What's the worst that could happen?

Sometimes it's hard to keep our priorities straight. Small things become big things and we tend to lose sight of the most important things. Examples are endless. Let's take a look back at the classic movie Home Alone. Christmas is right around the corner, the house is filled with people and holiday cheer. The family is in a rush to catch a flight, one thing leads to another, and BAM they forget Macaulay Culkin. They lost track of what was important (their child) but they were sure they had all of their bags, the house was prepared and other arrangements were made for their trip. I think we lose track of what is important and end up ruining what we value most. 

Let's take a real life example. The mountain I work at has random drug and alcohol testing. If they think you are drunk, they can breathalyze you and they do random drug testing for marijuana and other things. So really, the only way you would essentially get fired is for smoking weed or going to work drunk. You would think being gainfully employed and making money would be near the top of people's priorities and would take a break from smoking just in case they get caught and lose their job. Think this stops people? Of course not. A guy who worked here still smoked every day, had no money, no flight out of New Zealand but wanted to keep travelling. What would stop him from doing that? Losing his job. Did it stop him? No. Randomly got drug tested and got fired. I guess I just don't get how getting high can be a higher priority than moving forward with your life.

Another real life example that baffles me is the grandson of the man who created Red Bull who never had to worry about money the rest of his life. He is a billionaire and can essentially use the world as his playground. What's the worst that could happen and ruin everything? The list is small. Dying and going to jail are the only real things that could ruin his life. What happened? Ran over a police officer in his Ferrari, possibly while drunk, and the police followed the blood trail to his mansion. That is losing track of what is important and not thinking about the future.

The point I am trying to make is I think that it is important for us to re-evaluate what the most important things in our lives are and make a list of things that could ruin it. Then avoid doing those things. Simple. For example, say you are about to go on a one-way flight to South America with someone you hope to marry. It is imperative you don't mess this up. The only ways you could really ruin this trip is by a) losing your passport b) missing your flight c) cheating on this person, them finding out and breaking up with you. So after thinking this through, you make sure your passport is in a safe place, you set three alarms and you don't cheat on them, ever. Crisis averted. What I hope you take out of this is to think about what is important to you, list the ways you can lose what you value most then avoid doing those things. That is all. Thanks for listening.

Good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions. ~Author Unknown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnU9pBclC5M


http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2KxC1c/:9TZ$ut5.:aOThIdOg/media-cache-ak3.pinimg.com/736x/51/92/7a/51927adf0874a6047200d650f2aacb3e.jpg/

New Zealand words I don't understand. Do you?

I am pretty satisfied with my English comprehension level. I've been practicing since I was a baby. I know at least 40 different words and understand when other people speak to me. Impressed yet? However, it has come to my attention that certain countries have their own slang and way of speaking. British people in particular have their own words that are uniquely theirs. When they say dinner, they mean lunch. I don't care much for England I've decided....Which brings us to New Zealand. I have come across a few terms I didn't quite grasp at the time and asked my friend for some other New Zealand terms. I will write them below and use them in a sentence. Try to guess what the word means and I will give you the definition at the bottom. Isn't this fun?

This first one was the most embarrassing and the real first communication barrier I faced:

Can you put it in the boot for me?

I was real crook last night.

I bought some new jandals.

The fridge is choker.

He is over in the paddock.

Went up to the new batch for the weekend.

I lost my togs.

That beer is grouse.

That girl is such a drungo.

He lives out in the wops.

Your brother is such a bludge.

Want to check out my new ute?

Won a hundred dollars on the pokeys last night.

Sweet as bro. (Most common expression in NZ)

Choice.

How do you think you did?

Boot: trunk

Crook: Sick

Jandals: Sandals

Choker: Full

Paddock: Field

Batch: Holiday home

Togs: Bather/swimsuit/swimming costume

Grouse: Good

Drungo: Idiot

Bludge: Freeloader/mooch

Ute: Truck

Pokey: Slot machine

Sweet as: All good/great

Choice: Old school way of saying sweet as.


I can only imagine what it is like for someone who English is their second language and they go somewhere new and don't understand the words people are using or their accent. When I was in Thailand I was told almost everyday that I speak too fast, which might have been true. One benefit of living in an English speaking country is everyone understands what I say and can keep up to my lightning fast speaking ability. Hope you enjoyed this English lesson, see you next week.


"Words-so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil  they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them." Nathaniel Hawthorne

One-way ticket to...

It's getting to be about that time, time when my days in New Zealand come to an end and start somewhere new (or old..) My initial plan was to stay here for an entire year but after being here a few months, I know that it will be time to move on after the season. New Zealand is super beautiful and most of the things you here about it are true. It's just that I don't love it and I don't want to just find a random job in a random city making minimum wage. I want to make some progress on this whole possible teaching as a career thing and changing countries is fun. So. Where to? Canada? Columbia? Pakistan? Argentina? France? I will give you a second to make an educated guess...

Let's start by saying this won't be an Auckland to x spot. If you know me you might know that I'm a fan of not working so I will try to maximize my estimated three weeks off. As a side-note, Canadians get two weeks off a year and this trip will be three weeks and not close to the amount of time off I have had all year. Two weeks isn't nearly enough time off and one reason I am not that keen on going back.

If you need a hint, the next country will be in Asia hence my first stop in Singapore. I met a guy here who lives in Singapore and I really want to explore it with someone from there. I will be spending three nights in Singapore and hopefully getting a good feel for the country. After that, I will be spending 17 days in another Asian country. Hmm, what country is awesome, hot, cheap and that I love? Time go to back to Thailand people! So excited to go back, hit a few new places and go back to my old town. Planning on stopping by my old school, seeing my old students, eating at my favorite places and hanging out with my friends who I genuinely love. This whole trip is sounding pretty great so far...

After those 17 days are up, I will board a plane from Bangkok direct to Hong Kong where I will be spending a undetermined amount of time. Hong Kong might be my new long term home. I have two of my favorite people in the world who live there in Jake and Emma who are letting me stay at their place until I land a job and my own place. I promise to be out by the end of 2013. My other friend from Thailand also just moved there so I will have a good starting point and teaching jobs are aplenty in Hong Kong. No winter, close to the gambling capital of the world, cheap flights around Asia, possible Japan/Kaitlyn trip for 2014 and we have ourselves the next few months covered. I arrive in Hong Kong November 14th and will hopefully be working within the first ten days.

Some people say travel is too expensive so they don't do it. Let me price these trips out and see if it is actually expensive.

Wellington to Singapore: $530 CAN

Singapore to Bangkok: $100 CAN

Bangkok to Hong Kong: $130

My estimates for:

3 nights in Singapore:

Hostel: 3 nights for $60 total

Drinking, eating, transportation, activities: $250 Singapore total: $310-340ish

Thailand: ( It's going to be so great!)

Diving, drinking, guest houses, transportation, etc. 17 days at about a thousand baht a day plus about 6 more thousand baht brings us to around $600.

Hong Kong:

I am hoping for about a thousand dollars or less until I actually start earning money. I want a job teaching high school because I've never done it and think I would be good at it. I want to tutor university students and maybe a few small kids.

All together we are looking at around $3000 Canadian. Is that a lot? I don't think so but maybe I'm wrong. I hope you keep reading and see my perspective on Hong Kong. Hopefully I won't be able to post on the health care there because 2014 with be hospital free for this guy. Let me know your thoughts on Hong Kong or anything else about my plan.

"LG. Life's Good."

Postcards from Thailand

I just received about 15 postcards from my old grade three class. You can imagine how happy this made me. I don't have much to say other than I hope you like them. I do.

"Before we set our hearts too much upon anything, let us examine how happy those are who already posses it."

When to give up on your major

I don't know the answer to this question. I'm also not sure that  'give up' is the right term but with each year that passes, I find it less and less likely that I will find a job in the field I went to university for.

I studied Sport Management at Brock University, near Niagara Falls, Canada. Kind of like learning about business but everything to do with sport. Research in sport, sport globalization, sport law, sport marketing, sales, event management, entrepreneurship, etc...I liked it. I enjoyed going to class, I liked the people and I liked the small school and class size. I decided on Brock because I didn't know what I wanted to study, it was far from my home town, had easier winters and heard it wasn't the hardest department to study in. I met some of my best friends there and don't regret it at all. The only thing I might regret is not going to Teachers College right after University and spending the next two years in jobs that you wouldn't want to write blog posts about. Hindsight is 20/20 and maybe I needed to go through that and meet the people I met to be where I am today and where I am headed after New Zealand. (future post!)

I probably should have figured it out sooner that I wouldn't get a job in my field. Right after I graduated, the 2010 winter Olympics were hiring and other SPMA people were applying and getting jobs for it. I didn't have the money to go to BC and the whole thing didn't sound like it would be that fun. I'm sure I was wrong and was apparently an amazing experience and a great way to meet new contacts. In the back of my head I always kind of thought I would do something with my degree. I love sports and thought about something in the event management side would be interesting. I mean, I spent four years studying it, I should probably get a job in it. I feel like I should have some sort of career path by now (27!). Have been thinking if I meet the right person, I'd like to get married and have cute little babies. As I've discovered, apparently women and children cost a certain degree of money that I do not currently have. When I first moved to Ottawa after graduating from school, my cousin Debbie offered for me to stay at her place. I said I would stay for three months, I moved out just before three years. When I first got there, I told her I needed three things:

1-Cell phone

2-Job

3-Girlfriend.

I got the first two fairly quickly, the girlfriend part eluded me for some time. Shocking eh? I feel like now if I were to have that same talk with her, my priorities would be:

1-Career

2-Wife

3-Babies (They are going to be so cute!!)

And right now, I feel like that is a career not involving what I originally intended. Lots of people study subjects they don't go on to make into career paths, right? And who knows what will happen in a few years from now. That doesn't mean that you can't still read about it or volunteer for causes you feel passionate about. It isn't a zero sum game.
I'd eventually like to own/run my own business or company and for the immediate future, teaching English makes me happy and enables me to travel. If you like, let me know if you ended up studying what you became or how you decided not to pursue your major or any other thoughts you might have on the subject. In the end, having a degree certainly opens up some doors but realistically it is who you meet that will open up the best doors.

A career path is rarely a path at all. A more interesting life is usually a more crooked, winding path of missteps, luck and vigorous work. It is almost always a clumsy balance between the things you try to make happen and the things that happen to you.

Tom Freston

A New Zealand norm

I haven't done a ton on NZ focused posts because I haven't traveled as much as I had planned. If you feel like you don't have a better grasp on what New Zealand is like after following me the last few months, I apologize. You get what you pay for.

New Zealand and Canada are very similar. Both extraordinarily beautiful, well respected around the world, friendly people, good food, wine and a love for the outdoors. There is one cultural norm that stood out to me immediately that I find pretty innocent and fun. While this is more of a trend in the country and rural communities, you would also find it in cities.

Kids don't wear shoes. They own them, they just aren't overly keen on the idea. It is my understanding that most kids leave their homes with shoes but will ditch them on their walk to school or once at school. They will play outside without shoes. If you go to a store, you will see shoe-less kids inside. SHOE-LESS!! My dad would not be impressed. It has crossed my mind to take pictures of this phenomenon, but taking pictures of little kids you don't know is universally frowned upon. However, taking pictures of an old man taking money out of an ATM is widely praised.

I'm okay with kids doing it, I can see the appeal. Heyyyy no shoes!!! If you are an adult though, this is just reinforcing my last post about savagery. People here also love netball, sort of similar to basketball but only girls play. I'm a fan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mrgmy9clLro

"You can do anything, but not everything"

David Allen

People are savages

This is a discovery I made while living with my cousin in Ottawa a few years ago.

People are savages.

While it is also true that people do extraordinary things every day, people can be incredibly generous and kind, that just isn't as fun as learning about our savagenaturous lifestyle...

Let's first define savage.

Oxford dictionary defines savage as a member of a people regarded as primitive and uncivilized.

One of my main thoughts (I don't have many) before writing this post was if you put 20 men and women together in the same place for a few hours to a few days from different countries who do not speak the same language, they will soon begin sleeping with each other.

If you put a group of people together for an extended period of time who can speak the same language, they will certainly hook up, fight and create drama. Think MTV's Real World and Big Brother.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DapUtTDIk4

If a city is in the Stanley Cup final and ends up losing, rioting will ensue. Savages. 

If you leave people unattended, the amount of savagery could be unprecedented; food fights, debauchery,  etc..

Feral children who have literally been raised by wolves. Savages.
Although I don't blame them for their savageness, just happy they are alive. If you are interested, research feral children, really interesting and sad.

http://listverse.com/2008/03/07/10-modern-cases-of-feral-children/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sStqKtxI0IM

Coliseum gladiator fighting to the death? Savages.

Public hangings? Savages.

Getting caught for intercourse outside? Savages.

Ever been inside a public bathroom? Savages.

Rock stars trashing a hotel room? Savages.

Have you ever seen people eat ribs?

Savages are all around us people. While it might be part of our nature to act this way, let us all try and keep it together. We are trying to live in a society. 

"Laws are made not to be broken. They are made to curb our savagery." 

Toba Beta