Day 2: Not All Who Wander Are Lost

State of mind: Wanderlust. 

I have complete and utter "wanderlust". If you know anything about me is that I will spend my last cent on going on a vacation and enjoying myself even if it means weeks of eating ramen and clipping coupons. I love to travel. I think it has always been part of me since my parents always took me on vacation, we'd go everywhere. From traveling in a Peugeot in France, to that yacht turned ferry trip in Cancun, to our family vacations in California, to that very remarkable trip to my father's native land of Costa Rica. My fondest memories of my family have always been traveling, getting to the airport late, dealing with luggage, long road trips that included spontaneous singing. 

The worst part of being broke was not being able to travel or take a vacation. Now that I have a job, I long for exciting weekends to somewhere new, even if it is Wisconsin Dells. I open up my vacation forecaster, Expedia, Airbnb, Groupon, Travelzoo and every other bargain tool to make sure I'm getting the best deal possible.  

As an "adult", yes I'll continue to put that in quotes my trips have included: a cruise to Cozumel, birthday weekend in Las Vegas, Oktoberfest in Hill Country (Fredericksburg), Wisconsin Dells, Madison/Milwaukee Weekends, and Universal Studios and Disney World, I'll also the handful of times that we've gone to Del Rio or I've gone home for Christmas as (adult vacations). 

I love these experiences and Nick and I have tons of memories from our little excursions. Even if our trips are only 2 days long we make the best of it. Sometimes the best part of the trip for me isn't so much the trip itself but the actual planning it. 

I love getting wrapped up in logistics of it all. The comparing flights, hotels, tickets, excursions. I really "hack" and "win" every trip we go to. It's almost a hobby, hell, I'll call it a hobby. Being a bargain hunter travel agent is hard work but someone has to do it if you plan on going out of town and experiencing the world.

After, ranting about my need to travel, I want to share why we must travel even if we're broke. A trip will spark something inside you to feel free, to try new things, to take an adventure. When you are in rut the best thing to do is break free. Even if that "breaking free" is getting on Expedia and looking at travel deals, do it. The best thing about traveling is getting out of your environment and out of your routine and enjoying the place where you are in. I know sometimes its not fiscally sound to go out and spend a lot of money on a trip but the benefits you reap from giving yourself are so rewarding. 

And to all those couples or single people that have figured out how to save enough money for a year to take those beautiful vacations around the world i commend you. One day, I too will figure out how to travel and blog and share my experiences. For now, I will continue bargain hunting for trips, planning for future adventures and never settling down because why sit still when we can experience this beautiful planet. 

I'm Not Giving Up, I'm Starting Over.

I am 29 years old, what can I say? Yes, I do feel my age and sometimes either act younger or older than I'm suppose to and it does vary. No, life totally didn't end up the way I thought it would play out and right now I am having one of those existential crisis people talk about not mid-life crisis but that weird rut you get into in your late 20s and early 30s. I have lost track of who I am, who I want to be and what I want to do.

I know a blog isn't going to fix this existential dilemma I have right now but I do think it will sort the mess I have going on in my brain. It fixed my love life (hardee har har), it fixed my weight (haha) and of course it will be cheaper than years in therapy. Anyway, blogging has always been the one thing I can do to make me feel better, even if it doesn't fix anything, it makes me, me.

Yes, as always I'm too hard on myself because of my weight. I'm also too hard about my job and where I think I should be. I know I should give myself a break and keep in mind those 2 things are just a small portion of who I am.

Who am I? I am bleeding heart liberal with heart of gold. I am cat mom, animal lover, movie enthusiast, helpless romantic, geek, loyal friend, decent cook, daughter to the best parents in the world, girlfriend to a guy that understands me and cares about me indefinitely. World travel, travel seeker, bargain hunter, shopaholic, Pinterest hoarder, realist-optimist  and blogger. If I missed something someone will let me know.

As of lately I've been a couple things,  negative nancy and unenthused about everything. Lately my days are compiled with endless Facebook posts, reading political outcomes, playing "two dots", and being too harsh to myself and even to others. I have become the things i hate most. A pessimist.

Working in customer service will kill your spirit even if you try to make it better it will be the killjoy of your existence. Its an endless void of negativity, group-think, busy work and basic end to creativity. To combat that kind of negativity in my life i have turned my blog back on and have focused on how to make things better. I don't have an answer but I'm truly hoping that the next 30 days will make me feel, like a shiny new penny if not I promise you to keep digging and working until I find myself.

Like I said at the beginning I have plenty of things that are going to right in my life but something has shut down. That spirited girl that was endlessly optimistic is stuck in rut and I need her to get out of that headspin.

The POWER OF THE BLOG. What am I going to do?  Well, I'm going to write, read, post, and try something new. I'm going to get back on my exercise bike and work out (not every day but I'm going to try). I'm going to go to a new neighborhood, try new food, try a new class, I'm going to volunteer, I'm going to get organized and figure out how I can get back to school. I'm going to get my driver's license and check out some museums. I'm going to go out for long walks, check galleries, go to a show. I'm going to get out of my apartment and enjoy the city I live in and stop complaining about the job. My job isn't me, I am not my job. I am all the things I said when I introduced

Basically, I'm going to put myself in gear and we'll see after 30 days what's new, how life has changed and what I have learned.

I'm ready for the journey.