Thursday evening, I will embark on the first of hopefully many international adventures. I am prepared, excited and have complete faith that this will be a trip of a lifetime.
Last August, I searched the internet for a last minute cruise. Work was getting chaotic and we were anticipating a messy consolidation of two companies. It turned out to be more than messy - my partner gave his notice after the first day, one pharmacist was let go, and the remaining pharmacist and I jumped ship after being lied to, sabotaged and treated with no respect.
Back to the cruise - I searched and searched, found a few reasonable cruises... but then I saw an advertisement for a travel group that specializes in vacations for people aged 18-35. Perfect. I wouldn't be in bed by 10:00 every night, and would be traveling with similar aged and possibly like minded people. The group travels worldwide, but the Egypt and the Nile trip totally jumped out at me.
Egypt? I've never really wanted to go to Egypt before. Some people are all into the pyramids, the Sphinx and the Nile River. I've never really been fascinated by those things. So why was I drawn to this trip, I wondered?
The cost was reasonable. I had time to save money. But Egypt? I prayed to God, asking why I felt so drawn to this trip, closed my laptop and went to sleep.
When I awoke the next morning, I literally had a thought that was not my own - "This will be a life enriching experience that you will never regret". I wondered if I could really afford it. I had another thought - "Yes. This will happen". Done. Booked it.
I started the new job a few weeks later. Boy, did it suck. From the second week, I hated it and wanted to leave. I told myself to hang in for a while and it would probably get better. Some aspects did improve, but overall, it has been the worst job I've ever had.
I've never worked so hard or been so continually exhausted in all my life. It has affected every facet of my life - I rarely have energy to work out or run. I still get it done, but after a 10-11 hour day in hell, most nights I went home, sat on the sofa and completely vegged out like a construction worker. I rarely had the desire to meet up with friends, my love life went completely on hold due to my insane schedule, and found I was more irritable and sad. Lots of mornings while driving to work, I would cry in anticipation of the nightmare I was about to enter.
Friends and family would remind me of my upcoming trip to cheer me up, but it didn't work. I was so miserable, I couldn't see past the day to day in my living nightmare.
One final situation pushed me over the edge at work. It was shocking, very disconcerting and hurtful. I realized then that at each of the long term care pharmacies I've worked, there has always been at least one person who is mentally unstable, sadistic, passive aggressive and chooses to lash out at others. Some of the things I've witnessed have been appalling. When it's turned on me, it's unacceptable. I show up every day, I do the best I can possibly do, I get along with just about everyone, then I clock out and go home. If someone in authority chooses to project their miserable life and mind games onto me, I lose total respect for them and cannot continue to work under those conditions.
The day one particular event happened, I finished my day, went home, and stayed up until 3 am, filling out online applications for anything that I was remotely qualified. The next day, I did the same. Even in this stalled economy, I landed a few interviews and praise to God, I received an offer I could not refuse.
In two days, I will be on a flight to Cairo. Now, I can truly relax and look forward to it. I don't have to return to a miserable job when I come back. I will enjoy myself fully. I'm open to anything happening. I truly believe through God, all things are possible.
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