Was it fate? Or just the lure of free cocktails?

Last night I was invited to a grand "re-opening" of a bar owned by people that my boss is partnered with in other ventures. (Did you follow that?) Anyway, they graciously invited me to the re-opening of one of their Boston bars that had been closed - coincidentally due to a Christmas Day flood - and had just re-opened last month. The event was from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. so I figured I'd swing by after work since I don't often take them up on their invitations and I was starting to feel they might think I was ungrateful. It was also free food and cocktails at a really nice Boston bar and who would pass that up?

I knew Lincoln wouldn't want to come into the city - and get a babysitter - for a quick cocktail party so I asked my friend Tracy to join me but she couldn't make it either. I also tried to get Kegan to join me but he was working on his new project so it was just me. I figured I'd probably run into some people from the office but even if I didn't I'm pretty okay with just hanging by myself. I figured I'd grab a drink, say "hi" and "thanks for inviting me" to my boss's partners, and then be out the door.

It took me an hour to get from Cambridge into Boston. First of all it was rush hour, then there was an accident, then there was the Red Sox traffic, and finally, one of the roads I needed to go down was still closed from the Boston Marathon tents the day before. At many points throughout that hour I kept thinking I'd just bail on the whole thing but I had said I'd be there so I wanted to at least put in an appearance.

I finally got there at 7 p.m. and walked into the bar. The first person I spotted was a lawyer that my boss works with that I have met a number of times. I walked over to him and said hello and he introduced me to the man that he was speaking to.

Here is where fate comes in. Cue the beam of heavenly light and the choir of angels. It was that kind of moment.

I have always been very interested in travel. I think it's important that kids start doing it as young as possible and that every kid should study abroad while they're in college. I think high school kids should go on spring break trips to France and England and Italy and oh, just about anywhere really. I did an internship with a travel agency when I was in college and I've told Lincoln - and our financial planner - that when Hannah gets into high school my dream is to be able to develop an international travel component with the school district. A big dream but I'm happy to admit to having it.

Anyhoo....that's what this guy does!!! For a living! This guy, Peter, owns a company that does group trips for high school and college kids. I want to work for this man! I want to BE this man! He travels around the world and his job is to basically be a professional tourist so that he can put together these fantastic trips for these groups. I now know how people who grew up worshiping the music industry get tongue tied and act like groupies around my boss. That is how I felt around this man. I wanted to beg him to let me work for free. I wanted to call my boss and say "I quit. I'm going to work for Peter!" I wanted to give him my entire life history and philosophy on travel and why I think every child should have the opportunity to explore the world. I wanted to hand him my resume and say "Please, please, please hire me!"

But I didn't. I played it cool.

The exciting part is, for all I know, last night could be the pivotal life changing moment that will eventually take me down the path I want to go. I have no plans to leave my job right now. As much as I hate the corporate culture here I absolutely love working for my boss and we have a great relationship developed over the past seven and a half years but, if Peter called tomorrow and said his assistant was leaving, I just might have to pack up my office and head on out.

I hope to keep in contact with Peter. I have no official plans to beg him for a job just yet but hopefully in another five or ten years I'll have the opportunity to start out on that goal that I wrote down in our "dream book" for the financial planner.

Last night might have been a life changing moment and all because I was tempted by free food and cocktails.

I prefer to believe it was fate.