First steps to bigger things

One of the biggest realisations over the past few days is the realisation of the privilege that I have over the next few months; financial and geographical freedom to explore and mould the entirety of what I wish to do with my life, and yet try and enjoy it all and take in the natural beauty of what surrounds us in the new places Sonam and I explore. In a way, what overriding emotion I have these days is fear. And not fear that I feel most people expect me to have; "will I get a good job at the end of it all?", "have I made a mistake?" etc. I'm really not worried about any of those things, at all. Mostly just "Will I make the most of it?" That fear is natural because most people, throughout the world, when given freedom and time, do very little that is worth doing with it. We fill it, perhaps if we are lucky, with fun memories that shape a very small part of our life and gives us a little break before we get back on the treadmill of churning out paycheques for a company or corporation. The last week has been filled with errands; wedding planning, packing, job interviews on the phone, selling my car (part 1 to getting that convertible!), and beginning the gruelling uphill climb that will be my journey to lose weight and get into shape. It kind of sums up what we mostly do with free time. Get shit done before life gets in the way again. 

One thing that really struck a chord with me of late was the documentary "The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz". For those who haven't seen it, it's a fascinating tale about a brilliant genius, and without going into the mildly depressing yet inspiring details, one quote that struck me was from his ex-girlfriend, who said "Aaron believed you ought be asking yourself all the time, 'what is the most important thing in the world that I could be working on right now?' and if you're not working on that, why aren't you?"

I know, I know, its an extreme view, but one that makes me think twice about what I should be trying to achieve over the next few months. Instinct draws people like me, and most people, to find security, stability, and THEN go innovate and explore. But that defies the purpose of freedom, and the adventure it is supposed to provide. How can you really enjoy trying something new, if one eye is always looking at the safety net you expect to drift towards someday soon? 

Anyway, I have taken a mini step to two things on the bucket list. 

Firstly, I sold my rude boy class Golf GTI for a bargain price of 3.5k. As it turns out I was much more of a rude boy than I thought, and I'd massively ruined random parts of it over the years, and the cost of getting it fixed was really not worth it to try and achieve a few extra hundred pounds. Either way, it takes me past the $5k mark, which means I can most probably buy an awesome old convertible in 'murica and get it insured. Let the road trips to new places begin.

Secondly, I signed up to a Fintech Meet Up group in LA. My start up idea is a Fintech Idea effectively. In fact I have two that I think would be handy. But the group is meeting a week after I land, and I can't wait to see the amazing things people with similar interests, and potentially similar ideas, are working on. 

So, in between now and LA, I'll be working on trying to figure out what it is I want to be working on, and all the while remembering to have an amazingly fun time. Phew, being unemployed is exhausting..

Also, this is a Chune my rudeboy ex-car would be proud of. Also, it makes me excited for that wedding we're planning..

Bucket lists

Elephant in the room to start the blog (strange metaphor, who the hell would sit politely not discussing an elephant in a room): Why am I unemployed again? Well, after many a fun year at Mako, the desk I was on wasn't going to plan, and the other avenues at Mako just weren't for me. So, I resigned just in time to gatecrash my better half's adventure to LA, and I decided to join the unemployment statistics as opposed to watching them published on Bloomberg. 

Now, for those who don't know what I do, I am an interest rate options trader. Or in the words of my parents, an 'internet banker'. Anyhow, in simple terms, I look and trade made up numbers that are created by using implied numbers, that are also made up, but try to predict how another made up number will move. This made up number is driven by what people think the main underlying made up number will be at sometime in the future. Anyway, I digress, but my main point is that having stepped away from fantasy land for a short while, I've decided to try and do as many 'real' things as possible, and hence figure the best way is to try and create a really long bucket list (apparently a term that arises from 'kicking the bucket'/ dying), and hopefully that'll ensure I get to do at least some of the things in the next three months.. 

1) Get fit enough to do an endurance running event/cycling event. 
I've been putting 'Ran New York Marathon' on my CV for so long that when I looked at it this time I was tidying it up, it felt so long ago that it felt like one of those lies on your CV that you have made up and repeated so many times its the truth in your head. Well, although it's true, it'd be nice if that sense of achievement was a fresher memory! Plus, it'd be nice to be in shape that wasn't round for when me and Sonam get married next year! 

2) Do an interesting new job that I've not done before
a) Well, I always figured that being a labourer would be a really easy way of getting fit. But then, looking at the general shape of most of our builders here in the UK, I'd only be heading in towards a more spherical shape. Still, I like the idea of trying that.
b) Another job I thought of trying was working in a restaurant, as an assistant, or waiter, or something like that. Ideally cooking, but I can't see an American Diner arming their kitchens with a vegetarian with no professional experience. 
c) Well, this is probably the most ridiculous, but I always thought it'd be fun to be a detective (I have based this on solid evidence; Columbo, Quincy & Perry Mason were amongst my favourite TV shows) and the closest I could find on google was Private Investigative Assistant. I can only imagine I will get myself killed or beaten up, but still, I reckon it'd still be pretty thrilling. Saying that, perhaps the reality of this job is just watching husbands and wives be very unfaithful to one another. So far, 2 pretty solid negatives for one hopeful positive. Maybe put a pin in it for now.. 
d) I am currently doing a stint of volunteering in my local area for Older people. Its pretty rewarding, and I'm helping a quirky ghanaian ex-prince write his autobiography from the smallest studio in London, on the oldest and slowest computer in London. Anyway, while I'm over in LA, I want to find another ghanaian to sit next to and type for. Well, not quite, but I do want to do some form of voluntary service, it feels good to occasionally get some perspective. 
e) Do some journalistic work out there. 

3) Work on a couple of start up ideas - I couldn't possibly go to the west coast and not start a new business. That'd be like going to the west coast and not eating kale. Which, by the way, is a disgusting version of spinach and letuce, and can see it being one of those vegetables increasingly thrown at vegetarians in nice restaurants. Like butternut squash. This has none of the goodness of butter, or the tastiness of nuts, and isn't even a nice colour like orange squash. It's a miserable vegetable that hasn't really decided what sort of taste its going for, or what exact texture it wants to be when it's cooked. Anyway, can restaurants just use potatoes please? They're fine. Anyway, start up stuff - to be continued. 

4) Learn to play a sport better, ideally with Sonam - I'm open to Cycling, Tennis, Badminton. We shall see which piece of equipment I plan on using just the one time. 

5) Visit 3 New countries

6) Find a new job that provides the option of moving abroad one day! 

7) Learn how to shoot. One of my good friends, Simon, is a bit of a gun enthusiast, and he lives out in LA. He owns weapons and has asked me to learn how to shoot. Pretty simple why it made the list really. 

8) Try 3 new cuisines. I like to think I've tried a fair few different cuisines, even as an awkward veggie. As much as I love my mum's gujarati cooking, I hope to explore all sorts of new dishes as I can.

9) Buy American Convertible car. Something cool like below:

So that will do for now, I feel I've already got a list longer than is humanly possible in the time I have out there. 

In the meantime, this song is cool, and its apparently about Buckets. Let the adventure begin!