Week 7

I was wondering when this would happen. Finally in week 7, a small voice began to whisper in my head - 'What are you doing with your life?' and to my surprise, it wasn't my wife. Actually my kids have been asking this question fairly regularly since I stopped work but I generally filter that out alongside the 'WTF were you thinking of?' vibe that accompanies it.

I'm putting part of the blame on Hemel snowdome. I had planned to recommence my increasingly urgent attempts to learn a snow sport ahead of my trip away. Unfortunately due to a technical problem (perhaps the weather turning cold?) the snowdome was closed. I was therefore left with time to contemplate and reflect.

A key driver of my decision to jack in my job, was to have the time to figure out whether I'd missed my true calling in life. Could I find something where I would, if not spring out of bed, at least climb out with a modicum of enthusiasm? I had hoped this marvellous reawakening might occur naturally with little or no effort on my part. Perhaps whilst I was engaged in one of my other pursuits. Yet despite frequent visits to the gym, infrequent trips to nature reserves, Cornwall and Istanbul, and spending an unreasonable amount of time figuring out what to cook, as of now, there has been no eureka moment.

It was therefore beginning to feel like it was time to actively consider what I might enjoy and more importantly, the practicality of the switch. It turns out that generating these alternatives is easier said than done.

I started brainstorming various businesses where the emphasis is more on plucky enthusiast than technical ability with decades of experience. I also don't want to put huge amounts of capital at risk as I rather like our house. This approach yielded, so far, a coffee shop or a bakery. Ok, I appreciate a bakery would require more extensive knowledge than how to use our bread making machine and possibly some expensive ovens so let's cross that one off for now. Coffee shop has potential. I like coffee. I visit coffee shops. I could attend a barista course. My wife subsequently pointed out that if I chose to set up a business, I'd be on my own so until she relents, I've parked the coffee shop idea as well.

If not a business, what about working in an entirely different environment? As with a small business, it would need to be an environment where years of experience and specific qualifications aren't a massive hurdle to getting started. The only environment I've come up with so far is... a zoo. Albeit I could definitely be wrong about the experience and qualifications. The appeal of a zoo is based on the fact that I've always loved going to the zoo (admittedly never to work at one) and I recall an article written about Bristol Zoo's retiring head zoo keeper where he said that it was the best job in the world. Need I say more.

I started searching for a volunteer role at a nearby zoo to give me some firsthand experience before I decide whether to take the plunge more radically. Much to my surprise I came across a volunteer role at Whipsnade Zoo's antelope enclosure almost immediately. Unfortunately it was about 5 minutes after the application window had closed. I tried submitting my application through the 'contact us' form on the website thinking this would show commitment, ingenuity and willing (as well as perhaps an inability to follow instructions and meet deadlines).

Whipsnade responded the following day! Unfortunately I learned that 1. They still wouldn't accept my application and 2. They had over 100 applications who had met the deadline in the proper manner. Statistical analysis suggests that a number of those applications will have been from people who have practical experience in the area.

I concluded week 7 with the suspicion that initiating this change is going to be a bit tougher than I thought.