Welcome one and all

Welcome to the new 'Wootpeanuts' which will serve as my blank tablet for writing my stories of misadventure. Complete with the thrilling highs, chilling lows and creamy middles that returning readers from my Australia Wootpeanuts blog have come to expect. For you newcomers, just sit back, relax and enjoy the stories that unfold from my curiosity, naivety, and ability to fall in and out of love at the drop of hat.

First thing is first for all you newbies. Do not ask about the name. Wootpeanuts does not mean anything. The name started as an inside joke with my younger brother and I have since decided that it's uniqueness is something I'm going to continue to utilize. With that out of the way, I do not want to see any emails about the name this time around.

On to the prologue.

3 years ago I found myself stuck in a rut. Working a job at which I felt neither good nor terrible about (although I had my days). Having very impartial feelings towards the career choice that I just spent the previous two years studying for, and falling deeper and deeper into a very dull routine which I had come to know as my life. My only saving grace in these times was the thought of saving my money so I could head to University and get my life on track. This would have been ideal if it weren't for the fact that I felt I would only be going just because "Society" planted a seed in my head convincing me that it was my only choice.

One day at work, sometime between driving a forklift filled with boxes of paper reams and the unloading of a truck filled with new furniture for floor models, it had dawned on me that there had to be more to life than this. There had to be more then 4-6 years of lecture halls and labs. More than making peanuts at a job where you were forced to wear the most uncomfortable shoes ever to grace your feet and a ridiculous shirt which makes you think how terrible of a colour it was on you (even if it was normally a very spiffy looking colour on you outside of work). There had to be more than the four walls that surrounded you and made you feel like it was impossible to think outside of them (whether these walls were your home or office). I pondered these thoughts more and more at the end of my day, when I was supposed to be doing filing and paperwork. I had made a hasty decision. It was time to shake my life up.

After growing up my whole life in Canada and really only knowing my mother's side of the family, I felt it was time to learn about the other half of my blood and travel to my father's old stomping grounds, Australia. While I remember the whole trip like it happened yesterday, the one event that will stand out in my mind forever is the feeling I had when I stepped out of Tullamarine Airport for the first time and realized that everything I knew up to this point probably wouldn't even fill two pages in the novel of my life. It was time to leave my comfort zone far behind me and discover what this crazy upside down world had in store for me. What it had in store was a year full of 'firsts'.

A first time for true freedom. A first time learning about moderation. A first time for discovering that not all people are out for just themselves. A first time for new cultures and languages. A first time for bankruptcy. A first time for falling in love. And of course, a first time for getting shocked by an electrified cattle fence.

Among all these firsts lay a particular event where I found myself at my lowest possible point and only two months into my trip. I was contemplating returning home with my tail between my legs feeling I had been beaten by the land of Kangaroos and Koalas because I felt "life" was against me. This became the first time I took control of my life, gave "life" the proverbial middle finger and a solemn "Fuck you". I learned a valuable lesson and was able to continue my trip for the rest of the year without ever having problems such as this one again.

3 years later. All the bills are paid up, the debts paid off and taken my leave from yet another job (which I will miss dearly). All of this in the name of adventure, exploration and, as silly as it sounds, my gut feeling. I don't know how long I will be gone for. It may be only a few months or may be a year or so. Nevertheless, Whatever the length of time ends up being I feel that I've been pointed in this direction for a reason and I fully intend on discovering what that reason is.

So set up a new bookmark for this site, and get geared up for good times, bad times and everything in between as I discover what the land across the pond has in store for me.

Next Stop: London!