Canadian Nomad

I don’t think I even realized how quickly my departure date was coming. It felt so soon, but then couldn’t have been soon enough. As I wanted, it was a relatively quiet see you later to most people and a FaceBook status change for others. We had a small office going away dinner, thanksgiving at my parents place and thanksgiving at a friends place. I left October 15th as planned with my friend and we headed down to Portland.

As my friend is vegan (see her website) we ate almost entirely at vegan/vegetarian restaurants including Blossoming Lotus Pearl, Blossoming Lotus Irvington, Bombay Chaat House, Sweetpea Baking Company, The Tao of Tea, Bye and Bye Pub, Bay Leaf, and the Van Hahn Vegetarian Restaurant. I may have missed a few, but they were all delicious.

We also visited the Pittock Mansion, a beautiful place with kind and wonderful staff who really cared about the house and it’s history in Portland.  Also we had a lot of fun saying its name…  Either way I would definitely encourage anyone visiting Portland to take a tour of the house as it is like a blast from the not too distant past with an amazing view.

Only a couple days later, October 20th, we had an emotional little drive to Seattle where I was to catch my plane to San Diego and my friend was to meet her dad and continue on home.

I stayed two nights in San Diego, only one day.  I had a quick bean burrito and went out to a bar to talk to some local people and find out what I should do for the day that I was in town.  I got two suggestions, one was to go jump of a cliff (a fun pastime of mine) at Sunset Cliffs and another was to rent a bike in Mission Beach and go along the sea wall.

After a really bad nights sleep as ADA regulations made the nearby crosswalk to constantly announce when people could cross the street in all directions I decided to take both options.  I rented a bike for $15 for the day and started biking up Ocean Beach towards Mission Beach.  It was quite a beautiful and scenic ride.  But 4 hours later and on the return swing of the trip I decided against heading to the Sunset Cliffs as I was feeling quite exhausted and returned the bike 2 hours later.  Next stop “the happiest place on earth: Tijuana!”(Simpsons reference)

Tags: Biking, Getting Away, Mission Beach, Pittock Mansion, Portland, San Diego, Tijuana, Travel, Vegan, Vegetarian
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At the turn of the millennium I went on a 3 month trip across Western Europe, touching the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, France, Andorra, Spain, Ireland and the U.K. Since then I have been pinning to get out on the road again. So here I am, nine long years later and it is more an emotional necessity then a mere wish or dream. My bags are packed and the date has been set. Since I returned one of the concepts that has always circled around my head was the idea of crossing the equator, as if it was a line that needed crossing.   Likewise I have had the desire to build a location independent business – a business that can be run from anywhere.

Two authors that have fueled this desire are Tim Ferriss of The Four Hour Work Week fame and Tynan from his awesome blog. Both have given me the tools needed and the knowledge that it can be done.

“For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something… almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.” Steve Jobs’ Commencement address (2005)

I first came across this quote in The Four Hour Work Week, but have since played the entire speech to myself and friends over and over because of how profound it is regarding how I want to live my life. So I have given notice, given away most of my belongings and put the rest in storage and before too long, October 15^th, I’ll hit the road to South America. Ideally I’ll be able to find a place in various countries, settle down, learn about the people, culture and language while also finding time to work and earn Canadian dollars before moving on to the next place.

Keep an eye here if you want to be kept up to date on my travels, information about work and travel and any other little tidbits that I find relevant to this lifestyle.  Thanks for reading!

Tags: 4HWW, Canadian Nomad, Crossing the Equator, Four Hour Work Week, Getting Away, Life Nomadic, Personal Development, South America, Steve Jobs Commencement address, Tim Ferriss, Travel, Western Europe, World Travel
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Arg.  First lost post.  I’ll have to write it again.

5PM Friday: I’ve had it, I need to get away.  I’m done with the week and I’m grateful for a chance to be free for a glimpse at liberty.  The day isn’t quite over yet, but still I make a few calls to make sure my cat is taken care of and that nobody will expect me for dinner.

You know you can only work in front of a computer in the same office doing the same things for so long.  It isn’t natural.  Natural. Yes, get away, go to nature.

5:30PM: I hit the road heading east.  No real plan yet, I get the vague idea that I’ll just stop wherever I land around 9.  I didn’t pack, I didn’t plan.  What was the urgency?  Exhaustion I think, and the vague feeling that it will never end.

Driving though the mountains of British Columbia is somewhat cathartic.  The majesty  of the land and the beauty of the lakes and rivers calms the nerves and reminds you of what you want to be and do.

9:10PM: Check in to the Kelowna International Hostel and talk with a few of the regulars.  I decide I’m hungry and take their suggestion of going to the Doc Willoughby’s Downtown Grill.  The food is good, but the people were great.  I got invited to join a large and eclectic group for a birthday party.  How fun!  It’s a great idea too.  Next time I’m out and I see someone alone, I’m totally going to invite them to join us.

As I was talking with the group I asked them were I should head next, to get away from the city and get a little R&R.  Suggestions included Beaver Lake and Big White.  Now Beaver Lake sounded good, but Big White was having an end-of-season sale.  Cheap stay and out of the way.  Perfect.

At the crack of dawn I am off to Big White.  They can’t check me in for an hour so I have breakfast of a coffee and a bagel.  While I am waiting I start brainstorming ideas for a new blog.  I really like mind-mapping with a normal pen and paper.  Besides eating at places with great views and lounging in the hot tub, that is mostly what I did.  Lots of thinking and brain vomiting.

After a particularly nice chat with some Americans in the hot tub at night I went out to watch the end-of-season fireworks and then headed to the local nightclub/lounge and had a blast.

Because it was the last day they were kicking everybody out early and so rather then stick around much longer I headed home.  A short 5 hour drive later I did some blog reading and made my first post.

Tags: Beaver Lake, Big White, Brain Vomiting, British Columbia, Canadian Mountains, Doc Willoughby's Downtown Grill, Exhaustion, Getting Away, Kelowna International Hostel, Mind-Mapping, Travel, Writing
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