2013 The Year of Grand Adventures

    Before the New Year had begun, I had dubbed it, "2013, The Year of Grand Adventures." Why? What possessed me to attach a moniker to the year? It worked for 2012. I had named 2012 "The Year of Win" in rebellion against 2010 and 2011 which had each been named retroactively as "The Year of Fail." The Year of Win was happy horseshit to convince myself that my years of failure had come to an end. True enough, 2012 took quite a few months to begin to live up to the grandiose title I had attached to it in desperation. But g'damn if it didn't begin to snowball, and ended up reaching a new and glorious benchmark. So 2012 was indeed, The Year of Win.
    This lengthy explanation brings me back to the current year, 2013, and my assertion that it will be The Year of Grand Adventures. We are only just one month in and the adventures have begun. I am working my way through Firefighter Academy, pushing myself mentally and physically, to fulfill my long held dream of being a firefighter, a first responder. If I do nothing else all year, this one venture has set my feet on a path that will lead me to adventures aplenty, and for years to come.
    I have had Allspice leaves hand picked in the rain forests of Central America and smuggled home to me to add spice to my evening tea. This coming weekend I am starting the process to get my passport, another cherished dream, and the first step in many an adventure. A visit to an artist colony in Cabo, and scuba diving and spelunking in Belize have been dangled before me, tempting lures, with solid plans behind the enticement. I will get my Scuba certification this summer, opening new vistas for excitement. I will also learn rappelling down cliff sides, and rock climbing through the fire department, two more skills to add to the mix.
    September will bring my first Half-Ironman, a scary-thrilling prospect, and yet another long held fantasy becoming reality. Between now and then are a slough of races of all kinds: triathlons, road races, trail runs, obstacle course races, adventure races. The hardest part will be deciding which races to do, and which I will have to pass by.
    And icing on the cake, soon I will be at the race track, learning to drive a race car with an eye towards becoming licensed to race. Think of that! Oh dear gods, the idea of getting to actually drive a race car. The very thought has my pulse pounding.
    These are a few of the Adventures queuing up for my personal pleasure. What an amazing prospect! My future is abounding with promise, overflowing with options, freakishly full of fabulous fantasies finally fulfilled. So this is the very first entry in what will become my Grand Adventure Diary. More to come, soon. Much more.