Ass in Gear; New Gear In; Sale of 5 speed Gear?

August 2, 2010
Location: Rio Rancho, New Mexico

A note to my readership: Please note a few Americans might think "duh" to some of the things that I say on this blog, but keep in mind I have readers from all over the world who have never been to the US and therefore don't understand our lifestyle here.

Things are really starting to look up for this big trip!

A lot of the stressors in my life are starting to go away. This is a time in life where counting my blessings seems to be in order. It seems like my wounds are healing up well from surgery. My pain is well managed. My finances are on track thanks to a kick ass severance package, savings and unemployment insurance. In short: I'm on track to buy the first plane ticket soon.

But, first things first. I finally decided on a backpack. I ended up heading over to ebags.com instead of buying the bag locally. I realize many people may frown on my decision to purchase the bag instead of (S)upporting a (L)ocally (O)wned (B)usiness, Slob-ing, the purchase. But I found the selection to be a lot nicer online and the overall purchase to be substantially less of a hassle. I bought a High Sierra Compass convertible bag. It has the detachable day pack option I was looking for and also looks rather posh in Blue. (http://www.ebags.com/product/high-sierra/compass-convertible-travel-pack-limited-time-offer/63378 ) It has the exact options I wanted at a great price, all delivered to my door step. Woot!

So now I have the cash and the bags lined up. Now comes the bigger decisions - deciding what to do with the life I have going for myself here in America. The really, really big decision I am faced with at the moment is if I should sell my car or not. Not many people really understand my relationship with cars and why this is such a big deal for me. It's not that I enjoy working on them or talking about them - I view them as an appliance more than anything. It's that a car represents everything you need in the Western United States society to be upwardly mobile, to be social and to obtain the goods you need for everyday life. We don't really have any sort of mass transit in our area of the country. Our only real practical option to go to shopping centers or leave home is the car. It's not really practical to bike the 25Km one way each day to work, go to the mall, see a friend or to go shopping. When you are in high school you salivate at the fact that one day, you too might be one of the cool kids that had a car. It's been something that I have spent years of my life working for: having a reliable, clean, nearly-new car is a privilege I sacrificed a lot for. So it isn't something I am willing to part with easily.

My poison of choice is a Black 2007 Toyota Corolla "S". I like it because it has all kinds of sporty plastic and stickers tacked on to it that make it appear really fast while being a very simple, 1800cc naturally aspirated car. It gets fabulous gas mileage, 35Mpg highway or 15.3 Km/L. The payments and insurance on the car amount to around $420 a month for me. Which is actually quite manageable if I am working full time.

The problem is that if I sell the car, I end up taking a really big hit financially. Sure, not having a car payment or insurance payments for a year will be nice. But what happens when I come home? I am going to have to find the cash to find a replacement car, assuming I live in the same area of the country after the trip. Then there are issues with obtaining credit for the car since I worked overseas instead of domestically for a year. Then there's the added hassle of trying to find a reliable car at "sub-b" car dealerships. Ugh. It seems like keeping the awesome car I have would be a better solution.

But, on the other end of the spectrum I have issues with keeping the car. Just because I leave the country doesn't mean I won't need to maintain the car I have. It also means car payments have to be made on time, and I have a financial pain in the ass to deal with. When I am drinking myself into a stupor in Europe or having a Safari in Africa, am I really going to want to miss out on the extended tour because cash flow says I have to make a car payment on a car I'm not even using? What happens if I find a gig in Germany, my car payment is due, and I have to wire funds to my own bank account in the US just to make the car payment?

It would be nice if I could lease my car to someone for a year that I trusted, and have my exact same car returned to me in good shape when I return to the US. Maybe I could work on that deal.

An Introduction to TBGTB

Well Hi there!

This blog is full of intrigue, suspense, adventure, sex, drugs, violence and fun. It isn't meant to be for the faint of heart or those who want a dishonest view of the world. It's also about a whole hell of a lot of "dangerous" decisions I made recently that, well, might not really sit well with the "work hard, save everything, be responsible, love your country, and brush your teeth" crowd. In fact, it problably won't sit well with a lot of people. The reality is, this is a forum to express my experiences and opinions. I make no apologies for what I think, who I am, or what I say. You are welcome to comment on any of my posts and give your insight. If I find time I just might read and respond to them. If you don't like what I have to say, please, do us both a favor and fuck off. Otherwise, strap in, this will be one hell of a trip!

So who the hell am I and why am I so..... cocky?

I'm a very pissed off 20-something college educated guy that did everything he was supposed to after college. I worked really hard. I majored in business administration instead of following something I was passionate about. I never really got the "after college" job that led to personal and financial independence I was supposed to with that course of study. I worked for two major fortune 500 companies in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. I was hired on at both companies, worked my way up, and was laid off after about two years due to relentless contempt for younger workers and downsizing.

So, I, like so many other people fell victim to the great recession and decided to take matters into my own hands recently. Knowing that I'm more likely to bed the UFC fighiting Championship winner in Las Vegas than land a worthwhile job anytime in the near future. (I'm a 225 pound, 5'11" fat white gay guy) I fully realize nobody owes me a damn thing. It's my responsibility to cultivate a (rare) yet marketable skill set, not be expendable, and have a strong enough social network to beat the odds, but I cannot have any of those things until I change my behaviors and travel a bit. I've decided that a year of touring the planet, consuming copious amounts of alcohol, playing around with my inner selfishness and generally having a good time cultivating that skill set would be a far better use of USA/New Mexico taxpayer dollars than sitting on my fat ass in front of my computer pointlessly searching for another barely palettable drone job for a year. The only thing New Mexico requires me to do is look for a job; nobody said I have to stay in the States, be Miserable, or Apply 112 hours a week to doing it.

So, with the above in mind, I've decided to give corporate America two big Middle fingers and let them know it's ABSOLUTELY OK to be a big time, cock loving, single white guy with a responsible head on his shoulders. I choose to live. I also choose to leave. I refuse to live in a patterned, safe, boring existence any longer. Since college, I have faithfully saved into my 401(K) and IRA accounts as much as I possibly could. Each time, I found that this strategy left me totally unprepared for unemployment and absolutely wholloped me with taxes when I needed the money to subsist. My journey is intended to change all of the above while financing it on the backs of the thieving assholes that wrecked the US economy in the first place.

In any case, I want this blog to be as much of a journey of you as it is for me. You see, I've decided I am going to take some "me" time for once in my life and actually do something totally self-serving for once. I'm going to make a completely irrational, unwelcome, stupid decision in my 20's that it might take the better part of twenty years to recover from. I'm going to strap on a backpack, put on a pair of walking shoes, three days worth of clothing changes, a netbook, a charger, an ipod touch, and my passport and hit the road. My goal is to tour the entire world, meet hundreds of exciting people, try to do all the things I wanted to do in college but didn't have the guts, time or resources to do.

I might find fame and glory, I might die, I might simply cut tail and run home to Mommy. But at least I won't die wondering anymore.....

I hereby present: The Big Gay Travel Blog