This won't be a long post, just something I wanted to throw down on "paper".
Today I started packing, albeit a little late as I'm supposed to be out of this place tomorrow. Turns out my life fits into one small Uhaul box and one medium, excluding my clothes and paintings. I live this way for this very reason, I like to be able to get up and go at any time, but I digress.
As I've been packing away my stuff, I've come across a few things with memories attached, forcing me to remember the times I had forgotten. As I was packing my clothes into my "visiting people" luggage, I found that I was taking the time to smooth out the items.
This seems like such a small thing, but it made me realize the great change I've been through in the past two weeks since I quit my job. I'm taking the time to pay attention to what I'm doing. As I've been driving around taking care of my last business in town, I've noticed things about my city that I never did before. I'm spending time with people I haven't spoken to in a long time because I never had time while concentrating so much on my job. I'm actually living life.
It's funny, seeing life as though through new eyes. It makes me wonder why I allowed myself to sleep, to dream the Great American Dream for so long when the real world is so much more beautiful. Back to packing.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
On The Desire To Break Free
One of the things that has struck me as interesting since my decision to take this trip was the reaction I have received from my friends. I never realized just how many people want to do this very same thing. Almost every one of the people I have spoken to about this trip has said something along the lines of "I wish I could do that". Three separate people asked me to start this blog specifically so they could "live vicariously through me".
I wasn't quite ready for this reaction. In all honesty, I had quite expected everyone to call me a dumbass for quitting the nice job and giving up my place of residence, especially given the current economic climate. Not a single person has said a disparaging remark. It seems to me that everyone yearns to break free. Young and old, rich and poor, male and female.
This also played a part in my decision to use my pseudonym here, to write as John, everyman. I would love to inspire others to come to the realization that they can shrug off the chains and really live life, even if only for a while. Even couples and entire families can do this with a little more effort. http://www.vagabonding.net has some good testimonials from all sorts of people who have taken to the road in various ways.
Now some of you may be thinking "Well you haven't even started your road-trip yet, how can you say that anyone can do it?". This very question was the reason that I had not written this post until today. This evening, though, I realized that no matter what happens, I'm already successful. This isn't about how long I keep my foot on the gas pedal, nor how high I can drive my odometer. This is about breaking free, living the way I want to (at least for a while).
This endeavor has been successful since the day I took my first step on the road. I have no idea what this path holds in the future, but I look forward to finding out.
I wasn't quite ready for this reaction. In all honesty, I had quite expected everyone to call me a dumbass for quitting the nice job and giving up my place of residence, especially given the current economic climate. Not a single person has said a disparaging remark. It seems to me that everyone yearns to break free. Young and old, rich and poor, male and female.
This also played a part in my decision to use my pseudonym here, to write as John, everyman. I would love to inspire others to come to the realization that they can shrug off the chains and really live life, even if only for a while. Even couples and entire families can do this with a little more effort. http://www.vagabonding.net has some good testimonials from all sorts of people who have taken to the road in various ways.
Now some of you may be thinking "Well you haven't even started your road-trip yet, how can you say that anyone can do it?". This very question was the reason that I had not written this post until today. This evening, though, I realized that no matter what happens, I'm already successful. This isn't about how long I keep my foot on the gas pedal, nor how high I can drive my odometer. This is about breaking free, living the way I want to (at least for a while).
This endeavor has been successful since the day I took my first step on the road. I have no idea what this path holds in the future, but I look forward to finding out.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
An Introduction May Be Necessary...
So most of the people who will ever see this site will already know me. However, I would like to think that maybe someone will one day, at 2am, stumble on this little blog, and I figure if that happens it might be nice for them to know who I am and what this is all about.
As of the time of writing, I am a 27 year old web-developer for a major investment firm. Tomorrow at 4:30pm, I will be a 27 year old unemployed man. My name is John. For those that do already know me (why are you reading this?) they will recognize that it isn't my real name, but more on that later.
Last Thursday, after a sleepless night, I decided to quit my job. It had been coming for a while, as I had felt the stress bubbling up ever so slowly over a period of two years. I had worked for this company for 7 years, but I had held a new position for the past two. I had always wanted a job in web development because it's something I'm rather good at. It's funny how those things happen, when you think you want something for so long, you get it, and a week later you realize that it wasn't at all what you wanted. That was me a month after landing this job. Sure, I was making decent money, but it lacked any kind of humanity, working for a faceless corporation. A month after I started I could already feel that it wasn't going to work. But I had wanted it for so long, I was in denial. I figured if I just stuck at it then I'd get used to it.
Fast forward two years, to 7am last Thursday, and that bubble popped. I feel starved of humanity, and I need to get it back. I need to see people, have new experiences, and take some time to see the world around me.
Right now, I have approximately an 8,500 mile roadtrip tentatively planned. I hope to be bouncing around between my dear friends' houses, hostels, sleeping in my car, and camping. I expect the trip to take about 45-60 days, depending on how many places I decide to stop at and how long.
As for my name, it's the name many people know me as on Facebook. I had originally signed up to Facebook under the name John Johnson to avoid the gaze of the human resources department's beady eyes. I decided to use it here because it's a very average name, and I want to show that anyone can do this (for reasons that I'll explain in a later blog entry).
Tomorrow, I'll be jobless. Next Sunday, I'll be homeless. I am wracked with fear and excitement. I think this is enough to tell you about myself for now. If you continue to follow the blog, then I'm sure you'll learn at lot more as you go.
( Friends and strangers both, if you would like me to visit you on my tour please email me at collapsedwavefunction@yahoo.com or leave a comment with your email address )
As of the time of writing, I am a 27 year old web-developer for a major investment firm. Tomorrow at 4:30pm, I will be a 27 year old unemployed man. My name is John. For those that do already know me (why are you reading this?) they will recognize that it isn't my real name, but more on that later.
Last Thursday, after a sleepless night, I decided to quit my job. It had been coming for a while, as I had felt the stress bubbling up ever so slowly over a period of two years. I had worked for this company for 7 years, but I had held a new position for the past two. I had always wanted a job in web development because it's something I'm rather good at. It's funny how those things happen, when you think you want something for so long, you get it, and a week later you realize that it wasn't at all what you wanted. That was me a month after landing this job. Sure, I was making decent money, but it lacked any kind of humanity, working for a faceless corporation. A month after I started I could already feel that it wasn't going to work. But I had wanted it for so long, I was in denial. I figured if I just stuck at it then I'd get used to it.
Fast forward two years, to 7am last Thursday, and that bubble popped. I feel starved of humanity, and I need to get it back. I need to see people, have new experiences, and take some time to see the world around me.
Right now, I have approximately an 8,500 mile roadtrip tentatively planned. I hope to be bouncing around between my dear friends' houses, hostels, sleeping in my car, and camping. I expect the trip to take about 45-60 days, depending on how many places I decide to stop at and how long.
As for my name, it's the name many people know me as on Facebook. I had originally signed up to Facebook under the name John Johnson to avoid the gaze of the human resources department's beady eyes. I decided to use it here because it's a very average name, and I want to show that anyone can do this (for reasons that I'll explain in a later blog entry).
Tomorrow, I'll be jobless. Next Sunday, I'll be homeless. I am wracked with fear and excitement. I think this is enough to tell you about myself for now. If you continue to follow the blog, then I'm sure you'll learn at lot more as you go.
( Friends and strangers both, if you would like me to visit you on my tour please email me at collapsedwavefunction@yahoo.com or leave a comment with your email address )
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