Anxiously Awaiting

Anxiety is defined by Wikipedia as, "a psychological and physiological state characterized by cognitive, somatic, emotional and behavioral components", which is exactly relevant to what I am experiencing as I await the day we leave Illinois for our assignment in Pennsylvania. As the days draw nearer I have been experiencing more and more anxiety. My anxiety has both positive and negative attributes in its characteristic, but weighing in more on positivity.

The fact that we have been guests at my parents’ house for the last 6 months is probably a big factor that is contributing to the anxiety. Although the house is big and can accommodate quite a few people comfortably, we have decided to stay out of sight and out of mind, venturing out only to walk the dogs, get a bite to eat, go to work, or just get some fresh air when things become too claustrophobic. Our room is about 275 square feet with an attached full bathroom (small but sufficient). So our keystone sprinter (35ft) will be a wonderful castle fortified by the great outdoors. The time spent at the house allowed us to put some money away, and visit some family near by in Michigan.

Another contributor to our anxiety is the economic downturn and the unemployment rate rocketing upwards. Although Christi and I and haven't been hit as hard as some of you may have been, we have noticed the changes. Myself, working in the construction industry, I have noticed the slowdown in the industry. People waiting until the last minute to make repairs, choosing cost friendly remodels, and increased negotiation on project pricing. We have never been the couple that spent a lot of money, and with this downturn we were able to trim the fat off the turkey a bit more and reduce our expenses further. Such as downgrading our cell phone plans, paying off any revolving balances on our credit cards, planning our trips out to eliminate wasteful driving, and switching our savings account to a higher interest on-line savings accounts.

What I am most anxiously awaiting on the road is working with companies that are in the vacation industry. Although we will be cutting our income, we will not bear the responsibility of running our own business or running someone else's. And furthermore we will be around people that will be having fun vacationing, which is very pleasant to be around because people are more relaxed, talkative, and overall enjoyable when taken out of their stressful daily lives. We are looking forward to surrounding ourselves with new fun and friendly people, and bringing our experiences to new people and places.