how to work a gopro is a challenge in itself, let alone set up a blog. i also don’t like being the center of attention so starting to write about my life was such a block in my mind.

monday evening dasha had a BBQ at her condo for all of their local skydiver friends- to celebrate the recover of their dear from teresa. she had gotten in an awful skydiving accident just 3 months before and was now walking- and most notably dancing. i want to have her sass and bright soul when i “grow up.”

i walked down into the patio after “blogging” (just saying that makes me laugh- i’ve always thought blogs were so cheesy) and the big skydiving group immediately welcomed me in. lots of wine, champagne and good food was served. amalia and marcelo were there so it felt like home being with them. once again i felt incredibly grateful for the “sky family.” this is a term that is commonly used in skydiving but every day that trip i realized just how true this term proves to be. that night ale, his friend marcelo and I stayed up drinking a ton of good argentenian wine. marcelo barely spoke english yet the 3 of us were able to laugh so much and tell stories in the broken languages.

tuesday was a late start due to so much wine the night before. damn argentina wine is just too good! i worked on the blog in a new lovely café. marcelo met me in the evening to have coffee (him) and wine (me). it amazes me how argentinians can drink coffee all day and night. he bought me organic crackers and hummus which was lovely as we sat outside under these little lights.

my favorite quote from that conversation is from him- “you have this constant sense of excitement…i believe excitement is a 7th sense.” how true is this?! i come from that corporate world where I would literally beg people on friday to be excited about something, anything, everything. i got so tired of asking people “what are you doing this weekend?!”…and getting the answer “nothing.” in my disgust with this, my mom said “damnit woodbury, just stop asking that!” and i did. but c’mon people, be excited about SOMETHING! it doesn’t have to be anything crazy…but a walk with your dog, a new run, a puzzle, a farmer’s market, a new book…anything! get excited, wake up, go live your life! what are you waiting for? take a risk. it can be as tiny as taking a step outside, looking at the sun, making a wish. please! i love that he called it a a 7th sense.

we had so much fun with that café that he then took me to an amazing seafood restaurant called nemo. he picked lovely red wine (if you can’t tell by now, this is my favorite), seafood appetizers and entrees. it was this little local restaurant in palermo. the deal was if he treated me to that dinner then he’d let me treat for icecream. second to wine, i love chocolate so i have had some great icecream…but the icecream that night was unreal! it had chunks of chocolate, cake, fruit…yes they let me sample a lot.

my favorite conversation over dinner was when marcelo asked me if i believe in signs in life. i immediately said yes and that it is so important to be aware of them. these days it’s easy to be so connected to our phones, our computers, tvs and not notice those little signs around us. i love disconnecting, even if it’s for a few minutes outside – this way the little signs are possible to see. we both agreed that once you slow down, there’s a lot of little signs that point to yet or no in life. the next day proved that.

also notable from those two days was a conversation i had with ale. ale is a very successful businessman, family man and skydiver who has won world championships. through other quick conversations, he caught on to the story of me walking away from my job and going to travel. he gave me the best advice, the advice that a million percent reassured me i had made the right choice. in life we tend to overcomplicate things- and i love when it is all simplified. he said when it comes to our careers, there are 3 rules- to make the job worth it. there must be 3 things- and if any one of these three things are missing then it is absolutely time to leave. just 3 things to remember! they are: you can grow from your current position, you enjoy the work environment, and you are compensated based on your ability. ale is a very direct, no BS person and he made it so black and white. if one of these things is missing, then move on, no questions asked. in my past job, 2 out of these 3 were FAR from being met- the salary was met- but the lack of the 2 other criteria made work miserable. moving forward, these are my guidelines for my career. no complicating it, no justifying that 2 outweigh the third missing. no, each person deserves to have all 3.