Day one......not exciting

Sitting in the airport waiting for my first flight I am off to Houston for the night. One of my favourite things about the Calgary airport is having a beer at the Chilis......unfortunately I am on the shitty american side so I figured I might as well come on here and write for a bit to help try to keep me awake. Yesterday was a bit of a ride for me as I had to run across town get my car pack more stuff get rid of more stuff (Thanks Ruan and Mary) and I had to say my final goodbyes at work. I was upset for about 5 minutes but then I realized holy crap I have to much to do. I was at the Radisson close to the airport last night and it was an awesome hotel - heated tiles in a bathroom now that is awesome luxury. It is finally snowing in Calgary it is been awhile since it has I hope this means there will be lots of fresh snow when I come back for skiing in March. Jeeze this is not a very exciting post I am even getting bored writing it.....ok lets see if I can change this.

I look around at everyone else about to get on the plane lots of tired and bored faces....lets face it who really wants to be up at this time....how come girls have comfy travel clothes and guys what do we have jeans. If you look around airports they all look the same news stands, fast food, sit down restaurants, tourist stuff...ok finally something interesting....I am wearing a t-shirt from my former employer and as I am sitting down a guy sitting beside me looks at my shirt and says "Spectra"? Go figure I am on my way to Houston which is the head office for them and I run into an employee from my former employer. He asked about my job and I looked at him with a smile and said "I just quit". I hear on a daily basis "good for you", "I am jealous". The guy I was talking to told me he wants to do that for his retirement. Personally I don't know how much I would want to travel when I am older in life.

My first stop is in Houston....so far quite surprisingly people have been less than helpful. Today I am mostly going to chill in my room and reorganize my bags so nothing very exciting (sorry). Tomorrow I head to one of my favourite cities Antigua Guatemala.  Just hang tight things will get better!

Surreal

I have never fully understood the word surreal until today. It is my last day of work and all week long especially this morning I have been saying my farewells. Hearing things like you will be missed and great working with you I ask myself "what is going on"? I know I am leaving but at the same time it hasn't hit me. I am asked a lot if I am excited and as much as I am it hasn't hit me but that could be because the amount of stuff I have to do today plus go into work is probably a little much.....oh well....what was I going to do in my hotel room tonight anyways sleep?

Less than a week to go - Goodbyes

I am sitting on a camping chair in my living room connected to the net through my phone and using my old entertainment unit as my "table" if there was any doubt to leaving it has been removed today. I forgot one very important thing the fact that I have to say goodbye to close friends and family. Somehow I need to find the right way to tell my little nephew goodbye and it breaks my heart. It is hard to think that I will not get to see the expression on his face when he sees me. It is hard to realize that I will be missing out on a big part of his life. Goodbyes are never easy to do as it is. I have made Calgary my home and have been here for nearly 8 years. I wonder if some people stay where they are because they do not want to say goodbye to everyone and everything they know. Don't get me wrong I am excited for the opportunity that is about to happen and it is something I need.

So why am I sitting on a camping chair in my living room? Well I donated more of my stuff to the drop in center. I have the rest of the week to pack my stuff and get it ready to bring over to a friends place. I recently received an email from a recruiter for South Korea and now it looks like I will not be going there to teach as they will have major budget cuts.....well there goes that idea!

What are my options now? Travel a little longer before I teach at another destination? Do some more volunteer work? I have a lot of things to consider now. I am a firm believer in everything happens for a reason.

I am looking at the possibility of teaching in Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan or China. I am also looking at doing some additional volunteer work in New Zealand or SE Asia.

This weekend I had drinks with work and a few friends as a farewell and later this week one more time. Also I will have a few farewell lunches. I am exhausted right now I shouldn't have had that coffee earlier. Sitting on a camping chair indoors might seem neat at first but the neat feeling goes away quick.....on that note it is 5:30 p,m and too early for bed so a good walk is in order especially since it is +12 C outside which is extremely unusual for January in Calgary. On a side note I don't feel like moving anymore of this stuff.

Tuna Tom

  

First time

For the first time in my life I have nothing on the horizon but flights, hotels, hostels and a lot of friends waiting for my in Oz.......and with the hopes of a job later on......

For the first time in a long time I have been leaving work with a bigger and bigger smile on my face and excited for my future. This weekend I have a couple of going away parties and I need to get rid of the rest of my stuff. I talked to my recruiter last night and somehow I know everything is going to be ok. I am about to go on an adventure that most people can't even begin to dream of. I have been unhappy with my life and the road I have been going down and I am changing my life. Although I have things booked I have no idea what tomorrow will bring and that is very exciting. What bothers me is how many people are living a life and are unhappy....does this mean I will never be unhappy again no but I am trying to make a change for the better. Unfortunately we all need money and there is no way around it.

Is what am I about to do a little crazy? Maybe........but all of the Aussies I have ever met do it.......

Tuna Tom

Something always comes up - mind won't settle down

I am sitting here thinking today what do I need to do? I know I have my to do list at home and now a big application for teaching in South Korea. I now need to put money towards an oil change for my car and something else for my car, a course extension money for this money for that, Canadian dollar going down.....blah blah blah. There will always be something else come up that is just life.

My mind is scrambling around today between work and my new life. It is not easy when you are trying to wrap up your own life but having to realize that the job you are about to leave gave you’re the money to be able to leave………

Tuna Tom

Jealous tax (or fee)

As I am getting ready to travel and looking at various things including the price of gas, bank fees for using other ATMs, withdrawal fees, checked bag fees....fees for this fees for that....I have come to the realization all of this can be called a "Jealous tax". What is a jealous tax? Well let me tell you the people who control airlines are jealous that you get to travel so they charge you for checking bags. You want to go a city for an event like Mardi Gras, Oktoberfest or the Stampede well be prepared for the jealous tax as everyone else has to work but would rather be partying. The banks have a jealous tax too. If you are preparing to travel make sure you put into your budget "JEALOUS TAX"

Tuna Tom

Familiar feelings

It is Monday morning and I am at work earlier than normal. Yesterday I was able to sell a few more things and I have gathered together more stuff to be dropped off for the drop in center and have thrown out more things. I am having difficulties with sleeping right now like the night before an important interview or meeting or the night before an early flight the kind where you set your alarm clock for 3:00 am and you check your clock every 5 minutes and watch the last 10 minutes and watch your alarm clock go off at 3:00 and wait to turn it off. Am I worried right now……..Right now I am I don’t know I am honestly not even sure if it is sinking in yet.

 

As I was throwing some stuff out, packing stuff for the drop in center and packing my other stuff I had a feeling I haven’t had since I was in school the feeling that everything is about to change……

Tuna Tom

Soul searching and doing the right thing

I had a coffee and a good chat with a seasoned traveller who told me about what to look for while travelling. He probably gave me more good advice in nearly an hour then I have received in most of my life.

Although he told me I am doing the right thing he told me how can I put it.......(yes those dots are me thinking it may take awhile) you need to find yourself as well as your soul. We chatted about dating and how it gets harder the older you get this is something I know to well I wish I had someone to travel with but it just isn't in the books for me right now. At some point getting hammered every night will get old and relationships that go nowhere will hurt you more. You need to find your place in this world but need to do something that helps people.

There are different communities in the world that you can help out from working on organic farms and meeting people, helping people start a business, teaching English to business executives.  When I was presenting in front of the office on healthy eating, stress management, or depression I knew I was making a difference not only in others lives but in my own as I was motivated to walk the talk. I know part of the reason I am travelling is to discover myself and this world. Who am I and why am I hear? How can I best help people out? You can go to work everyday and be miserable and have your holidays here and there but all you are doing is repeating the cycle. Make a change in your life that will not only make you feel better about yourself but will make a difference in others lives.....

Tuna Tom

Saying farewells

I have been starting to do some of my farewells. I emailed my old president to let him know I was leaving and had tremendous feedback from him.

I have also emailed a president I used to drink with and invited him out for a beer. We had a good chat about management styles, presenting and some good laughs about life.

I emailed the customers to let them know I am leaving and have heard back from a few saying they would miss me and wished me well although they are jealous (I am hearing that a lot).

Right now the industry is heading towards a bust and it seems I am leaving at a good time.

In 2 weeks I will be having some people over for drinks before we do a pub crawl in my neighbourhood.  I will open up Tom's Bar for the night and show off my bartending skills :)

I know there will be some tough goodbyes to come this is not the first time nor the last time I have had to do this in my life...... :(

Tuna Tom

Stress but 17 working days :)

Although I am about to become homeless and unemployed that doesn't bother me and I am not stressed about about it. I am a little worried if I have enough money or not but, as soon as you realize you have no income you realize you need to change how you eat and what you do. I have a feeling that when I start to travel I will be more cautious and will ask things like do I really need to spend money on this?

So what exactly is causing stress for me.......kijiji (online classified ads). I know some people love it and swear by it but honestly it is a huge waste of time and pain for me right now. Lots of people on kijiji are pure bargain hunters that what to get items that are new for very little money. Whatever I get for what I am selling will help but when you post an ad for an item for 400 and people offer you things like 200 it is a bit of a piss off. I had one person look at some items and said they would take a pass as they "were in rough shape" I would hardly call a scratch "rough shape". I think these same people are the ones who post complaints on tripadvisor as they saw a scratch in a pool or a chip on their bed.

I would rather donate my stuff then have to deal with cheap people. If you want to pay 25 or 50 dollars for a dresser then go buy a brand new one from Walmart.

My apologies for the above venting! For the most part I think if you are getting ready to leave like I am and don't want the hassle of selling your stuff, then just donate it to a drop in center as people there would appreciate what you have.

On the plus side I have 17 working days and I am on my way.....now if I can just gather some motivation to get my school work done :(

Tuna Tom