Move Over, Picasso!

I have always wanted to try oil painting.  I have dealt with numbers throughout my career and wondered if my right brain was still functioning.  So I set off to explore my creative talent and enrolled in The Plein Air Painting School.  The school holds one day classes at various locations in the city.  No more stuffy classrooms painting from artificial photographs.  The Plein Air class takes you out to live locations where you set up your own easel and start mixing and dabbing oil paints to create your very own masterpiece.  Of course the teacher, Danielle, is by your side every step of the way.

My masterpiece is of a scene in Central Park just off 103^rd Street.  OK, so it’s not a Picasso, but it’s still worthy to be hung in my bathroom just above the toilet.

I finally quit!

Yesterday I visited my 95-year-old, wheelchair bound grandfather at the nursing home.  His eyesight is impaired, deaf in one ear, and will probably never walk again.  He has never traversed the globe, learned to dance, witnessed the aurora, snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef, nor volunteered at an orphanage in Peru.  I wonder how many others out there have never experienced the world before.  Many of us are chained to a job which we are not passionate about.  Yes, we have bills to pay and mouths to feed.  But in the grand scheme of things, what is one year off?  When I am 95 years old, I do not want to have to ask myself, “What if I took a year off to enjoy life?”

On July 1, 2011 I quit my job of 10 years.  I was a controller at a small company.  I’ve had wanted to quit for the past 2 years but there was always an excuse.  Taking the plunge is not as scary as one may think.  With a little planning, anyone can make that bold move to finally do everything one never had a chance to do.  I am going to make the most of this year.  Life is a story of unforgettable experiences, memorable relationships, no regrets, and the passion to follow your dream.

Here is my story.