Jun 28, 2011

An Angel in Disguise

I met Sean the other day. He was hanging out at the Sugar Cafe bar all alone, and I just happened to sit next to him. He looked like he had just left work, dressed in a green button down and black slacks, drinking an Anchor Steam. The bartender (who is also my roommate) handed me a cocktail from the menu, and Sean and I sat in awkward silence for a few minutes not acknowledging each other's presence.

He looked lonely, and even though my mom taught me not to speak to strangers, sometimes I just can't help it. So I asked him what had brought him to this bar. Turns out he had come there once before, a few years ago on a layover from Australia to his home in Ireland, and he was repeating his tradition again that night.

Without any agenda or expectations - we ended up talking for almost 2 hours. Out of nowhere, he started telling me a story about how he had packed up his life about 6 years ago, and moved to Australia. He explained to me how it was the most exciting thing he'd ever done; he had met so many new people and had so many wonderful and spontaneous experiences, and he didn't regret a thing...and told me that I have to do it.

Funny thing is, with all this free time lately, it has lead me to start thinking radically, radically about what the next months of my life should be like. Every day is different: I go from pondering about a 9-5 job in the city, to living in London or down by the Riviera, to traveling to the Bahamas to bartend my way through tiki huts and clear blue water, or even to spending a year down under throwing shrimp on the barbie with the Aussies.

Before I left the bar that night, I told Sean that I was happy to have met him. And I genuinely was...and still am. He reminded me of the things I've been dying to do, of the things I yearn to do, and of the things I had pushed to the back of my mind because I was stuck in a routine. He reminded me of how much I love to travel and how much I love to experience new things. He reminded me not to be scared and that the first step would be the hardest and most scary, but that it would all be worth it in the end.

So, should I stay or should I go?


~C

Jun 23, 2011

On Meeting Famous People

Note to self: Don't meet famous people when you've had a few drinks. Because then you want to hug them...repeatedly. Thank you Cody Ross and Pat Burrell for not calling security.


Go Giants :)

~C

Jun 20, 2011

On: The Hunt for the Perfect Job

I began traveling at a very early age, and by the time I was three years old, I had visited big parts of Europe and Asia. I would get such a rush when my family and I arrived at the airport because I knew it was the start of a fun new adventure. Airplanes have always been comforting to me…in fact, the moment the plane breaks through the clouds I feel safe, suspended in the sunny, clear air high above the world (perhaps that's why I couldn't wait to jump out of a plane).

I remember this one day in middle school when a friend of mine had mentioned she was applying for a passport. I was  completely knocked off my feet - what did she mean she didn't have a passport? Wait a second, you weren't born with a passport? Little Cat had had a passport since she was born, and didn't realize that it wasn't an automatic right once you came into this world.

Via Startbackpacking.com
It still baffles me that there isn't some free program for children of a specific age to experience the world. Traveling has been a huge part of my education and I can't imagine who I would be right now if I hadn't of had the chance to learn about other cultures and see the world throughout my life.

Nowadays, I do my best to explore as much as I can, but being on my own budget doesn't readily allow for much travel. Three years ago I convinced my university to send me to France for a year, one year ago I worked my butt off to save up to go to Australia and this year, thanks to my dad, I'm going to Sweden. 

This is why I don't think I'll be happy with any ole' job here in SF. After about a year, I'll get antsy again, and I'll want to be in the exact place I am now. So instead of wasting another year doing something that doesn't make me happy, I'm on the hunt for the perfect job - one that allows me to eat, breathe, sleep travel. 

Wish me luck. Here goes nothing!

~C

In The Pursuit of Happiness

Things seem to happen to me all in one go. I'll go months with no real change; living a slightly stale life and then bam!, all of the sudden the universe throws me in the deep end. It's not like I can't swim - it's just that time went by so fast, I didn't even have time to put my bathing suit on!

...It's been interesting, to say the least. The biggest change, though probably not the most unexpected, is the fact that I am back on the prowl for a job and in the pursuit of finding happiness (which is a tremendous thing, let me add). I had been feeling like I was living in a dark cloud for the past year, full of frustration. But this last week has felt like summer vacation, and I'm loving it. This time around, I want to do something that I LOVE. I want to be passionate about what I do. I want to work in the travel industry because traveling is the most exciting thing to me.

So I'm going grab a cocktail and let the job hunt begin!


~C