tales of the funemployed

When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. Or something like that. Since I hear it's a recession, I decided it would be a good time to quit the old J.O.B. There were many reasons: weird organizational changes (see previous post), issues with the administration (sometimes I like to be paid for the work I do, crazy I know), and unmet expectations (I was promised the opportunity to have a home, and that was quickly taken away).

Maybe it wasn't the best idea. Maybe it was a little impulsive. I'm not gonna lie, there was a glimmer of regret for the first 48 hours, thoughts of crawling back, pleading temporary insanity and begging for my job back. But then I got to thinking about what I could do with all my free time and suddenly the regret was gone, replaced by sparkly ideas of beaches and bike riding and more traveling traveling traveling. =)

The more people I talk to, the more stories I hear of others doing similar things - people who have been laid off and are taking advantage of the opportunity to do things they wouldn't normally have time to do. Oaxaca Lindsay was a great example - lost her job, spent three months in Mexico, learning Spanish and backpacking around. You can do it on the cheap, and what better time to do it?

The funemployment* plans are already starting. I'm technically still employed through mid-September and then have a few options for September - December contract work, either with the Chicago International Children's Film Festival (school programs coordinator) or the National Youth Leadership Forum (faculty advisor in DC).

That means the funemployment doesn't technically start until December, but I'm still excited. Luckily my friend Vanessa is also funemployed starting in January, so we'll be finding some adventures together. Right now the plan is to WWOOF ** in Kauai during Jan/Feb, then head for New Zealand to work in a vineyard that Vanessa knows of, and finally finishing in Thailand, hopefully shacking up with my friend in Chiang Mai before heading back to the states.

So stay tuned for upcoming tales of the funemployed! I leave you now with this video of some surfing chica in Kauai. Give me 4 weeks and I'll be making surfing videos of my own. =)



Peace and aloha (that means Hawai'i love, right?).

*Funemployed: I've heard others use this term, but google searched it anyway to see what was floating around on the interweb, and apparently it's an actual thing - check out the LA Times article for more.
**WWOOF: WWOOFing or Willing Workers on Organic Farms, is super popular right now. In almost any country throughout the world, people can exchange 2 - 4 hours a week, 4 - 5 days a week of farm work for room and board. I've been dreaming of moving to summerland forever, and I have failed for 26 years. Funemployment might be just the thing to kick my butt into gear and WWOOFing would be a great way to get to Hawai'i and figure some things out.