Change of Plans

Well, I'm just going to say it... this sucks! A week ago today I was playing the sport I love more than anything in the world and made the stupid decision not to wear my knee brace. After all it had been a year and a half since I had had my ACL replaced and the few games I had played without it had gone great with no pain. Bad decision. While chasing a guy down for the ball i planted and he bumped into me. I heard a noise and felt the pain and knew it wasn't good. For the past week I've been hoping it was only a meniscus tear, but today I got the call, and I wouldn't be so lucky. Its funny how they always ask if you hear a "pop" and I have now heard two ACLs tear, neither of which sounded like a pop. That gave me hope for awhile, but now reality has set in. Everything is changing.

Surgery is scheduled for Thursday and somehow a week and a half later I am supposed to be moved out of my apartment. I won't be getting on my flight two weeks later either and my last day got pushed up from next Wednesday to this Wednesday. Two days from now. I have been waiting for my last day since the day I knew I was going to New Zealand, but all of the sudden two days feels sooner than I want.

I know there is a plan in store and I really can't wait to see what its going to be. I know its going to be okay, but its still scary and frustrating. I think what scares me most is leaving Houston without getting proper goodbyes with my friends. I absolutely love my friends here and leaving them was already scary enough. I was so excited to be leaving for a trip I had been planning for months, and all that excitement was squashed all in one quick second. I've been through this before, so it helps to comfort me that I know what's in store, but I also know enough to dread what's about to be in store. Last time I was fighting hard to come back to soccer and this time, I plan to fight just as hard for New Zealand. I'm coming whether the universe wants me to or not, it just may have to be a few months after I planned. That's okay though. It will still be there and I'm betting it will be just as beautiful..

The Secret Is Out!

Well, today I did it. I gave my notice. In three weeks I will officially be unemployed. Its funny how little that scares me. It surprises me how surprised people get when I tell them that I quit without having a job lined up. For me this has been a plan in action for months. Its second nature to me. But I forget that for a lot of people this is a completely foreign concept. People are dependent on security. I think my friend worded it best today when he was telling a stranger my plan. To paraphrase he said "You know how you always dreamed of quitting your job and moving somewhere crazy? Well, thats what she's doing". I forget that what I am doing most people would never even think of. I have absolutely no idea where I will be or what I will be doing in 4 weeks. I have no plan for my future. For some reason that excites me way more than it scares me. I know there are awesome plans ahead for me and it is all going to work out. The best things in life have happened to me without much planning (or against it) and I have no doubt it will continue to be that way.

Let The Countdown Begin

For some reason this weekend it all hit me. My mom knows someone whose son is a few months ahead of me doing the same thing. I started off the weekend video chatting with him and got a lot of helpful advice. I think its also now safe to say I will have at least one friend there. It also made me realize how soon I would be there doing the same thing. I then spent the weekend with my extended family and slowly started realizing it might be the last time I see some of them in a year. Then I saw friends and had the same realization all over again.

If that wasn't enough, coming back home was when it really hit and the countdowns began. In one month, I will work my last day. In one week, I put in my notice and the news can finally become public. Today I cancelled my power and called my banks (Its really interesting how human the "customer service robots" become when you tell them you are moving to New Zealand). Its getting real and while its scary, I couldn't be more excited. I'm counting down the days and while I still have a lot to do and people to spend time with, it can't come sooner.

Here we go....

While its a fairly trivial step, I am now one step closer to a trip I have been planning for months... I started a blog. Last November I decided I am quitting my job, packing up and moving to New Zealand for a year. Step one was getting the visa (accomplished in January) and step two was booking the flight (booked for May 17th). Having a date was the most exciting because it made it real, but everything I do now gets me more and more excited. I still have a lot to do and every once in awhile it gets overwhelming, but at the same time I wouldn't be more happy than if my flight were tomorrow.

The hardest part so far has been trying to find a job. I have been in school for Yacht Design for the past two years and I would love nothing more than to finally become immersed in the industry. Unfortunately the industry isn't really booming right now and jobs are pretty scarce but I've had some wonderful help and made excellent connections. I keep hearing "sorry, we can't really take on anyone else right now" but people seem willing to help so I remain optimistic. My biggest goal is to travel, so if I have to wait a little longer for my dream job, then so be it. At the same time, if you happen to know anyone in the industry, feel free to send them my way :)

So far I have been trying hard to not have a plan, to see where the wind takes me, but i'm so excited that's all I want to do. I've traveled internationally before (Kenya for 2 months and India for 3), but those trips were planned by other people and while I was technically living there, I wasn't really a normal citizen. There is a lot more to think about when you are going to be a productive member of society. There's also the second task of wrapping up the life I have here. My travels before left me with a few boxes shoved in a closet at my parents. Now I'm a real adult with a much larger number of boxes and contracts to cancel. Motivation at work is becoming harder and harder to come by, but knowing I'm so close helps a lot.

My goal with this blog is to keep my family and friends updated on my trip and share the latest news and stories without having to flood everyone's inboxes with extremely lengthy e-mails they probably don't have time to read. So here is my story. Read it at your own leisure and enjoy.