As most of the (three?) readers of this blog know, I'm coming to an end of my time at my current job and as such need to be making some plans for what to do after March 31. Although I'm not what you might call thrilled about having to find another position, I can say that the association has offered a bit of a cushion against the next few months, and that that, combined with savings and two offers for copyediting work, should keep the ramening wolf from my door.
The responsible thing to do, of course, would be to instantly dedicate myself to a serious job search, possibly with a side order of repressed panic. But...I can't. Or at least, I'm not, at least right now. Because sometime in the last two weeks, I realized that I've got some decent savings, good job prospects, a total absence of dependents more demanding than two weedy lemon verbenas, health benefits, and an itch to get to traveling.
Frankly, Argentina is probably largely to blame. For the last few years, I've avoided taking big vacations, because I haven't been able to coordinate friends to join me for some or all of the time and because I've felt too guilty about leaving a pile of work for my officemates. Now, however, soon to be sans officemates and having left at least some of my reluctance to go solo at Ezeiza, I'm looking hard at the options for getting smeary prints on my passport.
I'm trying not to make this a complete leap into the void...so suggestions, comments, and general advice are welcome.
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8 comments:
I have a dilemma, do I invite you to visit us as we migrate amongst European capitals (always welcome)or do I send you suggestions to all the wild places I've ever wanted to go or to go back to? Are horses a must?
To extend your Grand Tour, I advise that you skip Great Britain for the mighty pound will be like a stone on your account in a stormy river.
With the exception of Antarctica, these are all places I have been or people I love and trust have been.
--New Zealand (LOTR tourism)
--Antarctica (short hop and a skip from NZ. I learned this from "8 Below," which was the film of the fortnight on some plane.)
--Galapagos Islands
--Johannesburg, South Africa
--Machu Picchu, Peru
--Ischia, Italy; Capri, Italy; anywhere there's good food in Italy
--Brazil (ecotourism)
--Costa Rica (ecotourism)
--Angkor Wat, Cambodia (ugh, as I was typing this in google kindly offered me Angelina Jolie)
--China. I am fond of Beijing and Xian myself.
--Tibet (diligent use of powerful sunscreen, hats, is advised. My mother came back and her skin above her neck has never matched the rest of her again).
--Ifugao, Philippines
--Kyushu, Japan; Okinawa, Japan
--India
--Jasper and Banff National Parks, Canada (definitely horses here! Probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.)
I should stop because there could be no end to this wanderlusting.
I am extremely fond of Scandinavia--Norway in particular. Easy to get around by bus or train, beautiful scenery, very friendly inhabitants (who are eager to speak English in spite of their palpable distain for Americans). Not terribly cheap, mostly I think because it's off the beaten path of most tourists. LOADS of smelly French tourists, though.
Costa Rica is also lurvely, although my trip consisted of the central region (cloud and rainforests, loads of hiking and wildlife). I've heard both coasts are gorgeous, but haven't been to either.
The mighty Euro is scary enough; the idea of the pound--plus London prices, argh--is absolutely terrifying.
I'm trying to strike a balance between visiting people and getting out to ride. The best combos for that would be crashing with friends in Tbilisi and Auckland, but I'm not sure yet how the finances will work out.
How were the bugs in Costa Rica? I am not a big fan of insectile or arachnid critters big enough to vote on what I should get out of the minibar.
The bugs in Costa Rica weren't too bad, but we were there in October. I'm sure they'd be worse in the spring/summer. We did see our fair share of big spiders and such, but strictly in the rainforests, not lurking by the minibar.
The stars may be aligned for you to visit Costa Rica. SmarterTravel is featuring it as a place to go this spring.
I meant Capetown, not Johannesburg. Ugh. Spacey.
What are ramening wolves? Are they wolves that steal all your ramen?
No, they're the wolves that knock on your door and you say, "Who is it?" and they say, "Hungaaah!" and then you have to buy ramen because you are too poor for anything else.
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