I can’t help but feel like the end of this week really is the end of a chapter of sorts, and not just because tomorrow is my birthday. I’m not sure how it happened this way, but it seems like a lot of endings have sort of coalesced around this weekend. Of course, the presence of endings means that there has to be a couple of new beginnings as well. Indeed, these are interesting times.

Over at work it looks like the team that I’m on is being disbanded and reabsorbed into other teams in the company. So, it’s sort of like the past few months of work have been a chance for me to do some work in a sandbox environment. I really needed to get used to working with the new technology, and at this point I’m more comfortable with it. I’m still learning it, but I don’t feel like I’m completely helpless like I was back in…July, I guess. I’m effectively now more useful to the active teams than I was a few months ago.

In improv, my current class is ending. I’m lined up to take the second level intermediate class as well as a new musical improv class. I’m not a total improv newbie any more. I’m at a point where I’m honing my abilities. I have some sense of where my strengths and weaknesses are. I can use that knowledge to push me out of my boundaries to try bigger and better things. I can now let go of this “let’s see where this takes me” attitude. I mean, that kind implies that there’s no destination, and that I’d probably be content if there was no end goal. I can’t say that I know any better what my goal is, but I know there is a destination. That is my dangling carrot.

In running, I’ve completed the big event not once, but twice. The period where I’m not sure I can even classify myself as a runner is now over. Damn right, I’m a runner. I’m not elite or even particularly fast but that’s totally far away from the point of running for me. Starting next week I’ll be coaching the half marathon clinic for a second time. The first time around I was unsure if anyone would want to listen to someone like me. This time, screw it. People paid to have someone help them reach their goals. Why not me? I’ve turned the page. This attitude isn’t rooted in arrogance. No, rather it’s a declaration that indeed I am capable of leading by example. I am enthusiastic and responsible. Those are some key traits that mark the more successful coaches, yes?

So yeah, this week ties up a handful of loose ends. Next week a lot of new things are beginning. I guess I’ll take up some lines tomorrow to talk about what my key meditation and expectations are for the next 12 months. I will do my best to embrace it all without hesitation.