I suspect it might be the vestigial memories of night bus journeys from Lagos to Abuja back in the day, but my favourite journeys over the last couple of years have been on trains – spotting a rainbow just outside Edinburgh on the way to a job interview in 2009, returning to the North East of England for a weekend of introspection in 2010 and being surprised by the breath taking beauty of a sun bathed Forth Road Bridge, in November no less! Something about watching the grey granite of built up areas segue into lush greenery, and blue clouds, usually leaves me a little awed.
All week I have been working at an offsite location – grateful for the chance to work at a much slower pace, and to take the train from my city to the smaller neighbour next door. On one of those days, I end up sitting next to a man dressed simply in a tee-shirt and pants, with a jacket bearing the logo of one of the behemoths of my industry on his arm. We strike up a conversation over tea. It turns out he used to work as a Reservoir Engineer at that company until two years ago when he quit to ‘follow his heart’; his heart being training emergency responders.
He says he earns a little less these days and it took a full year to complete the extra training he required. He adds though that he treasures the spare time he has – which he spends volunteering and hanging around his children, as opposed to peering at 21′ monitors pretending to optimize reserve recoveries.
If I believed in omens, I would imagine that some fate orchestrated this meeting to remind me that nothing is too good to let go off to start anew; knowing myself I’d still probably leave it till late….
A Geek's Life 
Too often our future passes unrecognize and we miss our walk with destiny. This time, you
didn't. 🙂
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Sadly that is often the case.. I hope I didn't miss it..
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where have you been? blog world is so boring these days…all you deserters(pot calling kettle black…)
you better follow your heart…i followed mine and i still have no clue where its leading …what could be better? :))
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lol.. you haven't been exactly prolific yourself…. *side eye*….. Yeah.. I'm sure I will follow.. at some stage…
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I definitely hear you on this. My best friend keeps telling me my path is in the entertainment industry and not the professional industry. I have spent many nights wondering if she is right, but like you, i think imma leave it till late.
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Leaving it late is a risky play….. But if one can pull it off, its all good……
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if you read my banking blog posts you'll find out that's what i did. Follow my heart… Though maybe God helped by frustrating me out of that wrong path.
You know what makes you happy. follow it…
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Hmm.. sometimes doors slamming in one's face forces the hand…. I hope I don't get to that stage this time before I decide..
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My uncle built the Forth Road Bridge.
Well, he was really just a rigger on its construction for a few months, but it sounds good!
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LOL.. How cool is that? Its a beautiful bridge too,when viewed in sunlight from the East Coast train..
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believe in dreams… and it's never too late… to stop procrastinating. i hear a sadness in you that saddens me. (not to be melodramatic or anything). be joyful. x
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sigh.. there is indeed a sadness… hopefully it all adds up as motivation to do the needful…
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iLike the photograph. It's very pretty.
I guess in one way or another, we all struggle with this – practicalities versus our desires. But, if we don't take the leap, we'll never know.
Give it some more thought. 🙂
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I could take the four hour journey again just to see the bridge… 🙂
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"…leave it till late…." if you'll still get back to it, why not start now?
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Guess its my innate risk averse nature that's holding me back just now… We will see though…….
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The real question is: why are you so hesitant? Apart from the unknown and bla bla bla.
Why? And why are you sad?
Or are you not passionate enough about that which might be your alternate path?
Im blabbing again…
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It is the risk involved…. The potential consequences are so high that even a 10% chance of failure results in a risk that is potentially intolerable………….
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