Is there anything on the interweb you CAN'T find? =)

I love the interweb. Look what I found:

http://briefcasetobackpack.com/

It's perfect for what I'm going to do in June next year. I'm in the midst of going through my TEFL notes now too. Well, I've been at it for about an hour this morning but Facebook and Solitaire keep getting in the way.

It's great that people are recognising the need to go beyond the mundane and see what else is out there. I don't know how often I will find myself in the situation where I can do this, so I'm going to take the opportunity to do it while I can. I'm nearly 30 (sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!) and before you know it, I'll be 40 and then what? A lot of people let 10 years of their life go by always thinking "I should do this" and "I wish I had done that". Who wants to live like that? I want to get to 40 with life experience and an open mind and a willingness to keep on learning and exploring.

I found an article on the New York Times website (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/jobs/11gapyear.html?_r=2) and yes, alright it was published in early 2009 but it's still relevant. I mean, a lot of the people in the article were 20 years my senior and pretty well established in their careers when they took time off, but it's really good to see that people of all ages are embracing this. I'm not even going for long but I still consider it a little bit of a break for me. I'm going to get to the point where I can go for as long as I want.

I caught up with a friend of mine yesterday. A hardworking, successful, highly-paid friend. We were talking about this trip to Peru I'll be doing and she said "I'd like to do that one day". She is in more of a position to do it that I am (finance and career-wise, she could drop everything, be gone for 6 months, and still find her feet with a job and money when she returned) but she still thinks of this as a "perhaps one day" goal. Maybe she has too much at stake with her high-paying job and mortgage. But it would take a bit of a shuffle and she'd be alright, surely?

Have I also mentioned how fugging annoyed I get at people who say they want to do certain things "before they're thirty". Like "I'd like to go running with the bulls, it's definitely something to do before I turn 30". What the hell happens after 30? Are you dead after 30? Like the NY Times article says, people in their 40s, 50s and 60s have lived a hell of a lot of life and seen so much, why would anyone think that you're supposed to have seen it and done it all by the time you're thirty?!?!?!? It really bugs me that people can be so narrow-minded.

I am not alone!

I often feel I won't do it, I can't do it, I don't deserve to do it, but stuff it. I found this article and it helped. Will track down the ebook soon.

http://www.travelblissful.com/overcoming-7-major-obstacles-traveling-world/

And I really really hate it when people say there are things they would like to do before they turn 30. Christ almighty! What happens after you turn 30? Is that seriously the end of everything? Gimme a break! No really ... gimme a break?

It's a Wonderfully Unproductive Life.

Have done sweet F.A all weekend, minus Friday night when I peaked too early and had to leave the rest of the crew in the middle of the cross punching back cocktails. I attempted to complete module 3 of my TEFL course but there are so many quiz parts to it, and it's getting to the difficult stuff, like prepositions and present perfects and past participles and future perfect continuous present acknowledgement forever and ever amen. Anyway as I was trying to complete my quiz I kept getting sidetracked and I ended up playing freaking Solitaire instead. I don't know why.

Tomorrow (or later today, as it's now 1am in Sydney) is another working week and I am actually looking forward to it. I've decided I will kick some corporate (or as "corporate" as my company can be) butt. But not before my coffee. At least I have a job.

This week will be better though. Not like today. Today was useless. Sheesh.

Macchu Picchu and a whole lot of Mula ...

Lord almighty lord almighty lord oh-fugging-mighty! I just booked my airfare to Peru for the teaching month for next year. Will be incredibly awesome to do this, but the MONEY! I will struggle just to get the money together to pay for the flight and the teaching placement, and then money to take with me so I can at least go out and see some of Cuzco! I enquired about doing the Inca Trail up to Macchu Picchu (it has to be done while I'm there or else what is the point?) and I can safely say that that may be the only part of this whole expedition I can pay for without it stressing me the hell out. Yeowsaaas.

I also went through another module as part of my TEFL training. I do not recommend online study or distance education, I really don't. I need the motivation and interaction with my classmates to enliven me to get to work. Even my OTEN is starting to suffer.

Am very excited that this is all falling into place but have yet to book the annual leave for this. Have pretty much got the whole Europe thing all wrapped up and ready to go, the only thing I am saving for is the spending money while I'm there. I doubt I'll spend much once I'm on the road from Berlin to Budapest but may be doing the majority of spending in the UK and Paris. Ahhhh, Paris ...

How strange my 2010 will be. Starting it off with a civilised European jaunt and then interrupting it mid-year to take off on an adventure of a lifetime to Peru. Both plans are equally exciting, although completely different. I don't know what i want to spend my money on when I'm in Peru, but when I'm in Europe it will definitely be all about the drinking and eating. I won't really shop. I might buy a thick coat in the UK if it takes my fancy but other than that I won't do a major hit of the shops.

My next hurdle is my Financial Services course. Lord almighty again ...

All systems go, Captain. We WANT lift-off!!!!

Have now possibly dug myself into a hole of failure - I'm unable to find any motivation strong enough to get me to study. Not only that, I've taken on MORE freaking bloody study. Yeh. I've started a TEFL course. Why? Because I'm going to Peru. How? I don't know. I DO NOT KNOW.

So my life is full of fun and games for me right now. In the middle of hammering out my second and third assignments for Accounting, studying for the test, doing this TEFL course, working full time and you know, generally trying to maintain some kind of order and balance in my life, I am all out of time! Admittedly though, I am in a much better position than where I was last year. Last year I was a wreck of a person. I had to focus on just living week by week. Every small victory was something to be cherished. Now I have so much more at stake and I don't want to take any of this for granted.

But Cuzco will be awesome. Am finally biting the bullet and doing the i-to-i thing I've been dreaming of doing since ... forever. I will be teaching English in Cuzco to a group of schoolchildren and making a difference in some one's life. It might not be in an overly profound way, but it will be more than what I am doing right now.

Yes, I should really be grateful for the fact that I am doing this.

Am also extremely looking forward to Europe in January. Some people can't believe I'm going there in the dead of winter, but to me it will just feel that much more foreign, and that's kind of the whole point. So I'm gonna shove my fists into my ears, chant "lah-lah-lah-lah-lah" with my eyes firmly clamped shut and refuse to listen to people who poo-poo my winter escape. Go fugg yourself, I say. I haven't stepped off Aussie soil since 2007!

Meanwhile, my love life has taken a complete nosedive. A date? What's a date? I can't even get a guy to take me out for a "casual" coffee, let alone a proper old-school date. And those that do contact me, well ... you know that old Groucho Marx syndrome of not wanting to be a member of a club that would have you as a member (or something to that effect)? That's how I feel about the guys I've met. I don't want to go out with someone who is so willing to go out with me. He says "let's meet' up", I say "no thank you". My mother would have a heart attack if she knew I was purposefully turning away potential fathers of her future grandchildren. And that's all they'd be to her, never mind I want to actually live with the guy and have some form of compatibility with them.

But I will NOT fail my first Accounting course, and I will get through all of this because I DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE.

Feels good to have a lot on my plate though. Feels really good! =)

Aaaaalriiiiiight!

I'm so proud of myself I just finished my first assessment for the Introductory Accounting part of my course! YAY! I gotta tell ya, those were a lot of numbers I went through - I never went through so many numbers in the past 10 years, it was really like I was back in high school again doing homework! Do kids now do assessments online and submit them online? How old do I sound ....

I also inquired about an el cheapo flight to Paris in January. I've never thought of going to Paris in January but there you have it. It's coz it was cheaper to go to Paris than it is to go to London so I thought what the hey ... and I get to see Paris! Accommodation now ....

Anyway today was a good day for me. I'm sick though (not swine flu, maybe piglet flu) but I'm proud of the very small little tiny steps I made today in my quest for .... the pursuit of happiness. H A P P I N E S S - spelt correctly.

Yay me!
=)

Ohhhhhh, OTEN!!!

OTEN student support services are bugging the hell out of me, it must be said. Here's my original email to them (note the date):

Sent: Saturday, 1 August 2009 3:12 PM
To: Businessmarketing, Oten
Subject: Communicate in the Workplace unit no FNSICGEN301B

Hi, I'm fairly new to OTEN and I'm a little bit confused. I wanted to start the "Communicate in the Workplace" unit but when I went through the CDs for this I found out that I needed a textbook. I've already order the textbook through the Co-op bookshop site, but I wanted to know if I could go through the toolbox CD while I was waiting for the textbook to arrive? I've also read through the Learning Resource overview and there is a learning plan, but do I do this while I'm reading the textbook and do the chapters relate to what I'm up to in the learning plan? My OTEN number is ********** and I've just started the Cert IV in Financial Business. Please feel free to contact me via email or on 1234 567 890.

Thanks

I just checked my email today and here's the response they gave (again, note the date):


Thursday, 13 August, 2009 3:33 PM
From: "Businessmarketing, Oten"

Good to hear from you.

Apologies for the delay in responding to you. You are welcome to work through the Toolbox, although I'm sure the textbook has arrived by now!

Kind regards
Finance Teacher
OTEN Marketing and Financial Services

I swear, WHAT THE HELL?!?!?! Could they not tell from my original email that I am in a state of complete confusion about this whole OTEN self-study thing??? Ohhh my lord OTEN. Still, I have to admit, the times I do study I do really get into it. I went to uni straight after high school, so all my academic study has been done with plenty of theory whereas TAFE seems to give you theory based in practice. Or maybe it's because I'm been working for a good decade and I can see the theory I'm learning in my every day work situations. *Siiigh*. I just hope I get through all the modules on time. I don't want to fork over another $900-odd for next year only to have gotten through like 2 units so far ...