Connections

"The world is too dangerous for anything but truth and too small for anything but love." - William Sloan Coffin

Kind of exciting progress on my trip idea... all I've done is start saving some money, mention it to some friends, recruit some advice, and write some posts. People have been coming out of the woodwork with connections, suggestions, places to go and people to visit. I love it. Makes me so excited to make it even more of a reality.

So Far, I have people in the following countries:

1. Peru
2. Ireland
3. New Zealand
4. Australia
5. Japan
6. England
7. Germany
8. The Philippines
9. South Africa

Nine Countries... and without much effort, how cool is that? I'm sure when I contact my friends and explain what I'm doing and why, more will come. Just wanted to share my enthusiasm. And express my surprise about how many people read my blog when I had no idea. Nice.

Adding it to the List

"Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today - James Dean

One thing I'm going to do while preparing for my trip is find places I want to visit, cities I want to explore, things I want to do and put them all in one list. I'll continue to update it as I go along and check things off my list.

Here's something I stumbled upon today, TheFunTheory.com and I'm adding it to list. I need to check out this place in Sweden. It's another example of a different way of life and a different way of living. I love it. Share it with others.

Plotting My Escape

Maybe you don't like your job, maybe you didn't get enough sleep, well nobody likes their job, nobody got enough sleep. Maybe you just had the worst day of your life, but you know, there's no escape, there's no excuse, so just suck up and be nice. - Ani DiFranco


I've been thinking, almost constantly, about changing my life. Again. Trying something different to find my place in the world. And I need the change. I do. Because I'm not nice anymore. And I don't care if I am either. Which is a whole different level of scratchiness in my life. And I agree with Ani, I believe I should be nice to others and I try but when a constant simmer is under the surface, I'm less able to remain patient, kind and understanding. I don't like who I become or how I behave. I remember it from being in Chicago, it took me about 3 months of living there before I didn't react to everything with anger.


I'm in Gulfport, Mississippi* to babysit my nephew for a couple of days while my sister and brother in law play in the state USTA tennis league championships in Jackson. (Yes, I realize how that sounds but it's fun for me to spend time with William and they always need a couple days off.) As I drove down here, I realized I had everything in my car I needed to start my journey... car, computer, camera, clothes and my dog. Too bad I left behind a lot of obligations. This time, when I leave, I have a lot more to do than just quit my job and pack up my stuff.

So I'll go back instead of heading another direction like I was dreaming to do, sell my stuff, make arrangements, save some money, and plan my escape. Even though I call it my 'escape' - I'm not running from anything. I'm looking for a way to live my life which makes me happy and allows me to cross some places off my list. It may not be everyone's way of living or everyone's idea of a life but it appeals to me and I think it will give me a greater level of satisfaction than my current work hard, please everyone but myself situation.

We'll see. One step at a time.


*I always spell out Mississippi, mainly cause I like to sing, "crooked letter, crooked letter, i, humpback, humpback, i" outloud to myself.

Financing my Dream

Faith is forward motion. –Karen Maezen Miller

Money is always a part of reality... unfortunate, but true. To make my dream a reality, I have to revise my personal lifestyle and daily budget to make it happen. I've been looking at other travelers, talking to friends and crunching numbers. I'm great at research and ideas but not so good at the follow through. I'm not good or used to telling myself "no".

Living the Dream decided on a budget of $30,000 for a little over a year (415 days). It's a flexible plan and it allows for cheaper countries to make up for more expensive countries. I want to travel for a longer time, at a slower pace and experience more of living like the locals. I plan more home stays, work for board, jobs as I move around the world so I can limit my expenses and continue my income. Plus I'm hoping to have another source of income (more on that later) besides whatever I'm earning at my work/stay job.

I need to do more research on:


1. Costs of Visas


2. Transfer Taxes


3. Shipping Charges (Gifts, Souvenirs, Holidays, etc - sending packages home)


4. Health Insurance (Cobra? Travelers? Job Provided?)


5. Pre-Trip Purchases (what do I need?)



How much do these cost? What's my personal needs? What's my comfort level? What am I forgetting?

One thing I've learned is I need an international bank, with partnerships around the world, and offering a 4 digit PIN (I didn't even know PINs came in larger numbers). The most highly recommended bank was HSBC so I've looked into their account choices - I'll be able to link my international account with my current local bank through a money market account. Maintaining my local bank account will allow my parents to have emergency access - I'll have to set that up before I leave - they don't currently have access but it's a small town with a small town bank and they know we're related but if I make it official, it could save some time and make it easier on everyone.

GOAL #1

• $1500 in travel savings to open checking account
• $1500 for Money Market account to meet free account minimums.

TOTAL = $3000

I have over $3000 in savings but I don't want to pull any of that money for travel (yet). My savings are for home or pet or human or car emergencies* and I want to leave them for those purposes until those responsibilities are no longer mine.

So that's my first task - Save $3000 to open my new accounts and begin earning money on my money (every penny helps!). Of course I decide to do this in the worst economy, after my salary has been cut and right before the holiday season. But if I can save money with all this going on, then it'll just get easier from here.

Spending cuts (how I'm going to start living a more frugal life)

1. No high speed Internet at Home - I have a Sprint card and DSL at my office so it was over kill to begin with and easy to let go.
2. Cable TV - This one is going to hurt more but I'll get over it. I can watch at my parents' house or at the gym (it may help me get there more!).
3. Eating Out - I eat out a lot for networking purposes and a lot for convenience as well. Breakfast @ $5/day = $25/week = $1300/year. I don't eat out breakfast every day but pretty often so that will be a huge savings. I'm going to limit my lunches and dinners - those will be harder but necessary.
4. Shopping in my pantry - I love to cook so I'm fine with cutting out my expensive restaurant meals but I'm not much better at the grocery store. I'm the queen of standing in my kitchen, looking at my full refrigerator, saying "there's nothing here to eat". I'm sure I'll be telling stories about my progress in this area.
5. Non-Necessity Spending - shoes, purses, clothing, home decor, etc. I've got a lot of stuff around here... I need to trade, sell, give away or barter some of it to help me achieve my dream. I've already been selling some old clothes at a local consignment store so I'll continue, maybe add some ebay selling, and continue to declutter my life.**

*Such as my car not cranking this morning, keep your fingers crossed that it's just a need for a new battery as we think.

**Some of it will be hard to part with, as I decorated my Christmas Tree this weekend, I loved pulling out my decorations plus I have some nice things (ie. china, crystal, etc.) which were gifts and will have to be stored. That may be another cost I need to factor in my budget.

Daily Inspiration

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them. - Henry David Thoreau

I haven't listed my favorite websites lately, so I thought I'd share what's motivating, inspiring, and pushing me to be more. Check them out.

Shutter Sisters - A collection of gifted photographers, storytellers and artists. These ladies inspire me daily to create, explore and make more of myself.

More is Better - This is one funny chick, her antics crack me up but she's also exploring the world at 24 in way which I envy. She's got a list and she's traveling around the country/world (so far just the US) to accomplish her bucket list.

Sara France - As you know, my love of photography is growing daily. This is just one of the photography blogs/websites I check frequently to see what they're doing and receive inspiration. On the west coast, she's got amazing coastal shots.

Chookooloonks - I found her through Shutter Sisters, she inspires me, makes me laugh and is utterly relatable. I love her post about finding what you love - it's nice to know I'm not the only one who struggles with this.

Jurgen Nation - A new find: crazy humor, great stories and a reality you can't deny. She's crazy smart (getting her PhD in Neuroscience) and it comes across in her writing. I love how she'll refer to herself in third person b/c she's just saying...

The Nichols Blog - A husband & wife team out of Austin, Texas who are unbelievably talented. Peoples... Places... all beautiful. I can spend hours looking at their pictures, getting inspiration and admiring their talent.

Nomadic Matt - My new favorite blog, Matt's got his MBA and he's given up the corporate life to be a nomad. He's completely one 18 month, round the world trip and he's living in Thailand, running his blog and supporting his traveling lifestyle. He believes in slow travel and he's motivating me everyday to make my trip happen.

Almost Fearless - Found Christine through Nomadic Matt and I love her stories, insights & suggestions just as much. She and her husband have traveled around the world after cashing it all in and inspiring me to do the same.


So that's it, a bit of what I'm reading, you can see where my head is: travel & photography. Working on a way to make both of them more of my life. Stay Tuned!

Gratitude

"Gratitude is noticing the extraordinary in the ordinary. And then taking the nanosecond to feel it." - Karen Krakoer Kaplan

Over the past couple of days, I participated in Tweetsgiving, a round the world effort through twitter to celebrate Thanksgiving. It was a great reminder to me of how great my life is, how much I have to be thankful for, and why I should remember this and be happy everyday. On the afternoon I started, I was in a funk, tired of work and the daily drama - after my 5th or 6th twitter, I was smiling, feeling better and more optimistic about my life. I know people who pray daily, others who meditate, and after completing this exercise, I KNOW I need a way to remind myself of this daily.

Here's some of my list... Enjoy & Be Grateful.

6 of 100: Thankful for the love given to me

7 of 100: Thankful for the ability to dream, it keeps me going

8 of 100: Thankful for being a woman - strong, smart & feminine

17 of 100: Thankful for my ability to think & act, ignorance is not bliss

18 of 100: Thankful for my ability to always ask why?

32 of 100: Thankful for all the blessing I've received & haven't desearved

38 of 100: Thankful for the people go about their day, silently kicking ass & not needing recognition, my heroes

50 of 100: Thankful for my mom who should be woman of the year

51 of 100: Thankful for this beautiful day

54 of 100: Thankful for an interesting & engaging family, never dull here

60 of 100: Thankful to have been taught to value who a person is vs what they are

68 of 100: Thankful for new blessings

72 of 100: Thankful for those who challenge the status quo

73 of 100: Thankful for the bacon, it makes everything better

74 of 100: Thankful for the possibility of what's to come & finding my 'thang'

76 of 100: Thankful to always be learning

83 of 100: Thankful for the realization that stuff is just stuff

86 of 100: Thankful for my room full of cousins sharing stories & glasses of wine

88 of 100: Thankful for the humor of family stories

89 of 100: Thankful for a full belly

98 of 100: Thankful for the holiday season & the potential of the new year

99 of 100: Thankful for my friends, new & far, who've sent wishes to me today

100 of 100: Thankful I have 100 things to be thankful for & a place to share my gratitude

Not Me

"Depression is nourished by a lifetime of ungrieved and unforgiven hurts." - Penelope Sweet

I took my laptop home this past weekend and had plans upon lists of things to accomplish. And I couldn't make it happen. I got the bare minimum done. I was in one of my funks last week - it grew and grew until I couldn't stand myself. One of my poor friends had to put up with my on Saturday night and she's been where I am now, so she got it. Even so, it still makes me want to stand up and scream, this isn't me. Not the me I know or who I want to be.

So it's time for change. I've been analyzing for a looooooooooong time now. Time for action. This post about traveling was a good start. Now, I have to really buckle done, create and define specific goals. Work hard and make it happen. Otherwise, in a year, I'll still be sitting here. Whining to the internets only because I won't have any friends left.

edited:
Just saw this on a friend's facebook post, hitting so close to home today
"When I was going through a similar situation, someone told me, "everything will be different in a year". He didn't say everything would be fixed in a year, but I felt very assured by that fact that in a year I wouldn't be going through what I was going through that day. So I leave you with that same advice. Next year will be different, probably better." He was right.