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Life Updates


Once again, I’ve fallen off the face of the planet. Excuse: traveling distracts me from blogging because I am constantly living in the moment, enjoying the adventures from day-to-day. I don’t feel the need to jot everything down as it’s happening because it feels like I’m disrupting the experience. Also, it’s annoying to carry my laptop with me everywhere. Sorry ‘bout it!

New year’s resolution: no more excuses for not blogging. I’m going to have to put a quarter in the “Neglect Jar” every time I neglect writing a post for more than a week. I’ll be rich by the end of the year. Or broke. Already owe a quarter. Almost two…

Since my last blog post, a lot has changed yet again. That’s kind of what I’m going for: constant change. The most growth comes from being the most uncomfortable, and the most discomfort comes from chronic instability.

First, I’m in England: land of the queen, fish n chips, and tea. Lots and lots of tea. “Wait, Mason. Don’t you teach English?” Why yes, yes I do. But I teach online to give me the flexibility to do exactly what I’m doing, traveling the world and still making a buck or two. I’m visiting my sister, Mackenzie, who is doing an exchange here with her engineering company. She’s based in Birmingham, which is in central England, which allows me to travel easily throughout the UK. Soon, I’ll venture into mainland Europe and continue exploring. More on that in just a minute.

Second, I’ve switched online companies! Instead of working for Topica Native, I got hired to work for a different company called 51Talk, which is based in China. They’re schedule is more concrete (which isn’t the best thing for me because it’s not as flexible, being from 10:00am – 1:00pm Monday-Friday), but they pay much better for the same amount of work. I’m debating if and when to start working with them because they have a 6 month contract, and I’m not even sure what I’m doing next week, let alone where I’ll be in 6 months. I might decide to just travel, depleting my entire savings account, having the adventure of a lifetime, and eventually ending up in Asia where I can restock my finances. Sounds like a good plan, right? We’ll see how long I can delay starting a contract with 51Talk before they update our relationship status to “It’s Complicated.”

Third, since I’ve been in the UK, I’ve fallen in love with it. It’s such a great place for so many reasons.

1. Public transportation is efficient. When they say a train will be there in 3 minutes, they actually mean a train will be there in 3 minutes. They even will tell you on the electronic billboards if it will be delayed, and in how many minutes you can expect its arrival. It’s beautiful.

2. There is an incredible amount of diversity here. And with that, a great array of food options, authentically prepared from all corners of the world. Indian, Greek, Japanese, Brazilian, Canadian. You name it, there’s a spot for it somewhere nearby, probably just around the corner or a short train ride away.

3. The people are great. Mackenzie’s friends that I’ve met are a good time, and all the locals I’ve met on my travels are good for a laugh, kind, and genuinely good souls. Not to mention the accents. Although the UK is small, each city has its own accent. Even if they’re only an hour apart by train, the accents can be totally different (SPOILER ALERT: None of them sound like the typical London accent, except for the City of London). Also FYI, they love American accents as well – great for the dating scene. Wink.

Fourth, my stay in the UK has been longer than expected, and is going to be even longer. When I first landed at the end of October, I thought I’d only stay for a couple of weeks before heading on to mainland Europe. I didn’t anticipate loving it here as much as I do, and enjoying all the smaller towns that normally don’t make it on the traditional tourist agenda. Yes, I’ve been to the typical cities like London, Birmingham, Manchester, and Edinburgh up in Scotland. But I’ve also been able to go to Solihull for Bonfire weekend, York, Liverpool, Stratford-upon-Avon, Loch Ness, and Glasgow. I also plan on visiting Coventry, Bristol, Cambridge, Oxford, Cardiff, Brighton, Leeds, Lake District, and Belfast before my time in the UK is up. Seems like a lot of places, right? It kind of is, because I still have quite some time left before I pack up and jump onto the next adventure.

Why? Well, I’m glad you asked.

First, I need to renew my passport, which will take 6-8 weeks. My current passport expires in August, and you typically need 6 months validity to enter a country.

Second, an old knee injury flared up, which complicates my travel plans, making me change them. Well, I guess I asked for it because I’m going for “constant change’ and all that…

When I was at the beach in Costa Rica over the summer, I did something to my knee that felt like I popped it out. Once I straightened my leg though, it felt like it popped back in and everything felt normal. It didn’t hurt, didn’t swell, and I didn’t have any issues with mobility or flexibility. I took it as a fluke and went on with my life. But then it happened again the next week, and then the week after that. So when I was back in California, I went to my GP to get it checked out, then to a physical therapist. They both said it was stable, functioning normally, and would heal on its own, so I should just wait it out.

Fast forward to my adventures in the UK. I normally walk 6-8 miles a day, have a backpacking backpack that weighs around 35 lbs, with my smaller backpack weighing anywhere from 4 -10 lbs. Add in dancing at clubs, killer dance moves, and a genetic predisposition to make friends who like to buy me drinks, and it’s a perfect storm for flaring up a knee injury.

When in Liverpool, I popped my knee out after such an evening. After popping it back in place, I had to rest up for a day or two until it felt completely back to normal. But, I decided to get a knee brace and not go too crazy until it felt back to normal. Lucky for me, it felt back at 100% after a week and half. Unlucky for me, I was wrong.

When I was in London about two weeks after Liverpool, I was adventuring about, seeing shows like Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Parts 1 and 2) and Les Miserables, sight-seeing, and partying my face off at the gay village in Soho. Cue those killer dance moves and my genetic predisposition for making friends who like to buy me drinks, and BAM, out comes the knee. Only this time, I couldn’t pop it back in.

After a trip to the UK version of the Emergency Room and the assholiest (which should definitely be a world – everyone, tell Webster) doctor I’ve ever met, I Ubered back to my hostel with my tail between my legs and some crutches under my arms. Although I genuinely enjoyed my time in London, particularly because I got to watch Harry Potter, I felt like I was the Cursed Child. Hold your applause for bad puns.

Since I’m a Libra through and through, I’ve been able to weigh the pros and cons of this situation.

Cons first: I’m on crutches; it takes 6-8 weeks to heal properly; I have PT exercises to do every day; and have iced my knee more times in the past 3 weeks than Donald Trump has played golf during his presidency (translation: A LOT).

Pros: I genuinely enjoy Birmingham, so it’s going to be nice to stay here for a while longer; I’ll be able to travel around the UK a little bit more while I renew my passport and ensure my knee heals properly; I’ll probably join a gym to expand on my PT exercises and get back into some kind of physical shape (I’ve been slowly turning into a blob fish, see image below for comparison); and I’ll be able to start working as a private instructor. I actually have one student for private tutoring now, and we’ve been doing lessons for about two weeks. I didn’t realize how much I missed teaching until we started classes, and it feels good to have something to occupy my day now that I’ve been having to rest up so much.

And with that, my friends, I bid thee adieu! Those are all the updates in my life for the time being, but be on the lookout for another blog post in the next week or so. Although, I’d recommend not to hold your breath! I’ll try not to fall off the face of the planet again, but if I do, I’ll try not to fall on my bad knee. Take care, and Happy New Year 2018!


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