Countdown and Where It All Began...

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Trip Start Apr 01, 2008 Trip End Jul 24, 2009 Next
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  Sydney, Australia
Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Well I'm nearly a week out from leaving the country and the words 'impatient, itchy feet, frustrated, nervous anticipation, excited, stressed ', are only but a few adjectives that barely come close to capturing me at the moment.

Those who know me well will understand that the decision to quit my job, give up the 'sensible route', and follow my heart, has been a major one for me. And one that really contradicted my usual character. I'm the person who likes to have a plan... we're talking like a 10 year plan... but unfortunately (or fortunately?) I have found that since school, my life hasn't really always cooperated with my plans!!! My 'dreams' of being a partner at one of the big 4 accounting firms (I know, sick dream)... well that obviously never happened! Being a hotshot trader? also not quite. To be honest, I'm still discovering what my dreams really are. No regrets though, it's been great so far, but I'm here in Sydney and on a countdown for what I believe will be one of the biggest challenges of my life to date

'Low Key' Leaving Dinner

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The 'plan' is to travel Southeast Asia with my boyfriend Paddy. Yes, I will admit I have a loose itinerary but a paragraph jotted down is fairly relaxed by my standards. I will then head off to Africa on my own and do a tour of East Africa - it is this trip that I am particularly excited and nervous about... trust me, I'm no camper. Next step is back to NZ briefly before I head to Ireland and Europe... ultimate destination Ireland, ultimate career unknown, and that is probably my biggest concern as it was never an issue in the past. I hope that this experience will be one of personal discovery and help me develop clarity about what's important to me and where my passions lie (beyond travel that is!).

Anyway, before I get myself into a bout of analysis paralysis, back to the present! In vintage Claire style, my life is a flurry of to-do lists, however I feel like barely any boxes are being ticked! My thoughts are consumed about cash, moving out, visas, job, flights, political situations, and all that other fun stuff so I can't wait to be on the plane! I also have way too much 'stuff'. It's depressing thinking about how much $ I have spent on material possesions both here and in NZ that I will have to give away and/or throw out because of luggage and money restrictions

'Low Key' Leaving Drinks - will miss the girls!

! One thing I have learnt is that unless you know you are going to stay in a place FOREVER or have family nearby to offload to... don't accumulate stuff! 

I'm not sure if it's fully sunk in that I will be leaving this place and starting afresh... again. Strangely, even though I love Sydney, I don't really feel that attached to it and am happy to have a low key exit (yes, I can do low key sometimes). I have some great memories of Sydney and will really miss the lifestyle (read: beach and weather) and my mates, but what better time than now to push myself out of the comfort zone, meet new people, see new things, etc etc etc... and it will be much more fun to meet up again in a foreign place than at the local (although, granted, that is fun too!).

Stay tuned... the backpack is being packed this week.

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