This is the log of my journey to the other side of the world, and though I know that I am not going anywhere overly exotic -like the Congo or Vulcan- I am a writer, and writing things down is part of who I am. This will be a record of my journey, my thoughts, and my life for the next year as I live in Australia (Oz as the locals call it.)
I should start off by saying that I have never done a blog before, at least nothing with any consistency. I have never felt I had any interesting experiences or insight to share, and with the milieu of social networking, reality TV, celebrity gossip, and all the other (for lack of a better word) stuff that today’s modern reader/watcher digests it seemed almost ridiculous to subject them to yet another inane digitized nobody. After all, who the heck am I? You do not know me, and I really have no more claim of importance in your life than a half-eaten sandwich on the kitchen counter. (Heck, the sandwich may even be more important, depending on how hungry you are.)
So as way of introduction, I am a fairly standard guy. I could never tell you Derek Jeter’s batting average, but after much chagrin I would be able to tell you in which issue Gwen Stacy died (The Amazing Spider-Man #121-122), how many gigawatts a flux capacitor requires to travel in time (1.21), or other such nonsensical information that will never help me in everyday life. I am writer, but usually a writer of fiction, satire, adventure stories, etc. I am born and bred New Jersey.
My story so far is this: For the past year, I have been in the same job as a writer and administrative aide. I graduated from college with a Bachelor’s in Writing and a Masters in Comparative Literature (Huge job market demand for that, by the way), and I took the first well paying office job I came across, because after spending years as a broke college student I for some reason or another got it into my head that I might enjoy having money. It turns out money doesn't bring happiness. However, several months ago, I came to a very fateful decision.
I have always sat back and watched or read other people having (again, for lack of a better word) adventures. If Luke Skywalker can tackle the Death Star and Perseus can slay Medusa, certainly I could do something more with my life than spend 40 some odd hours a week cramped behind a desk. I did more than a little research and came across a work/holiday program through an agency known as BUNC. (The site is linked, and I would recommend checking it out if anything I am saying is sounding all too familiar.)
Long story short, starting in January 2011, I will be spending a year of my life in Australia, living, working, and exploring the country as a tourist, a writer, and a person trying to find his place in the world. I do not know what sort of job I will take, where I will live, who I will meet, or even where I will visit, as I tend not to be such a great long-term planner. The good news is by virtue of keeping this blog I will force myself to find interesting, odd, crazy, and hopefully very entertaining experiences to share. Thus, will my story forever be preserved for Internet posterity. I am also hoping to post maps, interesting links, and pictures from my journeys (which reminds me I need to buy a camera).
Furthermore, I realize that it is unlikely I will get to destroy a magical ring in a mountain of doom, have tea with a mad hatter, pull a sword from a stone, or even be taken captive by Lilliputians. Those things are all heroic, I am not a heroic person, but this will be my adventure all the same. I am nervous, excited, and a bit hungry.
I do not leave for some time yet, but I invite you to follow me along and check back periodically as my departure date nears. There is still a lot to do, banking, packing, and figuring out what the hell I am supposed to do with my cell phone. I also want this blog to be as interactive as possible. I want to hear from people about what they think, where I should go, questions I can ask random Aussies in the streets. My motto for this adventure is "no fear." Anything is possible. Maybe I'll even meet a talking scarecrow.
