Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Digital Nomad

The past month and a half have been a real struggle for me. I hate not having a job. And, yes, I realize I'm not the only person ever in the history of the world to hate being unemployed. I don't even have the excuse of being worried about bills or how I'm going to feed myself-I am concerned mostly with how I will entertain myself. I mean, really, there's only so many hours you can spend on Gawker Media websites before you start to question your own sanity.

In any case, I got a bite on a job, one that would afford me the great luxury of working remotely. Entirely remotely. And when I say "entirely remotely," I mean not a single meeting happens in person, and everything happens over the Internet. No, dear Internet readers, I have not been tricked into some Craigslist scheme. The job offer came through my agency and I'd be working for a well-known travel website. The pay isn't fantastic, but I am extremely pleased that it means I can work from home. Because that also means I can work while I'm away at graduate school. And more importantly for the here & now? It means I can travel. Soon.

My wanderlust kicked into overdrive last week when I realized that I would be spending my first Valentine's Day in my hometown in 2 years, and that I really do miss certain aspects of being overseas. Can I just hop off and globetrot for the next 5 months? Probably not. Because I do have to do work, and if the time difference at my destination is too great, I'll be working late at night all the time.

If I land this gig, my plan is to get settled into the job for a month or so, and then plan an extended vacation in Europe. Paris and London of course, but also to places I haven't been. The cities will not be far off the beaten track if only because I need to be sure I have a high-speed internet connection, but I will be gone for a while AND earning money.

I am keeping my fingers crossed because, really, this job is actually incredibly perfect for me right and it could not have come at a better time. Here's to hoping that I become a Digital Nomad in the not too distant future.

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