Chad

Home sweet home- I just arrived back home to LA after visiting my Dad in San Diego for a few days.  I've been dreading our visit because my dad has a fun habit of 'working me over' a.k.a calling me out on any/all of my failures over the past 26 years. But I have to say, he was on his best behavior. He was very supportive of my desire to pursue a vocation that I'm passionate about, which, frankly- shocked the hell out of me. We had a good time, and I'm lucky to have him (tear). 

At lunch today, my dad and I encountered a little tart. His name is Chad, and he was our waiter.  It turns out that Chad is a recent graduate from USD and he's working as a waiter 'while he figures out what he wants to do with his life'... definitely something I can relate to. I've spent plenty of time waiting tables and I'm (as you may have noticed) still trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. Then Chad said something truly profound, "I'm pretty sure that I am going to take some time to travel for a while before I do anything." I fell in love right then and there. With his idea, I mean. Traveling to London after I graduated college was the best decision I could have made for myself at the time. After inquiring a bit further it turns out that Chad wants to live 6 months in Portugal- to further improve the Portuguese he learned while studying abroad in Brazil. From the depths of my soul I find myself hoping that Chad does, in fact, follow through with this dream. I can sleep better at night knowing that people are out there transforming their lofty ideas into reality. The truth is, picking up and traveling can be scary- especially when you don't have a plan. There are always a million reasons not to do something and you can reason your way out of doing pretty much anything exciting or at all risky. I love hearing stories or meeting people who defy all of that and just go for it. I gave the hostess $20 to give to him after I left and to tell him to go for it. I would have given more, but I'm unemployed (as you may have noticed). Hopefully he'll view it as a sign to not pussy out. 

Chad, do you by any chance read my blog? For these purposes I'm going to assume that you do. Good. First of all, thank you for reading. Secondly, I hope you got the $20 I left for you and the hostess didn't snake me out of my drinking money. Thirdly, I realize that $20 isn't much, but I hope you take it as a sign to follow your dream. It's really important to me to know that people like you exist in this world. If I can be honest with you- and I feel that I can- I've met a lot of pansies lately and I'm starting to lose faith. You don't seem like a pansy though.  I mean, you're on the skinny side, but you definitely seem to know what you want. I respect that. Just please promise me you won't give into the pressure to get a job right away and you'll find a way to pursue your dream. If I come back in a few months and ask about you only to find out you're working at some bullshit insurance company I will freak out. I may even come to your office. I know you don't know me and I may be coming on a bit strong, but I think you have many beautiful gifts to share with the world. Don't dim your light under the florescent glare of corporate America. Be brave and beautiful. 

Update- THE GREAT ESCAPE

I mentioned in my very first blog post that my boyfriend and I have plans for our "Great Escape". Basically meaning that the only motivation we have for spending 40+ hours/week trapped inside a cubicle is the knowledge that we will be leaving this all behind in a few years. As soon as we hit our financial goal we're off like a prom dress. No more LA traffic, no more goddamn memos, mostly importantly no more business casual attire. I think we're both ready to stop dressing like lesbians. Florescent lighting, timed lunches, carpal-tunnel, alarm clocks are all things we deal with because we know we have something incredible and life changing ahead of us.

This is our Goal:

$20,000 in our joint savings account and NO DEBT (other than student loans).

Here's where we are today:

$3,100 in our joint savings account and about $6,000 each in debt (not including student loans).

Sooo yeahh.... with our goal to pay off debt as well as save $20K, we're about $28,900 away from our goal. As far away as that may seem, I'm staying positive. 2010 was more of a trial run... like let's put $100 aside here and there. 2011 is a whole new ball game. We have a budget and a plan to pay off a chuck of our debt, while adding more to our savings. This means I'll have to get wayyy better at using the word "No"- which is not something I'm accustomed to. When we're bored on a Friday night and all the bars are closed, it's probably no longer prudent to drive to Vegas in the middle of the night, gamble all weekend, and stay at the Venetian. I mean, I'm not a financial wizard or anything, but that's just my guess.

Our targeted departure date is sometime in the beginning of 2013. That's about 2 years to really make this happen. And believe me, when I get something in my head nothing will prevent me from going. Anyone who has ever spent an extended period of time overseas knows exactly why I'm pulled to leave again. There's a pulse, a vibration that is only fully active when you're completely immersed in a foreign culture. You feel fully alive. It's the difference between living and existing. You actually look up and around when you're walking, hell- you actually walk everywhere- you're not closed off in your car. Everything is an experience, an adventure! I'm so ready. Anyone have $28,900 I can borrow??