An open letter to my coworkers, past and present.

Hello... Jen here.  Have had something on my mind for a while now, and I just updated my LinkedIn profile so the timing seems right for this post.

Our April departure decision was a bit sudden due to numerous stars aligning, karma working its magic, and various other surreal-yet-real personal factors.  I recently moved into a new position at work that I've really been enjoying so the decision was a little bittersweet.  But I've said it before and I'll keep saying it - when stars and karma and surreality talk, I listen. 

Over the past 15 years I have had many roles, many managers, and many learning experiences.  My first "real" job out of college started out as a three week temp gig while I looked for long-term employment in the Bay Area.  Nine years with the same department later, I had an amazing group of friends, some wonderful travel buddies, and loads of market research and project management under my belt.

my going away party was pirate-themed ~
how awesome is that?

My second job, hands down the hardest job I will ever have, was definitely a case of stars aligning.  I learned how to be unbelievably flexible, how to manage people (zero to six staff overnight will do that for you), how to get the right people in the room to make decisions and trust that the right things will happen as a result... and I also learned a lot about my limits.  A very important lesson I'm grateful for every day.

signed by the hardest working people I have ever known

My third job, which has subtly turned in to my fourth, fifth and sixth jobs, has been a great experience as well.  I've had to hold my own in conversations with some brilliant minds, I've learned how to predict the future (give or take a month or six), and I've herded a lot of really funny, inspiring cats.   

you cats know who you are

I have no idea what this travel adventure will bring and I have no idea what life has in store for me when we return to Portland.

a police officer?an astronaut? a professional soccer player?

But what we're embarking upon requires all of the skills I've collected over the years. Whether you know it or not, each of you helped me get to this point.

And so I happily thank you all.

I'm sure this means a lot to you as you read this over your lunch hour while I'm preparing to traipse off to who-knows-where... but please just know that it means a lot to me.

(I know what you're thinking - CAN WE JUST LEAVE AND START POSTING TRIP NARRATIVES ALREADY??!  SHEESH!!  Rest assured, we feel the same way...  But first we have some gratitude issues to deal with.)

One last time...

In less than two weeks we will be on our way to Canada (and so on, and so forth).  We're definitely in a spending lockdown right now but we do have a small list of "lasts" we want to do in the next 10 days... Powell's and the Aladdin Theater aside, of course.

Three restaurants and cafes to enjoy one last time:
- Hawthorne Fish House for gluten free happy hour
- Rimsky-Korsakoffee House for a final taste of Portlandia
- Yuki for the best sushi this side of town

Three last Portland experiences: 
- last run through Laurelhurst Park
- last brewpub moviehouse (fingers crossed for a 2 for 1 Tuesday at the Academy)
- last free coffee from New Deal Cafe, courtesy of countless Laurelhurst Theater ticket stubs

So many more options, so little budget and time.  Portland people, what would be on your list of lasts?

Gooooooooooooooals!

Annual goal planning just wrapped up at work.  I am obviously excused from this activity but as a joke I sent "2013 goals" to my boss and manager peers the other day - more or less the following list:

• Successfully execute a slow RTW trip.  Metrics: 
• on budget
• # of countries visited, avg length of stay/country
• ratio of airplanes to buses/trains taken, ratio of volunteer days to self-funded days
• Increase social network at least 25% through active engagement with fellow travelers. Metrics: 
• # of new friends we make via people we know, or who we meet on the road
• % increase in Facebook page “like”s 
• % increase in travel blog page views and comments
• Perfect the art of spontaneity by having a general route - but not a detailed plan. Metrics: 
• # of countries/sights visited that were not in the original route
• # of recommendations from locals that trump our plan on any given day
• periodic stress level measurements on a scale of 1-5 from not having a detailed plan
• Learn how to milk goats, stretch goal: learn how to make goat cheese.  Metrics: 
• quarts of goat milk and pounds of goat cheese generated 
• goat milk and goat cheese subsequently consumed
• pounds gained from all the goat milk and goat cheese consumption

Pretty sure I was the only one who thought this was funny.

(Actually, I still think it's pretty funny...)

urban goat: do not milk

On general health and well-being during long-term travel.

This post is for our various Moms, biological and pseudo.

First and foremost: insurance.  We're generally healthy people, as evidenced by our ability to run half marathons and walk upright the next day, and by our avoidance of the widespread plague this year.  Our biggest complaints are usually not contagious (headaches and occasional migraines, toothaches) or they are simply due to the fact that we are getting older (yeah... we're still coming to terms with this).

We've both traveled a fair amount and never had issues.  But we still obviously need some guarantee of health insurance on the road. After much research and consultation with friends, World Nomads seems to be the way to go.  They cover medical emergencies as well as some material losses (for example, cameras breaking or being stolen).  We've never really needed insurance and we're hoping this will continue to be true for the foreseeable future.

And on general well-being...  We've gotten lots of tips on how to avoid and/or deal with stomach ailments and parasites (by far the most common risk we will face).  Common sense is the simplest approach, but when that fails, pharmacies overseas tend to be more liberal with antibiotics and other remedies.  We've also talked to various people about recommended vaccinations... which we're still debating.  And inevitably the oh-so-disgusting prospect of bed bugs and how to avoid them eventually comes up too ("um, here's a solution - let's NOT STAY THERE?").  We'll happily share any advice on these topics as we run into them.

Food might be an issue though - last summer Jen was diagnosed with potato and gluten intolerance, plus a myriad of things that come along with those two foods.  Almost every day we think about how this will impact us on the road.  Budget dictates that we will try to cook our own food whenever possible and we have quite an arsenal of cheap and delicious recipes on hand, but the language barrier!  How to say "I can't eat wheat" in Polish, Thai, Slavic, Turkish?  One day recently, Jen joked that "there must be an app for that!"

Glory hallelujah. THERE IS AN APP FOR THAT.   Haven't found one for potatoes yet, or one that applies to gluten and potatoes, but we'll keep looking. 

And despite his love of bacon (which we all know is its own food group), Patrick is otherwise pescetarian/vegetarian.  We doubt he will have too much trouble on the road but ample protein consumption is definitely something else we'll have to contend with. 

So overall, we're not really worried. And you shouldn't be either, Moms.

Clean underwear, on the other hand...?  Definitely a concern!