Sushi with Bob

One of my last trips to the Harbor East Whole Foods was with Bob. On our way to the closing for my condo, we grabbed lunch at the store - me, brown-rice sushi and Bob, a salad and meat from the hot bar - and reviewed the condo documents and strategized my (failed) demand for a new air handler in the unit. I met Bob in improv class and then, after finding the condo I wanted, figured I'd just have him be my real estate agent. What a bonding experience.

Anyhow, I recently told Bob he is my hero. He wrote about why in an entry on his blog. It sounds like I was joking, but there is a lot of truth there. While I make concious decision to focus on positives in life and am generally very happy with my lot - thrilled, actually, I am trying to figure out how to balance the desire to break free of the American standard (born, educated, job, married, kids, retire, die, as explained by my Dad) with the need to pay my mortgage and eat at good restaurants. Consumerism is killing my American Dream!

My sketchy understanding is that Bob worked in IT at a government agency for a few years, and then realized this wasn't the life for him. He's now in that stage we all go through trying to figure out how to make life fulfilling - but rather than doing that behind a desk he's doing it while sleeping at his parents' house and doing some odd - but meaningful - jobs part time. I admire Bob's courage to break out of the prescribed choices most of us make and I only wish I had his moxy!

Cheers to Bob!

Anyone out there have any suggestions to this modern problem of philosophy?