Australia

For the few of you who have not heard from me or on the wind, I am more or less moving to Australia on February 10. The vast majority of the people whom I have talked to about it were not very surprised that I would once again be leaving Montana; my feet are itching and I have grown stir-crazy over the past year or so.

The idea for this little adventure started forming in the spring of 2010. Larry Lee, a very good friend, roommate of some years, and himself a seasoned traveler, was graduating from MSU and would be gainfully employed by the Forest Service, but only until the fall. I was on track to graduate in December, and have since finished school. I had had a rather discouraging year searching for internships for the summer, and only half-heartedly began the search again for a full-time entry-level engineering gig. Despite having connections within several engineering firms around the country, I still came out empty-handed, feeling I had accomplished little after frittering away countless hours emailing resumes and filling out online applications.

This was the motivation that caused the travel plans to sprout legs. After Larry got back to Bozeman in October, we settled on Australia because of the many, many great things we had heard from several sources, and because of the potential for work. South America had been considered, but after spending so many years as a virtually broke student, I was, and am, ready to be more productive than the typical backpacker.

We bought our tickets in mid-November. I had hinted to my dad that my leaving again was a possibility, but due to my mom's penchant for gossip and her tendency to skew stories between tellings, she was left in the dark about all plans until after the tickets were bought, much to her dismay. She soon realized though that I wasn't rushing into this without any thought.

On to some frequently asked questions:

1. How long will I be there?

I don't really know yet. My visa is good for a year, but I am supposed to stand with a good college friend who is marrying another good college friend in Seattle in July, and I told them that I WILL be there. Plans to come home around then, and whether I will return to Australia after the wedding, have yet to be made.

2. Where will I be living?

Larry and I fly into Brisbane. Through a stroke of luck and an excellent example of knowing the right people, we will be staying temporarily with Jeff Ihle, whose sister Beth I know quite well. After scoping out work possibilities (outlined below), and developing a game plan, we will likely find something more permanent, such as a van on a beach. Yes I know that Brisbane was flooded recently, and yes I know that Cyclone Yasi aimed itself at the state of Queensland only a few days ago, which leads me to...

3. What will I be doing?

There is a strong possibility that we will look into recovery work from the flooding and recent cyclone devastation. Besides this, job prospects are apparently quite good in Oz in just about every field, should Larry or I be so inclined.

And a couple other things that need clearing up:

1. I said it before I went to Ireland, and I'll say it again: chances are quite slim that I will develop an accent. Anybody ever thought that I might like the western US accent, (yes we have one) or at least have some disdain for fake accents?

2. If an opportunity strikes for me to bring home an Aussie bombshell, I'm probably gonna jump on it.

This adventure really is all about opportunity, and not just with women. I wasn't liking the opportunities I was looking at in the US, so I am going to Australia to find other ones. It seems sillier to me to blindly move to Seattle, Phoenix, Houston, or any other large city and dig hard for scarce, less than ideal employment when I can instead blindly move to the other end of the world, have better prospects, and quite likely develop one hell of a story.

I have no job, no wife or even a girlfriend, no kids, and no house to my name. All I've really got is a fiddle and a computer. For the moment, I'm not tied down to anyone or anything. The most reassuring thing about this whole scheme has not been what Australia has to offer, nor the good things I keep hearing about that place. It has been the countless friends and neighbors of mine who wholeheartedly understand and encourage my desire to fall off the map, explore, and gain some more perspective. Just about all of them wish they had done exactly what I'm doing.

I will try to be as regular about posting updates on my whereabouts and whatabouts as I was in Northern Ireland, but I can't make promises just yet. Stay tuned anyway!