My boyfriend Doug was recently accepted into a Broadcasting Program, and finds out soon if he is able to get a loan and start being a studly scholar in the Spring!
We're hoping that once he finishes the 3-month program, we can use his newly minted skills on the road and make some things happen by way of a little "Video Travel Blog" action.
So excited about the possibilities!!!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
why? why not!
"Why would you sell all your stuff and leave behind your family, friends, and everything you know to travel the country in a giant van?"
No, this is not a question one of my friends, family members, or co-workers have asked me recently, it's actually one that I often ask myself...
I certainly didn't have a "sheltered" upbringing by any means. I have an enormous and close-knit extended family, have always had a lot of friends, and have followed through (or at least put forth a really decent effort!) at anything I've willed myself to do. I haven't even spent much time thinking about living a life of travel until pretty recently, within the last couple years or so.
Besides what I feel is the somewhat obvious reason (this country is huge and filled with stuff I wanna see, so why not go see it?), there are definitely other things that are pushing me to go explore...
Reason to go #1: I've known quite a few people who have dropped everything they're doing to hit the open road, and their stories and experiences have done nothing short of completely blow my mind. The picture that gets painted in my head of how insanely fun and life-changing this will be is enough to make me daydream about it at least a dozen times a day.
Reason to go #2: I'm turning 30 in two months. I'd say the time is now, yes?
Reason to go #3: Lucky for me, I work in an industry that allows me to do what I do anywhere in the entire WORLD. And being that it's the only work I've ever done, I know I'm skilled enough to take some time off from it, and come back and pick up right where I left off.
Reason to go #4: I absolutely love my friends and family, and being so close to both has been something that's always been very important to me. But these are all people who believe in living your dreams and reaching your potential, and I'm blessed to be supported by every single one of them. Besides, there's always Skype, E-mail, Facebook, Twitter, Morse code, Messages in a Bottle, etc. etc. to keep us connected.
Reason to go #5: There's this really hot guy I live with who just happens to have the same goals and desires as me, and doesn't cringe at the thought of being in a moving vehicle with me 12+ hours a day. Doesn't come along very often!
Bottom line, I'm looking for a little adventure in my life. I'm not bored or tired or disconnected from where I am at this moment, but I am looking to stir things up a bit.
Nothing wrong with that, is there? :-)
No, this is not a question one of my friends, family members, or co-workers have asked me recently, it's actually one that I often ask myself...
I certainly didn't have a "sheltered" upbringing by any means. I have an enormous and close-knit extended family, have always had a lot of friends, and have followed through (or at least put forth a really decent effort!) at anything I've willed myself to do. I haven't even spent much time thinking about living a life of travel until pretty recently, within the last couple years or so.
Besides what I feel is the somewhat obvious reason (this country is huge and filled with stuff I wanna see, so why not go see it?), there are definitely other things that are pushing me to go explore...
Reason to go #1: I've known quite a few people who have dropped everything they're doing to hit the open road, and their stories and experiences have done nothing short of completely blow my mind. The picture that gets painted in my head of how insanely fun and life-changing this will be is enough to make me daydream about it at least a dozen times a day.
Reason to go #2: I'm turning 30 in two months. I'd say the time is now, yes?
Reason to go #3: Lucky for me, I work in an industry that allows me to do what I do anywhere in the entire WORLD. And being that it's the only work I've ever done, I know I'm skilled enough to take some time off from it, and come back and pick up right where I left off.
Reason to go #4: I absolutely love my friends and family, and being so close to both has been something that's always been very important to me. But these are all people who believe in living your dreams and reaching your potential, and I'm blessed to be supported by every single one of them. Besides, there's always Skype, E-mail, Facebook, Twitter, Morse code, Messages in a Bottle, etc. etc. to keep us connected.
Reason to go #5: There's this really hot guy I live with who just happens to have the same goals and desires as me, and doesn't cringe at the thought of being in a moving vehicle with me 12+ hours a day. Doesn't come along very often!
Bottom line, I'm looking for a little adventure in my life. I'm not bored or tired or disconnected from where I am at this moment, but I am looking to stir things up a bit.
Nothing wrong with that, is there? :-)
Monday, February 21, 2011
inspiration...
From "Nicolas Rapp's Extreme Adventure Driving the World by Truck" on Huffington Post, Feb 21, 2011
Arriving back in the U.S. after a 37,000-mile trip around the world – most of it overland in a '96 Toyota Land Cruiser – I made a funny mistake. I'd survived landslides, jungles, breakdowns and accidents, monkeys stealing my breakfast, cops shaking me down, border guards turning me back, and desert thugs looking to take my precious water. Finally I got through customs in Los Angeles, flashed my colorful passport to the officers and expected to see friends who'd promised to meet me – but no one was there.
After asking someone what day it was, I realized my mistake. It was Saturday. I'd told them I was arriving Sunday. I'd forgotten I would cross the international dateline somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and go back in time a day.
As my travels came to an end, one reader asked if I'd found what I was looking for on the long road around the planet.
Well, I was not sure what I was looking for when I left, but I feel wiser about the state of the world. I may not be smarter or better, but I am stronger, and I have more stories to share than the average person. I've been away for 15 months and after seeing many places, I reckon New York City with its diversity is where I feel most at home. I intend to stick around and try to adjust to a sedentary life. My next adventure I will have in common with many American as I try to find a job. But I intend to stay in touch with those I met on my adventure, along with readers who followed me online, sent me a donation for gas or posted a comment. As I made my way around the world, you made me feel I was never alone.
Arriving back in the U.S. after a 37,000-mile trip around the world – most of it overland in a '96 Toyota Land Cruiser – I made a funny mistake. I'd survived landslides, jungles, breakdowns and accidents, monkeys stealing my breakfast, cops shaking me down, border guards turning me back, and desert thugs looking to take my precious water. Finally I got through customs in Los Angeles, flashed my colorful passport to the officers and expected to see friends who'd promised to meet me – but no one was there.
After asking someone what day it was, I realized my mistake. It was Saturday. I'd told them I was arriving Sunday. I'd forgotten I would cross the international dateline somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and go back in time a day.
As my travels came to an end, one reader asked if I'd found what I was looking for on the long road around the planet.
Well, I was not sure what I was looking for when I left, but I feel wiser about the state of the world. I may not be smarter or better, but I am stronger, and I have more stories to share than the average person. I've been away for 15 months and after seeing many places, I reckon New York City with its diversity is where I feel most at home. I intend to stick around and try to adjust to a sedentary life. My next adventure I will have in common with many American as I try to find a job. But I intend to stay in touch with those I met on my adventure, along with readers who followed me online, sent me a donation for gas or posted a comment. As I made my way around the world, you made me feel I was never alone.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
are you sure...?
Above is Doug and Vida. Boyfriend and Man's Best Friend. The two I'll be sharing my road trip adventures with. This has been a carefully planned, well-thought out course of action that we aren't taking lightly. Of course we have thought about the possibility of wanting to strangle eachother somewhere between Louisiana and Colorado, but what better way for us to solidify how much we love and respect eachother than by hitting the road and seeing where it leads?
It'll all be fine as long as Vida doesn't demand shotgun.
endlessly changing horizons...
The movie "Into the Wild", although with what some would consider a not-so-happy ending, has been a huge source of inspiration and motivation for us. Although we don't plan to burn our money, lose our cell phones and cut up our credit cards, the things Chris McCandless stood for are hugely important to us; straying from the norm, seeing the world from different perspectives, taking risks. Isn't that truly what life is all about?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."
~ Chris McCandless
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."
~ Chris McCandless
quote of the day...
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime."
~Mark Twain
~Mark Twain
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