But why? I'd just reached my chosen destination. We had a job in the area later that day running a food van for a monster truck event, and I was so excited about seeing the Gold Coast and being by the beach again. So why am I leaving? Because I've become an up-er and go-er.
During our daily ritual of a McDonalds hash brown (all day breakfast in Oz!) and wifi for job searching and facebooking, we found a fruit picking job in an inland town called Gayndah (please maintain your maturity). We rang the number and the guy surprisingly said "sure, it's yours as long as you can get here for this afternoon". Safe to say I was worried. I've heard horror stories about rural farm jobs and I didn't want to get ripped off, or worse. I'm not afraid of hard work, but I am afraid of what else might lie at our destination. After a quick google, we reassured ourselves that we don't have a clue what we're doing, and we up and went.
A few years ago, I was a very reluctant quitter. Now that may sound good on a CV, but sometimes quitting is exactly what you need to live your life. At the time, I was on my own, and I felt like it too. I thought I should be doing what I don't enjoy, staying somewhere I didn't want to be or starting a career that I was already bored of because that's what everyone else was doing. I made some (very thought out and researched) good decisions to move to France, and had a great time. But then I was still reluctant to make a change in times when I wasn't enjoying myself or felt that something was wrong.
When I met Joe, that was a big change that I embraced. I was still me, but now we were us. We're very alike in many ways (like our stupid humour and love for baby otters) but in others we were completely different. Joe wasn't afraid to move if he wasn't enjoying himself. When it came to jobs especially, he would be incredibly loyal to managers he respected - even returning to his Subway branch - but he also wasn't afraid to go "fuck this!" when it was necessary.
Sometimes I was glad for that attitude. Especially when we were both done over by our managers whilst working in Torquay. Ordinarily I would have been scared to leave for fear of letting people down, or not being able to find a job after. I would have grinned and beared it but cried to myself for as long as it was necessary. But instead, I had someone to support me during our rash decision, to be pissed off about it with me as we stormed out, but then give me hope for what adventures were to come.
Since then there have been a few more ocassions where we've up and gone. Some have been thought out, and some haven't - but it's always easier with someone by your side. Like, if this doesn't go right it doesn't matter, we'll just pick each other back up and get on our way. Now, if you're on your own, there's still no excuse for being miserable. If you are the kind of person who needs someone by your side convincing you to do what you know you want to, then this is me saying "do it!". I'm a real person and right now I'm your best friend saying "Get a move on!". As for feeling guilty for leaving people, well I'm not sure I can help with that because I'm terrible for it. But you have to take every situation as it comes. Think about it from other's perspective. Is anyone going to be physically hurt by you leaving? Are you going to break down if you stay? Are you expected to stay? You may think the answer to the last one is yes, but actually most jobs would like you to stay but do not expect you to stay (except maybe the army!). It's your life, so live it.
So anyway, here I am. Sitting in a bar in Gayndah. It is the only thing open in this tiny town which I have now found out is Queensland's oldest town - and it looks like it too. Tomorrow I will be starting work on a farm but have no idea what to expect. Is there even a farm there? Will they pay me? Will I get eaten by a giant killer spider? Find out all this and more next time... if I make it, that is.
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