Taking the scenic route

7183  miles

The scenic route from Boston to Salem, Virginia.  My little Honda has no idea what's about to happen to her! 

Getting rid of stuff

Since I don't know exactly where I'm going to end up, it seems like a good idea to downsize.  Getting rid of stuff was hard at first, but now it's becoming almost a game.  I have a box labeled "FREE" that I fill in the evenings and then I put it on the sidewalk on sunny days.  I scoot down the stairs to check on what has been taken.  Markers and colored pencils?  Gone fast.  Books? Take a little longer, still all gone by the end of the day.  I had one Santa-decorated shoe-box thing that went out every day for a week, with no takers.  Finally I neatly arranged some tea cups and saucers inside it, and someone took the whole assembly.  Success! 

This weekend I've moved on to the bigger things.  Dresser?  Gone, with a nice thank-you note left in its place.  Bed frame?  That one I posted on Craigslist, along with a small carpet.  Both gone within the day!  Now my mattress is on the floor and my clothes are in a few boxes.  Maybe I'll miss all this stuff, but right now, I'm loving watching it go to new homes.


I guess I should admit that I'm not getting rid of everything.  My dad has offered to visit with his van, so I'm planning on sending him home with a kayak, a mattress, my favorite table, 2 chairs, a few boxes of kitchen stuff, books, pictures and clothes.  And maybe my bike.  And some tools and a shop vac.  I just can't part with my shop vac... 

Yikes, I have a blog!

I've never really felt the urge to share my life with the internet, but since I'm about to make some big changes in life, I thought a blog might finally be a good idea. 

Yes, I've finally gone and done it!  I just gave notice at my current job, and have three more weeks before I am officially unemployed.  It's something I've been thinking about for a while, and now the timing just seems right.  I'm packing up my stuff and moving.  Where?  Now that's the real question.  I'm not sure yet.  Boston has been fine, but I'm really not a city girl.  My plan is to spend three months driving around the US visiting friends and family (aka mooching), thinking about what type of job I want next, and where I want to live.  I hope to be unemployed and homeless until at least January, but not too much longer than that.  I want to spend significant amounts of time in Boulder, Seattle, San Francisco, and Salem VA while I think about big companies, small companies, start-ups, independent contracting, teaching, and whatever other employment schemes come to mind. 

So in the near future I will give up normal adult things like a job and a permanent address and use this blog to keep everyone up to date on my wanderings.  I'm hoping it will be a mix of updates on my adventures, a heads-up for people I'm about to visit (mooch), and a place for my thoughts about life, employment, and my next permanent address. 

I'd love company for this trip, so if anyone out there is interested in joining me for a few days, a few weeks, whatever, let me know!