A travelling plan

I have a plan to address one of the biggest problems I face in life: under-funded wanderlust, and the intense frustration and dissatisfaction this has led to.

For the last ten years I've been daydreaming about travelling to Australia, New Zealand and several other nations in between. I missed the boat for the pre-uni gap year, post-uni gap year, and during-uni summer trip or exchange: I was too busy studying, working, and experiencing the whole university gig. And/or, too skint.

I then graduated and got my first job in publishing, on a minute salary, living in an expensive city and grappling with student debts. Since then I've been trying to build some semblance of a career, while continuing to chip away at debts and gathering more grown-up responsibilities as time has gone on.

But, I'm only a few years from 30 now so the clock is ticking for me to get a working holiday visa and get the heck out of the United Kingdom for a bit. Stretch my legs. See some sights. Build some memories.

My (constantly patient, forever understanding) boyfriend has recently allowed me to set next year - 2013 - as our target for travelling. My idea being that if I have a plan, and tell people about it, I am much more likely to stick to it. (As with my tentative steps back into writing, this blog is part of that - an attempt at committing myself to making things happen).

There are a few obstacles to overcome, of course...

Obstacle 1 (and possibly the largest): money. We're both still in student debt hell and the chipping away at our debts continues to be a very slow process. Unfortunately, fleeing to the other side of the world and being able to enjoy it while we're there will involve a fair wadge of cash.

Sadly, I have an apparent allergy to saving money (this month, I've had a jolly holiday in the Lake District and just splashed out on flights to France to visit an old friend). I will need heaps of motivation to work my way around Obstacle 1, and ensure travelling doesn't set us back too badly financially.

Obstacle 2: timing. I'm in my late twenties, five years into a career, and it will be tricky to put it on pause. It could also be awkward timing for my partner who is still trying to land his first graduate job. Tricky, but not impossible?

Obstacle 3: ourselves. It's going to be scary, and difficult - both to navigate obstacles 1 and 2 and having the balls to get on that plane at the end of it. I'm going to have to be braver than I've ever been before, and make sure my partner is happy with my madcap plans, too. It might be a hackneyed phrase but I am coming to realise its truth: you regret what you didn't do, more than what you did.

Luckily, there are a million wonderful bloggers out there who've been there, done that, and are kind enough to offer their advice to the nervous travelling novice. I might share some of my favourites as I continue to read them and take inspiration!

Wish us luck.

Small wins

I was tempted to name this post 'Fail', given the long gap, but I'm going to be nice to myself.

So, I haven't done any blogging for the past month or so. I could list a ream of excuses. But here's what I have done:

• I've not given up entirely and delete my blog (again)
• I've carried on going to a writing class
• I've told a few friends that I've started writing (peer pressure/moral support)
• I've talked to a few people in the Twittersphere about writing
• I've read a lot about writing
• I've written almost 1,000 words of something that might just turn into a proper story. And I read it out to people and they seemed to like it.

There we go, a series of small wins! 

My writing course is almost finished and, while I'm disappointed it wasn't more structured, and I'm not sure I'll go back, it has been good to get out there and make a start on something creative. It's given me a boost just to acknowledge that I want to give writing a go again, and this is starting to quell my inner editor (Ed: let's not get too carried away with ourselves).

I've met a few weird and wonderful characters to base another story on, too. In fact, I've been sitting there thinking what pure sitcom gold the whole experience is. Maybe I should put the 1,000 word story beginning to one side for a bit and write about those characters for a little bit instead.

Another thing that's been floating around in my head is whether I should try a more structured course. I am not one for self-motivation - I seem to use all of that up at work - so the idea of a programme appeals to me. I've been looking at a few online options, but think I'd miss talking to real-life people and getting instant reactions.

We'll see. One small win at a time!

Back in the zone

After years of thinking about it, a couple of false starts, and a lot of procrastination, I've now started writing again.

What I have noticed so far is that I'll do anything to avoid sitting down and putting pen to paper, outside of the creative writing classes I've been going to. So far this evening I've caught up on all my correspondence, spent too long looking at this amazing Buzzfeed of sleeping kitties, and watched a lot of awful television. (Don't Tell The Bride, anyone?)

So this blog is back after a two-year hiatus to achieve two things: to act as a place for the writing that I want to do that isn't so creative; and so that - rather than spending hours on Facebook or Damn You Autocorrect - I might procrastinate in a more productive way and get some words out into the blogosphere.

Let's see how this thing goes!