Serendipity

I love waking up in the morning and having no idea what my day is going to be like, Who will I meet? Where will I go? What will I see? I'm not much for planning; I plan to go to work and the gym five days a week. Isn't that enough?

Some people are born planners; they get a lot of joy out of the anticipation and comfort of knowing what they will be doing. Makes sense; routine has its benefits. It's nice to have something to look forward to to stave off the doldrums of the day to day grind.

This morning I woke up to the sound of cars driving through the rain. Oh, I love that sound! I love the rain for one very important reason: It gives me an excuse to completely chillax and check into the yin life. I snuggled back under the covers and stayed in bed. Mmmmm! This feels amazing. 

A few hours later I woke up with a wild idea. I grabbed my phone, opened the Apple Store App, and checked out the latest and greatest laptops. You see, a funny thing happened on Camino, I did all of my journaling on my iPhone. Why? Because I sent my iPad home. It was too heavy to carry and too difficult to use. So, I got used to writing on my iPhone.  Walk, write, eat, sleep, repeat. Everyday a new adventure, everyday words dripped from my thumbs. 

Since I've been back I've had a terrible case of writer's block. This morning it dawned on me, Of course! This whole sitting on my ass staring at a desktop isn't working for me. I need to be out and about, doing, seeing, experiencing life and then the words will come. I have to write on the go. 

I headed to the Apple Store by way of Starbucks and an overdue pedicure. (My first since returning from the Camino.) An Apple sales guy approached; he looked vaguely familiar. I told him what I wanted, he got it for me, and when I put down my phone I said, "It's been on Camino," pointing to the shattered screen.

"Oh, how was that?" he asked, as if we had started this conversation somewhere else at some other point in time.

"It was amazing, transformational...."

"That's where I know you from!" he said. "I used to work at REI."

"Oh my gosh, right!"

We talked for about 20 minutes.

"Don't you miss working at REI?"

"I miss my coworkers (a propos, I thought.) and I liked helping people get ready for their adventures, but I never got to hear how things went, so this is cool running into you."

I explained the technological challenges I experienced with my iPad and wifi, but also how awesome my photos from the iPhone 6 turned out. I showed him my blog on a display computer and the photos. (He had to at least appear like he was working!) 

"How did your gear workout?"

"I didn't have any blisters! I was one of the few!"

"Oh I remember talking to you specifically about blister kits."

"That's right! I didn't need that stuff. Good boots."

"Did you end up carrying food?"

"Yes, but that's a whole other story!"

"What would you do differently?"

"Two things come to mind: walking sticks are a must and so is a sleeping bag..." 

"Great to know. I still keep in touch with my colleagues at REI. I'll let them know."

"I should go apply, maybe write on their blog..."

I left the store with the Apple REI guy's business card, a new laptop, and a really cool, serendipitous experience that wouldn't have happened if I had planned my day.

How cool is that?

Blogged from my iPhone @ Chipotle, another instantaneous, unplanned decision...