New Year's Eve...
Happy Chinese New Year (almost)!
A large glass bottle of juice fell on my toe. Foreboding! =P
As usual, it's been a while since I last posted. I'm still working at the same company - there was a round of layoffs in my department but I'm still there for the time being. The head of my department said he wasn't sure if there might be another round of layoffs coming. It's to be expected though, with the economy being in the crapper.
There is a bright spot down the road that I'm looking forward to! I started planning a trip to Europe with a couple of friends (my old roommates) and Matt. In December, one of my old roomies recently came back from Africa where he was doing peace corps work. I ended up getting patched into a phone call with him and my second old roommate where I mentioned that I was thinking about traveling this year, maybe to Japan. They started talking about how awesome it would be if we all traveled together. Since Japan is actually more expensive than Europe and I've never been there, I'm game for it even though I'm a little disappointed - I want to go to an onsen! Anyhow, we have a sketchy idea of what our itinerary will be like and we'll be backpacking and staying in hostels to save money. I'm a little leery of hostels, I was all for taking a tour. But if I can travel longer with the same amount of money, why not rough it a little bit? When I'm older I can always go back and stay at hotels. It will be an experience (or at least that's what I've convinced myself). Right now it looks like we'll be going to Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, and England. I mentioned taking time off during summer to my lead already. I haven't exactly gotten an OK for it, but at the same time I'm not sure I'll even be working there then. Things are so up in the air.
It's still exciting now though, looking up information and trying to decide what guide book I should purchase. I looked at backpacking equipment which is ridiculously expensive. Also, shouldn't the packs be light since you'll be stuffing more things into them? It doesn't seem correct to pick up an empty bag and think "Urgh, heavy!". I'm probably just weak right now. I've been exercising everyday as part of a New year's resolution type deal, but the trip gives me a more definite goal in mind - get in shape enough to haul my crap around and walk everywhere in Europe!
Anyways, Happy Chinese New Year to everyone! Best wishes and good fortune to all. =)
A large glass bottle of juice fell on my toe. Foreboding! =P
As usual, it's been a while since I last posted. I'm still working at the same company - there was a round of layoffs in my department but I'm still there for the time being. The head of my department said he wasn't sure if there might be another round of layoffs coming. It's to be expected though, with the economy being in the crapper.
There is a bright spot down the road that I'm looking forward to! I started planning a trip to Europe with a couple of friends (my old roommates) and Matt. In December, one of my old roomies recently came back from Africa where he was doing peace corps work. I ended up getting patched into a phone call with him and my second old roommate where I mentioned that I was thinking about traveling this year, maybe to Japan. They started talking about how awesome it would be if we all traveled together. Since Japan is actually more expensive than Europe and I've never been there, I'm game for it even though I'm a little disappointed - I want to go to an onsen! Anyhow, we have a sketchy idea of what our itinerary will be like and we'll be backpacking and staying in hostels to save money. I'm a little leery of hostels, I was all for taking a tour. But if I can travel longer with the same amount of money, why not rough it a little bit? When I'm older I can always go back and stay at hotels. It will be an experience (or at least that's what I've convinced myself). Right now it looks like we'll be going to Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, and England. I mentioned taking time off during summer to my lead already. I haven't exactly gotten an OK for it, but at the same time I'm not sure I'll even be working there then. Things are so up in the air.
It's still exciting now though, looking up information and trying to decide what guide book I should purchase. I looked at backpacking equipment which is ridiculously expensive. Also, shouldn't the packs be light since you'll be stuffing more things into them? It doesn't seem correct to pick up an empty bag and think "Urgh, heavy!". I'm probably just weak right now. I've been exercising everyday as part of a New year's resolution type deal, but the trip gives me a more definite goal in mind - get in shape enough to haul my crap around and walk everywhere in Europe!
Anyways, Happy Chinese New Year to everyone! Best wishes and good fortune to all. =)