Day One

With the airlines going through such a difficult time in our declining economy, I understand the rise in airfare, the lack of those beloved free meals onboard, the limitations on luggage weight and the fees they charge for extra bags. It's understandable and I don't see any reason to complain - or do I? You see, when I showed up to check in, I planned to check one large suitcase. Unfortunately, it weighed 20 pounds too much. In order for them to allow such a heavy sack of shit on board the plane, they required $80.00. 'OK... Fair enough...' I thought.

"Would the same fee apply if I were to check a second bag instead? If each bag was under 50 pounds?" I asked.

The clerk shook his head and informed me a second bag would only cost $25, as long as both bags weighed less than 50 pounds. Basically, I could check 2 bags at 100 pounds total for only $25, but one bag at 70 pounds would cost me $80.

'Uhhh...?'

Well now, let me try to think about this. There has to be some logic here... OK, I get it. I'm paying extra for the muscle, for the short walk a man must take from cart to plane to carousel while lifting my ridiculously heavy excess baggage. But $55 dollars just for that? I'm betting those guys make mad cash-flow! Or atleast that's the impression I had before doing a little research. According to WikiAnswers.com, they pay is crap: "In the USA an average hourly wage for that kind of work is between $8 and $10 an hour. This is a basic laboring job that doesn't require much intelligence or education. There is little chance of promotion, and you have to work outside in all kinds of bad weather, and also work different shifts to cover all the arrival and departure times of the planes."

I couldn't find specifics for Delta Airlines (the airline I dealt with in particular) but I doubt it gets any better. Poor guys... They're getting cheated with yet another reason to damn the man. But on the bright side, I managed to avoid the $80.00 fee, and considering I made this move with nothing more than $90.00 in my pocket, I was relieved.

Now, on to a more positive topic of blogersation - I LOVE BROOKLYN! My new nanny-family couldn't be more accomodating. While having a delicious dinner at Two Boots (the family-fav), I was welcomed with such enthusiasm! The two girls sat impatiently with their father while their mother and I made our way to the table. I was immediately greeted me with big smiles and bright eyes. There was a hand-made card and a hand-crafted necklace that spelled out my name with wooden beads waiting at my seat. The girls had a hard time taking turns with my attention. They had so much to tell me! I couldn't have felt more relaxed.

After dinner, we walked 3 blocks home. My eyes wandered about, soaking it all in; the tall trees arching over the street, the sandstone buildings, the friendly smiles that passed us by. Park Slope. My new home. I had to hold back the urge to skip and click my heels. The girls couldn't wait to give me a tour of the house. After three flights of steep, creaky steps in a beautiful, old, sandstone building, a colorful banner caught my eye. "Welcome to New York!" The girls took my hands and pulled me inside. My new home smelled of cherrywood and coconut. Family photographs taken by Mom hung proud on the walls above the art-deco furniture. Guitar cases lines the walls. Lamps lit the space with a mellow glow. It was enchanting.

My room was outfitted with a new bed and nightstand, a fan, and a long window stretching from ceiling to floor. A fire-escape hung just outside and a fresh plant sat on the window sill. It was perfect. It is perfect. Now that the girls have gone to sleep, I'm lounging in my new digs with the window blowing in a cool breeze.

I'm so happy I did this.

Who? What? When? Where? Why?

Wanderlust infects the best of us, creeping its way into our minds and contaminating our brains with dreams of distant places. Wanderlust will remain incurable only when an individual is full of bullshit and excuses (for example: poverty, debt, education, etc...) - BUT - I can assure you a loophole does exist! Just as I was starting to think this disease of desperation was doing me in for good, I realized there was a way. And now, my friends, this wanderlust I thought to be a miserable infection of the heart and mind has now become a welcome part of who I am.

So how exactly does a poor, indebted, college student like me find an opportunity to travel? There are plenty of them, really... but I've chosen to take advantage of my childcare experience! My five-year history as a nanny has proven to come in handy as an avenue to distant cities, including paid travel expenses and weekly stipends! And with Craigslist.org at hand, my search for a live-in position beyond the borders of Texas was an easy endeavor.

I fly out to my new home, Park Slope, Brooklyn, in four days, seven hours, and forty minutes! I'll pack lightly to better leave San Antonio behind and I'll make no promises to return anytime soon. I'll hug my beloved mother and miss my incredible friends, but I'll keep putting one foot in front of the other until I find myself watching my half-finished college education disappear in the horizon from my coach window seat.

It seems New York City will make a perfectly sufficient place to start my journey. I'll be living with a young family of four for two months, making just enough to scrape by. While I'm there, I expect to spend my first month exploring and soaking it all in, but once I feel I've taken in enough pavement and noise, I'll start job-hunting online again. I'll begin making plans for Portland, Providence, Mexico City, Vancouver, perhaps Dublin! 'Tis a beautiful thought, eh? But we both know there is a small flaw to my almost-perfect plan - i.e., where will I find another family looking for a temporary live-in nanny? But let's not pop my bubble just yet! It's still new and shiny, and I'd like it to remain inflated for as long as possible. Who knows? Maybe I'll spend a year or two in one place at a time. I guess that all depends on two things: the seat of my pants and the wind...