And so it begins
I am currently on Day Two of the Year of the Life of Leisure. I have never been without a paying job for longer than two months, except for when I was in college -- which is a job in itself. So here I am, about to embark on a worldwide trip. Within a month, I will be leaving for Argentina. Then, destinations include New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, India and several countries in Europe. I'd also like to go to South Africa, but it's an expensive leg of the journey, and I have reservations about safety there (from information I read on a government site), as I will be travelling alone.
Why am I taking this trip? Because I can. No pets, no plants, no boyfriend -- why not? Sure, I could lay down this cash for a condo or a house, but when I weighed home-ownership vs a year of travelling and adventure, well, it's obvious which one won. I've wanted to travel like this for-justabout-ever, and some fortuitous financial events occured, so here I am. I left my job of 5.5 years, left my apartment of 3 years, dispersed about 85-90% my belongings largely to Goodwill, buyers off craigslist and friends, and am currently living out of a suitcase and a couple boxes at a friend's house. It was very liberating to rid myself of so many things, and made me realize that I really *need* very little to survive.
It goes without saying that I am scared about this trip. Yes, I intend to come back (though, not necessarily to Seattle). Yes, I know this is only for a year (though, that year seems like a mighty long time right now). I'm giving up a lot of stability and heading off on what will be an amazing adventure. I'm very excited, but can't help being a little scared, too. Although, I figure once I'm past any jetlag, and have about three days of Argentina, I will be fine and only scared if I find myself at knife point, or led into a complicated an unknown tango move.
It's odd to not work and to know that I can go for a year or so without working. Gainful unemployment is a wholly new experience for me.
My First Official Day of Leisure included listing some books on ebay and A Lot of CSI. The Spike channel is doing a CSI marathon, and I'm quite taken with the show. Then again, I haven't actively watched tv in most of two years, so it's a bit of a field day to find a show that I actually enjoy. I'm also a bit more lazier than normal this week, as it's been nearly a year since I went on a vacation, and I really need some quiet downtime. My roommate is currently in Italy for a week, so it's just me and the cats, and it's luxuriously quiet when I want it to be, and luxuriously lazy.
Why am I taking this trip? Because I can. No pets, no plants, no boyfriend -- why not? Sure, I could lay down this cash for a condo or a house, but when I weighed home-ownership vs a year of travelling and adventure, well, it's obvious which one won. I've wanted to travel like this for-justabout-ever, and some fortuitous financial events occured, so here I am. I left my job of 5.5 years, left my apartment of 3 years, dispersed about 85-90% my belongings largely to Goodwill, buyers off craigslist and friends, and am currently living out of a suitcase and a couple boxes at a friend's house. It was very liberating to rid myself of so many things, and made me realize that I really *need* very little to survive.
It goes without saying that I am scared about this trip. Yes, I intend to come back (though, not necessarily to Seattle). Yes, I know this is only for a year (though, that year seems like a mighty long time right now). I'm giving up a lot of stability and heading off on what will be an amazing adventure. I'm very excited, but can't help being a little scared, too. Although, I figure once I'm past any jetlag, and have about three days of Argentina, I will be fine and only scared if I find myself at knife point, or led into a complicated an unknown tango move.
It's odd to not work and to know that I can go for a year or so without working. Gainful unemployment is a wholly new experience for me.
My First Official Day of Leisure included listing some books on ebay and A Lot of CSI. The Spike channel is doing a CSI marathon, and I'm quite taken with the show. Then again, I haven't actively watched tv in most of two years, so it's a bit of a field day to find a show that I actually enjoy. I'm also a bit more lazier than normal this week, as it's been nearly a year since I went on a vacation, and I really need some quiet downtime. My roommate is currently in Italy for a week, so it's just me and the cats, and it's luxuriously quiet when I want it to be, and luxuriously lazy.
posted by Shana @ 10:06 AM
1 Comments:
At 11:54 AM,
Just Me said…
Don't know if you'll see this comment now but New Zealand is GREAT. That's where I went for 7 glorious months. Reading your blog I could get itchy feet again!
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