First thing’s first: Happy 2015, y’all!
Is this the year Marty McFly really traveled to in Back to the Future? No one seems to know anymore. If so, their predictions of hover boards were a little off base, and I think we can agree we’re all still a little pissed about that.
Anyway, I’m going to jump right into the meat of January, because a lot has happened this month and I’ve got a lot to say about it.
In January of 2015…
I had some very special visitors.
Two of my very good friends came to visit me just before the end of the year. I briefly alluded to their arrival last month, and their visit was everything I hoped it would be and more. We first rang in the new year here in Medellín, during which I introduced them to Aguardiente and my favorite pre-club hangout spot, Parque Lleras. We did a bunch of touristy stuff I’d been meaning to do for ages, like a free walking tour of downtown Medellín and paying a visit to Parque Arví, the ecological reserve that’s only reachable by cable car. We sampled local dishes like Mondongo (tripe soup, basically, which none of us liked) Bandeja Paisa (my fave) and arepas galore (who DOESN’T like fried corn flour patties?). We met up in Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast for a few days of beach-going and arepa-eating, and finally convened once more in Medellín for shopping and a girls’ night in over wine and brie. It broke my heart to send them off at the end of it all, but by then I’d put off so much work that I needed to seriously buckle down.
I made plans for the future.
This whole phenomenon really began several months ago when I made the decision to travel to Spain for TBEX Costa Brava just a few days after learning about the conference. Since then, a veritable avalanche of planning has ensued. At first, it was scary. I’ll admit that when I first booked my flight to the States from Medellín, I panicked. I worried I wasn’t giving Colombia enough time and that I would come to regret my hastily made decisions. Eventually, though, I realized that my heart truly belongs to the open road, and that while I do love Colombia and cherish my time here with all my being, a time will come when I long for new frontiers. I’m fully at peace with my decision to leave South America now and am looking forward to finally exploring Europe so much it hurts. Knowing that I’ll be celebrating my 28th birthday in a country I’ve longed to visit for so many years is enough to bring tears to my eyes. I can almost taste the sangria now…
I cleaned things up around here.
In case you hadn’t noticed, things have changed around here quite a bit since last month! I wanted the blog to look presentable and professional before the conference in April, so I set about turning it into something I could be proud of. I ordered a custom signature (thank you, Fiverr!) and found this snazzy new theme which I hope you’re all enjoying as much as I am. I always welcome feedback, too, so if there’s anything you think I should know about the new design, please visit my contact page and drop me a line.
I learned some hard lessons.
First, let’s talk about time management. I’ve been super busy this month, and hey, that’s awesome. Busy means more work which means I’m been doing something right (and also means more money to pay ma bills, bills, bills). But the harsh reality is that time management is something I still really, really suck at, and that desperately needs to change. As a freelancer especially, time management is everything. I think what it really boils down to is working out which of my daily tasks are my biggest priorities, but even that’s difficult when my daily tasks are different every goddamn day. So. All I can say is that it’s a work in progress.
I also learned, after trial and a LOT of error, that Colombian men can’t be trusted. If you’re a Colombian man and you’re reading this, please accept my apology on behalf of every Colombian guy before you who f*cked things up for you. We can still be friends, of course. But I will never trust you enough to date you. Ever.
I’ve been beaten over the head repeatedly with the idea that blogging, as with everything else in life, is often all about who you know. I’ve finally started putting serious effort into becoming an active part of the community of people I call colleagues (and often friends) and not only has it been immensely enjoyable (when’s the next Slack chat, people?), I’ve seen the rewards of this effort as well. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again…travel bloggers are an awesome breed of individual and I’m happy to be among them. And I’m getting more and more excited by the day to meet many of them in person in the coming months.
I’ve learned that my tastes have changed. The things I lived and breathed for one year ago give me far less enjoyment these days. I much prefer a night of going to bed early to a night out ’til 4am; I prefer conversations in chilled-out bars over dancing simply because the music is too loud for anything else; I prefer productive mornings complemented with coffee and eggs to days spent hungover in bed until 1pm. Don’t get me wrong, I still do these juvenile things on occasion. But they give me much less pleasure than they have in the past, and I’m certainly trending toward a more tranquil, adult-like existence. I even own a plant. Someday, a dog. Someday…
I’ve also learned the hard way that buying giant bags of mini croissants is never a good idea. I get into the habit of eating that shit like crackers, and let’s face it–mini croissants ain’t crackers.
I had my cake and ate it, too.
Don’t you worry, I found plenty of time for fun this month. I spent a night out with my two favorite Canadians and the Poblado Pub Department on their weekly bar crawl which turned out to be a surprisingly good time. Well, minus the evil stares I got after winning a free bicycle tour of the city in a limbo contest. Oh, I’m sorry, the short girl had an unfair advantage at something for the FIRST TIME EVER IN HER LIFE? Boo. Hoo.
I joined PPD again this week for their Australia Day celebration, a barbecue and pool party held at the Pit Stop Hostel. Good times were had by all, especially yours truly.
I made progress on the ol’ Colombia bucket list.
This week, I had the privilege of touring Antioquia’s former capital, Santa Fe with Medellín City Services. I also booked a hostel for the first few days of Carnival in Barranquilla in mid-February, and today I’m headed off to Guatapé for some houseboat action on the reservoir.
I realized the higher I set my goals, the more I achieve.
In the past, I’ve always set for myself what I thought were reasonable goals. I wasn’t shooting for the moon, they were just what I thought I could realistically achieve in a given time period. I realize now that what I thought was modesty was really just self-doubt in disguise. By aiming low, I was only setting myself up for failure from the very beginning. I’ve since discovered that setting lofty goals scares me into acting with intention right from the outset, and it’s a method I plan to employ from here on out. If I don’t expect excellence from myself, no one else will either.
That’s all for me this month. I’m learning from my mistakes, and I hope you can too. #GoHawks.
