#ThinkKit11 Day 26: Forward thinking ...

Christmas has now passed, but the holiday season is still in full swing. However, there's only 6 more days in 2011, which means it's time to begin looking forward to 2012. Without further ado:

Monday, Dec 26: Forward Thinking
What are you looking forward to the most about the next 365 days?

2012 will unquestionably bring change to my life. At least, I really hope so. I mean, to be honest, the list is long for what I'm looking forward to, such as:

• SuperBowl XLVI in Indianapolis
• 2012 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament
• The 500 Festival MiniMarathon
• The 96th Indianapolis 500 in May (although it will have a little bittersweetness to it)
• Hoping I can take my nephew to qualifications this year.
• Brickyard 400 

(OK ... I gotta get sports of the brain ... ) 

Let me get back to the subject at hand. What am I looking most forward to in 2012? You know what - I thought about this for a little while today, and I keep coming back to the same thing. Unless something regarding employment comes in and just overwhelms me with and unbelievable opportunity, I'm looking forward to moving back to the Indianapolis metropolitan area, and continuing my permanent job search up there.

Don't get me wrong. Six months after graduating from IUPUI and having to move from Indy (to save money), I've enjoyed being with my family, even though permanent employment keeps slipping through my fingers. I've been put in charge of babysitting dogs during family vacations, worked at my dad's office on computer issues, and got to see both my niece & nephew in holiday programs. I've been able to do some things I've wanted to do for a long time that I might not have gotten the opportunity to do with and related to family.

However, I think most of my family knows that my heart lies in Indianapolis. Since leaving, I've been back there at least four times. It draws me back. It makes my heart yearn for more.

• I miss having a Boogie Burger & Side Wok Café every once in a while
• I miss Thr3e Wise Men and their $6 growler refills
• I miss taking Camber to the Broad Ripple Dog Park & Plump's Last Shot for an afternoon/evening meal.
• I miss having IMS just around the corner (relatively speaking, of course)
• I miss the Monon Trail & Eagle Creek Greenway
• I miss the traffic (yeah, I know, I know ... but I do miss living in a county with more than 5 intersections with stoplights)
• I miss hitting up the Indiana State Museum, IMA, & the Eiteljorg Museum.
• The list goes on ....

I think the gameplan will be for me to get up to Indianapolis a few times in January to scout "opportunities" for Camber & myself, without breaking a bank. I'm currently working on a few employment angles (contract or fulltime), so we'll have to see. Sure, I can move into a one-bed place, but when you have as large of a storage unit as I have, plus a large golden retriever, I'm hoping there's a place that would accept us for who and what we are.

I'm sure Indianapolis will do that. After all ... it's Indianapolis.