Timeline
2010
I worked on Fable 3 and did a “super long trip” (3 weeks- opps) to Europe during the summer (opps).
I also became super addicted to zombies and working out around this time.
2012
- Formal plans to travel started…
- I had serious wanderlust.
- I started reading books that inspired me
- I enjoyed writing about life stories or random adventures in LA
- I got serious about de-cluttering my life.
- I started a bucket list.
- September – went to Italy
- started mastering the script of “yes, I travel alone”
- My parents were awesome and took Zoey (my beloved cat)
- November – I sold my car and flew to Belize..
- Learned how to make tortillas (Belize style)
- went to Guatemala
- BEST TOUR EVOR (ATM)
- Went to Nicaragua
- fell in love with the 2nd safest country in the western hemisphere
- Spent Christmas in Central America (volcano sledding and bull riding)
- (Podcast on volcano sledding )
2013
- Costa Rica – Got fired from a volunteer job. (won’t be the last time)
- Started to learn what “being in the moment” is all about.
- Panama – found humility.
- Since my parents came down, I got a new backpack and gave them useless stuff and had them bring useful stuff.
- I saw Herbie Hancock in concert!
- Colombia – (I thought I had more written on this amazing country….) this is all I have.
- Ecuador – my first real bad day. podcast
- Galapagos!
- Bus ride from Guayquill to Lima
- Machu Picchu
- Chile (to be fair, the first time I went to Santiago, I was only there for 3 days. But I stayed in an awesome hostel and met some amazing people. It’s the typical backpacker experience everyone talks about.)
- Work-Holiday visa to Australia
- I had to get more pages in my passport. and then tried to get an Indian visa….. that was interesting.
- Had some adventures in Oz.
- Ran a marathon (my last)
- Had to make my bag down to 8kg. (threw away a LOT of stuff….) Including my playing cards.
- In India- tried to buy more playing cards.
- Lived at an Ashram for 2 weeks. Became Atheist.
- Went to the Philippines to be in a bikini, swim, drink rum and dance. (all things you can’t do in India.)
- The plan was to settle in the Philippines for a bit and write my book….. but then…..
- Ended up in a Typhoon (podcast). Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
- I stayed in the philippines for 6 weeks- but wanted to surprise my mom for christmas. Flew through Malaysia, Singapore and Japan.
- Got TERRIBLE reverse culture shock…. holed myself up for a while.
2014
- Moved to Austin to be with friends
- I lost faith in Crossfit coaches and stopped crossfit almost entirely.
- I did a marketing internship for 3 months to save up money (and learn stuff)
- Went to Africa in June.
- (Got more involved with podcasting, as you can tell)
- Saw baby elephants
- Learned a lot from our tour guide (elephant culling)
- Local bar in Namibia
- Fell in love with a guy in Cape Town
- Achievement Unlocked: Swam with Great white sharks
- Got mugged – and scared. (2nd time in my life)
- Met some interesting characters from Nigeria
- Finally got 100 passport stamps
- Still enjoyed writing. (Occupation)
- I went on an overland tour (ATC) and met amazing people/had great experiences.
- Climbed Kili (before climb) (the climb)
- I went back to Capetown to see if things would work with that boy…..
- I started to get homesick.
- Spoiler – the relationship didn’t work out. I flew to London to see my brother and then back home.
2015
- I ended up rolling my car (as you do) and ended up in the hospital. (not planned)
- In attempts to figure out what to do next – I started house-sitting
- I was working as a podcaster / freelancer / house-sitter. (would get random jobs here/there).
- Went to Alaska to visit friends
- Went to the Balkans: turkey,
- Bulgaria,
- Macedonia (now known as North Macedonia…….)
- Albania
- Serbia
- Bosnia (Sarajevo – I never did a podcast on the war hostel– please go to it! Hands down one of the best experiences!)
- Croatia
- Slovokia, Prague, Berlin – and back home.
- I was house-sitting for my aunt in Minnesota. Got some part-time jobs. And then I got news that Zoey had died.
2016
- My family took a trip to Myanmar / S.E. Asia
- I found out about Team Rubicon (again) and signed up (also signed up to be a smoke-chaser (wildland firefighter).
- I didn’t do much this year…. A lot of deployments with TR and I had developed new skills.
- I gave up podcasting as I was sick of the navel-gazing and wanted to do something else.
2017
- I went to Africa again with my family. This time to the Serengeti.
- More deployments to natural disasters. Fire, Flood, Tornados, you name it…. Hurricane Harvey was the worst.
- I was emotionally beaten after Harvey – so I went to Argentina for 3 months.
- I was (accidentally) in a protest
- and I tried to go to Bolivia.
2018
- I hiked Patagonia with my friend
- My Grammy died. 🙁
- I lost myself. Busying myself with nonsense and noise.
- I quit a lot of things: business, volunteer work, and re-focused on me.