Another interesting aspect of my current dilemma is a personal philosophy I have of "no regrets". Simply stated, this philosophy means that in any given situation I will usually take the action that I think will leave me with no regrets about that situation.

In practice, this philosophy has resulted in all sorts of things, including starting my first company; refusing to work with people I don't like; taking off from work and paying to get good seats behind home plate so I could see Greg Maddux pitch in person just once before he retires; and, in another case, becoming friends with a girl that I worked with in 1989 -- even though I was married -- because we obviously had a strong, instant, mutual attraction for each other. In that last case I'm glad to say that our friendship worked out okay, and my marriage survived as well. Had I not gotten to know that girl, however, I knew I would have regretted it later.

Getting back to my philosophy of "no regrets" and my current dilemma, the problem here is that it doesn't apply. I believe I'll have significant regrets no matter which path I take. Not taking action means I'll be passing on something I've always thought I wanted, but taking action means a whole collection of other complications.

As I've let this rumble around in my head for a little while now, it feels like I need a different type of test, and I haven't figured out just what that test is yet.

Hmph ... I'd write more, but I can't think of anything else I can write that won't give more details away, and I can't go down that road right now, so I need to bring this to an abrupt conclusion.