Savings etc.

I know Zee, I haven't forgotten about my five influential books. I'm getting there, I promise!

Nick sold his motorbike last week, which I thought, at first, was a silly idea. It's a mean, powerful, sports bike, that's wicked fast and super exhilarating - if you like feeling as though you'll die any moment - and perfect for the upcoming summer months. He worked his butt off to get it, and is still paying it off now, plus he only used it for one summer; in my eyes, he hadn't finished having fun on it and I was certain he'd regret selling it so soon.

Now though, I'm thinking it was actually a rather good idea! He lucked out on another bike that, to cut a long story short, will only set him back the cost of registering it as a UK vehicle. Which means he now has £4,000 in savings! Woah! We could literally leave for Australia now if we wanted - which we most certainly do, but won't. Because we've got our plan and we're sticking to it! The more savings we can get, the better chances we have of making everything work for us. I've heard quite a few stories, actually, of people that have gone out there with the minimal amount of money, thinking it sounds a lot ($5000), when in actual fact, when thinking of the cost of living, is only going to sustain you so long. If we want to be able to enjoy ourselves for a little while and adventure about a bit, every penny helps.

Nick's also in high spirits because his savings are exceeding mine, competitive little freak. But it's ok, I'll catch up. Not only that, but I aim to be at a certain level within Herbalife by the time we go, so I'm still getting a small income whilst travelling.

To be fair, the thing I'm happiest about is the fact that I enjoy riding on the bike with Nick again. I'd forgotten what it felt like to not fear for my life, or constantly be working to stay on the bike after every corner - seriously, that thing was better than the gym! - and I couldn't remember what the mile straight looked like because I've had my eyes closed for the last year! I no longer have to crap my pants every time we pull up to a red light, because the damn thing had so much power I never knew if Nick would wheelie or not. It was that lack of safety, or trust in the bike, that really took the enjoyment out of it for me. Don't get me wrong, it was an amazingly exciting bike, but not well suited for a pillion. The new bike reminds me of when we first met and we'd ride around for the fun of it, and I was happy just to hold on tight and watch the world rush by. 

This day, next year... I'll be in my last week of work. Holy shit, I'll be unemployed for the first time since I was sixteen. I'll actually be leaving my store, I won't be a manager anymore, and it'll belong to someone else. They better take good care of it!

Friends

There will be many people and things I'll miss when we move, and sometimes they're almost enough to keep me here. If Skype hadn't been invented, I don't think I could manage it. For one, I would miss my friends immensely. 

Let's take Siobhan. She's so geeky, it nearly makes me cringe (in a nice way), but I love that about her. I love that she says what she wants to, and isn't scared to voice her opinion, even when it differs from everyone else's. I love that she's so persistent in everything she believes in, and I'm certain that she'll achieve everything she's set out to do. Hell, on persistence alone, I think she'd score a publishing deal before they even looked at the material. It's second nature for her to blurt out something weird and ridiculous, but it's also automatic for her to give a logical and straight solution to someone being, well, somewhat irrational. I love her for all of her quirks and for being weird.

Then we have Jody. I don't think I've ever met somebody so much like myself. She loves to have an adventure and isn't afraid of doing something new; if I phone her up and say 'Jode, I just found out there's a snowboarding place near me - let's do it?' I know that what I'm asking is actually rhetorical. What I should be asking is, 'When are you next off so we can do something cool and crazy, and probably break a limb?'. Yet on the other hand, she's more than happy to educate me with films whilst painting nails, and she's one of the few people I can shop with without getting annoyed. I love that she's a big juxtaposition in the idea of girly-ness. She lives so far away from me too; I have friends who live not even two minutes down the road that I haven't seen since Christmas, yet Jody is an 80 mile round trip and we still make that, I'd say at least once a month. Oh, and she loves books! She's a big geek too, just like me. There's a pattern here with my friends, I'm sure.

I have my Sandee too, and oh, what will I do without her? And what will she do without me? Who will she vent to about all of her issues? And who will have my back for all my little problems? She's my big sister; she's always advised me on everything, whether it be big or small, but most importantly she's stuck with me when I've ignored all of that and messed up. And there were plenty who didn't. Oh, and driving is never as fun as when Sandee's in the car. Screwdrivers is all I have to say to that.

Last, but not least, is Jess. She used to be my fellow adventurer, but she mellowed out when she met her boyfriend. It seems like they've been together forever now, so needless to say we don't adventure much anymore, but if I want an awesome night in, I know where to look. She's probably the most supportive of the bunch, probably because she knows where I'm coming from and how long I've wanted this. We had a crazy notion when we were in our teens that we'd save up a ridiculous amount of money in six months and then literally up and leave everything, including my current boyfriend at the time, our house and my fairly well paid (but shite) job, to travel Oz for three  months. Oh, man, I miss being mentally spontaneous. God help the damage I would have caused if I was rich. But Jess has shown me that you can go off the rails a little and land safe and cosy back on them again.

Then I have a bunch of other friends, that are by no means less important. Don't be offended guys, I just don't know you as well as the above, and that makes me a little sad because you're all awesome, yet I just don't have enough time. There's Lizzy, Jordan, Carrie, Tobias, Lou, Anusha... I won't have a Princess Aimee to buy me chicken bakes in Oz. Do they even have Greggs over there? ... No! I may as well un-pack my bags right now then! I'd miss all the guys from work; Tracey with her 1,000 decibel voice and Margi with her infinite wisdom; Laura with all her drama and best intentions, and Hayley and Emily who are just the sweetest. 

It sounds so sappy, but I'd keep all of these people with me. They'd be there in the little things; whenever I pick up a book, or watch something in IMAX, when I'm stuck in traffic, snorkelling over a reef, or cuddling koalas, and I'll wish that they could see it too. I'll have to take a bunch of photos.

This day next year... I'll be in my last few weeks of work and shit will be getting real!

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.

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.