This is it! My new blog!
Some of you may be aware that I’ve talked about starting a blog for a while, and have even had this domain for a few weeks now. I’ve worked on starting this blog for nearly a month, but with the busyness of preparing to leave home for nearly four months and leaving a job I’d been in for almost 7 years, I couldn’t find the time. In addition to long hours at work leading up to my last day, followed by long, stressful days of tying off loose ends and making sure everything was ready for the trip, I’ve had a number of other complications that popped up right before the trip and even into the trip.
In just the month of January alone, a month from my departure date, I learned I’d been a victim of identity theft (again) which required calls, a police report, and document mailings. Then there was the credit card that almost didn’t arrive in time for my trip even with me starting the process in plenty of time. And where is my PIN? I barely got by without it in Dubai. Taxes were done on time, except that due to an issue with TurboTax and concerns of fraud issues, I, and maybe thousands of others, can’t file the state forms yet. Any other year this wouldn't be a problem if I were in town to wait it out, but I'm not. And since I’m not traveling with the computer I did them on I can't do them from overseas. So the state taxes remain unsubmitted. I bought a new laptop only to have my old laptop fall onto it denting the casing and putting stress fractures on the screen. I never break my electronics. My credit card company would pay for part of the repairs, but they have to be done within the next 3 months. No time to do it before the trip, and I won’t be back in the States during that time. As the fractures weren’t getting worse and didn’t affect the images on the screen, I decided to let it go. After arriving in Dubai I noticed they’d gotten worse during the flight. For several days after I'd notice more issues with the deteriorating screen. Then there were the two, yes, two leaks in my house that I discovered but didn’t have time to fix myself before leaving, and a repair to some wood on the outside of the house that needed tending to. Remember, we're still in January! My accommodations for Dubai weren’t settled until the day of my departure for there, and the campervans I kept trying to reserve would get snatched up just before I put a payment down for them. Turns out the Cricket World Cup is happening this weekend in the town I tried to rent the campervan in, creating an unusual demand for campervans in New Zealand. So still, days before I’ll need it, I haven’t locked one down yet (stay tuned for more about that, though). For me, a planner, someone who’d intended to have all of this done in October, this goes against my grain in every way.
So you see, it hasn’t started off rosy. But amidst the chaos my last week before my departure was full of friends and family, gifts, notes, and emails of support, and the promise of months with God, myself, and amazing scenes of nature at every turn. And for that, I would go through it all again.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy the story about how I quit my job and traveled the world.
Some of you may be aware that I’ve talked about starting a blog for a while, and have even had this domain for a few weeks now. I’ve worked on starting this blog for nearly a month, but with the busyness of preparing to leave home for nearly four months and leaving a job I’d been in for almost 7 years, I couldn’t find the time. In addition to long hours at work leading up to my last day, followed by long, stressful days of tying off loose ends and making sure everything was ready for the trip, I’ve had a number of other complications that popped up right before the trip and even into the trip.
In just the month of January alone, a month from my departure date, I learned I’d been a victim of identity theft (again) which required calls, a police report, and document mailings. Then there was the credit card that almost didn’t arrive in time for my trip even with me starting the process in plenty of time. And where is my PIN? I barely got by without it in Dubai. Taxes were done on time, except that due to an issue with TurboTax and concerns of fraud issues, I, and maybe thousands of others, can’t file the state forms yet. Any other year this wouldn't be a problem if I were in town to wait it out, but I'm not. And since I’m not traveling with the computer I did them on I can't do them from overseas. So the state taxes remain unsubmitted. I bought a new laptop only to have my old laptop fall onto it denting the casing and putting stress fractures on the screen. I never break my electronics. My credit card company would pay for part of the repairs, but they have to be done within the next 3 months. No time to do it before the trip, and I won’t be back in the States during that time. As the fractures weren’t getting worse and didn’t affect the images on the screen, I decided to let it go. After arriving in Dubai I noticed they’d gotten worse during the flight. For several days after I'd notice more issues with the deteriorating screen. Then there were the two, yes, two leaks in my house that I discovered but didn’t have time to fix myself before leaving, and a repair to some wood on the outside of the house that needed tending to. Remember, we're still in January! My accommodations for Dubai weren’t settled until the day of my departure for there, and the campervans I kept trying to reserve would get snatched up just before I put a payment down for them. Turns out the Cricket World Cup is happening this weekend in the town I tried to rent the campervan in, creating an unusual demand for campervans in New Zealand. So still, days before I’ll need it, I haven’t locked one down yet (stay tuned for more about that, though). For me, a planner, someone who’d intended to have all of this done in October, this goes against my grain in every way.
So you see, it hasn’t started off rosy. But amidst the chaos my last week before my departure was full of friends and family, gifts, notes, and emails of support, and the promise of months with God, myself, and amazing scenes of nature at every turn. And for that, I would go through it all again.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy the story about how I quit my job and traveled the world.