One of the issues about leaving the country, for good, is that I actually have quite a good job that I genuinely enjoy.
Whilst Nick has a job that he worked his butt off (sometimes for free) to get to, I don't think it's fully satisfying for him. He often comes home tired, grumpy, moaning about some person or some thing that continually pisses him off. Admittedly, some of them to me seem petty, or funny - the one that really gets me is the accountant who washed his Mac keyboard in the sink. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we have reached a new level of stupid here. His bonus scheme stinks, too. However, I do remember being in a job I hated and all those niggly things just build up and up until they just eat away at you. So I think, for him, Australia is a fantastic alternative to job searching over here. At least he has a trade that's in demand and fairly well paid.
Now I don't mean to brag, but I've always been the highest earning one in our relationship and that's a status I'm a little wary of losing. No, wait, let me rephrase that - I'm wary of being paid less than Nick; I'm more than fine with being on par. I don't mean this in a competitive, belittling, or feminist way at all, it's just I've always been so independent with money that the thought of not having enough of my own concerns me. I don't like the fact that I may contribute less to the rent, or food or petrol, or that I might need to ask for money at some point to get me by. I know that Nick wouldn't be bothered - I know I'm not at the moment - but it would make me feel so awkward and needy. I'm sure there's some psychological explanation about fending for myself at an early age, or being management and therefore a control freak or whatever, but, y'know, I'd just like to be able to pay my way.
I was thinking about all of this at my works conference. I work in fashion retail, so we dress pretty, go up to head office, look at all the new stock, find out how the business is getting on and drink champagne. Lovely day! And it's always at the conference that I sit and think, 'Wow! There is so much growth in this company, so many opportunities, that in five years time I could be anywhere!'. Which is probably very true, and who knows? Maybe in ten years time I could be an area manager (international, of course!), with my own company credit card and shiny company car - I'd finally have an Audi! - but then again, I might not. There are some managers who have been in the company for 28 years. Woah! The thought of another 28 Christmas sales makes me want to bolt right this second.
It only takes me a few minutes of thinking to realise that my prospects for moving country far outweigh my prospects of staying. It's a whole fresh start, I could be anything I wanted! I am swaying towards conservation and working with animals - 'You can do that in England!' I hear you say. Well, yes, I could. But I'd be giving up a decent job to go and volunteer to scoop poo in a country that is almost constantly cold, without any qualifications to bump me up the ladder. I know I'd be in the same position in Oz, just a whole lot warmer, but that wouldn't matter, because we're going there to travel, and explore, and do new things.
The point is that, yes, I would miss my job and I'd miss being in a form of employment that I know and am good at. But what if I'm even better at feeding koala bears?
This day next year... we'll be getting our jabs sorted. Ouch!
Friday 21 February 2014
Tuesday 18 February 2014
One of Those Days
The thing about holiday time from work is that, if you don't take it, you miss out on paid time off. So rather than miss out on that opportunity, you end up taking holiday for the sake of it. The thing about doing that, is that you end up being bored. Like me.
Don't get me wrong, I could have had a multitude of things to do and people to see. It's just that when I have an opportunity to be lazy, I like to grasp it with both hands and then I tend to find myself wandering around aimlessly. I should probably just read, but instead I just make myself busy procrastinating.
Being bored did get a whole lot more fun today though! Do you know how cute baby turtles are when they're flipper-ing (What do you mean that's not a real word?) off to the sea? Seriously. Youtube it. And did you know that there's a rollercoaster in Norway that lets you experience weightlessness twelve times? And that an average inhabitant of Belgium will consume 22kg of chocolate annually? Oh, and Romania has a 'Merry Cemetery', in which the tombstones are painted bright colours and poems are etched onto them.
This is all I've done for about two hours, just looking up random facts about the countries that we'll be visiting. I am definitely making it to that rollercoaster. The only thing I actually managed to achieve today was my very first Herbalife Wellness Evaluation (thanks Zee!). I think it went ok, but mainly it was nice to have a chat with Zee.
This day next year.... I'll be putting my Alice dress on Ebay, just in time for prom season.
Don't get me wrong, I could have had a multitude of things to do and people to see. It's just that when I have an opportunity to be lazy, I like to grasp it with both hands and then I tend to find myself wandering around aimlessly. I should probably just read, but instead I just make myself busy procrastinating.
Being bored did get a whole lot more fun today though! Do you know how cute baby turtles are when they're flipper-ing (What do you mean that's not a real word?) off to the sea? Seriously. Youtube it. And did you know that there's a rollercoaster in Norway that lets you experience weightlessness twelve times? And that an average inhabitant of Belgium will consume 22kg of chocolate annually? Oh, and Romania has a 'Merry Cemetery', in which the tombstones are painted bright colours and poems are etched onto them.
This is all I've done for about two hours, just looking up random facts about the countries that we'll be visiting. I am definitely making it to that rollercoaster. The only thing I actually managed to achieve today was my very first Herbalife Wellness Evaluation (thanks Zee!). I think it went ok, but mainly it was nice to have a chat with Zee.
This day next year.... I'll be putting my Alice dress on Ebay, just in time for prom season.
Saturday 15 February 2014
Getting Started
It's something that many dream about, few set out to do, and very little achieve. But someday, we will travel.
Blah, blah, blah - cliché alert! I know, I know. But clichés weren't created by chance you know, they do happen to be popular notions.
Where do we want to go? Australia, mate! Of course. Why? Because it's sunny. And, um, other such reasons.
No seriously, we've picked Australia because it's so diverse and so different from what we have to experience in our own country. The economy is better, finding a job is easier, the beaches are beautiful, the opportunity to save money is unbelievable, and we have family and friends to help us out whilst we're there. How many people manage to grab an opportunity like that in their life time?
When? Well... Hopefully around May next year. We are saving like crazy! I'm pushing the bonus' at work, I've become a Herbalife distributor (Yes, that's right, I sell Herbalife! Contact me if you'd like more info.), Nick's selling loads of crap on Ebay, he's asked (and got!) a payrise, etc. etc. So there's some big hope between us and we've got a lot of drive. If we could pay our way around the world using those attributes alone, we'd already be there.
As if Oz isn't a big enough trip to pay for by itself, we'd also like to backpack around Europe just before we leave. Y'know, whilst we're still up this end of the Earth. We've got this all planned out too (I'll detail in a later post), catching trains and ferries through all the different countries, but again, it's all about the money.
So, what progress have we made towards this journey? Well, you, my friend, have joined us at precisely £1450 towards our £16,000 goal. Ouch. We've told our families, who seem to be taking it well - although I have received a 'when are you coming back?' talk from the mother in law. Um. Fingers crossed, we're not. We've told our friends, who have also been supportive albeit one, who is very sad to let us go, and Nick has told his work. I'm not telling mine yet until it's all decided and final, a.k.a. the visas are on the way.
So there you have it! Welcome to our journey! This day next year we'll be... tying up loose ends, starting to pack, selling last bits and pieces, spending as much time with our family and friends as possible and getting excited about finishing work.
Blah, blah, blah - cliché alert! I know, I know. But clichés weren't created by chance you know, they do happen to be popular notions.
Where do we want to go? Australia, mate! Of course. Why? Because it's sunny. And, um, other such reasons.
No seriously, we've picked Australia because it's so diverse and so different from what we have to experience in our own country. The economy is better, finding a job is easier, the beaches are beautiful, the opportunity to save money is unbelievable, and we have family and friends to help us out whilst we're there. How many people manage to grab an opportunity like that in their life time?
When? Well... Hopefully around May next year. We are saving like crazy! I'm pushing the bonus' at work, I've become a Herbalife distributor (Yes, that's right, I sell Herbalife! Contact me if you'd like more info.), Nick's selling loads of crap on Ebay, he's asked (and got!) a payrise, etc. etc. So there's some big hope between us and we've got a lot of drive. If we could pay our way around the world using those attributes alone, we'd already be there.
As if Oz isn't a big enough trip to pay for by itself, we'd also like to backpack around Europe just before we leave. Y'know, whilst we're still up this end of the Earth. We've got this all planned out too (I'll detail in a later post), catching trains and ferries through all the different countries, but again, it's all about the money.
So, what progress have we made towards this journey? Well, you, my friend, have joined us at precisely £1450 towards our £16,000 goal. Ouch. We've told our families, who seem to be taking it well - although I have received a 'when are you coming back?' talk from the mother in law. Um. Fingers crossed, we're not. We've told our friends, who have also been supportive albeit one, who is very sad to let us go, and Nick has told his work. I'm not telling mine yet until it's all decided and final, a.k.a. the visas are on the way.
So there you have it! Welcome to our journey! This day next year we'll be... tying up loose ends, starting to pack, selling last bits and pieces, spending as much time with our family and friends as possible and getting excited about finishing work.
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