Plans

The Weekend Begins

I had a pretty great weekend. It included sitting down and discussing the next 20 months, both in terms of financial goals and life decisions. It started out by handling Hosting duties for my Craft Beer (@CBNCommunity) group’s Friday Night Hangout On Air. It’s only the third or fourth time I've hosted in the nearly 2 years I've been a participant. And it was a blast.

We have a more professional craft beer show on Thursday evenings called Pints and Quarts where I fill a more technical role in the Hangout. But Friday nights are a relaxing unwind to the week; a very light-hearted time spent drinking and discussing a different style of craft beer each week.

Saturday and Sunday my girlfriend and I sat down and hammered out the next 20 months or so of our lives, from financial goals to discussing that next step in our relationship. And we both went to bed Sunday evening with a firm plan of action.

The Fates came to play this Monday

And then Monday decided to make its presence felt. I actually don’t mind Monday. I enjoy my IT work, so heading into work isn't something I dread. And, while this particular Monday was littered with constant interruptions, the day has been full of accomplishments so far. And then lunchtime rolled around where I have a chance to sit down with my girlfriend (who works here in a different job) and relax with some food and conversation and companionship.

As I walked through the main hall upstairs, just outside the secure area she worked in, there were employees huddled, all on cell phones and I knew something was happening. As I sat down in the break room with my girlfriend she revealed they had all been told their line of business was being pulled by the end of April. So, all those plans hammered out over the weekend got served up to the Fates and promptly smashed.

Shomenuchi Iriminage

Now this doesn't mean those plans are gone. Not at all. They are still our plans, still our goals. Life has just stepped in to make fulfilling them the same way a bit harder. But no matter. I’m a pretty resilient guy and I don’t sweat the whims of Fate or Fancy. I studied Aikido for a short while back in the late 1980s and one of its movements is called Shomenuchi Iriginage. It’s often refered to as the 20 year technique, because it is believed to take 2o years of practice to truly master it. But those physical movements of someone coming in and you enveloping them and turning you both around and sending them on their way behind you as you move forward, teach a valuable life lesson. Take what life throws at you, become one with it, and then toss it’s ass behind you and out of your way. You deal with it and move forward.