From Cubicle To Green Room

I remember my cubicle days.  I spent from sun up to sun down in a little cage that I could stretch my arms from one side to the other and nearly touch both walls.   I worked on a military base as a contractor, and I thought that would be my job for the rest of my life.

Time happens.  Circumstances happen.  Things change.  Life changes.

And now I find myself learning about chroma-key paint, lights, cameras, documentaries and jargon I haven't even learned yet for making films.  It's a whole new world for me, but one I'm eager to learn.

Do I miss my cubicle?  Sort of.  I miss the idea of it mostly.  I miss going down to the base cafeteria every Thursday to get turkey meals with my brother, Brad.  I miss the excitement of the jets and the hustle and bustle of people in the matrix of cubicles.  I miss the complex software designs and process improvement projects.  

What I don't miss is having a dream that I can't do anything with.  The constraints of the projects I worked on in my little cubicle were frustrating.  One can dream up the best software, the best process improvement project or the best next gadget but when you have one committee after another after another; and red tape in between, your idea is out of date before it ever gets approval.  That's how fast software design changed. 

I never dreamed I would be working on projects where creativity is desired.  It's not outdated because the projects are approved because Wesley and I say they are approved.  There are no committees to shut us down.  There is no one telling us we can't play music that way, or this way.  There is no one telling me I can't dance the way I dream of dancing. 

The only constraints I have to face are the fears I invent on my own.  Those are conquered by pushing forward and through them, until they are behind me.

The idea of the cubicle life will soon be replaced with a coffee house and fellowship of the community.  Soon Wesley and I will be working on music and dance and we will meet other artists and entrepreneurs.

I will be 48 in March, and I feel like life has finally begun and I look forward to learning how to dance, play an instrument and shoot a documentary.