It’s been awhile since the last post, and it’s because I’ve been CRAZY busy. I left Puerto Rico on December 17 for two and a half weeks in Washington and Texas. It was time well spent with family and friends, but for a multitude of reasons, I was NOT excited about heading back to Puerto Rico. Although it has already officially been seven months, this was the absolute worst I’ve felt about returning.
There are siblings, nephews and a niece I wish I could be there for more often. There’s an old friend in Dallas with whom I wish I had time to see what else could be. And there are parking spaces that allow you to park an Explorer and literally THROW open the doors without worry of repercussion. In the height of holiday shopping, I could go to the Target nearest my Dad’s house and shop without worry of a 45 minute line to pay - the standard here in Puerto Rico regardless of the time of year. For these reasons, after nearly three weeks, I was not excited about returning.
Fortunately, I came back to a three day work week. Nothing like a little extra time off for the Tres Reyes holiday to make you appreciate what you have. And this weekend a friend from grad school was in town for a wedding. We hadn’t seen each other since, well, maybe graduation, but it was really nice to be with someone who reminded me that it doesn’t matter how often or not you can see each other, you will always have your real friends. Between her and the old friend in Dallas, it was a nice reminder that there are people in this world that you can just pick up with, no matter where you’ve been or how much time has passed. At the end of a rough week of readjusting, it was just what I needed.
What keeps me going is the job. Last year for my birthday, my sister gave me a small notebook called, “A Thought a Day.” There are 366 pages, and each one is dated. Each page has room for five years, the idea being that you write down one thought a day over the course of five years. I started this at the beginning of 2011, so I’m just now coming back through the pages to write a thought for the second year. And it is painfully obvious by my daily comments in the first few months of last year how badly I needed to move on from the position I held in Dallas. As much as I might think I’d like to be there right now, I was in desperate need of a change.
I’m only 10.5 years into what I hope will be a 30 year career, but much like my time at A&M, it’s entirely possible these three years will go down as the best of that career. The second week of December, we held a conference in Orlando for all our dealers that I was 100% responsible for organizing. And I have to say, it was a blast. I got to meet all the dealer people from around our region, and they are a fun group of guys. Yes, I can say guys. I didn’t think it was possible to get to a meeting with fewer women than in the States, but I was proven wrong. Of our 46 attendees, one was a woman. But what struck me most was the average age. Compared to the States, it’s a fairly young group running our dealerships.
Which made for a fairly late night our final evening in Orlando. We had a group dinner, and then the younger half of the crowd headed next door to Hooters. (Apparently, if you live in the Caribbean, this is a novelty.) I had to stay at the dinner until everyone wrapped up, and then headed over. I’m not sure how many cocktails the crowd managed to consume in this time, but when I walked in, immediately a chant of “Jo - D, Jo – D, Jo – D” ensued. The waitress looked at me like I must be someone important, to which I responded, “I’m very famous in Trinidad.” Needless to say, a great night of bonding followed, which makes me very excited to be working with these guys for the next few years.
Already my first quarter is booked. I’m off to St. Thomas and St. Croix next week to meet the dealers there. The very first week of February I am supposed to be in the Bahamas, and two weeks following that, I’m headed up to Michigan to meet our team there. The first week of March is the dealer show in Vegas, which I have been unceremoniously uninvited to, which I am not happy about. But I already have friends booked for the first week of April, and given everything in between, it will be here before I know it.
And then it will be a year. Sigh. I really must get out and meet some people. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as if I am bored, sitting around my apartment with nothing to do. It’s quite the opposite. I’ve been so busy that when I actually have time to sit around my apartment, I’ve appreciated every minute. But insta-friend said it best as he flirts with a long-distance relationship, “I don’t want to sell Puerto Rico short.” It’s a good thought. I was so excited to come here. I need to get out and meet the locals and really experience it before it’s over before I know it. It can only help my Spanish!
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