Reminiscing

When I was in high school I went on this trip through my school to France and Spain. The thing I remember most about the trip wasn't Paris (Though I really really really loved Paris!) It wasn't the famous Art in the Museums, The Architecture in the cities (Both extremely old and brand new) The lower drinking age Or even the Food (Once you get to know me better you'll be more shocked by that).

It was this.

Walking down the street of Barcelona hours after our flight had landed. We'd been traveling (and awake) for about 36 hours at this point and we were pretty much the walking dead. All we wanted to do was check into our hotel but couldn't yet because we were early. So we dropped out bags off and just began roaming the streets aimlessly. We were walking down this road with all these little shops selling everything from purses to mopeds when we passed this alley. The picture doesn't do the bright colors justice really but something about it woke me up and I suddenly realized. I'm in fucking Spain! I woke up in Akron, Ohio but I was going to go to sleep (eventually) in Barcelona.

When I think back on it I can still remember the noise of the shops and the heat and smell of a food stall a bit ahead that had the most amazing fried something or other (I never did find out what but it was kind of doughnut like) But the thing I remember most of all as Corny as it sounds is how I felt right in that moment, happy, really happy, and accomplished kind of like it was a dream come true. And it was.

And they lived happily ever after...

Or at least at the moment it felt like that was the only way it could go.

I guess that's what this whole trip is about. I want to feel that way again. I want to feel that fire and passion and eagerness for the next day and the day after that again. Enough of the Corn for tonight.

<3

Budgeting is scary.

Step 1: Budgeting

Budgeting sucks. I'm not good at planning and I'm not good at saving but to save 11,000 dollars I think I need a Savings Plan. I make approximately 22,000 dollars a year after taxes. So I need to save HALF of my yearly pay (for those of you that can't do math). That's more money then I payed for my first car...

I had kind of a I can't do this moment today while trying to plan everything out. Trying to figure out Rent and Food and Gas and moving the numbers around and cutting things I don't really need out (Goodbye WoW...) It seemed impossible I'll basically be living the next year on an ultra tight budget with no room for excess spending. It was a long day at work and I got home and was munching on some pita chips trying to motivate myself and I had this vision of eating baguette in Paris and Boom I suddenly I felt reinspired.

Food to the rescue once again.

P.S. Once more for old time sake... FOR THE HORDE!

The Plan (AKA Someday is today! Which is a Tuesday FYI)

By 24 I'm pretty sure my greatest accomplishment should not be moving out of my mom's house into my Aunt's basement... Sadly that is in fact the "biggest" change I've made since I was 18... I lead a more exciting life in high school. 

I have this great love of talking about thing I want to do someday. Someday I'll go back to school, Someday I'll figure out what I want to do, Someday I'll diet, Someday I'll stop living vicariously through my facebook friends. Someday, Someday, Someday. But when exactly is someday?

Someday I want to backpack across Europe... Thats a someday I've been talking about for a long time and I kept waiting for the experience to fall in my lap. And when I had even the glimmer of the chance to do it making excuses for it not to happen "I don't have the money-time- anyone to go with..." "I'm scared-out of shape-clueless." "My mother will kill me and shes smart, she could get away with it."

Enough with the excuses! As a very wise woman pointed out to me recently I'm 24 I have a whole world of opportunity open for me I just need to open the door and step on through.

So here is the Plan- By July 2011 I need to:
           1) Save up 11,000 dollars (that's 1,000 dollars a month... I can barely save 20 a week... )
           2) Get in a shape other then Round (Get over dislike of walking and sweating)
           3) Grow some balls! (Or at least learn to fake some)
           4) Find a way to tell mother I am quitting job and running away to Europe for 3 months. (Notice how                  this comes after finding balls?)

So uh tune into my Journey?