There's just one thing I need to be ok: alone time. Being by myself is how I recharge and find the motivation to keep going. Knowing this, just imagine how sweet it sounded when I was invited to go to the UK to work with a client at his office. It happened last week, and it was music to my ears.
I was pretty excited about the idea of traveling alone for the first time, but I do tend to worry about the unknown, so I triple checked everything: every item in the bag; the bag size; the time of the flight; the train routes; the Airbnb address. I used Street View to try to understand how safe the neighborhood was. I download every information I needed to my phone, tablet, and some I even printed on paper to make sure. You wouldn't catch me off guard. I was prepared. Except for the first time I enter a car and the driver started doing the roundabout in the wrong direction, and I start freaking out thinking that I'm going to die! Yeah, England, I wasn't prepared for that.
At the office everyone was nice. On my first night, we went for dinner and a walk. They got busy catching Pokemon while I had my fun enjoying the view. The following days I made them my own and enjoyed my well-deserved alone time.
On the third day, I decided to get to know my Airbnb hosts; they were a friendly couple, both in their fifties. Surprisingly, it was one of the best conversations I had in a while. They were brilliant. And great listeners. They had accomplished so much and were planning much more; as if their life was just starting. I was inspired. They lived in many places and held multiple jobs. They had two kids who were working/traveling all around the world. We talked for hours on the following days, and they certainly made an impression on me.
When I came back to Portugal, the world was simpler. I felt like I could do anything. I got back that naive feeling from when I was younger; as if I could take over the world!
I've read about it. The wonders of traveling alone. Now I've made up my mind. Next year, I'm exploring the world by myself.
Back to work
This week we hosted the Braga.JS meetup. Unfortunately, I wasn't there, but they told me it was awesome. We also had our usual Friday talks, here are some photos:
Last but not least, the usual, interesting content that we gather from all over the internet.
You Suck at Excel with Joel Spolsky
discovering how Dropbox hacks your mac
Facebook recommended that this psychiatrist’s patients friend each other