So I spent most of the spring rationalizing why it would be a good idea to put my career on hold, leave NYC, and travel abroad by myself for the rest of 2009. Over countless drinks I went over the merits of the idea - my lack of attachments, my relatively young age, the whole “i’ll never be able to do this again” argument, but in private it remained a tough decision. I am certainly not immune to the very American structure that suggests that “Birth, School, Work, Death” is the American dream. Of course the working aspect of American life is a means to an end tool, but its ultimately the end that has made me so curious about the way I and many of my peers live their lives.
In NYC I find that I meet many people who do not have a good justification for how miserable they are with their careers. In the legal world, you will often find lawyers who give a sardonic laugh anytime they hear that an acquiantence has decided to go to law school because law school, to these lawyers, is more or less the gateway to hell. But this self-loathing of one’s job is not endemic to just the legal profession. In my opinion, there is nothing worse then getting into that groundhog’s day routine, hitting the alarm clock every night, and waking up every morning not knowing why you are doing what you are doing. The Why is crucial.
Ultimately, I do not loath my legal profession, but I am self-aware of the fact that like many professions it has a snow balling effect that will, I am quite sure, lead me to a successful career that has its inherent limits - one of which is vacation days. So with that little bit of Philosophy 101, I give you the broad brush strokes of my next 4-6 month itinerary. I do not want to seem melodramatic or egoistic, but the fact is that this option is here for all of you, your careers, NYC, and your friends will be here when you come back, and unemployment checks are a great way to fund long one-way airplane tickets. I guess some corporate “walk-away” severance money helps also. Anyways ——
June 19 - roadtrip to Chicago with the old high school “phish buddies” — see two shows in Wisconsin.
June 22 - Fly to L.A. - 2 nights to chill.
June 24 - one way ticket to Auckland, NZ. - 8-12 weeks (maybe work, definitely ski and hike a lot).
Around labor day - 1 week with friends in Melbourne, OZ.
mid - September - Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur to Hanoi. 4 - 6 weeks in Vietnam and Laos. Backpack to Thailand.
mid October - Thanksgiving - Thailand!
Return home - Bangkok to JFK.
Resume life.
My Tumblr will most likely be my travelblog, just to give the disclaimer now.
Going away party Saturday 6/13 at the Frying Pan on the Hudson…details to follow
If you have any information or want to just write to wish me well, I’ll appreciate hearing from anyone on the road emfinkelstein at gmail [dot] com. And finally some shoutouts to those of you who have been much more then mere tumblr acquaintences and have each individually helped me make the decision…Paul, Jay, Casey, Mike, Sarah, Chris, Lauren, Katie, Lara, my old roommate, I love you, and Bianca.
