And now its official!

So, I’ve gone off and done it. I purchased for the grand total of $824.88 a roundtrip ticket to Bangkok on Cathay Pacific airlines. Departing on Monday November 26 from JFK (with a brief stopover in Hong Kong) and returning on Wednesday December 26. This is happening. I’m going to Thailand for a month.

And as I clicked on the “Confirm Purchase” button transforming my daydreams into reality, my excitement transformed into fear. What have I gone off and done, I think to myself. Why on earth would I want to go adventuring off into the unknown, into a completely foreign culture, without a single companion? Won’t I get lonely? Won’t I miss my office cubicle terribly, not to mention my auditing spreadsheets and online fantasy sports teams? What will I do and where will I go when I arrive? Will I find myself shyly hanging by myself nursing a beer in a crowded bar or will I find myself cart wheeling through the streets of Bangkok relishing in the freedom of independent travel greeting anybody and everybody with enthusiastic cries of "Sawatdee Khrab!!” – Which I just looked up to mean hello in Thai. How the hell do you pronounce that anyway? I am going to completely butcher their language and insult any Thai that I run into with my mispronunciations.

The one thing that I am attracted to yet at the same time weary of is the backpacking culture. Being an independent traveler, staying at hostels and being among like-minded individuals who love to travel and seek adventure is obviously a major draw to be in very social environments like hostels. Yet, I have absolutely no experience with them, so I’m not sure what exactly to expect. Unlike traditional backpackers whose goal is to travel for as long as possible for as little as possible and perhaps do things off the beaten path, my goals are slightly different. A month is a long time for somebody like me to take off from work and travel, but a relatively short amount of time for people who have no real commitments and simply life to travel.

Plus, I have more money to spend and thus have no problem doing all the activities I want to do. Take a $400 Scuba Diving Course, sure. Take 3 days to stay in an upscale all-inclusive resort for $500, possibly. Go on a rafting/trekking/elephant riding adventure? What’s $300? And I much rather spend $50 for a cheap flight from one part of the country to another than wasting an entire day on a bus. I rather spend $30 a night for my own room in a more “upscale” hostel with my air conditioning and a swimming pool, than $5 a night to sleep in an open air dorm room with 30 bunk beds. But anyway, you get the point. And yeah, I’m definitely planning on brining all my tech gear – ipod, digital camera, and possibly a laptop to be determined at a later date. There actually is a term for somebody like me: a flashpacker .

The purpose and intended audience of a blog can be three-hold. They are as followed:

A) Yourself (Diary/Journal) – Provide a personal and private reflection upon everyday life or a specific topic of interest for an individual who rather use the Internet as a sounding board than write down thoughts in a journal/diary.
B) Friends and Family (Email) – Instead of sending mass emails, use a blog to keep your friends and family up to date on your adventures or latest news.
C) General Public (Website) – Attempt to build as large a readership as possible by blogging about things that may be of everyday interest to people other than those who know you.

At this point, this blog is looking like Option #B (Hi Mom!!!), but if I really wanted to attempt to branch out to a wider audience than friends and family, then I could attempt to build readership by providing travel tips and advice to the mid twenty to early thirty sect who qualifies as a “flash-packer” and has the extra money to spend, is more established in their life than the 18 to 21 year old backpacker, yet still seeks adventure and has the off the beaten path mindset. Could be interesting; and who knows, maybe I can actual inspire some other people sitting in a cube somewhere watching the last few years of their youth slip away to do something out of the ordinary like temporarily abandon their jobs, put their career on hold, and live a little for a change.

To the Land of Smiles

I’m sure all the thousands of my regular blog readers have been dying in anticipation for me to disclose the location of my planned one month adventure to be taken between Thanksgiving and Christmas. As the suspense has undoubtedly increased your heart rate and blood pressure exponentially since I first hinted at my plans 3 days ago, I will spare you all and announce that this cubicle-imprisoned accountant is traveling half way across the world all by my lonesome to visit the land of Smiles, Thailand.

I chose Thailand after little deliberation and not much thought of other possible destinations. As soon as I began researching Thailand and the many activities and adventures that the country possesses, I became nearly obsessed; purchasing a Lonely Planet guidebook, reading online blogs and trip reports, researching airfare, hotel, and restaurant options and certainly spoiling some of the surprises that certainly await, while meanwhile and simultaneously ignoring all my responsibilities in the office.

At this point, I can already make a laundry-list of all the things that I would like to accomplish during my month-long adventure. As much as I desire, especially as a solo traveler, to just go with the flow for a month and let my adventures take me from destination to destination, the more I read about different things to do, the more inclined I become to map out everything to a T as to not miss out on any locations or activities I would like to experience. Though, at this point, all I have done is research many of the different locations throughout Thailand and the activities that can be done there. I haven’t begun to plan an itinerary or determine the best route.

Here is my list of things to do in Thailand:

-Obtain PADI Scuba Diving Certification in Ko Tao
-Attend Full Moon Party on Ko Pha Ngan on Christmas Eve
-Go on an overnight Mountain Trek in Pai to meet Local Thais
-Learn Yoga and other meditation techniques from Buddhist monks
-Ride an elephant through the Jungle
-Pet a Tiger
-Purchase a tailored made suit
-Get a Thai massage at least every other day
-Go to the Bridge over the River Kwai Festival
-Explore the caves in Chiang Dao
-Take a Thai cooking course
-Take a break from hostels and spoil myself in a luxury resort in Phuket
-Watch seedy old men abuse the huge sex tourism industry in Pattaya
-See millions of Buddhist temples in Bangkok and Chai Mai and throughout Thailand
-Experience backpacking culture on Kao San Road in Bangkok
-Doing an overnight Whitewater rafting trip down the Pai River
-Meet tons of interesting people from all over the world and make new friends
-Find my own private deserted beach in Kao Samui
-Take pictures and Blog about my adventures

So, there you have it. Writing that list is motivation enough to put the rest of the world on hold for a month and become a backpacking money spending bum in a country half-way around the world for a month. Its amazing how just weeks ago, I gave no thought to adventure and was happily going about my ordinary business as an accountant completing audits of non-profit, real estate, and commercial entities.

And at this point, I suppose its time to give props to the motivation behind my recent revelation that I should take a break from conformity and explore mysterious and unknown parts of the earth: a phone conversation that I had 3 weeks ago with my (at the time) soon-to-be college graduate sister Allison in which she expressed to me her desires to forgo entering the working world because she wanted to travel and explore the world before she began the rest of her life as some type of undecided working professional. Of course, my response to her was that perhaps its best to grow up and become financially independent, get a job even if you don’t love it or see yourself with that job for a long period of time, and basically to conform to the immense pressures and wills of the American norm. I then explained that working almost changes you, strips you of your motivation and freedom that you obtained throughout college, and makes you feel almost as if you are losing yourself as you experience the pressures of advancement, bills, balancing work and play, and becoming a responsible hard-work, contributing to society, adult.

Since that conversation, I began considering my life and what I am doing. I have considered my success to date, and the fact that I have only taken a single week off from work to travel once in the three years that I have been part of the working world. I began considering where I am in my life and what experiences I would like to obtain prior to officially giving into the grind and dullness of the American way, and I began to dream about where I want to go and what I want to do if I did quit my job or took some time off – Which of course leads me to writing this blog. And meanwhile, its as if I have almost switched places with my sister. It is now I who have taken it upon myself to make time to travel, and it is her who has now forgone the item of teaching English for a year in a foreign unknown exotic country and is instead planning her future as an HR assistance in New York City.

And one last thing before I end this entry; I have officially received permission to take an entire month of paid time off from my boss between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The scheduling calendar has been updated and my temporary exit from the highway has been officially approved by Corporate America. Its actually almost scary how easy it was to obtain approval… makes me think why I haven’t attempted this sooner..

The Plan

So, I’m reading the book, “The Alchemist” which tells the tale of a shepherd boy who dreams of travel. Despite multiple opportunities to settle down with a good job, money, a girl, he continues his Personal Legend to travel to the great Pyramids of Egypt. And upon purchasing the book, I sat down at the Sculpture garden on the mall amongst the throngs of tourists descending upon DC over Memorial Day weekend. I read the book surrounded by individuals from all over the US, from all over the world, who were traveling and experiencing things foreign to them. So, not only am I reading possibly the greatest travel-inspiring book of all time, but I’m reading the book amidst people who are doing just that – a perfect storm of motivation.

I don’t necessary believe that traveling the world would be a life altering experience. I don’t think it would change who I am or who I become. Bottom-line is that I am going to a successful business executive. I’ll have a great family, work hard, and end up as another boring mindless individual in the upper middle class doing pretty much the same thing as the people around me. But before I get there, I need to travel and explore. I’m seeking the experience and thrill of discovering the unknown, with absolutely no pressures of my world at home or those who know me.. Where I can be free to do as I want and go where I want when I want. I can stay at any destination for as short or as long as I want and move on to the next destination. That type of freedom excites me more than anything…

At this point, I have made up my mind that I am going to travel. So, it brings up the question of how and when I get away. As much as I desire to escape mundane office life and the world of auditing, I can’t just get up and leave. I can’t just quit my job and go off traveling with no job or school or path waiting for me upon my return. As much as I desire to travel and explore, it has to be well-planned and consider the implications of the real-world. I have too much loyalty to my career and my future than to just give a big FU to my boss and worry about a new job when I return.

Here are my options:

OPTION #1:

Use vacation time and/or unpaid leave from my job. IE – Return to the same job and same cube once I return from adventure.

PROS

-Minimum “interruption” in career

-Continue to get paid while traveling by using “Paid Time Off”

-Return to work with hopefully more motivation than I currently have

CONS

-Short time limit – Couldn’t travel for longer than a month

-Have to return to the same boring job

-Unsure if only a month away would really be long enough – Even a month is more like an extended vacation than the real travel journey that I seek

-Won’t be able to really go and do anything I want since I am limited by having to return in a month – Could probably only visit one or two countries in a single part of the world

Of course, taking a month off and traveling is certainly better than nothing, and it can almost act as a test run. While continuing to get paid while traveling and having my same job waiting for me, I can discover and experiment what traveling is really like and help me prepare for a real journey without time limits later down the line.

OPTION #2

Take time between my current job and either a new job or a return to school to travel for several months. IE – quit my job but already have a plan for what I am going to do upon my return from travels

PROS

-Be able to travel for a longer period of time (3 to 6 months)

-Not interrupt my life dramatically as I would be all set up to return to a new job or opportunity

-Be able to see an entire continent (ie do South American or Australia) and be able to stay away longer

CONS

-Still have a set time I need to return to my life

-I couldn’t travel the entire globe – 3 to 6 months still isn’t enough time for a trip around the entire globe

This is probably my best option. It gives me enough time to travel to really see what is out there, without really feeling like a tourist or vacationer. Plus, I have something at home waiting for me.

OPTION #3

Quit my job without any plans to return or no job or school or opportunity upon my return

PROS

-Unlimited time. Absolutely nothing at home that forces me to return when I am not ready

-Would truly be the experience that I am seeking – can go everywhere and anywhere

-Could get a ticket around the world

CONS

-Sense of anxiety exists since I truly have no set path at home. Maybe I would not feel as free to stay as long as I want because I know I have to return and figure out exactly what I am going to do when I return.

-No source of income. Need a lot more savings and money could run out.

As enticing as this option seems, it’s the least practical. I need the security of having something at home so I can easily get back on my highway when I return. The last thing I want is to travel only to return and have all the entrance ramps blocked.

THE DECISION

The truth is that I am already have a plan for travel before I even started this blog. My plan fits into my future plans and allows me a total of 5 months to travel within the next year. Here it is in detail:

-Schedule off for the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2007
-Plan a month long adventure in a single country for this time period (which has already been chosen and to be revealed in my next post)
-Between now and my November/December adventure, take the GMAT, and apply for MBA programs which would begin in September 2008.
-Return from my one month adventurer and complete busy season (February through April) at my current job. Go out on a good note after completing another busy season.
-Decide on an MBA program and accept an offer to begin in September 2008.
-Quit my job and take off between May and August of 2008 to travel.
-Return to begin my MBA program and have successfully explored and adventured.

Obviously this plan allows for plenty of time for adventure but also allows me to not venture too far away from my path. Plus, I return to school and not the world of accounting, which makes me happier.

This does require a lot of advance planning between now and Thanksgiving. I need to have completely submitted all my applications to MBA programs. So I have to take my GMATs, get my scores, get letters of recommendations, write an essay/personal statement, and get everything submitted prior to Thanksgiving. That and get licensed as a CPA – which still requires more paperwork and such. Still, I get plenty of time off to explore, and return to an MBA program and not a return to accounting. So, from here on out, this blog will serve to document the planning, brainstorming, and ultimate realization of this plan. And once I travel, it will be the journal detailing all of my adventures and explorations…

Next Exit to Adventure

This Friday, I take my 4th and final section of the CPA exam. Once I pass this final test, I will be a Certified Public Accountant. Jeremy Dommu, CPA. It has a nice ring to it. And this will be the crowning achievement of my professional life to date. It will be a huge accomplishment and something I will be very proud of. It will summate all that I have done in the past 3 years and validate all the time and effort I have put in to accounting both in and out of work.

And it should be another stepping stone to success. Another mile marker on the high-way to the upper middle class. Just one more signal that I am going in the right direction. I can become a partner in my firm, I can open up my own practice, I can use this title as leverage to get into a top MBA program, to be a CFO, to work my way through a corporation to the top. I do have a plan, I do have a vision, and my future is bright. But the problem isn’t where I am going, what I want to ultimately do, or how I am going to get there. To most, that is the hard part. But for me, my future is as clear as ocean that I am not currently in.

I can envision where I will be in 5, 10, 20 years. And I like that vision. I want that vision. But, I’m not in a rush to get there. I need to exit my current path and take a break. To see and experience the world while I am still young, still single, and still can. Each day, each month, each year that passes, it will become harder and harder, if not impossible to travel, to explore, to see the world. To do all of the things that and experiences that I have always wanted to do.

Life isn’t a race to the finish. The future isn’t now. The present is now. I have always considered myself somebody who lives for the present, who doesn’t take life too seriously and who is always up for an adventure. But how can you live for the present and explore when it has always been for the past 3 years about getting from A to B to C?

You can call it a quarter life crisis because that is exactly what it is. But I don’t think there is anything wrong with taking a break, taking a year off, seeing the world in a way that I want to see it. On my path as an accountant, there will be future opportunities to take a week or two long vacation to any destination in the world. But that doesn’t appeal to me as much as having unlimited time to go wherever I want, stay as long as I want, and do whatever I want when I’m there. And I have to do this soon. Its now or never. There aren't going to be many opportunities left.

So, that is the purpose of this blog. To devise an escape plan. To execute it and take a break from responsibility, a break from being an adult, and a break from speeding down the highway towards the upper middle class. – To travel the world, to enjoy my life and to document my escape and everything that happens thereafter. Today, I sit in an office cube no longer dreaming about moving down the hall to the corner office, the fancy car, the Mc-Mansion, and the trophy wife. Today, I dream about scuba diving in Thailand, bungee jumping in New Zealand, and snow-mobiling in Chile.

I’m taking the next exit to adventure.

UPPER MIDDLE CLASS HIGHWAY

I’m on a highway cruising down the express lane with the pedal to the metal heading in the direction of the upper middle class. I got a full tank of gas, a sandwich, some water, a radar detector and an EZ Pass. There is no stopping me. I’m not taking any breaks, I refuse to slow-down, and my goal is to get to the promised lands of mortgage payments, retirement accounts, medical insurance, golf courses, wife, babies, family vacations, college savings, swimming pools, backyard BBQs, college tours, empty nesting, retirement, nursing homes, and death as quickly as possible.

I got on the highway 7 years ago when I first went to college. Back then, I drove pretty slowly and took a lot of breaks. I got off the highway to look around and check out my surroundings. I met a lot of cool people, learned about myself, and basically just had a lot of fun. But, I knew the direction I was heading in, so I never ventured too far away from the high-way. I got on the high-way for accounting courses, internships, career seminars, and always made sure that I was progressing. I got off the highway to go on Spring Break, join a fraternity, chase some girls, party it up … But never for an extended period of time. Going abroad during college would set me back too far… Even taking a summer to travel around was too much of a sacrifice….

And from the day I graduated, I never looked back… I zoomed right past the first exit I saw – the summer after college graduation… Instead, I started working right away for the largest accounting firm in the world… After 2 and a half years there, including an early promotion, total raises of 50% of my starting salary, bonuses, and unused vacation time of roughly 4 weeks… I quit to join a new firm…. And there was another exit (the time between jobs)… and again, I drove right past it…I started at the new job literally the very next week…

And so it goes, onward and upwards… slaving for the man, doing the best I could, taking the road most traveled… There is no looking back, there is no slowing down…I’m 25 years old and this is my life… This is the rat race… The exits are getting fewer and further between… Can I get off? Will I get off? Should I get off?