All right, I’m hopping back into the saddle here.
A “terrible” thing happened somewhere in between my 6 month backpacking extravaganza and now: A job.
Such a blessing and a curse, a job can be.
A Blessing! With a depleted bank account, the job saved me from my financial woes.
A Curse! Time. Oh what a beautiful thing our time can be. More valuable than money itself is time, and what time is spent on. I never took for granted 2016: The year of open time, open possibilities, and open-ended wonder. I am now in the process of wrapping up 2017: A year with less time, fewer possibilities, with open ends that extend as far as the word “Sunday”.
But let’s be practical here: This is what we do to earn our Blessings in life.
It doesn’t matter if you’re working as a farm hand, or sitting on a trust fund. We work to earn our blessings. We work to gain purpose. And if in times you feel you haven’t, perhaps somebody did it for you, as you will do for others. (And then there are some people that just fucking suck, but they aren’t reading this).
Money may not buy me happiness, but it can buy me time and provide ways to hone in on my purpose.
I am very happy with my job (Like seriously, No Bullshit.) But like nearly all jobs, it can keep you grounded in a physical sense. I’m rambling now, so let’s move forward…
From 2013 – 2015, I commuted 60 miles a day. When returning from my backpacking hiatus in late 2016, I decided that the value of those hours driving were “too damn high”. When starting my next job, I did what I was so reluctant to do for several years: Move to Los Angeles.
I now commute 2 miles a day (I’m considering walking/biking). The result is an extra 330 hours of free time from now until June, which means more: Home cooked meals, song writing, screen writing, cleaning, gym, and Netflix.
Monday – Fridays were just about as good as they could be with the new setup. BUT despite my best efforts to manipulate the “routine”, I was still at a quandary in regards to getting my travel fix.
I understand that we get 2 ENTIRE WEEKS off a year, but that’s a lot of pressure to put on a travel wish list. It becomes stressful thinking that we’re limited to blowing our load on one or two trips a year. So I’m playing around with “express trips”, if you will…
Let’s take for example this past weekend, when I made my first visit to Austin, Texas…
But Byron, There’s No Time!
There is time. Not much of it. But if you’re willing to give up sleep and comfort, you will be rewarded with more time and more memories. My longtime pal Beau Bryant was swamped with work over the weekend, yet still joined in on the voyage. (Hooray Laptops!)
But Byron, It’s Too Expensive
- RT Flight – $200
- Hostel (2 Nights) – $60
- Stubb’s Concert – $30
- Bus Pass – $2.50 a day (We used a lot of Lyft/Uber for convenience, but not required)
*Don’t tell me this isn’t affordable, while simultaneously planning your 4th trip to Vegas this year*
Austin Trip Breakdown:
Outbound Flight – Saturday morning (6:00am)
Accommodation – Drifter Jack’s Hostel
Experiences:
- Visiting State Capitol
- Hope Outdoor Graffiti Gallery
- Congress Bridge Bats
- Concert at Stubb’s (Matisyahu/Common Kings)
- Partied on 6th Street
Food/Drinks:
- Two Breweries (Lazarus and ABGB)
- Texas BBQ (Duh!) – La Barbeque & Terry Blacks
- Torchy’s Tacos
- Kerbey Lane Café
Returning Flight – Monday morning (5:00am)
(Landed back in LA with 2 hours to nap before heading into work)
But Byron, That Sounds Too Ambitious
For the record, we were fucking exhausted by the end of the weekend. As I’ve mentioned earlier, these express trips will leave you with little sleep and zero comfort. You will spend your Monday in a delirious state of “Was that a fucking dream?”… It wasn’t.
Ambitious? Yes.
But Aren’t We All?
Travel Boners 