The long overdue post

There hasn't been a post on this website for a very long time. Needless to say that a lot of stuff happened. I wanted to write a long post about everything. But it's the kind of thing that I wouldn't want to post unless it was perfect, and that would just lead to putting it off forever. Basically a year ago I was having a lot of problems and I needed to make some changes. I didn't work for about 4 months and things weren't great. Here is an abridged version of some of the things that changed following this.

I gave up drinking. It's not the first time I've said that, but it's the first time I haven't added the addendum of "for now".

I discovered barefoot jogging. I went on a trip with some friends where I started joggin along the beach and was really enjoying it. When I got home I didn't really enjoy it as much. A google search put me on to the barefoot running movement and I was inspired to try it. And jogging became fun again.

More days lost to the internet after this showed me tiny houses and minimalist living. Again I was inspired and I started downsizing my life. When my housemates and I moved, I got a much smaller room and filled it with less stuff.

I needed to start working again. For the last few years I've done art department for TV shows. The 4 months off involved no TV work and I was just picking up odd jobs, working for my dad and elsewhere. I was burnt out. Returning to art department work showed me I really had lost interest in the work: long hours without a schedule that I could plan around. It is a job that consumes all your time, and I wasn't willing to do that anymore for shows that I didn't enjoy or think were worth it. So after finishing one show I started looking for something else to do, and only sticking to casual gigs in the TV world so that I wouldn't get stuck on something and lose all my time again. I contemplated other jobs; there was a day that I considered becoming a baker at baker's delight, I tried riding a pedicab around Sydney for a few weeks. I contemplated other options, like returning to uni and finishing my degree or applying for acting schools. But nothing seemed like the right thing to do. I did do some enjoyable stuff during this time like some improv teaching at a drama school and few days as an extra on a show I'd previously done art department for.

A lot of the minimalist blogs out there that I've read state that one of the best things about having little stuff and few expenses are all the money left over to dedicate to travel. I've had the urge to travel since I was 16 when I spent two weeks in Japan. But due to my being generally a lazy person, my overseas travel since then has consisted of week in Thailand for a cousin's wedding and a week in the UK tagging along on my father's business trip when he flew me over using his frequent flyer points as a gift for my birthday. Well it was time to stop saying I wanted to go travelling and start travelling.

My 2m by 2.2m room became a single carry on sized bag and a mandolin I don't know how to play that I got from a friend. I sold my van and I filed my tax return. I decided I was going. I didn't know where, but it was time go. I decided on a plan that had been boiling in the back of my brain for a while, the 2 year working holiday visa for young Australians to live and work in the UK. Other than that I had no plan. All I wanted was to leave soon.

After a few days struggle I ended up taking one last job for 8 weeks. It was difficult because I now knew what I wanted, but the extra money allowed me to buy a new computer, a surface pro, to replace my heavy macbook and tablet for travel and have a bit more or a safety margin for the initial holiday part of my trip.

So I'm ~~writing this now on the aeroplane en route to the final week of filming~~ finished writing this up after filming (this job really does eat up all your time). Posting from Kuala Lumpur airport waiting for my connecting flight to France where I'll spend three weeks hanging out with friends, exploring and catching up on sleep. I've been learning french using Duolingo. After that I have 2 months in the US, basing myself with a friend who has an apartment in New York, but travelling around different places so I don't become a burden on him. I'll try to do some improv courses and catch some comedy and theater. And then in December I land in the UK to start something new.

I have no plans or jobs lined up. I have my savings and a work visa. For the next few years I'm a professional nomad, going where opportunity calls and interesting things seem to be happening. I'll most likely be alternating between short term work in the UK and travelling different parts of Europe.

And that's why it's important to give up on the posts about the dark stuff that I've been putting off writing, and start posting again. Because life is now an adventure, and my friends have begged me to keep them up to date.