Lessons of a simple traveler

Planes are my new bike. Airports are my new outlet source. I now sit in O'hare, on my 4 hour layover to Munich. Lots of thoughts processing from the last couple weeks, mostly just thoughts of when I can catch up in sleep! I probably should have slept instead of boarding yesterday but oh well. I explored back bowls I had never seen before, and of course, got super sleepy at the furthest point away from the base of the mountain! It was worth the few hours...even saw a little bit of South American flare.

I think back to when I was so nervous to travel...packing huge roller bags packed months in advance, dreading the flight, and overall making a huge deal of trips. Now that its become second nature, I wonder how these trips will look in my overall life picture. Just some trips or will they be life-changing?

I'm definitely learning little things here and there. Jess gave me a ton of pointers in Argentina that I can use while I travel solo this round. Help from others have been huge for this trip. It would not be possible without upper management laying me off, my coworkers and friends who encouraged me about the safety of flying, my friends who shared their travel experiences for the countries which I will see, and of course my lovelies who send me off and welcome me at the airport, with Starbucks and fresh fruit and the best hugs ever! How have I been so blessed? And how can I reciprocate?

The second thing I've taken away from this trip is learning to live more simple. I consider myself pretty good in this area, especially for a chic. But while I prepped for my subleasers, my closets are filled to the brim, just like in the movies...one open of the door and it will be messy. As the Four Hour Work Week book references, we only use 20% of our stuff, so why not cut out the excess 80%? Easier said than done. But I did pack lighter this time without my laptop or camera! Lets see how this pans out!

I understand that I have a skewed view, being unemployed...not sure if that puts me more or less in the 'real world' though. I'd like to think that I'm seeing the true meaning of life on this journey. And I realize in poorer countries that I have even less control of situations. Two of our buses and a taxi broke down, everything is dirty, there won't always be waffles when I want them!, I can't pick my hostel roommates, internet is slow, weather, businesses being open certain days of the week, subleasers settling into my apt, etc etc. Good thing I'm going to yoga countries! This will be great practice for the farm when we will have hardly any control! Maybe this trip is going to be life changing after all...

things I've learned from funemployment...week one

1. I crave pancakes. Perhaps because everyday feels like Saturday, and I would love making pancakes Saturday mornings as a kid...so much that I had the recipe memorized to a tee. Perhaps I'll be able to memorize it again.

2. The grocery store is fully stocked at 8 am. Now that I'll be relying heavily on sale items, I come before the shelves have been raided.

3. I'm still not ready to own a dog. I thought I was...I really did. Maybe it's like a kid...you don't really think you're ready until you just have your own...or like kissing boys, when dirty slobber miraculously became ok, to a point. I dog-sat this week for a beautiful, well-behaved Doberman. It didn't attack me or chew up my furniture, but having a little one count on me to be let out and walked a few times a day was enough responsibility for my jobless self. No wonder people post so much dog and baby stuff on facebook all the time...it's a full time job that becomes your life! which leads me to my next point...

4.  My days have actually been pretty productive, therefore I find less and less need to be on facebook. Or maybe I was just sick of only reading about the election this week. And I had my own dog to look after.

5. I'm going to use public restrooms a lot more from now on. If I'm home all the time, that means I won't be saving money on toilet paper.

6. Libraries are awesome. Not only for public restrooms (per above), but also for the FREE movies (take that redbox!) and hello...FREE knowledge. I think I have about 10 books checked out right now. Note to self: when I'm down to my last few hundred dollars, fly to a warm tropical island with a library. I feel like I can learn anything in there.

7. All my farm ideas are terrible. Hence why I will be going to the library more (per above). I have a range of directions in mind for where I can go with farming. My teacher talked me through them and at the end of our conversation I asked...

'so it sounds like just a regular small farm starting on an acre is the best idea?' 

'Well, they're all terrible ideas, Shannon, but none of us are in this for the money, are we?' 

True, true. At this point, any profit looks good to me. And per my friend Patrick...technically I'll be growing money, so it's like something from nothing!



8. Chicago is my number one dealbreaker. I am open-minded to lots of things, like nose picking or dirty lingering laundry or Packer fans, but I have a zero tolerance policy for dating men who want to live in Chicago. Unless you're Oprah...there's 0% chance in anything that I will follow you. I wonder if I can convince anyone else that the concrete jungle is greener there, not here with the endless sunshine and mountains and outdoor activities and freedom of feeling like a kid...

9. I'm learning to do things that I hate because it's good for me. Like making my bed and flossing around my permanent retainer.

10. I'm learning to be productive with my time. Which means I should stop here and get to some homework.