Dying to Take You Away....

(from "Magical Mystery Tour" by Lennon/McCartney)
 
This whole idea started when I was visiting my brother up in Seattle.  I was hanging out with one of my parental units (I have 2) waiting for my brother and his girlfriend to join us, when I randomly mentioned the fact that I thought it would be awesome to throw my dog in the car with me, pack all of my crap up and just...go.  Surprisingly, both parents thought it was a phenomenal idea and here's why: I'm not married (I'm currently in an absolutely amazing relationship with the best boyfriend ever and have been for almost 4 years, which is longer than some people have been married.), I don't have any children (Okay, I have my dog, but she's 12 and at the point where she's incredibly low maintenance and awesome at listening.) and I don't have a house.  The only things really keeping me from doing this whole trip at the moment is the boyfriend I mentioned, money, my awesome job and family.  But, family will definitely come and visit, Brendan and I can make it through the long distance thing if I can't get him on board (he did live in Japan for 6 months right after we started dating), and the job part...well that's one of the things I'm still trying to figure out.  And as far as the money thing goes, my goal is to save up $10k (currently, I'm less than $2k away from that goal...eek!).  As soon as I reach that goal, then this whole thing might actually become a reality, which is both awesome and completely terrifying.


Since having that initial conversation with parental unit 1 (I don't think I've told parental unit 2 yet...damn Carter communication!), I've been hashing it out with anyone who will listen and have been met with tons of encouragement, but I've also run into my own anxieties, which isn't that great and is a huge factor in why not everyone knows about this whole thing, including parental unit 2.  But, like one of my aunts told me, I'll just know when the timing is good for me.  There may never be a "right" time, like there's never really a "right" time to get married or have a baby.  Life is always happening, always changing your plans and sometimes throwing roadblocks in your way, but I know I'll know when the time is good for me.

So, in sticking with at least one of resolutions for this year, I'm not going to let this whole thing stress me out.  I'm going to actually enjoy the process of planning this thing, of trying to corral all of those stupid ducks that aren't even in the same room as me at the moment, of trying to convince the boy that this is a great idea to do now, when we don't have as many responsibilities as some of our friends do.

And, to distinguish which posts are regarding my "Magical Mystery Tour," I'm going to attempt to title them all with Beatles lyrics.  If you know me at all, you'll find that very fitting.  ;)

Top 10 Dream Cities/States/Countries to live in (in order of preference, not feasibility):
1. Bora Bora
2. NYC
3. London (again)
4. Australia or New Zealand
5. Paris (after I learn French and despite the fact that 2 French dudes stole my camera at the top of the Eiffel Tower)
6. Chicago
7. Kauai
8. San Francisco
9. Seattle (but I won't interfere with the younger bro's life...)
10. New Orleans