Long trip to Sydney

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I left Melbourne today one what was scheduled to be an almost 14 hour bus ride (with stops) to Sydney. I opted to skip Canberra, Australia’s capital city, in exchange for some more time elsewhere, as multiple people told me my time could be better spent.

I made it down to the bus station around 7:15, with plenty of time to spare. I was one of the first few on the bus and was treated to a bit of a spectacle out my window. A skinny long-haired gent in his late thirties or early forties, who appeared to be moving to Melbourne given the amount of luggage he had - three normal suitcases, two large pink plastic bags with something heavy in them, three large cardboard boxes and two plastic containers - and was trying to move all these things himself. The bags had already been unloaded from a different bus as the gent returned with two pushcarts.

He observed his mess of bags and pondered just how to get them on. After a moment or two of contemplation, the man just started stacking. The cargo grew higher and higher, eventually requiring him to lift the last two bags above his head to get them on. As he did so, everything below began to stir, forcing him to back peddle and stumble. He regained balance and successfully got everything loaded.

Then it was time to get the two carts up the ramp. Taking them one at a time, he forcefully pushed them up the ramp, the second cart losing a wheel off the side of the ramp and almost tipping it over. The devil inside me really wished this would have happened.

This was the highlight of my day, as it was almost all on the road. The scenery along the way was mediocre, with mostly flat bush lands throughout Victoria that encompassed the majority of the trip. It improved once we got into New South Wales, with more undulation, trees and some rivers.

I spent much of my ride reading; both Robinson Crusoe and Men’s Health. Intermittently, I rested my eyes and thought a bit about what my future may hold.

I had self-imposed a January 31 deadline to have a grasp on the most appealing characteristics of a new job or career. I don’t think I’ve honestly done anything like this since applying to business schools a few years ago, but the applications held a specific objective and certain limitations.

The freedom I’ve had for almost a year is something that I’m not sure I’ll have the power to give back. The thought of returning to the typical modern lifestyle, where many people sacrifice half their waking life to accomplish nothing more than support the other half, much of which is a waste as well, is something with which I cannot grasp.

This underlying thought in mind, words like autonomy, flexibility, meaning and direct impact have come to mind for my future role. And accompanying those words are a few ideas for sustenance to maintain my unwavering commitment to personal responsibility; ideas that are just beyond the state of conception. Over the next couple months, as I continue my physical journey, I’ll be on an introspective one as well.

Even with stops for lunch and dinner, we arrived about an hour early into Sydney. The skies had opened up as we got close and a mist continued on my way to the hostel, which is fortunately just across the street from the bus terminal.

I got checked in and made my way to 506 where I met a few of my roommates - Mary, Lizzy, Richard and John. Richard is from Wales and I believe the other three are English.

John and I shot the breeze for a bit while some of the others read. He’s doing a similar trip to mine but will be with a tour company for his Australia jaunt over the next month. Then he’ll be off to Singapore and Manila, eventually making his way to England and New York City if he ends up getting contracted. Why England and New York? Because he works at the major professional tennis tournaments on the automated review process. He just finished with the Australian Open in Melbourne and would possibly be needed to help out at Wimbledon and the US Open. That would be a fun job.

After a bit of reading, I fell asleep, resting up for a busy day tomorrow.

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Photos

Northern Victoria
The land began to roll as we drove north.

New South Wales
The views changed dramatically once we crossed into New South Wales; many more trees and rivers became present.

Comments

[phil]

Experiences, not money.
The thing that is great is that you now realize how you would like to live the rest of your life. You know that you want to have the free time to keep exploring everything about this world. You want to encounter experiences. Careers, History, Scenery, Food, Cultures, ...Just understanding how everything works in general and is interconnected. You know that when you're 60 years old, you can look back and say "damn, this whole life thing (for me) has been a great and interesting experience". Most people can't do this. At the age of 60, they look back and realize they didn't do much besides work, and relax from work around the house during the weekends. In college, we thought we had to be rich to be satisfied. Now we realize satisfaction comes from experiences. You can work your ass off for years and make alot of money, and die tomorrow in a car accident. At that point, money doesn't mean shit, and you've done nothing except waste time on this planet. You worked your ass off and experienced nothing. Now you are dead, and you can't go back.