On Island Time

The big, crisp blue sky that stretches on forever, as comforting and encompassing as a soft down comforter that you roll into, in your favorite sweat pants after a long, hard day at the office. The sound of “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John, or ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart”, resonating through speakers and broadcasting their tunes to the one or two cars we pass in the course of fifteen minutes, as exciting and classic as the first taste of General Tso’s chicken delivered to your door when the bitch on the phone who you had to accommodate has sucked out every ounce of energy you have, and take-out is your last, bittersweet resort. The view of the ocean, crashing with waves and foam over aging rock formations, cracking and retreating, like something from vacation advertisement, as daunting and unfathomable as a revolving list of to-dos for a workload that never seems to get smaller, no matter how many early mornings, late evenings, and depressing Saturdays you cash in to make it happen. The sweet, clean air, that cools your tanning skin, as soothing and necessary as that first cup of coffee that touches your lips and races down your throat to perk up your under-eye bags enough to guide you through the 9:00 am meeting that has been on your calendar for more than two weeks but hasn’t been given a minute of thought until now, 8:57 on your way to the board room. The feeling, huddled around friends, as the BBQ sizzles and chicken and sausages and onions and tomatoes provide a teasing scent that forecast a dinner as tasty as that time three weeks ago when, on a rare Sunday afternoon, your social calendar opened up long enough for you to have brunch with a dear friend, even though you really are too tired to attend.

But here in Australia, on this beautiful island, so very far from the world I once lived in, with a hidden treasure waiting in a private cove or stunning beach, just around the next corner, I have traded. I have traded all the stress, responsibilities and realities of adult life, and in exchange, I have been given back my life. Midnight to midnight, with all the time I never seem to have before, to do all the things that one can do when the gift of freedom has been granted. It’s curling up to read a good book. It’s spending the entire day window shopping and having coffee and discussing your dreams with a best friend. It’s drinking wine and sharing laughs, or opening the sunroof and letting the sun and the air join you inside. It’s a tender phone call to an old friend. It is all of these and countless others that keep a traveller going. The spirit of adventure and new. Clueless to how, but nearly certain that the next day will leave you so pleasantly tired that your head hits the pillow and sweet dreams of tomorrow and the next fill your tired and satisfied mind.

Everything I was ever told about growing up, and everything I learned to be true about adult life has disappeared, and I am free. Free to live. Free to love. Free to be.

Two weeks ago, had you walked in our kitchen, you would have gotten quite a laugh at the scene unfolding before you. As far as the eye could see, fresh, juicy fruit was piling up on two big serving platters, as my friend Kristian and I peeled, sliced and diced. In Sydney, we’re spoiled for many things, and fresh produce is near the top of the list. After about half an hour of work, fresh mangoes, passion fruit, cherries, white peaches, pink lady apples, fijian limes, white nectarines, mandarin oranges, lemons, strawberries and watermelon had all been prepped and laid out, ready for their work ahead. Carefully, we piled selections of each fruit into a clear pitcher and filled it to the top with White Shiraz. A work of art to say the least, it headed right into the fridge to begin the processing of infusing, as we created some of the best Sangria I have ever tasted. The medley of fruits, each soaking in wine, could have sang us to sleep, as we spent the afternoon relaxing, having a drink and reflecting on good times. What would have been considered wasting a day off at a different time in my life was just another day at our Bondi Beach apartment.

Because we can’t take many more things in the suitcases that hold all of our worldly possessions, we can rarely go shopping and even more rarely, purchase something. Of course this is difficult for Mary and I, who would easily say that shopping is our favorite hobby. There is still one frontier, however, that we can travel through and feel no feeling of guilt, and that is the grocery store. Everybody’s gotta eat, even travellers. I sometimes say this to co-workers and others when they ask me how Mary and I always seem to find so many good deals. “We’ve got more time than money.” And a few days ago, we managed to do something we hadn’t done in a very long time..... Harvest Discount Meat. You know the kind. It’s at the grocery store, has been there for a couple of days, has been reduced for quick sale, and if purchased, must be used in the next couple of days or put in the freezer. True to our phrase, we cashed in some of that extra time, and took our reuseable cloth grocery bags and visited six grocery stores in one afternoon. Each stop was the same. Walk in, zero in on target, aka meat section. Look left, look right, slowly approach target. Casually and nonchalantly browse like normal shopper. Move eyes carefully down each row. Pork chops, pork chops, pork chops, pork ch- BINGO. Pork Chops. 0.56 kilograms. Was $8.62. Reduced. $3.96. And then, with the speed of light or faster, my right hand scoops up the package so fast that the older lady next to me doesn’t have time to miss it. Then, sit back and watch as the next shopper picks up pork chops. $8.62. Ha. And then you can smell it. No, no, not raw meat. Sweet, sweet victory. And then its on to chicken.

Needless to say, before the day was over, we managed to haul in 37 packages of meat, some of which were purchased for an astonishing $0.67. Which is doubly impressive because Sydney is far more expensive than Washington DC or Manhattan. But saving money when travelling is important. In fact, its everything. Your livelihood is based on your ability to stretch each dollar, and in turn, stretch your experience another day longer. I’ve been away for nearly 4 months, and in just over a month I am going on one of the longest single trips of my life, to 4 countries over 11 flights and 21 days. And that money I saved on meat is going to buy me a lot in Thailand. Besides, its summer in Sydney, and BBQing is as natural as waking up in the morning.

Yesterday, I had one of those days where if you tried to change any part of it, you really wouldn’t. Not one detail. Ellesse, Jamie, Kristian and I piled into a car and took a road trip up the northern coast to a place called Palm Beach. It started with our typical “leave the home” routine. Pack a towel, sunscreen, bottle of water, sunglasses, paperback novel, mp3 player and camera into a bag. I’ve now done it so many times that its hard to remember life before going to the beach all the time. Once loaded, we jumped in the car and with the wind at our backs, strolled along through what was easily one of the top 3 views I’ve ever seen on a road trip. With each twist and turn, there it was. Another snapshot that you’ve seen in Travel Leisure magazine enticing you to make it your destination for your once yearly vacation. When we arrived at Palm Beach, the water was as inviting as I have ever experienced, with soft white-capped foam swirling back and forth, lapping onto orange sand. By the end of the day, we’d finished two bags of candy on the way back, and headed to another one of our local beaches, Bronte, for a BBQ before heading back to the apartment and falling to sleep by 10:00 pm. All in all, just another day in Oz.

This week, as you are all rushing and bustling to finish your holiday shopping and board a plane to wherever this holiday season takes you, take a step back and remember that your life is your own, and you can make of it whatever your heart can dream. Dreams are the inexpensive, cost-free treasures we are able to unearth each and every time we give ourselves the chance to do so. Here’s hoping your dreams this holiday season are waiting just around the bend.

Until next time,

Keep smilin-

XOXOXO

Josh