Remembering goals and where I am now? Big news on the adventure front!

Ben Wilson kites Cloud Breaks in Fiji

When looking at the above picture, I am pretty awestruck by the size of balls Ben Wilson has.  I imagine that even him, as he rides out beyond the break and gets ready to ride in and then drop in on a monster like this, is full of nerves, an almost sickening anticipation of the unknown variables a wave of this magnitude can throw at a rider, and he might even have a little doubt creeping in telling him that what he is about to do is nuts...and yet, I bet if you ask him, the moment he drops in on a wave like this all his nerves, anticipation, fear, anxiety, doubt....everything...goes completely still in the moment.  And in that moment he feels more alive than he ever has. 

And what does this have to do with me?

At the moment I feel like I am just about to drop into the biggest wave of my life!  Hopefully I have prepared enough for this endeavor, such that I am ready, willing, and able for tackling this next adventure of life head on......that I won't crash or wipe out..... but instead I will have "the ride of my life"!

OK, still confused?

In April of 2014 I gave my notice to my employer that Friday, Jan 16, 2015 would be my last day at work.  Around a month later my wife, Becky, gave her employer Amazon.com notice that her last day would be Jan 9th 2014.

That's right, in what is now only 3 months away, the two of us will be voluntarily ending our current careers in the tech world, we will rent our house out, and start chasing the wind with our 2 year old daughter Avy in tow.  That's the big news on the adventure front!

So, if you have been following me since this blog started or if you have ever read old entries, then you know that this has been a dream of ours for some time.  My first and second blog entries in fact detail our plans....although that was roughly 4 1/2 years ago, much of it is applicable and I feel like we have reached the first step of our goal. 

First post:  http://windrocker.blogspot.com/2010/01/start-of-adventure.html

Second post: http://windrocker.blogspot.com/2010/01/10-year-plan.html

One thing I might note out, that the second blog post gives our 10 year plan, then a list of steps.  Well, we are almost exactly 5 years into the plan...so hopefully 5 years from now we will have a successful business somewhere with perfect wind and weather.

This is why I say I can feel some affinity to Ben Wilson right before he dropped in on this big wave, because as January approaches I have the all the feelings one might experience before dropping in on a monster wave; nervousness, anticipation, fear, anxiety, doubt....and while I may not be fearing for my life, there is still quite a lot of risk involved with a lifestyle change of this magnitude.

That being said, just like dropping in on a giant wave takes a ton of preparation, practice, planning, and calculated risk, so does making a lifestyle change of this magnitude. I believe that Becky and I have done the same things...prepared, practiced, planned, and worked towards minimizing the risks that throwing comfort to the wind and pursuing our dreams will involve. (pun intended) 

So, before I detail any specific itinerary, I think I will overview with you the plans, preparation, practice, and risk minimizing steps we have taken to make this new adventure and lifestyle a reality.

 1) Become self-sufficient kiteboarders: 

While this might seem liker a no brainer, of course, the first step was for Becky and I to both become self-sufficient kiteboarders.  That has been done and both Becky and I could certainly be considered self-sufficient kiteboarders at this time.

2) IKO certification: 

Well, in my first or second blog post, which was extremely early in our kiting careers, I put out there that both Becky and I would become instructors.  That being said, Becky spent roughly two summer seasons busy....either pregnant or nursing an infant.  So, becoming a kiteboard instructor didn't happen for her.  However, I became an IKO certified kiteboard instructor in May 2010.  I worked for 5 summers with Urban Surf Kiteboarding teaching lessons on Jetty Island in Everett, Washington. Last month, Sept 2014 I officially became a Level 2 IKO certified kiteboard instructor and now am qualified to be a Head Instructor for an IKO center.

This means that once we are traveling, I should be able to work as an instructor at the various locations we decide to call home temporarily.  Hopefully if all goes well, I will be able to support us by paying for food and board while we are there.  This will keep us from dipping into our savings to support day to day living expenses.

3) Conceive a child before leaving :

Conceiving a child before leaving might seem like a weird goal.  But roughly 4 years ago or so as we really started getting serious about making this life change, one thing that came up (Becky brought it up) was that when we got married I promised her I was okay with having at least one child.  So, then the questions became "Do we leave early and have a baby in another country or do we stay for another year or two, have a baby in the US under our current health insurance plans?"  Obviously we choose the second option.  Having Avy has been one of the most awesome experiences ever.  And now that she is 2 years old, she is at the perfect age for us to make this change in our life and take her with us.  She is just finishing up her potty training, can eat pretty much anything (even likes spicy food sometimes), she can tell us if she feels sick or something hurts, etc, etc  Anyways, we are primed and ready, and I think Avy is going to have a blast and really grow from this experience as much as both Becky and I will.

4) Save a nest egg and pay down debt:

By next month I will have my 2009 Mazdaspeed3 paid off and  I will be left with only my college school loans, home mortgage, and a little credit card debt.  Before leaving Becky and I will have paid off the credit card...so really I will only be left with my college loans to worry about, as the mortgage should be taken care of by renting our house.

As far as saving a nest egg goes, Becky has been saving her Amazon stock allotments and options for roughly 5 or more years....basically since 2008 actually.  While this is the primary outlet for us saving a nest egg, we feel pretty confident that we have enough to travel on and to invest in a business once we find the right place to post up.

5) Leave our employment in good standing:

Now I know giving our employers such a long notice of our leave seems somewhat crazy, but hey, we had big shoes that needed filling and we both wanted to leave our departments and coworkers in a good position when we leave, rather than give them short notice and leave them short handed.  As such, both of us have hired and trained our replacements and at this point we are working to hand off all of our responsibilities to our replacements or to others within the company.  With such a long time for preparation, we both feel real good about leaving and about the fact that we will be held in good standing and of high opinion by our employers.  We have effectively ensured that we are not burning any bridges as we jettison from our current lifestyle and career.

6) Upgrade our equipment before leaving:

Before we leave we certainly had the goal of making sure we have current gear with lots of life left.  For myself, I also had the goal to be able to produce music and DJ while we are on the road.  As such, I have upgraded not only my kiting gear but also my music setup.

For kiting Becky upgraded to a 2013 11m Naish Ride and a 2012 Naish Moneyshot 132cm.

I upgraded my wetsuits to a full suit 5/4/3, a 3/4 length suit, and a shorty.

I got a 7m, 10m, and 14m Naish Park kites in 2012 & 2013.  

I got Ronix Park bindings.

And this week I got my new boards in, just in time for our trip.  A 2015 Naish Dub 138 and a 2015 Naish Skater 5'2.  Let me tell you, I am stoked as hell to ride these boards!!!

As far as DJ and music production equipment goes, I have made my music production system fully portable with a new laptop, a Mac Book Pro, and an Ableton Push controller with Ableton software. For DJing, I haven't yet, but will be upgrading to a new Dj Controller sometime in the next month or so.

And that's about it.  Certainly there are a myriad of other things we have had to handle, but this list was the most pressing and important in at least one sense.

Just like Ben Wilson, who with all of his training, practice, and preparation essentially gained the confidence that he could successfully ride the wave before he ever dropped in on that beast, Becky and I are also confident that we have accomplished the things we needed to accomplish prior to taking the leap and deciding to ride the wave of fate to a new lifestyle, reality, and home waiting for us on some sunny, windy beach....

I am hoping that come Feb 1st or so as we fly out into the unknown, that just like Ben Wilson on the face of this monster wave, all anxiety, nervousness, doubt, etc, will disappear as we live in the moment, enjoy life and quality time with each other, along with the wind, water, and sun that is awaiting us on a distant shoreline.  In those moments, I am sure we will be having the "ride" of our lives.

What do you think?  Do you have aspirations to ride a monster wave, be that a real one or a metaphorical one?  If so, I say GO FOR IT!!!!

I still have a few updates to add to this blog, like a recap of our trip to Cape Hatteras in April of 2014, so stay tuned.

Also, itinerary will be forthcoming in the next month or so.......