Where am I right now?

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

New blog site and stepping out of the office and into the world...

Found a new home for my travel blog, it seems to have many more useful feature so I'll give it a try.

So since my condo is sold now (boo ya!) and is closing the same day as my last day of work (April 29th), I figured I would try to step out of work, into a taxi and onto a plane heading for somewhere in Europe.  I now remember that UFC 129 takes place on April 30th at the Rogers Centre and if you know me, you know that I wouldn't miss this for the world.  So maybe May 1st would be a more realistic date of departure.....we'll see.

Can you spot the drunken idiot?
Nothing is booked as of yet except the hotel for Oktoberfest in Munich, apparently it sells out in Jan/Feb.  A good friend of mine Tim heard that I'd be "in the area" during that time and asked if I'd like to stay with him and some friends during the festival!  After much deliberation (0.14 seconds) I accepted.  I'm aiming for this to be the send off from my summer in Europe, and what better way to say good bye then to smash back pints of glory with people from all over the world while yelling at beer wenches....respectfully of course :P

Switching gears here, but I've got a bit of a bone to pick with people as of late.  Why is it that so many of us say we want to travel, but can't seem get around to do it?  Many of the people who I've talked to recently about my upcoming world tour have said something along the lines of "yea I wish I could do something like that, I'm so jealous".  Or "I should have done something like that when I was in my 20's/30's".  What the hell people, you're not dead yet and you only live once...so what's stopping you?  "Oh I have children....".  Right, so you can't dump them off at a relatives for a week or two or bring them with you?  My brother and his wife recently brought their 2 year old son to Japan for two weeks.  It's not impossible people, you just need to allow yourself to make that leap.  "Oh I couldn't take a few weeks off work".  What?  Really?  Your employer won't give you 2-3 weeks off to follow through on a life long aspiration?  If they understand how important it is for you to fulfill that dream, they'll let you go.  "Oh I wish I could, but can't afford it".  You can't afford it, or you don't wan to try to afford it?  I get that some people truly can't, and that's understandable.  But for the people who use this as a scapegoat need to spend 15 minutes budgeting and they'll realize they quickly can.  How about not upgrading your BMW to a 5 series this year?  Or maybe stop guzzling back $7 lattes 3 times a day.  Or send back the autographed Celine Dion life-sized cardboard cutout that you ordered online after watching Titanic and downing a bottle of Pinot Grigio.....wait what?


Anyways, all I'm saying is it's not that difficult to forget about life for a few weeks and take that leap.  When is the last time you spoke to someone who traveled anywhere and said it wasn't worth it?

5 comments:

  1. Hey Coub
    You're so right! I have always made travel a priority in my life and truly believe that its worth every cent that us "travelers" spend on our adventures.

    I'm a 9-5er and I'm taking the vacation time that I have to travel somewhere new every year. This years...Morocco...next year...Peru etc etc. It doesnt take much to save up and actually it can be done pretty inexpensively if you're ok with not staying at the 5star Ritz. I'd rather spend money on a travel experience than a fancy car. In 20 years from now will you be remembering all the memories from your trip or the fancy car that is now a piece of junk?

    So basically I'm telling you I totally get it and am looking forward to following your travelogue during you trip! Good for you!

    Nicole

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  2. As the now famous brother who took his 20 month old to Japan of course I'm right there with you on this post bro. One of my fav quotes:

    "Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did."

    Big Coub

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  3. Nicole - you're right about the memories 20 years from now, they'll be fresh in your memories as those material goods will just be....well, material goods!

    Ry - well said! Do you have a book of awesome quotes in front of you at all times or what :P

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  4. Totally agree with everything you said lil' bro! Ry and I didn't want to be those people saying "Oh, I wish I travelled to xxx when I was younger" and that's why we quit our jobs back in 2007 and moved to Japan! I can't wait to hear all about the adventures you will be having. And maybe, just maybe, we might be able to meet up with you in the fall...maybe Turkey/Greece?

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  5. Turkey and Greece in the fall would be sublime Melis :) Darnie will join us too!

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