Doin' Time

Well, it's another weekend come and gone. I didn't get to relax as much as I would have liked to, and it's not looking like I will get to this week either.

I suppose I should just suck it up and take advantage of the busy schedule since I'm sure it'll slow down come winter. Every time I say I'm going to "take it easy this week" I end up not being able to. I have far too many things on the go right now to be able to relax just yet. I'm hoping to catch a bit of a break at the end of October before school starts up because then I really won't have any time for anything. The countdown is on, I'm about two months away from having no life!

Work is also really busy and I haven't been able to catch up yet. Since I've switched offices I've spent a lot of time trying to get organized again. I think I've finally done that, well, the best it can be anyhow.

I spent the weekend taking care of T.Mo's dog George. He kept me pretty busy and reminded me as to how stupid I would be if I got a dog (or any other pet for that matter) at this time. I don't think I'll be getting pets for many years to come. I love animals but I definitely don't have the time to spend with one in order to give it a good life.

Aside from babysitting what can only be described as a toddler with fur, I spent a good portion of my weekend researching businesses, properties, and houses. There's a few things on my mind that I really want to accomplish in the next 5-10 years. Now that I've spent some time looking into what I need to do I figure I will share a bit.

I've been thinking about buying a house and whether or not I would want to buy here or elsewhere. I spent some time looking at the price market on homes in Burnaby and the rest of the province. I decided that if I wanted to stay here I would have to buy a duplex or something because I would not be able to afford the mortgage on a house. I looked at places in Langley/Surrey etc but I just don't want to live out there. I don't have anything against those places but I just feel at home in Burnaby, and it's convenient, central, and has everything I could need or want.

I looked at some homes in Prince George as well but I just don't want to move back there. However looking at the costs of a house there reminds me how insane I am to want to keep living here, but to me the pros outweigh the cons by far.

For now since buying a house is obviously going to be many years from now I started thinking about what I want to do with my hairdressing. Do I want to work for someone else? Do I want to start my own business? What are the benefits of having your own business? Consequently, what are the downsides to having your own business? Would I buy into an already successful franchise, or would I take a risk and try to be successful in opening my own place? Would I buy or lease the property? How do I gain the most amount of experience before starting a business so I can maximize clientelle and profit?

I started reading a few articles here and there and the thought of opening your own business is definitely terrifying. It would have to be my one and only focus in order to be successful. It also means that my life will become very revolved around my work which I'm not entirely certain I'm ready for or if I even want to have a life like that so that decision will be something made over a good amount of time after a great deal of research.

There's all sorts of aspects to it. Obviously if I wanted to open a business it would be, again, years from now so in the mean time I would have to gain the experience and knowledge to be able to pull something like that off.

When I wrote in my last post about possibly leaving the country for awhile, it was in reference to work. Once I am done my course I would like to stay here for one year to gain experience, pay off my student loans, and save up some cash to head out of the country.

I would either like to go to Milan, or London. Since both are major fashion capitals it strictly becomes about "which would have more to offer me?" ... That question doesn't just translate towards work, but also towards "which place would I enjoy more?"

I've been to England before, I spent a day in London so it wasn't nearly enough time to remotely tell if I would like it, but judging by how I felt about the rest of the places I saw in England... I wasn't a major fan. I particularly HATED their food. Ugh English food is terrible. Scotland was fun but again, I've already been there so I'd like to go somewhere I haven't been.

Oddly enough I have always wanted to go to Italy. It's always been on my "list of places to see before I die" so to speak. It just sounds like such a beautiful place and I want to be a part of it for awhile.

The downside to the "wants vs. needs" is that a place in the UK may be more beneficial to my career/experience as opposed to Milan. So what do I do? Do I go somewhere where I may not gain the experience I hoped to but have the trip of a lifetime? Or do I go to a place that I'm not overly fond of to gain the most experience I can? ... I am definitely leaning more towards Italy.

Either way it's not like I will get "bad" experience. I think no matter what I do I'm at least going to enjoy myself. I really just want to take some time out for me and enjoy making my own decisions that aren't influenced by any one else. Once I've come back from my 6-12 month "adventure" then I will return to regular life and start to get myself settled in Burnaby. By that time I will be 25 and will already have started saving towards either opening a business or buying a house, or both. Who knows.

It's a very long time before this all happens, BUT come May of 2011 I'll be going somewhere amazing.