The Next Adventure

Well, it's been a while since I read my last blog (2006!) and a lot seems to have happened in a relatively short space of time. But I can safely say after that last trip, that my rucksack has been hung up for a while at least and whilst the yearn to travel, see new places and experiences new things will always be there, just think i like to do it in a bit more style these days!

So....what's next?

Fall in love, get married, have family...but also starting my own business. Where I can have the lifestyle I want, flexibilty, variety, fun and make money. What it's about and what it does, I have no idea, but I know it's there somewhere and can create the lifestyle and opportunities I want and make me passionate and enthusiastic about business again.

What do I know so far...

1) I want to work 2-3 days per week (more of a way of life/work/life balance, than a mission statement!)
2) I want to help businesses change the way they do business
3) I want to work with extraordinary, intelligent, passionate, creative people
4) I want to help them with their creative/unique/health small business - to launch, to grow, to move from small to medium sized without too much pain and whilst keeping the culture a small business and entrepreneurship creates. It's so important to keep this as the team grows and you may need to install some structure and processes but how you keep that spirit, excitement and enthusiasm alive as it grows.
5) Some sort of consultancy, where I can go in, analyse the issues and either problem solve with the owners or come back with solutions myself
6) Help them write a plan, create a strategy, develop the business and make it a huge success with them
7) Teach them how to market and take their great ideas to the market and reach the right audience
8) What else....something around coaching, or mentoring or developing people
9) Working with people one on one; developing and motivating them
10) Having fun, variety, making money and having adventures and new experiences, meeting and working with inspirational and exciting people.

Questions that need answering....
1) How the HELL do i do this?
2) What actually is it I'm offering??
3) How do I make this work financially and life wise? How do I keep the lifestyle I have now and still pay the mortgage etc?
4) How do I get paid to do this, when we all know small businesses can often be limited in money, especially when just starting out?
5) Why am I so different to every other Joe Bloggs out there? And why should I be paid/what do I personally have to offer anyway!

Oh....and what on earth do I call this business of mine?!

So....this is where I'm at. No idea what I'm doing or how i'm going to do it, but I do know there's something out there with my name on it AND it's out there for the taking. I just need to figure it all out now. Which I will.

Will keep you posted...

xxx

Just call me....

....Susie Attenborough!!!!

This past week or so I has mainly been..............snorkelling with sharks, turtles and sea lions!!! Am turning into Dr Doolittle after my week in Galloping Galapagos Islands - think i can speak Sea Lion these days!!! Although might have been a little scared when the shark swam underneath me!!!

Am proud to say we managed to seperate the wheat from the chaff (or whatever the saying is!!) All the Brits and Europeans managed to jump into the water in our swimsuits. Whereas the Yanks all jumped in, in their FLEECE lined wetsuits - bunch of pansies!!!

Off to the coast tomorrow to try and get rid of some of this pastiness before i get home. Back this time next week, if Iberia pilots decide to stop striking!!!! So...all of you get ready for me inviting myself to yours and all of you working, expect lunch time appointments - am aiming "to do lunch" for as long as possible!!!!!

Hope you're all enjoying work!


Adios

me
xxx

ps - remember Sat 5th August! Will send venue details when I get round to being organised!! I live in hope!!
xxx

Hot or not??

Trinny and Susannah would have a field day with this flattering little number....

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/slideshow?a=67b0de21b33951aa45ba&auto=0&idx=55&m=1&d=1150756616773

Hmmmmm....guinea pig, eh?!

Hmmmmmm.......oddily enough i haven't been particularly tempted by the local Peruvian delicacy of roasted guinea pig or "cuy" as it's known here. Not sure if it's maybe because of the way it's served....either squashed sideways OR on it's back, legs in the air and head and teeth still in tact! Hmmmm.....think I'll leave them to remain as Richard Gere's friends only!

Neither have I managed to find Paddington Bear in deepest darkest Peru - obviously a big disappointment for yours truly!

However, I have managed to hike up some ridiculously large inca steps and seen the beautiful Machu Picchu. When we arrived the whole site was covered in mist and I spent most of the morning doing my best Sigourney Weaver, "Gorillas in the Mist" impression!! That didn't quite get the fan base I hoped but the following couple of days i've been dragged into a few photos purely for the gringo factor!! I'll be signed autographs before I go home!!

After a couple of days of hiking in a canyon and getting stitch at 6am each morning (am mean't to be travelling, not up at ridiculous times in the morning!!), on the last day I thought "bugger this" to the prospect of hiking 2,800m at 2.30am and instead took the rather more civilised option of a......mule! Well, if a donkey was good enough for Mary and Joseph, I reckon i'm ok to get me a mule to ride up a mountain!!!!

I've just travelled north from Huaraz - "Touching the Void" terrority. After watching the film again, I opted against the hardcore ice climb and instead pelted a couple of young American brats in a snowball fight on the glaciers. They did deserve it - and not just for being American!!

Am off to Ecuador tomorrow and after that am staying in one place for a few days. Unfortunately have managed to find a place with hammocks and massages on offer - so hope you all enjoy work and i'll concentrate on relaxing!

It's tough this not working malarky!!!

Adios

xxx

Changed my mind!

Ok, so I changed my mind - woman's perogative isn't it?!!

Instead of going up through the north of Chile into Peru, I've nipped across into Argentina in an effort to catch up with Luce.

Had an amazing bus ride from Chile to here yesterday - 5 hours driving through the Andes. Reminded me how much i loved the mountains in Canada, except these were a bit less green and more cacti!!

Been horse riding through the mountains today and have a slightly sore bottom!!!

All my efforts to become a svelte, atheletic goddess in time for my 30th seem to be going out the window. I've been fed cake and bread for breakfast each morning., followed by 2 lots of 3 course meals a day! I doubt the manual labour was hard enough to work a quarter of that off!

In addition i've mainly been working inside the houses, so not sight of the sunshine.

So, in summary - I'm still a short, pasty, weeble!

Ah well, beats working!

Adios
xx

Becoming Sarah Beeny and mis 3 amigos!

OK, Ok, so I'm writing in this blog and NO i still haven't sorted out uploading my photos yet!!

Lighty's got me a flickr account so as soon as i have access to a decent computer i'll try and sort the photo thing out.

So....quick update - 3 weeks in, 2 weeks in Santiago staying with granny and having spanish lessons in the city. Just finished my first week of volunteering and i'm knackered - got blisters on my hands and everyfink!!!

Have moved out of Santiago for the volunteering work - about an hour north in a town named Los Andes. Much happier now i've moved out of the city - being in the middle of nowhere feels much more like travelling than just another big city.

The volunteering work is with Habitat for Humanity and concentrates on house building projects all over Chile. Apparently they believe there to be about 30% of the population below the poverty line and with a housing deficit of approx 3 million.

The way Habitat operate is that they work with families who have a small amount of saving or government subsidiary already and match that and then also provide an interest-free loan for the family to pay back. The family also has to commit to "sweat equity" which is time they need to be involved in building the houses themselves and those that may be built near them. The loan is then paid back over a number of 10-20 years and this money goes to fund the next house and so on...

So......the last week i've done the following:

Pounded 3 floors with a big hammer type thing!
Sealed windows!
Scraped walls and thrown concrete at walls to cover up holes!
Put up guttering and dug holes!

And during this week, the 3 favourite words i've learnt are:

Torpe - clumsy
Inutil - useless
Pecaro - naughty

Need i say more!!!!


The 3 amigos!

Don Mario - new adopted grandad!!! Greets me with a "Bonjorno" every morning and warns me about how coffee and cookies leads to marriage before you realise it!!!! The funniest person i've met so far. Can hardly understand a word he says, just know he's hilarious!!!

Pepe - Chain smoking, hard working "maestro". Favourite words are Ok, ok and bye, bye, bye, bye - and singing "tell Laura, I love her" - to the Canadian girl, Laura - been working with her for the past week.

Christian - Head engineer. In my broken spanish, I managed to tell him on my first day that I thought the dog was nicer than him - and by the end of the week he'd thrown me over his shoulder. SO.....I'm thinking it's not such a bad start to the boss-employee relationship type thing!!!!

Right, off to bed as back to a hard day on the site tomorrow!!!

Now, where did i put those builders bum jeans???!!!!!

Adios!

Uno semana in Santiago!!

Hola!

First week already gone in Santiago!

First sight from the plane - the Andes! If i get clever and work out how to upload the photos then I will!

Second sight - the smog! Apparently it gets worst in the summer months and people can get sore throats just from walking around. You can only really notice it at the moment when you´re up a hill or can see Santiago from a distance.

My host family is a 70 year old lady - typical granny who is very sweet and loves to cook Chilean food. I met the family on the first day (Chileans are very family focused) and everyone gave me some of the local booze!! Pisco sour - delicious!

The rest of the food is nice and erm...slop!!! All home cooked, but for AGES!! So everything is healthy(ish) but fairly mushy.

Tried the following so far:
Empanadas - bit like a pasty with a hard boiled egg and olive inside
Porotas granados - beans and stuff
Corn mush - cooked corn

They love their beans and their bread!

Had one week of Spanish lessons and am still completely useless! One week left and then i´m off to volunteer and "save the world" as Petesie would say!

Spent the weekend in one of the oldest places in Chile - Valpariaso. Resulted in being followed around by stray dogs, stumbling back to the hostel at 3am and having to throw stones at the window to be let in, because the hostel owner was too stoned to hear us ringing the door bell!!

Ahhh, how i´d forgotten the ways of travelling!!

Right, am off for tea and another espanoleglesa conversation with granny!!!

Hasta la vista

xxxx