27April, Day 108, Return to the USA

I’m on my way home again for a week to catch up with the family, attend Eric’s wedding, and have some time for reflection on my priorities. I feel like this discourse on life goals and direction has been nagging at me more than it should. I would like to clarify my vision and take action to modify my position and actions. I saw a visionary opportunity to compete in the new X-Prize to design and build a commercial-ready passenger vehicle that can achieve 100 mi/gal. This could be a chance to make history. It is a project lofty enough that it could transcend mundane motivation of working to pay the bills by working instead to achieve a worthy goal perfectly aligned with my manifesto. This is a challenge that I could attack it with passion until the trials in 2010 and maybe beyond. In spite of these great motives I certainly don’t have the capital to undertake this endeavor alone. Who can I find with a pocket deep enough to sponsor a team before I dust off my thermodynamics books?

My departure from the old country today has been emotionally bland. I didn’t feel the mysterious regret that took me by surprise last time I left. Maybe because I know I’ll be back soon and all of this deliberation about moving on has me looking farther ahead.

Travel has been surprisingly smooth. I had some concerns that a 1-hour connection in Rome could be a problem if I had to retrieve my luggage and revisit security, so I arrived an extra hour early hoping to get on an earlier flight. I did, but it was unnecessary anyway. One point of interest is that a guy next to me looked like an aged Marlon Brando. I felt a slightly chagrined by the other Americans in the airport but don’t really have an explanation other than that some of them must be here on an AARP trip and loud old people aren’t my preferred company. I can’t wait to be home!