Well here I am, with my decision made now for 99.999%, heh, you never know what can happen right. Realism is important. Even if it's only 0.001%.
I can now start concentrating towards the big move. The day of departure will be somewhere around April 2015, somewhere in that month or maybe just before April. Adventure calls harder than ever now.
I can't wait to get started really, with this new life but during the time that I'll still be here, my time will be well spent to settle everything and to save up the money I want to take on my journey.
At ease though, I have time. Things like work, extra work and going to the gym are things that I'll be doing constantly but there's other breaking things that will need my attention and they will be determining and the right step towards my new life.
On my list and more or less in that order:
- 1 & 2 November 2014: 2 day course for my boat license
- 8/11: my birthday, 43 - finally. -sigh-
- 15/11: boat license exam
- 22 November: sailing for the practical part of the license
- putting my apartment up for rent
- selling my car
- working two jobs to get the money needed
- selling my furniture and other stuff
- choosing where I will do my DM and IDC (dive courses and instructor exams)
- arranging a party for my closest family and friends just a bit before I leave
- going to the gym to get in better shape (this already started again)
Hehe yes, it's all starting to roll in the right direction now, this weekend I will have 2 days of theoretical courses on Saturday and Sunday to learn how to sail a boat. I'll test my new knowledge on the exam that comes with it on the 15th November. After the exam, and on the 22nd I will have my practical test hours (6h total) to gain the experience needed in order to get the final license sent to me after completion of these practical courses. This boat license will come in handy when I'll be in my new line of business.
It's a good thing that I am doing these courses now, this way afterwards I can fully concentrate on the other practical stuff before moving abroad, beginning around 2015. It will be a good hassle for sure.
Putting my apartment for rent shouldn't be too much of a problem, hopefully it will get rented fast. This will generate a nice extra monthly income even if there's only half of the morgue left over. In 8 years it will be mine and I can benefit the full amount.
Selling my car, hopefully I get a good price for it, we'll see. But this is the major cash right here so getting a good price for it is important as hell.
As I was offered a job at my last diving club from my vacation in Malta, I will surely consider this as soon as I get my response mail concerning the whole idea. I guess feeling good somewhere is a good plus, even if it's not directly in a paradise-like location like Curaçao or Thailand. Malta is good enough to get started, it's a quite fascinating island IMHO.
When following Facebook and having some of my instructors in my friends list, I get thrilled by the locations they all go to work at. I can't wait to be working in those same astonishing locations. Also I got told that languages are by far the most important thing in this business, which is totally me, I do speak 6 and will learn others while I'm abroad, I'm sure. Russian or Japanese are high on my list. One of these 2 could open even more doors.
It's funny how a dive vacation can change your life just because you notice that you could perfectly function in this new life due to the life-experience you have accumulated over the years. I love to teach people the things I like to do, I can be patient, I am very social, interested, and I love diving, that much I 'm wanting to make it my job.
Even if this job will pay me less money than what I am used to. It's a choice really, it's not because of the money, not because of the diving, it's the whole concept all together that is attracting me so much.
Getting ready for the rest also means getting my head ready to leave, it will be a big step, for sure. Leaving my comfort zone, leaving my closest friends and family behind. But when I think of the adventures that await me, it's all worth the decision.
I'm not troubled by the idea of leaving my personal belongings behind, at all. 'Stuff' never meant much to me, and seen where I'm going and the life I want to lead, I can't carry it with me anyways. So yea, stuff don't mean much at this time.
I'll be ready!
Blogs are here for you to enjoy, read, learn, share and also to comment on where ever you feel like it. In this chapter I won't be talking about my plans, instead I want to explain the benefits of following and commenting the blogs you read.
"Where was this blog again from that guy who's changing his worlds, for a better life, worth living?"
I have been writing this blog for quite some time now, and I love it! Even if I see a lot of women writing blogs, less men are doing it as I investigated.
I like this and it will also be my way to keep in touch with the people who I have shared my life with for so long when I leave my home country. This way they can follow my adventures if they want.
I would like you to ask you readers to follow me in any kind of way after reading my blog, if you liked it of course.
My blog can be followed with Google+, with Twitter, via e-mail subscription and above all with Bloglovin. For those who don't know Bloglovin, it's a gatherer for the blogs you are interested in and a blog writer can claim his blogs here and manage some related basic features.
Later on I may add Facebook and some others but this is where it starts with this blog.
You can find the follow buttons/links all around my blog.
If you follow me, with any of those listed above, you will get a notification when I post new chapters. Easier than just searching for the link that I once sent you.
Preferably you should follow me in all the ways possible, that way you won't miss any new notifications. Or you just follow me with something you are very familiar with and that you use frequently.
"That's interesting, or...crap, I sure want to know more about this or share something that might enhance his posts."
Feel free to give your opinions or to get in discussion with me. Share whatever comes to your mind really. Comment, and also like posts if you did, disklike when you didn't. This way, it may open conversations and allow for both the reader and the writer to get more out of the blog phenomena.
Thanks for reading.
Happy reading wished to all of you!
Happy writing to all the bloggers!
I'm back in Belgium after a tremendous vacation of 2 weeks in Malta. Being there for the second time surely had some advantages. I knew my way around the island, I knew what to expect and could now concentrate on different things.
One of those goals on my trip was to get some answers concerning questions I had about my own cubicle throwdown. Questions you prefer asking while actually being with the person in real life just to see the honesty in his eyes. And answers I got, from many different individuals that I met along my stay on that magnificent rock.
Really, I can't explain how amazing it is to be able to talk to so many different people concerning life, working abroad and travelling the world. I had great talks with different instructors, other tourist-travelers, settlers, others divers and so on. I guess they all meet on islands like this.
Diving in Malta was this time very different than when I did my OW and my AOW in June, while doing these courses you are often practicing in the same dive sites because at first they are easy to access and dive from and secondly you know where you are and it makes you more confident for the courses themselves.
But this time, I dove at the best recreative dive sites in Malta, Blue Hole, P-29 wreck, Rosy wreck, Um El Faroud wreck (awesome), Comino Caves, etc. A lot more fish seen then when I was there in June. Amazing. I also enjoyed the two extra courses I took being Nitrox and Deep Dive Spec. With success!
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| Um El Faroud |
Right, well now I'm back in my cubicle. Meanwhile I have had the chance to summarize the answers I got and they all point in the positive, right direction. I am now even more motivated than ever to start this journey and make the best of it.
These good talks all-round gave me a lot more confidence really, just what I was looking for, initially it's why I went back a second time, I knew this time would be swell different.
Truly? I can't wait to give this job up and will have to cancel my current contract around the 1st of January because I'll have to respect a resignation period of 2,5 months.
My deadline at this moment is the 1st of April 2015. I won't be fining myself if I don't make it exactly the 1st but for sure it will be maximum the 30th of April 2015.
Some of the most important things for this dive instructor life are (apparently in the first place) knowledge of multiple languages, being social, open-mindedness, patience, the ability to teach, flexibility, loving to dive, being happy with what you have, choosing a different life, and some more. But these are the ones that relate most to me, and I now feel ready to take it on.
Most of the instructors where a bit jealous they said when I told them I spoke 6 languages, because it's so important in this job, especially for finding one. They went: Well what are you waiting for? :-)
To the side, I now also made my reservation for the boat license course. 2 days begin November to get all the theory and explanations you need to participate on the examination 2 weeks later. Up to me to prepare myself to the max and get a good result. It will indeed come in handy when I need it.
Second goal was to have great fun and great fun I had, diving during the week, partying in the weekends making I had a good chance to socialize, also giving me a lot of satisfaction. I always was used to get in touch with the locals in Italy where my family lived. You get around with your cousins and meet other people automatically. But on this Island it was very special, thanks Aaron, Mei, Sarah, Rodrine, Erick, Luke, and others for this second gorgeous welcome to your rock!
I'll be back!
The new dive club I was at offered me an internship as in 'work there for my courses and get professional divemaster education in the meantime'. It sure feels great to have been offered that from a rather small dive club. I am going to take this in consideration, the staff at H2O Divers Orange Shark are very nice people and they have some very experienced instructors. I felt really confident with both the bosses and the employed instructors. It was good for me to have chosen to change, now I could see the differences.
The other options I am looking into are Middle America (Mexico) or Thailand. I have been recommended a few clubs by now, and am getting in touch with them as we speak. That's my biggest concern at this time, finding a good dive club where I get a good package, with a professional instruction level, in a country where it is cheap and good enough to live and where I can concentrate me on getting a good instructor education to finish my DM and my IDC and my DM specs to become an MSDT.
Other concerns are getting ready, saving money and working as much as possible at my job and also at my second job. Well they are not really concerns and above all totally worth the effort.
Another thing is going back to the gym to get even more in shape. When I'll leave I want to be fitter than I am at the moment. I lost 10kg before my first vacation in June, and now I want to loose another 10kg, after that I will be pretty fit.
So yeah, thanks to diving my life is finally turning into what I want it to be. I have a real goal. From now on it's time to focus till I can start enjoying the real ride, when I will be abroad and under water, diving and working, working and diving.
It's the best feeling ever, I feel reborn! Like a reborn maggot.
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