Rumplestilskin

Last night my friend asked me how I have done with the adjustment from being in prison to being in the free world as a regular person. I responded by saying I believe I have transitioned very well and it has been somewhat seamless. It has now been over one week since my release and the prison experience is getting smaller. I very much doubt I will ever forget that experience nor do I want to ever forget. I am very grateful for the experience and thanks to recovery my life continues to be saved. I will say time has accelerated so much in the past week. I do find it hard to believe I would dedicate 2 to 3 hours a day writing long with more time reading and exercising. I barely seem to find 2 to 3 minutes to write and I have yet to pick up a book since my arrival in the free world. I have kept my television viewing to a minimum but my internet browsing has increased exponentially.

Last night I perused the internet for a few hours and before I realized it was 1:00 am. I did google myself to see if there were any articles written in the past year and a half. The only article of significance was the LA Times article written at the end of 06. (I do feel a little like Rumpelstilskin as I seemed to have slept through at least an entire year!!! I find it hard to believe is 2008.) I did see some responses to that article which ranged from "he got what he deserved" to "a person like that does not belong in prison".

I also browsed around for other articles on some of the characters I have met over the past year and a half. My story seems mundane compared to a few of the other stories and my dollar amount appears minuscule. I have learned not to believe what I read nor do I believe everything I hear. It is odd to meet someone and spend a considerable period of time with that person knowing nothing about their background. Then reading about their program and saying to myself that is not the person I knew. I guess the moral of the story is people are people and God knows I have made mistakes. I no longer judge a person by what I see, read or hear. The fact of the matter is I no longer judge and this makes life so much better.

Here it is the end of my first official work week in quite sometime. I am back in an office environment and enjoying every moment. The week has been anything but dull and I am so grateful for the opportunity to help in anyway I can. My current job assignment has a long way to go and I am not very certain as to the fiscal standing of this assignment but I will continue to relish the opportunity. I do hope everything does work out well for my boss who has a heart of gold.