Are we there yet?

I need to invest in a map. I can get lost so easily on the road it’s ridiculous at times. Even if I print out the little Yahoo! Or MapQuest thig-a-majigs (not to say that these are reliable either) I get lost. But this is the time when different ideas began or finish flowing through my head. Random ponderences if you will. Like, how am I gonna handle a work related situation on Monday? What happened to Power 92.7? How did I get to the point where I am? Etc., etc. I went to study group today with some of my cohortmates (Banagan, Ingrid, and Kathy) to study for a Health Policy midterm that’s tomorrow. Despite discussing the chain of command in politics, how bills become laws, all that bureaucratic talk, side thoughts would pop into my head. Although we were in group study, I was day dreaming here and there, with a little people watching mixed in too. I was thinking, “damn, when I was a kid, or even a teen, did I even conceive I would be where I am right now?” Probably not even as soon as last year. I remember when I was 12, I was like I’m gonna be just like my mom and have my first born when I’m 20 and my second by 25. Ha! We see where that has gone, considering how much of a “Lonesome Loser” I am. J/K, but I digress. I also thought that I would finish undergrad in 4 years, med school in 4 years, and have my own practice as a pediatrician in Oakland that served underprivileged communities. I also briefly had an idea of going into forensic science, but you need something called a stomach for that Damn, I was ambitious. When your younger, I guess you have it all planned out. I’m gonna get married, have 2.5 children, be a doctor/lawyer, have a picket fence, a dog, etc., etc. It’s funny how life doesn’t always have the path that you want, but ultimately it can take you to where you are intending to go. Like with my homie Jason T. from undergrad. When we were in BSP, he always knew that he wanted to become a doctor. He did quite a few of his pre-reqs and whatnot, but then the business bug bit him. Off to Haas to learn the tricks of the trade, and this is pretty much where we lost contact. Somehow we connected up about a year after graduation, and he told me how he learned the hard way that biz wasn’t for him. Although he was quite successful in it, it was too cut throat, so he decided to return to his initial focus: medicine. Now he’s in med school and planning to marry next year. Wow! Sometimes the idea that I have for life becomes clear, but then I think I either spill coffee on the map or it flies out the window, because something will come up that you totally don’t expect and you just gotta rely on your instinct to get back on course. Some day, it’ll be nice to have a family and have my kids experience the things that I didn’t get the opportunity to as a kid. Like to travel and whatnot. Just to see what is out there. I’ll just make sure their dad drives, cuz if I do we’ll probably never get to where we need to go.