So many people I talk with when I am traveling have similar ideas about life. Most are taking a break from something, or have one month off and decided to see the world in a whirlwind of travel. When I spend time with Couchsurfers here in Bangkok, I am presented with a completely different mind set. The people I have been hanging out with here have real jobs, and are doing very well for themselves. One guy owns several buildings here, and runs four companies. He is wealthy, educated, and connected both here and in the states. He has already offered to help me out if I want, and while I was initially excited about the possibilities, I now realize that I don’t want to even begin looking for a job now, even if it was one I would be stupid to turn down. (Already turned down a pretty damn good one to come over here)
The whole idea of networking and setting up possible futures is something that has a place when you are uncertain about where you are going, or are working back home and want to always better your social position. Currently, social status means jack to me. I am a traveler, moving randomly from one location to the next whenever I feel like it. I have no ties to anywhere, and no obligations to anything or anyone other than myself. (Well, I am still paying AT&T for my cell phone plan back home… the bastards.)
This means that conversations with employed people who are plugged into the working life are always a little awkward. They want to offer me positions, see what I can do with web pages, pay me to build them one, and for a while, this was what I wanted. But now, I just want to have no obligations. After a while I have to tell them that I am not really looking for a job now, and they give me a slightly odd look, as if I am somehow crazy, but they can’t put their finger on why they think this.
Last night I went out with some Couchsurfers in Bangkok, and we had a really fun, crazy night. We went to a club for a while, then left and went to another club owned by the same person, who knew one of the couchsurfers, so we spent the night getting a tour of his $120 million property that he is renovating, and got all of our drinks for free. Afterwards, we went back to the Sheraton Bangkok where Ryan, a couchsurfer, has been put up in a very expensive Grand Suite. We spent some time in the hot tub before making fools of ourselves to the front desk guy in the lobby at 3 am.
It is going to be a rough transition back to the real world when I get home, but maybe I can find a way to work and have fun with it, instead of sitting at a desk from 9-5, five days a week. If I budget right, I think I can get by with three to four months of work a year, then spend the rest in 3rd world countries. Just kidding Mom, but not really.
So… random trail of thought as I sit here, slightly hungover from a night out with these highly successful people who want me to send them my resume. My resume? Not for a while my friends, not for a loooong while.