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Posts from the ‘Preparation’ Category

Nov 3

Expect the unexpected

With just two weeks left til’ the start of the RTW trip, I sprained my ankle. The timing couldn’t be more worse as I had tonnes of unfinished stuff to do before I leave and with the ankle out of action, I basically couldn’t do much except to drive myself to the doctor.

To add salt to wound, I developed an allergy on the injured foot after applying some Chinese medicine that the sinsei gave me. I ended up at the doctor again for an injection to get rid of the allergy.

I’m tired and frustrated that I couldn’t do all that I need to do. But in hindsight, it was a good thing I sold my manual car and borrowed Lynn’s auto car at the right time; otherwise it would have been tougher to get around. And since I had test-packed three weeks ago, I didn’t have to bother with packing again.

So yes, the evening before the flight. Had dinner with family and Ping, and finally sat down to breathe. The ankle’s not in perfect shape but I could walk much more than I did a week ago. The allergy is subsiding. I’m in one piece. So maybe it’s not that worse after all.

Time to go. It’s now or never.

Sep 26

3 Comments

Home sweet home – but what to do with it?

One of the many hard calls is to decide what to do with your home before you leave for Round the World trip. To do nothing? To rent it? Or to sell it?

Blue Eyes of mine are guessing the answer is to be found from

a) the budget,

b) the reasons why to make the trip in the first place. Is it adventure? Is it a long holiday? Is it the change you wanna make in your life?

I chose to sell the flat. Plenty of minus sides follows the decision: Soon I do not have home. No place to come back. No HOME SWEET HOME feeling waiting. There a lot of memories attached to the flat. It’s also my very own flat, home built with love. Home is one of the most beautiful words. Home.

But keeping the flat would not be too easy either. You need to count and recount your budget. You need to figure out what is it what you want to do after the trip. If the plan is to return to your normal life, then it’s better that the flat is waiting. There are ways to keep the flat. You can negotiate with the bank about the mortgage. You can try to find a tenant and rent your flat. For me those options were real and something to consider.

Somehow I feel the jump to unknown is good to me. I’m interested in to see the landing. I don’t need the hassle with taking care the renting agreement and trying to calculate it all to make the mortgage done AND then having my eye into it all the time. No-one knows what is happening in the market 2012. Fast changes are possible. I like the idea not to be too tied here. The sweet taste of freedom sounds tempting.

So, I’m selling home away. I wish I can make some sort of home in my head. To learn how to find that state of mind when you feel calm and safe. When you feel home.

 

 

Sep 6

Resignation

As the title indicates, I tendered my resignation today.

There was option to take sabbatical leave for the trip but after due consideration, I felt more comfortable with resigning given the length of the trip. It liberates me from having to consider my KPIs, as well as allows my colleagues to find a suitable replacement.

Stepping out of job security is not easy. This is the FIRST time in my life that I’ve resigned without a job offer at hand. The uncertainty scares me but it’s also exciting, waiting to find out how I’d cope.

First BIG step. More ahead.

Aug 1

The Countdown

In less than 3 months to our departure for the first city (Paris), we definitely have a lot of things to do.

Blue Eyes:

It takes time to be logical. To understand how to be. And now I’m talking about the flights. Sometimes it feels that there is no logic how the flights are having their pricing tags. But there is. Earlier you book, the better. It’s not about the miles you flying but the route. It’s not always about the price but timing to base your decisions!

I found excellent choice to fly from Paris to New York. I chose Icelandair via Reykjavik. It was the cheapest and the schedule was great too! Hurrah!

Brown Eyes:

We split responsibilities between us as we plan the trip. I check on accommodation options while Blue Eyes took care of the flights. Both take up the bulk of the expenses so we have to be smart in our selections to minimise costs.

The checklist was slowly being crossed. It’s difficult to say if we’ve made the best choice for every decision. Time will tell if we could have done things better.

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