Rhodes Rage Pre-planning

RHODES RAGE 2009 -"INSPIRATION"

These past few months have been the most hectic, stressful, uncertain, and memorable of my life. For the first time I have no idea what the future holds. I have no structure, no agenda, no boss, no alarm clock, no suit, no tie, no need to apply hair gel, no need to shine my shoes, no clear, definitive direction and it is all due to the simple fact that I find myself unemployed.

For the first time since 1992, my paper route in Upstate NY, I have found myself without a true structured job. I spent 17 straight years in a world filled with rigidity, structure, meetings, deadlines, and appointments - and now I am free to do whatever I please. Those 17 years are the equivalent of one's childhood - all spent worrying about whether or not I am being productive and staying on-track with my ten year plan to become a hotel General Manager or the CEO of a billion dollar company. I in no way resent that time I spent at those jobs, nor do I feel that it was time wasted. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and the skills and lessons I learned have brought me to where I am today. And today is the start of a new life.

I have still yet to determine which path I am going to take as it relates to a profession, but one thing is for sure, this time, I make the rules. The goal now is to start my own company, move the family to a place where the high for the day is below the surface temperature of the sun, neighborhoods exist in which neighbors don't confine and mark their territory with 8' walls closing them off from the rest of the world, people smile and wave - just because they want to, the grass is real, the mountains are close, and the water is closer. This new path in life is all about "ohana" (family to those that do not live with a Hawaiian). I want to be a better husband and a father that is there to watch his kids grow-up and be a part of their lives. This is the new 5-year plan...

But before I start this new journey, I find myself in the same situation that I did right out of college; blessed with a 30 day window of opportunity to forget about life for awhile and take time to discover the world at my own speed. Spring & Tyler recently hopped a plane to Hawaii for a 40 day hiatus with Grandma and Grandpa in paradise and left me in the the rarest of positions; free to do whatever I want. So what was the first thing that came to mind: "ROAD TRIP"!!!

So it begins. A 38 day tour of the United States with only three items on the agenda: (a) must be in Garden Valley, ID to work a Sunset Racing event June 18 - 20, (b) must be in Roanoke, VA for a wedding June 26 - 28, (c) must be in Vegas to pick-up the family from the airport July 21. Other than that, it is free reign! This blog will capture my journey, dubbed "Rhodes Rage 2009", so that you too can live my dream with me. I will even let you ride shotgun...