All Dreams Accomplished, Guys!
Oh Yeah! I’m doin’ the High Five Dance right now because I can finally tick off all three of my goals, set at the beginning of my Boots blogging days, back in June, 2008. They were: to learn how to publish a book, to make a blog, and to plan my next major trip. Here’s how each one has been accomplished…..with still plenty of room for continued improvement:
#1. The Book about my first around the world trip was in my hands by early September. It turned out very well and I’m happy with it, though it’s taking its own sweet time to show up on Amazon.com. Most likely, it decided to wait until I, myself, actually hit the Amazon Valley before it makes its appearance on the internet. I kept watching that “You-have-arrived-as-an-author” site for the four to six weeks that it takes to get listed, and when nothing happened, I asked Lightning Source what gives? Uh oh, some papers still needed filling out!!! So, now they tell me that all is set up and we will just meander our way to world scrutiny, arriving probably around the first of the year…just about the time I will be thinking of my own trips to the Amazon Basin and already launched on Goal #3.
#2. The Blog – This summer, I lurched into bloggery with two of the things. My own site, Hey Boomers.com, and this one. Frankly, I thought I’d know way more about it all by this time, especially about running my own site, which was touted as a big way to make money. Trouble is, I have the world’s slooooowwwwest, or busiest, blogmaster. I signed on in early May and didn’t take delivery on the site until deep summer; things requested have never been posted; all the advertisment groups that I signed up for have melted away and there’s no room for ads on the front page, anyway. She suddenly got busy on writing a how-to blogging book and I thought I’d, at least, order that and learn to do on my own all the things I’d expected from her. So I paid for the book in September, when invited to by the publisher, and now have found out that I can expect delivery around January, when I’ll be working out of jungle internet cafes and will have no time for study!!!!!
But, I’ve been too busy with these other projects to spend my time trying to make that site what I had dreamed it might become. It was supposed to be a crucial part of my book advertising, but I don’t think it is. Anyway, I’ll keep on building it, content-wise, until I come home in May and can get serious about making something of it. At least, blogging exists in my life now and I will post stories of my South American travels and so I can tick off that established goal, anyway.
#3. My next Big Trip is now a true reality! I have my air tickets paid for and in my pocket. As I’ve already written about, several months ago I decided not to try for another RTW yet because the four months I have for travel this year would have been spent rushing around the water planet (Southern Hemisphere) without allowing much time for continent exploration. So, I settled on South America this time, and finally narrowed things down to a flight into Bogota, Columbia on January 2, 2009 and exiting from Buenos Aires, Argentina, on May 13, 2009. Just this morning, I booked my hostel in Bogota, so I have the first three days covered after arrival. Since my plane lands at 4:55 a.m., I will be happy to have a cozy bed in a three-bunk dorm room awaiting me.
So, all of my unaccomplished goals of six months ago have now taken shape and have been realized and all three continue to bear fruit and to develop into the upcoming year. All three are in the junior stages with a shining future before them. That’s the magical thing about setting great goals. They may be a stretch. They may cost some money. But, ohmigosh, when they become your own, then you know that The Work of the past year was not in vain and that you can set equally big goals for the next year.
Plus, just this morning, as I was shopping for my Bogota hostel on the Bootsnall hostel page, I was able to capture one realization (that I had totally forgotten about) as to why I love to travel this way. Where else can you drum up so much Anticipation of Possibility then when you are peering at the various pictures of a smorgasbord of places to choose to stay? I imagine how I will feel when I check in and try to duplicate the Ohhhh-Ahhhhh feeling I had when I walked into the Oasis Hostel in Granada, Nicaragua, which was such a pleasant surprise for $6 per night…. and it delivered on its promise in spades. The ambiance, with its hammocks and its lush patio and little swimming pool was fantastic and I wound up making six good friends with whom I traveled on to another hostel on an island in Lake Ometepe.
This time I have reservations at Alegria’s Hostel in the Candalaria section of Bogota for $11.51 for a three-bed dorm room. I could have taken a 10-bed dorm for half that, but decided I’d need the sleep after an overnight flight. There was also a darling hotel in which I could have had a single for $35 a night, but why splurge when I can sleep for three nights at Alegria’s for the price of one there? So, the groundwork is done on this new trip. Everything else is just getting me ready for take-off the day after New Year’s Day. Great Possibilities ahead!
Tags: 1, Anticipation of Possibilities, Bogota Columbia, Three Goals Accomplished, Tag Index
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