Hello World….traveller
(yeah, for all you computer science nerds, the title is what you think)
When I started working in 2006, I had a few simple financial goals:
1. pay back my mortgage-like SCHOOL loans (yeah, $140,000).
2. save as much money as I can.
The first goal was quite straightforward. I was in debt, big time, and needed to relieve myself if i ever wanted to do anything in life, at least here in the states. And no, in the states you can not declare bankrupcy for student loan debt :). Luckily, I got a good job out of school. It even payed for my masters in Electrical Computer Engineering.
The second goal, to save money, has always been a trait of mine. Anyone that knows me, knows that i’m all about being as efficient as possible with my time and money, even if it may put myself in, according to some people, uncomfortable situations. It may be the reason engineering became so attractive to me (tradeoffs, optimizing certain outputs, etc.).
After saving some money and paying off loans I had a realization. Why am I working? I enjoy it, but why accumulate money? Why save it? What do you want to do with your money you save? What things do you splurge on? And the answer for me was, no suprise here, Traveling!
I went on a trip to Israel in 2008. It was a fully paid trip by Birthright, a Jewish organization, that tries to connect you with Israel to show you how beautiful a country it is. I went for 10 days and extended my trip out of my own pocket with a friend for 4 extra days, totaling 14 days. I had the time of my life, meeting amazing people, seeing amazing historic sites, etc. This trip really got the wheels moving on how much I enjoyed to travel. I speant 6 months learning Hebrew, planning my trip after the tour, and even kept a journal (which is the best advice I have ever got when traveling. I try and squeeze as much as possible in a trip, and usually forget what I did. This journal allows me to recap what I did). Between 2009 and 2011 I went on trips to California, Salt Lake City, Vegas, Vermont, etc. Then in June 2010 I went to Peru. good times. Inca trail, Cuzco, and Lima. Then in January 2011 I went to Mexico, then Miami, then Japan, then chicago, then Vegas.
It became apparent that traveling was my thing. I wanted to live every moment like it was my last, and see as much as i possibly could before I turn 30. As I write this I am turning 28 next month.
And now the reason for this blog, but a quick story: My friend, an airline employee, put me on his standy list (which is required to keep me on it for 1 year) allowing me to get a flight for cheap, but a seat is not gaurenteed. This points to traveling with no real time constraints. Coincidently, a few days later, I find out that I may be losing my job after 5 1/2 years working for this company due to funding issues. At first, I was a little nervous, but now I am actually looking forward to it. With this time off, I am strongly considering to take a few months off to travel around the world. Unemployment benefits in New Jersey aren’t too bad either. I will have to straighten out a few things before I leave such as bills, rent out my condo, cancel certain services like insurange, gym membership, etc. Never thought i’d be looking forward to be unemployed…
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Joshua
November 11th, 2011 at 4:02 pm
Hi, this is a comment.
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