My life runs on routine.

I don’t drink alcohol on the weekdays. I exercise. I work hard and am productive. These habits have helped me build a solid foundation for my life. Most people live this way, routine most of the time, followed by a short escape.

A vacation. A weekend. A quick reset.

I stepped away for about sixteen days and lived life.

I found myself thinking a lot about how I’m living my life, what I want my future to look like, and what I absolutely don’t want to become. I wish I could say there was an epiphany, but alas, I’m still the same old me.

What I did come back with, though, was a growing sense that we shouldn’t be working simply to die. As unhealthy as I am during these periods of time, I can say that I experience it to its fullest. Talking to an old lady from Edinburgh. A Boston man who survived a triple bypass. A Ravens fan whose son fights MMA. A marine who has his shit together. All walks of life intersecting for a few days on a boat (ship) giving me some type of perspective on exactly what? I don’t know.

What I do know is that experiences like that aren’t waiting for me on my Kindle Fire or Netflix. You don’t have the opportunity to cruise with friends every day. Do I think cruises are absurd? Yes. They’re the epitome of indulgence. Priced way too cheap that any idiot can afford it.

I also indulged on 60 Red Stripes throughout the duration. This is unsustainable for a long period of time. But who can put a price on watching a RocketLab launch with CK4 and Bud, 7am breakfast with Sam and Sharon, Chad getting snubbed by Santonio Holmes, Ck4 eating 4 entrees, or watching Nikkii sprint through the airport like the world is ending? These are the memories that money cannot buy.

Which brings me back to today. After being away for so long, and neglecting my Presidential duties for a few weeks, I’m sitting here wondering what I’m actually supposed to be doing now. I know I can’t do what I just did for too long or I’d probably destroy myself from the inside.

The gluttony I witnessed on that cruise is doing what I did not for 5 days, but for 5 or 15 years. I could never become that. But the other extreme isn’t the answer either. That’s why I need this balance of work and play and I don’t want to lose the play. A few scattered days of fun each year isn’t enough anymore. I’ve worked too hard to get to this point in life just to decide the next chapter is killing myself for money I don’t desperately need.

This puts a challenging predicament on what is that proper balance? I know if I was Bill Schmidt I’d put the $175 dollars in to participate in the golf pool.

So I’m back in town now, toiling away at my daily life where I feel healthy but also feel I’m wasting time making money. Can I somehow figure out how to bring it all together like an incredible human could? Not bloody likely.