Let Me Be in Mexico When You Fire Me, Won’t You Please?

Imagine you are about to get fired. You can use different language if you want to: laid off, downsized, contract terminated or canceled, whatever phrase you choose, but you get the gist. One day you have work, the next you don’t. Let’s suppose this is about to happen to you; where would you physically like to be be when the news hits home? Assuming this firing takes place in the dead of winter, would you rather be huddled indoors imagining the sun setting behind a wall of grey at 4:15 PM or would you rather stroll through a tropical neighborhood surrounded by sunlight, colorful birds, and palm trees? I’ll take the second option. If you do too, I don’t blame you. Of course we can’t always order the place we find ourselves when bad news arrives, just as we can’t order the ending itself, or put it off when it happens. But Dear God, if someone decides to can us, let us find ourselves in Mexico! Specifically, let’s have it be in Playa Del Carmen.

Guess what, guys? That was me just a few days ago. The now-former job was my gig hosting trips for a worldwide travel club (omitting the name.) Since June of 2015, these are the people who have sent me on 78 trips all over North America, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. This indeed has meant Costa Rica, Guatemala x3, Jamaica, The Bahamas x3, Aruba, Bonaire, The Dominican Republic, Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, Cancún, here in Playa Del Carmen, all over the US and Canada, in other words a really, really epic experience. A great run, truly. I had always known it was going to end, so I enjoyed the ride.

And the details? Well, a new mid-level supervisor making changes, clearing house in certain ways, and of course the right person complaining about a relatively minor incident to the right person at the right time, two supervisors who really didn’t want to do the deed but had to do their job, etc., etc., you know. Something similar may have happened to you. I consider it a waste of everybody’s time to re-hash the actual events; that isn’t the point, as people naturally remember different versions.

It is always a bummer to get dismissed. If you’ve never had it happen before, you are in the minority (may it never happen to you, though.) In this case, it means no more trips to five-star resorts on someone else’s dime (for which I was paid, no less!), no more elite status with the airlines (for now, anyway) and of course, temporarily, no income. Here’s what else it means: no more dealing with extreme incompetence from the corporate office, no more having my emails ignored, and no more long spans (2 months this fall) without getting paid in a timely manner. I almost showed myself the door in October, and now I get to move on. The timing is what it’s meant to be, and the ride, well–incredible! Only seven days have passed since the big reveal, and already I find it impossible to be pissed. After all, the gig kicked off this lifestyle.

And so, what now? Well, in the past six days Cindy and I have logged six dives and completed our Advanced Open Water Diver certificate. These dives included a visit to the world-famous “Wall” in Cozumel, which was easily the most spectacular place I ever weighted myself down and decided to start breathing underwater. I haven’t spent time moping; it was time for this to end. I have known this for months, and it makes sense that this is just one of the endings brought about by this change of circumstance and winter residence. Things end, things begin. You know.

Besides the gig itself, the amazing people I met, and the experience, I find myself eternally grateful not to be suddenly unemployed while living in the United States in the middle of winter. In my old hometown of McMinnville, Oregon, that would mean gray skies and rain, rain, rain. Also, things cost more in Gringolandia, from health care to living arrangements to groceries. They cost a lot more. Here, I can still draw one breath at a time, the way nature intended. Oh, and the sun is shining. There is always that. What is next? I do not know, but the timing is what it’s supposed to be, that is it’s perfect. Things end, things begin.