If you don't like where you are,change it.You are not a tree.I read the above quote on my friend Amanda's blog and first I laughed. Then the absolute simplicity and truth of it exploded my brain. Think about it, and then really think about it. Unless you're actually a tree (in which case, kudos for getting online and being literate and all that), you have no reason that you cannot change it. Maybe you have reasons you won't change it, or don't change it. But don't ...
Saving
Could You Live Off a Dive Instructor’s Wage on Roatan?
What is the salary of a dive instructor on Roatan? Well, I get a LOT of emails from people asking me what dive instructors here on Roatan make (hint: not a lot), and what it costs to live here (hint: a lot). Since inquiring minds want to know, here you go:How much do dive instructors make?You can read more about it in my tipping guidelines for diving on Roatan, but the short answer is: dive instructors here do not make very much money. A few dive shops pay a small salary (around ...
What if money didn’t matter?
What if money didn't matter? What would you do?I DID THIS. YOU CAN TOO. ...
Everything falling together instead of falling apart.
I knew this would happen.I knew right from the beginning that so many things would be stressful, that I would feel like I couldn't do it, like nothing was going my way. But I knew in the end that it would all work out. And while I'm scared of jinxing myself, I feel okay saying now that it's all worked out.I hit my budget. I'm on track to have $2000-$3000 above my budget, which is absolutely fucking incredible given the fact that I decided just over 5 months ago that I'd follow this crazy ...
One month left.
Well, here we are. In exactly a month from this very minute I'm writing this, I'll be touching down in Roatan and leaving Vancouver behind for...who knows how long. Shits getting REAL around here right now!I am knocking stuff off my to-do list and I feel better about that, but the enormity of thinking about leaving my life here and moving to a tiny island with a few bags of stuff is starting to sink in. People keep asking me if I'm nervous or scared. Not really, because I am the kind of ...
Roatan Budget v.2
As I mentioned, I have had to completely revamp my budget for Roatan now that I'm leaving seven weeks earlier than planned. I was happy that I was going to be in good shape financially, as this extra 7 weeks would amount to at least another $2500-3000 in the bank before leaving. I am leaving in two short months now, and I can make this work but it's going to be a lot tighter than I would like it to be. I also was missing a new list of things in my budget: cell phone in West End, ...
Money, where have you been all my life?
Money! (Does anyone else instantly start singing the Pink Floyd song in their head?) Such a huge theme in my life right now. A constant source of frustration one minute and then happiness the next. It is driving me crazy but also driving me to Honduras.Source (a site with cheap traveling tips!)This is the first time in my life I have ever had a big bank account balance (big = more than $300 in my world!) and it's making me insane that I can't touch any of it. I ...
How to work two full-time jobs.
Well, the jury is in and apparently it's not easy working two full-time jobs (weird, right?)I work a 40 hour week Monday to Friday during the day at my office job, and then at the gelateria Wednesday/ Thursday/ Friday nights (right after the office job - luckily for me they are only a few blocks from each other) and Saturday & Sundays from late afternoon to around 11pm. So my free time now consists of Mondays and Tuesdays from 5pm till I go to bed, and Saturdays & Sundays from when I ...
Up and down.
Sometimes I think this blog reads like a roller coaster - up ("going to Roatan wooooooooooo") and down ("forgot about a billion things I have to pay for boooooooooo") over and over again. Although, when I stop to think about it, it's really what life has been like lately so I guess at least it's accurate...?We are back on an UP after my lame downer about my tax miscalculations with having two jobs this year. I hadn't taken into consideration that I wasn't getting enough income ...
Be careful what you wish for.
I should know better by now. I should know that when I ask, the universe delivers. I asked for money, and oh boy, am I getting it, but this is not what I had in mind!!The gelato shop owner loves me. Thinks I am a stellar employee, a great team member, all that. (May or may not have something to do with all the other staff not being old enough to drink.) After 4 shifts he gave me a raise to $15/hr and scheduled me for 9 days in a row - every single day right after my office job until ...