Oh really? Wow!

With the major holidays over, the majority of my family now knows of my impending departure to the Land Down Under.  What are the most common comments I’ve heard?  “Oh wow, what made you decide to move there?”  “I’ve always wanted to go there!”  And then something along the lines of, “you’re going to meet an Australian man and we’ll never see you again.”  Of all the places I’ve gone this destination is definitely the one that seems to be on everyone’s bucket list.  Oddly enough, it’s actually NOT on my bucket list of countries to visit.  I figured it was (because I mean, it’s Australia – where else can you visit a continent that’s a country as well??), but when I looked through my list it wasn’t….  Oh well, I can still cross it off as a continent and a country.  My favorite is when my aunt asked why I was moving there and I told her I had a visa and she replied, “well so do I, but I usually use mine at Walmart.” At the end of the day, I just can't believe how blessed I am to have such a supportive family - do they want me gone?  Definitely not, but  they're willing to send me off with their blessing...

What's your favorite remark when you've told someone of your travel plans?

question (noun)

1.  a sentence in an interrogative form, addressed to someone inorder to get information in reply.
2.  a problem for discussion or under discussion; a matter for investigation.

question (verb - used with object)

1.  to ask (someone) a question; ask questions of; interrogate.
2.  to ask or inquire.
3.  to make a question of; doubt: He questioned her sincerity.

Intangible Gifts (a.k.a. Charitable Donations)

You've got office coworkers to buy for and you don't know what to get them.  Or maybe you're just tired of buying people stuff you know they don't need, but you've got to get them something.  There are tons of things on the interwebs about giving donations to charities in lieu of tangible Christmas gifts.  So how do you tactfully tell someone that's what you did?  I searched the internet, and couldn't come up with anything.  *If you've found a site/blog let me know!  I thought it was weird - everyone telling you to make a charitable donation instead of giving a gift, but no one would tell me how to tell my recipient they weren't actually getting a gift.  So I had to take matters into my own hands. 

With a little creativity, and some time, I was able to come up with some little "poems" to include in a Christmas card for the recipient.  I wanted the somewhat impersonal aspect of a charitable donation to feel like it was actually meant for them.  With the hundreds upon hundreds of charities out there, it's easy to find one to represent everyone!  One of my coworkers is a huge dog lover, so a local animal shelter was a no-brainer for her.  My boss coaches baseball for all his kids (and basketball), so I knew something sports themed would work perfectly for him.   My other coworker was a bit more difficult, but as you can tell from her poem, just a little outside-the-box thinking made hers personalized as well.

I added a little strip of paper with an explanation of the
work the charity does....



It doesn't have to be fancy, you can just write it on the
top of a Christmas card....



"It's Christmas time once again, we all struggle with what to send.
So with some premeditation, I've made a charitable donation.
Since you long to visit Machu Picchu, I thought an alpaca in Peru
would make a great gift for you."



As I'm sure you've gathered I'm not going to win any awards with this, but I think it got the idea across.  I hope this helps get your creative juices flowing when it comes time to write your own cards.  I'll let you know how my coworkers react :)

intangible (adjective)

1. not tangible; incapable of being perceived by the sense of touch, as incorporeal or immaterial things; impalpable.

2. not definite or clear to the mind: intangible arguments.
3. (of an asset) existing only in connection with something else, as the goodwill of a business.

(noun)

4. something intangible, especially an intangible asset: Intangibles are hard to value.

One Giant Leap

Well, I did it.  I'm moving to Australia.  After contemplating and researching for so long it all happened a bit fast in the end.  I decided to do a booking with First Abroad for their Absolute Oz Jobs program.  They'd help me with a bank account, place to stay for my first week, job search database, figure out my phone/SIM card situation - all those things that I could do myself but could probably do faster with them.  So I booked that and realized that ticket prices weren't going to get any cheaper.  Every time I checked they had gone up and if I'd booked my Oz Jobs program I'd better buy a ticket because March was coming up fast!  So, on my 25th birthday I bought a ticket to Sydney.

I'll be honest, I'm a bit terrified sometimes at the prospect.  And yes, sometimes I just try not to think about it at all...  Everyone asks me why I'm going and I don't really have one good, solid reason why.  I have tons of reasons, lots of little things and thoughts that added together made me take this leap.  But one good reason?  Nope.  So I just tell people I'm going because I can.  And that's partly true, so I just leave it at that. 

Move (verb)

1. to pass from one place or position to another.

2. to go from one place of residence to another.
3. to advance or progress
4. to have a regular motion, as an implement or a machine; turn; revolve.
5. to sell or be sold