Believe it or not, when I
hear those words, my first inclination isn’t to think of the popular Bob Dylan
song from 1964. It was a quote from my
good friend Daniel Bissel the day he found out he would be leaving for a 27 month
Peace Corps adventure, only two weeks before he was to depart for Namibia.
Life has a strange way of taking you directions we couldn’t possibly imagine. Had you presented the question to me my first year in college at Washington State University “where do you think you’ll be in 7 years”, I would have with out hesitation told you I’d be in a career working for US Customs, residing in Bellingham, WA. I truly thought that’s what I wanted to do with my life and was eager to head down that path.
College changed everything for me. I moved into a fraternity my first year, a little hesitant, a little scared, but none the less, excited for a new adventure. I formulated life long relationships with the most incredible people a man could ever ask for. People from all different backgrounds and social classes, some people just looking forward to a fun four years and others determined to make a difference in the world and college was simply a checkpoint on a long and successful journey of life.
I spent three years after transferring from a community college earning a degree in Criminal Justice and Political Science. I juggled the everyday stresses typical of a college student’s life. Studying for midterms and finals, pulling all-nighters trying to finish a lengthy term paper that should have been completed months earlier, a rigorous social schedule that being a part of Greek life commands, arguments and disputes with roommates that are bound to come up when you live in a house with 45 other late teens and early twenties young men, and of course relationships.
I had obviously heard the expression “everything happens for a reason” many times throughout my life but had never paid much attention to it. I realized as the years progressed, the smallest event can have such an incredible role in where life takes you. The first of such events was meeting a person by the name of Kevin Olson. At the end of my freshman year, I decided to do what the vast majority of college students do, go home and get a job. I worked all summer at a building supply store counting the days until I could get back to Pullman and reunite with friends for another exciting year. During the school year I was introduced to Kevin through a mutual friend. We had a blast together, enjoying the same things in college that many twenty-year-old men do.
He had told me that he had stayed in Pullman over the summer and in many ways, it was better than during the school year. Fraternities typically only socialized with people of their own house during the year, but during the summer, the walls were broken down and everyone interacted with everyone. I decided to stay the following two summers in Pullman, working odd construction jobs with Kevin for a local contractor. We’d work during the day and enjoy festivities at night. I met so many people that I still stay in regular contact today because of this. Thank you Kevin.
During our last year in school, Kevin had talked about moving away from Washington after college. I had never given the idea much thought but as he continued to put the idea in my head, I grew more excited and we began planning where we should move. I had another good friend, Justin Challain, in the fraternity who had graduated the previous year and moved to Scottsdale, Arizona. He visited a few times that year and raved about the climate, the economic opportunities and the quality of life in general. We decided this was the place we would soon call home.
I graduated in May of 2007 and left the next week for a month long backpacking trip to Europe with four buddies. This was the second life-changing event. I was at one of the guys apartments whom I went to Europe with just having casual drinks when I asked him what he was doing on his computer. He responded that he was planning places he wanted to see on his trip to Europe. I became intrigued as I hadn’t even thought of doing such a thing. Fast forward an hour and a few more drinks and I simply couldn’t find a reason not to go and so he invites me to tag along. I soon realize however that I’m a broke, soon to be graduate college student and have no means to purchase a ticket! Devastating! Where was I going to get this money? I hop on my phone, make a late night call to my Dad and present him with the opportunity to send his son through Europe, something he had done before. The proposal hadn’t even been uttered in its entirety before he said “Book the damn ticket boy!!!”. (he didn’t exactly put it like that but it’s how I like to interpret it J)
Europe was incredible. We traveled through Spain, France, Italy and Monaco all along the Mediterranean. We were fortunate enough to see the America’s Cup sailing race in Valencia, the Cannes Film Festival in Italy, watch the Grand Prix in Monaco, scuba dive off the Island of Ibiza, and have a crash filled motorcycle ride along the Almalfi Coast. Incredible sights, all of them, however one memory that I’ve repeated to many people is always at the forefront of my mind. We had come into Nice, France late in the evening fresh off a lengthy train ride. We were exhausted, dirty, and extremely hungry. We walked endlessly searching for a place to fill our bellies when we came across a small Italian eatery that looked as if they were closing down.
I quickly ran up to an older Italian gentlemen whom I presumed worked there and asked if we could please get something to eat. The man, while reluctant, seemingly noticed the look of desperation on our faces and told use to take a seat at one of the outside tables and he would bring us out something. Soon, the man came out to the table with a few bottles of red wine and some pizzas, we were overjoyed!
The man decided to sit down with us and pour himself a tall glass of merlot. Another older woman and a younger man soon joined us. The man was the owner, the wife the cook, and the son the server. We began a lengthy conversation about various topics. It started with his displeasure of President Bush and normal slams about American way of life. It transitioned into more lighthearted discussions about what we were doing and what our plans were for our vacation. Just as we began to settle up the bill, he said something that has stuck with me to this day. I was telling him how gracious his family was and how happy he seemed when he said and I quote “If I make enough money to pay for my home, the restaurant, and at the end of the day, I’ve got enough left to have a glass of wine with my family, that’s the definition of pure happiness to me”.
This man had such a simplistic, non-materialistic outlook on life. It was truly humbling. It made me realize how easy it is to get caught up trying to become so successful, buy the nice house, drive the expensive car, that without knowing it, one loses sight of what’s truly important and what’ll make you happy when you look back on your life in your later years. Thank you long bearded, broken English speaking, wine guzzling Italian man, I’m indebted to you. No sooner did I finish my trip to Europe, with a brief week long trip to Cancun as capstone to the longest vacation of my life with my friend Keith, did I pack up everything I owned in a Uhaul, picked up Kevin from Spokane and headed to start fresh in Arizona.
Kevin and I rented a condo sight unseen on the internet before we moved and upon arriving and opening the front door, I realized I owned WAY too much stuff for a 600 square foot 2 bedroom place, but we made it work. I landed a great position with DeVry University shortly after moving down. Great pay, nice schedule, and challenging. I lived in Arizona for 3 years and what had just started out with a couple people I knew living there from the beginning, blossomed into a solid group of 25 people from WSU that also decided to move down to call Phoenix home by the time I left.
I knew I never wanted to settle down in Phoenix within about a year of living there. I was having the time of my life but I loved the green of Washington, the proximity to the ocean, the crisp air, the close distance to family and yes, even the rain! I moved into a beautiful home north of Greenlake with 3 of my closest friends, Ryan, Jeff, and Travis in October of 2010 without a job. I was referred to a company called Zillow, a newer dot com real estate company that had tons of potential for big things. It was here that I learned that I really had a passion for speaking to people and the art of the deal. We sold advertising to real estate agents and it was legitimately exciting to do and I was great at it, I loved getting phone calls from clients attributing their business turning around, or being able to put their kids through college because I had convinced them to take a risk on a new way of advertising at just a few year old company.
I had been financially successful at my job in Phoenix but Zillow changed the way I was able to live and allow me to do things that I didn’t think I could. I had a certain goal in mind as to the kind of income I wanted to have by the time I was 30 and I was able to do it by my 27th birthday. With the great success however, came a realization, that I was losing sight of what the Italian gentleman had told me years previous. I was getting so caught up with upping my social status that I began to forget what was really important. Happiness. Was I happy?
In many ways yes, I was able to afford my impulses to do things that I wouldn’t have normally been able to do, help a friend out in a time of need, and sock away funds for my future. I thought I was doing everything right, I had been dating a great girl for awhile, had plans of settling down in the future, buying house and having 2.5 kids, I thought that is what I wanted at the time but I began to realize it wasn’t.
My roommate Travis had been to Asia before, backpacked for a period of 5 weeks to multiple countries and he was adamant to return for another go at it. I was intrigued by this idea and shortly after the relationship I was in ended, I decided to take him up on his offer, booking my plane ticket in July 2011. I knew this was going to be a good trip, but I soon realized in the following months that it was going to blossom into a great adventure.
One of my close friends from WSU, Jeff Carol, graduated from one of the world’s top business schools a couple months after I bought my plane ticket. He landed an incredible job with Microsoft based out of Singapore in late September and soon moved overseas. I was excited for him, excited to have a place to visit while on our trip.
It wasn’t until he came back months later and explained about the culture in Singapore, in Asia, a completely different way of life from what we had grown up with. He claimed it was a cultural melting pot, different outlooks, different ideals, and just plain incredible. I began to think, maybe I should do something like this, work abroad, experience something fresh and exciting, take a risk. I thought to myself, if I were ever to want to do something like this, it had to be now. Just turning 27, no mortgage, no serious relationship, wife or kids, something that would make the risk less practical. So I decided,….I’m in!
I quickly changed the length of my trip from 2 weeks, to 3 solid months. I consulted with my boss about my idea, while he thought it was crazy, he said I had no reason not to go for it. I had made a great impression with the company, consistently performing over what was expected, and after speaking with human resources, realizing if it didn’t work out in Asia, I would be welcome at Zillow.
So now as I sit here one my 12 hour flight to Seoul before connecting on a flight to Bangkok, then Ko Samui, I am excited for what my future holds. The person sitting next to me is a guy named Caleb. A person whom I became friends with once I moved to Seattle who lived with my buddies Paul and Justin. No less than two weeks ago, after a lengthy effort to get laid off for a 5 year long position as a Project Engineer for a large Seattle construction company, I received a phone call. “Alex, I just got laid off!” Never had I heard someone so excited to be unemployed, but he assured me that after 5 years of 80-90 work weeks, little recognition and an almost non existent social life, he was done. He told me that the reason he wanted to be laid off was so he would get a hefty severance package and a cash out on his stock options. The tone of his voice was that of excitement so I was happy to hear he was happy, but there was a lingering tone of something else he wanted to talk about. Caleb had known about my extended trip for sometime now and he asked if he could come over to discuss. He arrived at my house and I explained the countries I’d be visiting while intermittently flying to and from Singapore to line up job interviews. Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos amongst others.
He had a smirk on his face and he asked, “Would you like a travel partner?” I quipped “Abso-$^&#$&ing-lutely!”. He broken out his credit card and booked my exact same flight! Now we’re both sitting here, him not knowing I’m writing about him, about to embark on an adventure of a lifetime. We have no planned hotels, no predetermined route to follow, just the guide of our whim of the day. We’re not sure what’s in store other than we’re excited about the new people we’re going to meet, foods we’re going to taste, smells we’ll sure to be smelling, and places and experiences that are going to be engrained in our conscious forever.
The most important thing I want to take away from this trip, whatever ends up happening, is gaining a more expansive view of others cultures and an understanding of what it truly means to be happy and healthy on this journey that we call life!
I plan on updating this blog along the way and hope that for those that read it, you can take away the fact that you know somebody that at 27 years old is undeniably happy and wasn’t afraid to take a risk at an opportunity that can forever change him for the better. I am so unbelievably thankful to each person who has been a part of my life for without you, I wouldn’t be sitting here today. You are all incredible and always remember, do what makes you happy, take risks, have an open heart and mind to whatever comes your way!
Life has a strange way of taking you directions we couldn’t possibly imagine. Had you presented the question to me my first year in college at Washington State University “where do you think you’ll be in 7 years”, I would have with out hesitation told you I’d be in a career working for US Customs, residing in Bellingham, WA. I truly thought that’s what I wanted to do with my life and was eager to head down that path.
College changed everything for me. I moved into a fraternity my first year, a little hesitant, a little scared, but none the less, excited for a new adventure. I formulated life long relationships with the most incredible people a man could ever ask for. People from all different backgrounds and social classes, some people just looking forward to a fun four years and others determined to make a difference in the world and college was simply a checkpoint on a long and successful journey of life.
I spent three years after transferring from a community college earning a degree in Criminal Justice and Political Science. I juggled the everyday stresses typical of a college student’s life. Studying for midterms and finals, pulling all-nighters trying to finish a lengthy term paper that should have been completed months earlier, a rigorous social schedule that being a part of Greek life commands, arguments and disputes with roommates that are bound to come up when you live in a house with 45 other late teens and early twenties young men, and of course relationships.
I had obviously heard the expression “everything happens for a reason” many times throughout my life but had never paid much attention to it. I realized as the years progressed, the smallest event can have such an incredible role in where life takes you. The first of such events was meeting a person by the name of Kevin Olson. At the end of my freshman year, I decided to do what the vast majority of college students do, go home and get a job. I worked all summer at a building supply store counting the days until I could get back to Pullman and reunite with friends for another exciting year. During the school year I was introduced to Kevin through a mutual friend. We had a blast together, enjoying the same things in college that many twenty-year-old men do.
He had told me that he had stayed in Pullman over the summer and in many ways, it was better than during the school year. Fraternities typically only socialized with people of their own house during the year, but during the summer, the walls were broken down and everyone interacted with everyone. I decided to stay the following two summers in Pullman, working odd construction jobs with Kevin for a local contractor. We’d work during the day and enjoy festivities at night. I met so many people that I still stay in regular contact today because of this. Thank you Kevin.
During our last year in school, Kevin had talked about moving away from Washington after college. I had never given the idea much thought but as he continued to put the idea in my head, I grew more excited and we began planning where we should move. I had another good friend, Justin Challain, in the fraternity who had graduated the previous year and moved to Scottsdale, Arizona. He visited a few times that year and raved about the climate, the economic opportunities and the quality of life in general. We decided this was the place we would soon call home.
I graduated in May of 2007 and left the next week for a month long backpacking trip to Europe with four buddies. This was the second life-changing event. I was at one of the guys apartments whom I went to Europe with just having casual drinks when I asked him what he was doing on his computer. He responded that he was planning places he wanted to see on his trip to Europe. I became intrigued as I hadn’t even thought of doing such a thing. Fast forward an hour and a few more drinks and I simply couldn’t find a reason not to go and so he invites me to tag along. I soon realize however that I’m a broke, soon to be graduate college student and have no means to purchase a ticket! Devastating! Where was I going to get this money? I hop on my phone, make a late night call to my Dad and present him with the opportunity to send his son through Europe, something he had done before. The proposal hadn’t even been uttered in its entirety before he said “Book the damn ticket boy!!!”. (he didn’t exactly put it like that but it’s how I like to interpret it J)
Europe was incredible. We traveled through Spain, France, Italy and Monaco all along the Mediterranean. We were fortunate enough to see the America’s Cup sailing race in Valencia, the Cannes Film Festival in Italy, watch the Grand Prix in Monaco, scuba dive off the Island of Ibiza, and have a crash filled motorcycle ride along the Almalfi Coast. Incredible sights, all of them, however one memory that I’ve repeated to many people is always at the forefront of my mind. We had come into Nice, France late in the evening fresh off a lengthy train ride. We were exhausted, dirty, and extremely hungry. We walked endlessly searching for a place to fill our bellies when we came across a small Italian eatery that looked as if they were closing down.
I quickly ran up to an older Italian gentlemen whom I presumed worked there and asked if we could please get something to eat. The man, while reluctant, seemingly noticed the look of desperation on our faces and told use to take a seat at one of the outside tables and he would bring us out something. Soon, the man came out to the table with a few bottles of red wine and some pizzas, we were overjoyed!
The man decided to sit down with us and pour himself a tall glass of merlot. Another older woman and a younger man soon joined us. The man was the owner, the wife the cook, and the son the server. We began a lengthy conversation about various topics. It started with his displeasure of President Bush and normal slams about American way of life. It transitioned into more lighthearted discussions about what we were doing and what our plans were for our vacation. Just as we began to settle up the bill, he said something that has stuck with me to this day. I was telling him how gracious his family was and how happy he seemed when he said and I quote “If I make enough money to pay for my home, the restaurant, and at the end of the day, I’ve got enough left to have a glass of wine with my family, that’s the definition of pure happiness to me”.
This man had such a simplistic, non-materialistic outlook on life. It was truly humbling. It made me realize how easy it is to get caught up trying to become so successful, buy the nice house, drive the expensive car, that without knowing it, one loses sight of what’s truly important and what’ll make you happy when you look back on your life in your later years. Thank you long bearded, broken English speaking, wine guzzling Italian man, I’m indebted to you. No sooner did I finish my trip to Europe, with a brief week long trip to Cancun as capstone to the longest vacation of my life with my friend Keith, did I pack up everything I owned in a Uhaul, picked up Kevin from Spokane and headed to start fresh in Arizona.
Kevin and I rented a condo sight unseen on the internet before we moved and upon arriving and opening the front door, I realized I owned WAY too much stuff for a 600 square foot 2 bedroom place, but we made it work. I landed a great position with DeVry University shortly after moving down. Great pay, nice schedule, and challenging. I lived in Arizona for 3 years and what had just started out with a couple people I knew living there from the beginning, blossomed into a solid group of 25 people from WSU that also decided to move down to call Phoenix home by the time I left.
I knew I never wanted to settle down in Phoenix within about a year of living there. I was having the time of my life but I loved the green of Washington, the proximity to the ocean, the crisp air, the close distance to family and yes, even the rain! I moved into a beautiful home north of Greenlake with 3 of my closest friends, Ryan, Jeff, and Travis in October of 2010 without a job. I was referred to a company called Zillow, a newer dot com real estate company that had tons of potential for big things. It was here that I learned that I really had a passion for speaking to people and the art of the deal. We sold advertising to real estate agents and it was legitimately exciting to do and I was great at it, I loved getting phone calls from clients attributing their business turning around, or being able to put their kids through college because I had convinced them to take a risk on a new way of advertising at just a few year old company.
I had been financially successful at my job in Phoenix but Zillow changed the way I was able to live and allow me to do things that I didn’t think I could. I had a certain goal in mind as to the kind of income I wanted to have by the time I was 30 and I was able to do it by my 27th birthday. With the great success however, came a realization, that I was losing sight of what the Italian gentleman had told me years previous. I was getting so caught up with upping my social status that I began to forget what was really important. Happiness. Was I happy?
In many ways yes, I was able to afford my impulses to do things that I wouldn’t have normally been able to do, help a friend out in a time of need, and sock away funds for my future. I thought I was doing everything right, I had been dating a great girl for awhile, had plans of settling down in the future, buying house and having 2.5 kids, I thought that is what I wanted at the time but I began to realize it wasn’t.
My roommate Travis had been to Asia before, backpacked for a period of 5 weeks to multiple countries and he was adamant to return for another go at it. I was intrigued by this idea and shortly after the relationship I was in ended, I decided to take him up on his offer, booking my plane ticket in July 2011. I knew this was going to be a good trip, but I soon realized in the following months that it was going to blossom into a great adventure.
One of my close friends from WSU, Jeff Carol, graduated from one of the world’s top business schools a couple months after I bought my plane ticket. He landed an incredible job with Microsoft based out of Singapore in late September and soon moved overseas. I was excited for him, excited to have a place to visit while on our trip.
It wasn’t until he came back months later and explained about the culture in Singapore, in Asia, a completely different way of life from what we had grown up with. He claimed it was a cultural melting pot, different outlooks, different ideals, and just plain incredible. I began to think, maybe I should do something like this, work abroad, experience something fresh and exciting, take a risk. I thought to myself, if I were ever to want to do something like this, it had to be now. Just turning 27, no mortgage, no serious relationship, wife or kids, something that would make the risk less practical. So I decided,….I’m in!
I quickly changed the length of my trip from 2 weeks, to 3 solid months. I consulted with my boss about my idea, while he thought it was crazy, he said I had no reason not to go for it. I had made a great impression with the company, consistently performing over what was expected, and after speaking with human resources, realizing if it didn’t work out in Asia, I would be welcome at Zillow.
So now as I sit here one my 12 hour flight to Seoul before connecting on a flight to Bangkok, then Ko Samui, I am excited for what my future holds. The person sitting next to me is a guy named Caleb. A person whom I became friends with once I moved to Seattle who lived with my buddies Paul and Justin. No less than two weeks ago, after a lengthy effort to get laid off for a 5 year long position as a Project Engineer for a large Seattle construction company, I received a phone call. “Alex, I just got laid off!” Never had I heard someone so excited to be unemployed, but he assured me that after 5 years of 80-90 work weeks, little recognition and an almost non existent social life, he was done. He told me that the reason he wanted to be laid off was so he would get a hefty severance package and a cash out on his stock options. The tone of his voice was that of excitement so I was happy to hear he was happy, but there was a lingering tone of something else he wanted to talk about. Caleb had known about my extended trip for sometime now and he asked if he could come over to discuss. He arrived at my house and I explained the countries I’d be visiting while intermittently flying to and from Singapore to line up job interviews. Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos amongst others.
He had a smirk on his face and he asked, “Would you like a travel partner?” I quipped “Abso-$^&#$&ing-lutely!”. He broken out his credit card and booked my exact same flight! Now we’re both sitting here, him not knowing I’m writing about him, about to embark on an adventure of a lifetime. We have no planned hotels, no predetermined route to follow, just the guide of our whim of the day. We’re not sure what’s in store other than we’re excited about the new people we’re going to meet, foods we’re going to taste, smells we’ll sure to be smelling, and places and experiences that are going to be engrained in our conscious forever.
The most important thing I want to take away from this trip, whatever ends up happening, is gaining a more expansive view of others cultures and an understanding of what it truly means to be happy and healthy on this journey that we call life!
I plan on updating this blog along the way and hope that for those that read it, you can take away the fact that you know somebody that at 27 years old is undeniably happy and wasn’t afraid to take a risk at an opportunity that can forever change him for the better. I am so unbelievably thankful to each person who has been a part of my life for without you, I wouldn’t be sitting here today. You are all incredible and always remember, do what makes you happy, take risks, have an open heart and mind to whatever comes your way!
Here’s to life and adventure
(consume a drink now!)
I'm so far behind on this blog! Love the introduction! I've been wondering HOW you were able to go on SUCH a LONG adventure! Way to go :) Love reading your stories and seeing your pictures!!
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