The End of Another Season

In a few hours, I will be leaving the Ice, headed for Christchurch New Zealand.
I'm not sure what to expect. It will be a different sort of return as there will
be no favorite hotels in which to spend the night, no favorite restaurants in
which to eat, no parks to take off one's shoes and walk through the grass
while looking at incredible flowers. All of this was taken away by the recent
earthquake. Christchurch will rebuild, but the scars will be deep. It will be
interesting to see what will happen in the next few years.

In the meantime, this has been a different kind of season on the Ice. Much
of it was very rewarding. Especially having Lynn here for the first time in a
couple of years was especially nice. I enjoyed my job and the people I worked
with, but there were times that it seemed very tempting to just say the heck
with it. I know that 99% of the world's population thinks the same thing, so
I'm definitely not looking for sympathy. I've enjoyed this season well enough
to sign my offer letter to come back. At this time, there aren't a lot of jobs
in the States, so it is a good opportunity to work at a job that is enjoyable
and provides a paycheck. Not necessarily a given in today's world.

For now I'm going back to reality. Away from the Ice, which is definitely not reality.
I'm certain that I will fit back in with the standard that much of the world's
population lives in. It may take a couple of weeks though. For some reason,
it seems harder this year.