A is for Archaeology, A is for Awesome

When you are studying at a university you hear about things people have done.  If you study art you here about famous paintings, if you are in physics you hear about famous experiments and when you are in archaeology you hear about famous sites.  In all of these degrees, and in any sort of higher study or education you will find yourself confronted with a feeling of awe in light of these moments in history.  Just learning about them alone is enough to make your eyes open in wonder.  One day you might hope to get to see or touch or go to these things as a tourist and see just what it looks like.  One day you might just get the chance to go work on these things yourself.

I'll tell you more about it when I get back from the Field, but needless to say it is something that will be a highlight of my career

Types of Travellers

On my way to the travel agent today, I realised something.  I am some what of an archetype of a traveller.  Not only am I an archetype, but i have travelled with several different archetypes that all approach travelling differently, which is one thing that is great about travelling.  You can take 100 people to an airport with a ticket to the exact same location in mind and they will all act differently from the moment you tell them they are going.

The Spectator:
I know many spectator travellers, To me it seems to be the most common type of traveller out there.  They will spend a little bit extra to get what they deem as comfort but what i deem as an attempt to see another culture without experiencing it.  It'll be these people who will go to a local market, feel fear at trying the food and then promptly find a fast food chain or restaurant where they understand exactly what they are ordering and how the world works.  These travellers, don't particuarly want to be out of their comfort zone but they do want to explore.  Enough to say they were there but not enough to really learn much about a culture.

The Planner:
I admit it, I have a little bit of me in this.  Europe is no exception, months have gone into this trip.  Why? because I'm travelling with someone else for part of the time, and under no circumstances will I get to a country only to argue about which way to take wasting an entire day of my trip.  The planner will have a lot of folders.  The guide book may be annotated.  Three different people they know have an itinerary and apart from a few rest days, almost every day of there trip is planned.  This could be simply from knowing what country they are going to be in, to knowing whether they will taxi or shuttle to their hotel, to knowing that they are going on the elephant trek followed by a nice relaxing massage.  Either way they are prepared and their handy itinerary is never far away

The Extended stay:
Is the kind of person who is pretty much guaranteed to not be home the day they say they will be.  They might head off with a plan, or they might decide to book a one way ticket and see how they go.  I figure these people are trying to find themselves or something.  Perhaps they need the travel, perhaps they live on the thrill of not knowing exactly where they are going.  I can't deny that I've been to places where I've despaired at the airport exclaiming 'but there is so much more to do'.  I respect these travellers, i do, it takes guts to say, 'you know what, dayum, it'll work out, lets blow this joint'.  Unfortunately i'm not one of these people.

The Budget man:
As nasty as the label sounds.  I fear, rather I know I am this type of traveller.  The budget man thinks ahead.  Not only for the rest of the trip but for the near future.  In the middle of the trip they'll be looking at the souvenirs, carefully calculating the likelihood of even looking at them again.  Wondering whether or not that 5 star hotel is really worth all that money.  I've been accused of this before and i can't say that I deny it.  I've been on trips where I've thought about the bottom line of the next trip before what i'm doing at the moment.  Don't get me wrong i'm not so extreme that I will actively stop myself from doing something I want but i'm not going to be unhappy when I come home from a trip with a spare grand lying around.  All the better for my next trip.

The Spree man:
I find the spree man the most interesting and yet most deluded of all travellers.  These are the travellers who have some money, have a trip and then realise two weeks in that they suddenly have to budget because that shopping spree in venice means that they now have to cut back their spending severely because the shiny baubles and pretty things, that you just have to had but will ultimately never use.  I've been this traveller before, this traveller tends to also be a souvenir extremist.  If you want to be this traveller, just make sure you have extra cash and a virtually empty suitcase before hand because on the way back those excess baggage fees are going to hurt and hurt bad

There are parts of these travellers in all of us.  At times i've been in more then one category, and i can say without bias that there are many other ways to travel which i may talk about at a later stage.  But for now, I'll work on being moderate in my choices.  To be too far in any of these camps in my opinion can only act to limit your enjoyment.

So Plan but be Flexible

Be Free but have Direction

Be aware but not frugal

Get what you want but don't be crazy

Getting Fit for travel

We've all been there.  At a point where getting a little bit fitter would be an advantage.  I like many I know need a goal to look to in order to motivate myself to maintain my fitness.  My spending? Not a problem, I will save every penny, but exercise and fitness? Motivating me to continually exercise is a harder challenge.  Travel or the intention to travel gives me the perfect motivation to start looking after my health and fitness again.  I realise that in six months i'll be climbing mountains, walking the streets and carting a 20kg backpack on my back, I need to be fit.

So now, i'm on my epically amazing eat healthy, exercise get fit craze.  I have moments like these every time i go away, and it's vitally important because with the amount of walking i do on holidays, and the amount of food i eat I need to be prepared.

It's not only because i know i'll gain weight while i'm overseas, but also because unlike in a holiday where i laze around and do nothing, every little detail done for me, i'll have six months of finding laundry places, trying to find vegetables, scrambling to barter for a coat in some language i don't speak a word of.  By training my body i almost mentally prepare myself for such a task.

For those who are wondering, its now been three weeks of exercising and i feel fitter already, i might not be smaller in size in any dimensions, but the hill i struggled with at the start is now an easy accomplishment, and that has to mean something

Going with the Flow

Today I was listening to the radio and snoop dogs new song came on.  Young, Wild and Free.  The chorus, especially the clean version really hits close to home as I gear up for Europe

Sometimes we get drunk
Sometimes we don't sleep
We're just having fun
We don't care who sees
So what we go out
That's how it's supposed to be
Because Young and Wild and Free

I'm not the wildest of people by definition.  I tend to count my pennies, set goals and spent years working towards them, but on this trip, I've come to realise that going with the flow is one of the most important things for me to do.  Sure i'll have things i want to do, but the reality is that if I'm in London and I decide to train to Pairs, well you know what that's okay.  If i have a booked flight for Russia and it means I have to have a 24 hour stop over in Riga (Which is in little known Estonia (I think)) so be it.  I'm secure enough in my ability to roll with the punches that i'll enjoy my trip no matter what happens.  Its necessary.  It's not like this trip is a month.  It's six months.  Holiday or not do you know what you are doing six months from now?? I didn't think so!

In the way of plans I've made a few changes today, but with how my plans are the chances of them changing again very soon are ridiculously high.  I've decided I want to give myself the greatest chance possible to see the Northern lights.  One of the most memorable parts of Balto for me was their explanation of the northern lights.  I'm not going to say its on my bucket list.  But if i go to Norway, which is on my hit list for Europe and don't brave the cold to get as good a chance of seeing them as possible I'll be extremely disappointed in myself.  I don't know how or when but i'll get there.

Top Deck takes me to Europe

I know this blog has been abandoned for ages, and now that its back you might be expecting more of the same old same old blogs covering books, movies and music.  Such is the blog of a stationary body, but starting in July, I'll be embarking on a coming of age, Six months away from my friends in family, six months on the other side of the globe.  I wish i could say that i was ready for such a big journey, but i'm not.  I'm yet to save enough money, i'm yet to figure out exactly what i'm going to do.  I've yet to figure out how i'm going to stay warm in sub zero temperatures, or rent a room for a night when i have no idea how to speak the home countries language.  That's all part of it I think, and over the next six months i'll be spending my time figuring that out.  For now i give you some basics

I start in London, where i promptly board a bus and leave for a top deck adventure...

36 days.... 20 countries... It should be amazing, and it should ease me into travelling around Europe for such a period of time.  Hopefully on this blog i'll be able to keep you, my friends and Family updated as I visit some of the most amazing sites and scenes in the world.

My trip will take me as far up as Norway and Russia, as low as Egypt and Morocco, and through the countryside of some of my favourite places in History.  I hope you enjoy my journey, and don't worry as I embark on it.   The end of the journey will mark a new time for me, a transition to my career and movement past the young adult stage of my life.  After this trip i'll be ready to settle in for the long haul.  Plant feelers in ready to jump in on the great big rollercoaster of life.  Wish me luck!

Epic Fail - Epic Win

So Nanowrimo, the event which i had only been speaking to you all about for the last month was both a failure and a sucess.  A failure, in that yes, i did not hit my goal of 50 000 words.  But Nano is more then just putting those words on paper.  Don't get me wrong a large part of it is getting words on paper, but an even larger part is putting yourself back in that frame of mind.  Prior to Nano i was in a funk, and if you've followed my blogs you know i get into funks quite often when uni piles up and some part of my brain says "Okay, you can't be creative right now, you are a machine, go churn out 20 essays about things you don't care marginally about." and once you are in that frame of mind its very hard to get back into the routine of writing something without having a deadline that will result in a pass or fail grade at the end of semester.

But Nanowrimo fixed that.  Sure i had exams for the first 18 days, like i know many of you have now, but now i can happily say i'm in the mood.  My brain is brimming with ideas, my characters have once again come to stay, well actually two of them seem to be fighting for brain space.  I find myself lying down to go to sleep and having conversations with them.  Don't look at me like i'm crazy, i know may of you talk to your characters, when you have been around a character so long that all of a sudden you find yourself arguing with them.

The other day i was writing a scene, one of my long time favourite characters Phoebe, a demon trying to condemn her niece to evil has the prospect of stealing somebody elses powers.  I saw the scene in my head, and it was almost like she directly disobeyed me.

I set up the scene, a scene that had been planned for a long time.  I wanted Phoebe to rather innocently drag this other character back to hell or lock her into a shipping container.  Phoebe in her infinite wisdom gave me no choice in the matter.  Before my eyes, my hands with a will of their own scrambled as Phoebe stole another demons power, and I sat their, i sat their thinking, oh dear, dear what have you done to yourself. 

It was bad, involved a infirmary in hell, and Phoebe losing the respect of her mentor, not a scene that i set out to write.  But you know when your characters do something and it just so happens to fill in a plot hole.  Well it did.

So maybe i'm crazy, maybe i have multiple personalities and Phoebe is simply one of them trying to get out.  Maybe, but maybe they are back, and i can't help but say welcome, welcome home...

Nano-catching up

So whether it sounds like it or not writing 1600+ words a day is hard.  Really it is, when you look at each word with guilt because you know you should be studying for exams it becomes near impossible.  I had that.  Until the 18th of this month I was studying.  So with 12 days of guilt free writing, I attempted nano anyway.  Should I?  Knowing that around this time I would have to write 4000 odd words a day to get this thing done.  Maybe not, am I going too?  I don't know.  As you know I've got two novels on the go.  One, has almost been finished, its left over from last year, but needed new scenes.  I've told you this before, and its hard to add new scenes, new characters, its hard to do it.  So i'm put my will into this, and i think over all it will make it better, but then at the same time i'm scared.

What if all this wordage is for nothing.  What if i think its making it better and its only making it worse, maybe I'm only feeling like this because i'm listening to sappy Elvis.  Are you lonesome tonight, him using shakespear makes me cry. I don't know why.

Anyway, I'm going to attempt to finish Nano, I might be crazy, i might need psychological treatment by the end, but i'll try