Category — Travel

Second-Month Budget Checkup

First full month of living in the new location…

Not bad – good company, getting my space figured out and not missing television at all anymore. The no-heat, drafty-house took a little getting used to – but it’s a chance to use my outdoor gear (and keep the down parka out of storage).

The biggest challenge of the last month was work-related. As in the overtime necessity and stress-level demands have been off the charts. I backslid a bit on making lunches for work – sometimes the greasy cafeteria food can be comforting.
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Savings Goal for the Year

This morning when I woke up – I was out of beans (of the coffee variety). For those of us addicted to this country’s version of corporate-endorsed legal speed – that presents a problem. Before I had a chance to really wake up, I put on my house-slippers, threw my backpack over my shoulder and started walking to the local grocery store.

As I was walking, I momentarily had the feeling as if I were in Mexico heading to the mercado. The sun was shining, there was a light offshore breeze that smelled of dry inland air (versus the usual damp briny-smelling air), and I felt particularly buoyant.

Why the change? Was it a lack of stuff surrounding me in my new home? The absence of a television (no longer hypnotized by the great unblinking eye…)? Maybe it was the presence of a long-term plan in my life now?

The closest I could figure was that since I had made changes – and created a plan, I was much more aware of the present – and had been spending much more time there.

This is a feeling I usually do not experience when walking to the grocery store (at least not in the last few years) – unless I’m on vacation. Vacations are all about practicing “presentness”.

This may seem counter-intuitive – the long-term plan leading to more awareness of the present.
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How much do you know about the world around us?

Let’s play a mental game…

Pick a country or a region that you believe to be “third world”.

Do you have your country in mind?

What do you think their life expectancy is? How about the number of children per family? How does this compare to the United States? How about China?

Write down your guess.

Have you written it down? We can’t go on until you do…

A friend recently shared a new website with me – he introduced me to TED.

Technology, Entertainment, Design.
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Why Travel?

Travel is uncomfortable, at times. Dangerous, others. By traveling, you expose to yourself to unknown danger – to types of danger you have never even thought about.

What a crock. (except for the part about sometimes uncomfortable).

Part of the “dangerous” statement is true. The realty is, that more often than not the place you live right now is more dangerous than where you want to travel. Like anywhere, bad things can happen to you. The uncomfortable part is that you may not know what to do next (that is, if you are unfamiliar with the area you in which you are traveling).

Chances are though, it is less likely that bad things will happen to you while you’re traveling, than it is when you are in your hometown.
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(surfing is frugal)

Over the the month of January, I’ve had time to think about and refine my original idea. The premise is still the same – I can not continue along my present path.

Something needs to change.

I am currently finishing the task of paying off credit card debt, and working paycheck to paycheck with very little savings. My job takes most of my time and energy. I am renting too much house for just myself and my dog.

I am only one unfortunate event away from poverty.

Actually, most of us are only one unfortunate event away from complete poverty. We are not as safe as we try to make ourselves feel. This statement is not meant to make us live in fear. Quite the opposite – we should not let fear keep us from living the lives we want to lead.

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“Why am I doing this?”

That seems to be a popular question for me… why I would do something like the “Year of Living Frugally”.

I have a job. A job with a pension and health insurance. I can currently afford my bills – outstanding debt included. There are people in this rural community who would kill for the job security I currently have.

So… why?

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New year’s Day. New Year’s Resolutions. Too much darkness, not enough sunlight. Too much fatty, sugary food. All these things can bump one into a more introspective mood. Especially those of us with mild Seasonal Affect Disorder – whose holiday plans fell through (which was driving south for more than a week of sunny SoCal and Baja 70-degree-and-Santa-Ana weather). Instead, I spent the last week in the gloomy, chilly rain of far northern California.

During the summer and fall, I can’t think of a place I’d rather be. I love it here. However, sometimes I really hate the damp dark rainy Pacific Northwest winter climate. Once the darkness sets in, and the rain starts, and the average local buoy reading is 20-foot plus and sideways rain blowing onshore – there’s no clean surf for months. There are the rare days, when the winds die and the ocean calms – like this New Year’s Day (although the surf was too flat) – but that was the exception rather than the rule. The average surf go-out during these times means looking for waves wrapping around the protective headlands and hoping it filters the chop from 12 feet to a more manageable 5.

To survive, many of the long-time locals take this time to vacation in warmer climes. A co-worker told me I should plan next year’s winter vacation now to make sure it happens.

So on a warm sunny day, feeling the happiness, I let myself think of the ideal winter vacation (instead of the usual driving south to couch-surf with friends-and-family for a week over the last week of December).

Why not go around the world?

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Hey Everyone!

I realized that I have left you hanging on the end of this trip. I’m back in the states safely, although not necessarily safer. I’ve had two days of work to think about moving down to Central America. It’s a good time to share a couple pictures. Lots of new pictures are up on my myspace site also – including video of the mariachi band performing ‘Mariachi Loco’.

The end of the trip went well. The night before I left El Salvador, I had to eat at my favorite places and visit people. Elias (the bartender) asked if we were surfing at sunrise – he would be there. Of course! I had just enough time to surf a couple hours, pack, and catch a taxi to the airport.

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Hola Todos,

I think I’ve finally acclimated over the last few days. Too bad this is my last full day here. I woke up Tuesday extremely hungry… and able to sleep at will. All of a sudden the heat is no longer affecting my appetite. Good thing – my shorts are getting so big that I’m developing a serious SoCal sag.

It’s been quiet in the bungalow. Only Flaco, Canuck2 and myself have been here the last couple days – and Flaco left this morning. Actually, Canuck2 has a Salvadoreño nickname – it’s Risitas (which means ’smiley’). My Salvadoreño name has been ‘Callado‘ as of a few days ago. El Callado – the Quiet. Super. But true in a way. When I get loaded around new people, I usually am a bit quiet at first. And, the Salvadoreños appear to call it like they see it when nick-naming gringos. If you’re fat, you’re gordo. Skinny – flaco. If you look asian – chino. None of it is to be taken personally, it’s all in good fun (and they only name the people they talk to – usually because the pronunciation of our names is foreign). Anyways, I occasionally hear ‘Callado!’ when I get a wave now.

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Vomit Roulette

Hey Everyone,

During this air conditioning break, I would like to tell you about a game we play here – Vomit Roulette.

It’s called vomit roulette because the ‘winner’ has to vomit (well… they just vomit of their own bodily urges). The roulette part is that it can strike anyone, any day, anytime.

There are so many factors that decide this game – and all of these variables is what makes the game interesting. Saturday saw four winners – Canuck2, the new Kiwi surfer, Jesus the surfer/waiter, and one of the sorority-girl-volunteers. The clean-up woman was not happy with us that next morning.

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