And I don't mean a roller coaster ride at Six Flags.

So I did see the movie today. I thought it was somewhat sloppy in its direction and the narration got on my nerves (sorry, Sean, please don't punch me in the nose)... But Emile Hirsch was fantastic, and Ed's songs were very heartfelt.

Today more than ever, I'm yearning for a great adventure. The past month has left at least four friends/sets of friends either with a significant life experience under their boots, or one that's coming soon to a hospital delivery room. I'm jealous. Other than vague conversations about worldly travels, I have no concrete milestones, no forward planning to be excited about.

And yeah, the movie ended in tragedy but man, the LIFE that guy experienced in his travels is just inspiring. How empowering it must have felt to survive with almost nothing in our capitalist society, and still be truly content with life. I admit that all along, in the book and the movie, he irritated the crap out of me because he chose to leave white upper class suburbia and live penniless while so many in this world are not born into those circumstances and do not have such a choice. But, he also gave $24,000 to Oxfam and was truly grateful for the support he got along the way, so there was definitely an attitude of selflessness somewhere in there.

I'm not sure I am up for an illegal kayak trip down the Colorado River, or 100 days in Alaska shooting squirrels for dinner, but I am convinced that I was not meant to work at a desk. I was not meant to stay put. When all is said and done, I'm selfish and there is just too much to see and hear and smell and do in the world. I've moved approximately 10 blocks in the past 10 years and the lack of motion is getting to me. I want to experience all that the world has to offer, and I don't want to experience it through a Food Network road trip show or a Barbara Kingsolver book.

But for now, tomorrow I go to my desk job and prepare for my big important meeting and... lather, rinse, repeat... Until one day when I really throw in the towel, cash out my savings and head north, or maybe east, or south. The possibilities are endless... and life is too damn short.

This post brought to you by an upwardly mobile Anglo woman who has such choices. Don't think the irony isn't lost on me.