Posted: December 3rd, 2009 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: planning | 5 Comments »
More than once in my life I have woken up, had a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, then randomly decided that I need to get rid of everything I own and leave the country. This post isn’t about the psychological issues that cause me to compulsively jettison all my cargo. Instead it’s my abridged, unsorted list of tips for effectively purging yourself of stuff. I got to thinking about possessions and how much we want them from a great post over on Chapter 37. So I next got to thinking about the business end of having stuff, and had started to write up a huge guide on getting rid of it. It kept putting me to sleep though as apparently how to throw something away just isn’t that interesting of a topic. I’m going to approach this brief list from the example of purging your stuff in preparation for a long backpacking trip.
Here are a few tips that help me to easily go through my belongings and get rid of them. Maybe some of them will be helpful for you.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: November 27th, 2009 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: planning | No Comments »
Too bad, so sad, grandma. As far as I can tell, the cut off age for working holiday visas for both New Zealand and Australia are both 35. The official immigration sites quote the age limit of 30, but the licensed immigration agents seem to be able to pull off 35.
This sort of thing might change at any time, so check these sites for yourself:
Immigration NZ: http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/work/workingholiday/
Immigration AUS: http://www.immi.gov.au (use the visa wizard, it’s rad)
BUNAC: http://www.bunac.org
SWAP (Canada): http://www.swap.ca
I do appreciate that I can enter both countries for free with no Visa. However, I am rather sad about the working holiday visa cut off. I don’t really see what the point of an age cap is on that sort of visa. Both countries benefit from temporary workers (primarily agriculture), so why cap it? Are they afraid that some 36 year old will break a hip? If you happen to be the Immigration Minister for either country, or the Queen, I would be really interested to hear the logic behind the age caps.
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// shawn
ps: I’m 36. I knew I should have gone last year, damnit.
Posted: November 16th, 2009 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: planning | 3 Comments »
How many souvenirs would Sue veneer if Sue Veneer could veneer souvenirs?
Yesterday I had snowglobes on my mind after reading about the TSA’s reminder that we can’t carry them on the plane. I’m not really worried about snowglobes in my carry-on bag. It did make me wonder about souvenirs in general though. Before you start a trip is really the only chance to make the not-even-remotely-important decision on how to handle souvenirs.
The true holy grail of souvenirism is the theme. Personally, I’ve never been much of a souvenir person. Sure I’ve casually flirted with the occassional t-shirt, fridge magnet, or coffee mug. Who hasn’t? The theme collectors are hardcore though. They giggle at us rookies with our mis-matched souvenir collections – 2 Cabo shot glasses, a Bellagio fanny pack, and an unidentified inflatible sperm whale. Pathetic. Theme souvenirists are the type that have a snowglobe from every place they have ever been. Or a picture of them with a ceramic gnome at every major landmark. I met a guy once whose theme was visiting every Hard Rock Cafe in the world. He had the pins and t-shirts to prove it. Definitely hardcore, and definitely dedicated to their theme. Perhaps the closest I have come to a real dedicated souvernir theme is Vegas. When I go to Vegas I gather up as many of those hooker trading cards as I can. You know the ones they hand to you as you walk up and down the strip. I have some really good rookie cards. Anyways, yea, the theme is where the souvenir ascends from harmless tacky trinket to a full blow reason why you will most likely die alone.
Taking this quandary to its logical personal level, and having a bit over a month before I embark on my trip, this is my time to make the souvenir decision. Do I either,
a) Swear off any and all souvenirs. Abstinence is the safest way.
b) Not really make a decision and end up picking up some odds and ends here and there. No theme, no use for any of it. Trinkets, chotchkies, fluff.
c) Latch on to a theme like a diabetic wolverine on Willy Wonka. Embrace a souvenir theme and let it motivate and entertain me throughout my travels.
I’m inclined to answer “a” since I don’t really want to buy, carry, or live with a bunch of snowglobes. What if I come to regret that though. Is there a cool theme out there that I would actually enjoy? What is your souvenir tactic? Do you recommend a theme? Do you perhaps want to buy my gently used ceramic turtle whistle from Nicaragua?
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// shawn
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ps: I don’t like the hard rock cafe.
Posted: November 14th, 2009 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: planning | 2 Comments »
Here’s my plan. If you can call it that.
1. Get rid of everything I own (easy)
2. Quit my career/job (last day is Dec 18th) (hard)
3. Fit everything I need and want into my backpack (easy)
4. Live a little. See some places, do some stuff, experience life. (hard?)
5. Write about it here. Maybe take some pics too. (medium)
6. Win.
The only constraints that I know of are money and attention span. I have a limited small savings to milk. So I guess we’ll see how long it, and I, last.
What do you think?
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// shawn
