My Master Plan

So I'm going to be a WWOOFer. For those of you who don't know, WWOOF stands for Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms, and it's an organization that hooks up volunteers with organic farms around the world that need help. Usually, the farms provide lodging and food in exchange for 25 or so hours of work a week. Some require more hours of work. Many tell you to bring a tent. On rare occasion, some provide a stipend. Commitments can range anywhere from a few days to a few months. Every farm is different.

After spending countless summers staring at a computer screen in a dark office, I decided it was time for a change. I worked as a graphic designer/merchandiser at a natural food Co-op in Oregon until just a few days ago. Not a bad job, but after almost 5 years I was ready for something different. I'm 32 and I've spent most of my life working in offices, and I feel like I'm missing out on some basic life experiences. Living in the lush Willamette Valley, working at a food co-op and helping out at our weekly farmer's market, I meet plenty of farmers and farm workers. They talk a lot about their work and their harvests. It always sounds like a harsh life, but it also sound like something I want to experience. Not only do I want to work outdoors and work in the dirt, I want to know that I can do more than just click away at a mouse every day. I think I have some fear of letting go of the conveniences in my comfortable life, and I want to prove to myself that I can do without them.

I also want to travel and see the big bad world. So there.

At any rate, I decided it was time to take action, so I paid my dues for WWOOF-USA (wanted to try it domestically before going abroad), found a vineyard in Utah that needed volunteers, gave my notice at work and started selling everything I owned. I plan to travel and move around for a while, so I needed to do some serious minimalizing. I sold most of my books at the local used book stores, most of my furniture on Craigslist and most of my household items on Ebay. The rest was given to friends (traded a sofa for a nice backpack). It's amazing how fast I can accumulate junk.

It took a lot of work, but I managed to whittle my possessions down to what would fit in my car, aside from a few things left in my parent's attic (books, some sentimental stuff and a surfboard I couldn't bear to part with).

Money has been a concern lately. I recently sold a computer for $500, which made me very happy. The next week, I came down with a toothache and was told I had a fractured tooth that needed a crown. That cost exactly $500, which made me not so happy. I'm doing my best not to worry about it. Someone once told me that money flows—it comes and goes as you need it, as long as you let it. You don't prepare to travel by collecting all the water you need for the whole trip and carrying it around with you wherever you go. Instead, you find water as you need it. In the same way, you'll find ways to make money as the need arises, and it will come to you if you allow it. I like that idea. I guess I'll find out if things really work that way or if the lady who told it to me was totally wacko.

So here I am at my parent's house, the night before I take off. I have four days until I start at the Utah farm, so I plan to spend some time traveling around the mountain states. I also have plans to work at a farm in Montana in mid-July, but I'm still working out the dates for that one.

I'm a little nervous, but also excited. Worse case scenario, I have a sister in Santa Fe with a couch about my size.

Gotta finish packing...