Good night, Melbourne

I’m counting down the hours until my departure in Australia. I’ll be flying out of the country at 10am, but I will start traveling at 3 o’clock in the morning. The trip home will take me the whole day, and if all three flights are on time, I will be in Manila as the clock strikes midnight.

Two and a half months whizzed by so fast, and though I didn’t do anything exciting during this trip, I feel that I am ready to go home and start a new chapter of my life.

This trip is not really about exploring a new place; all of the cities I visited outside of Melbourne (Hobart, Sydney, Geelong), were places I have been to before. It’s about trying out what’s all the hoopla about this location independent thing and to see if it’s for me.

I am very fortunate to have a job that I can take with me wherever I go. Unlike during my previous trips to Australia, this time I asked my client if I can work part time, instead of going on an un-paid leave for three months. To my delight, he agreed, with certain conditions: I get a pay cut, and that I log on at least for a couple of hours so we can discuss what’s needed to be done.

Before I left Manila, I also got contracted to do a couple of projects, which I do on the side. This helped me to recover the income I lost when I went part time. I continued working on them while I was here. With all these going on, you can see why I am not entirely in the mood to write anymore in my spare time.

Still, I am glad to have this trial run, in a place where there is very low risk for me. I do not need to pay rent here, and most of my meals are subsidized. The question in my mind now is, how will I fare when I’m completely on my own?

I guess I’ll just have to find out soon.