I’m a planner.
I can’t help it – I like to know what’s going on and have a back-up plan for a back-up plan. Some might say I’m a control freak, but others might agree that it’s just a good practice to have – especially when traveling. I’m fine with some spontaneity, and I’m not the kind of person that plans every hour of every day out on a trip, but I like to be prepared.
This weekend while coming up with yet another potential itinerary for our trip to Australia (I have three so far), my husband said, “I can’t believe the hours you’ve already put into this trip.” Our trip is 17 months away. 515 days to be exact. (In addition to lists, I love countdowns, Excel spreadsheets, and adding side notes in parentheses). We’re going to Australia during one of their busiest times of the year! For heaven’s sake of course I’m going to plan! The words seemed silly to hear, because to me, there’s nothing wrong with having an Excel spreadsheet dedicated to a trip with a calendar marked with where we’d be on what days, budget, etc. I mean, has he forgotten the craziness that I went through during our wedding? I was a spreadsheet lovin’, detail oriented, planning fool!
Once we decided we were going to go to Australia over Christmas/New Years, I knew I had to get ahead of the game. I started emailing hotels in March to determine minimum hotel stays, rates for 2010, and started looking at flight prices (for comparison and budgeting purposes). As of March, a lot of hotels were already fully booked for New Years this year! I probably emailed 25-30 different hotels and have finally determined where we’re staying. I’m counting down the days until December to make a booking!
My biggest pain has been planning week 1 of our 2 week jaunt. We know we’ll be spending 6 days in Sydney due to hotel requirements, but where to go the first week? Having lived there for 8 months, I got to see a lot, but not everything. And in asking Josh what he wants to do while we’re there, his response (“I just want to see a koala.”) was less than helpful. Do we visit Uluru, the Gold Coast, and then head to Sydney? Do we spend a week in New Zealand and only see Sydney? Do we rent a campervan and drive from Adelaide to Sydney? We’re not sure yet – but I promise you that I’ve got a schedule and budget for all of the above figured out. And if we change our mind, and another trip idea comes up, you can be sure that I’ll add to the spreadsheet.
My question to you is – is this normal? 🙂
P.S. And if you’ve been to Oz, feel free to share your recommendations on must see spots. I could always use another back-up plan. 🙂
One of my all-time favorite TV shows is The Office, and when I came across this post on Gadling, I thought I’d share it with my readers, all two of you. I thought it was great how they came up with fitting vacation destinations for the characters on the show. The cast does a great job creating personas typical in an office. I think we all have a ‘Michael Scott’ in our lives, even if you don’t realize it. 🙂
When I interviewed for my current job, we were discussing shows that we watch on a regular basis, and of course I mentioned The Office. I was then asked which character I was most like (I’ve since started asking this question when I interview others). Because I met my husband at work, I felt I was a good bit of Pam, but a part of me really aligns with Angela too. I’d have to say my husband is a good mix of Jim and Dwight too, so naturally we’re a good fit. 😉
So let me get to know you a little more – which character do you find yourself most like? And what’s your top destination choice?
And for a little fun, here’s an “Office” inspired Halloween photo from 2008:
…so I decided to create a blog dedicated to my desire to see the world. I’m constantly finding new places that I want to visit/explore, and my “I want to go there” list continues to grow. This blog will serve as my “to-do” list since I never seem to write down new locations, but it’ll also be a place for me to share with my friends and followers (all 2 of you in total) cool places that I’ve come across along the way. And maybe one day, I’ll start taking requests for research for personal vacations. 🙂
For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Amy. I’m happily married to my wonderful husband who constantly complains that I want to “go everywhere,” though I’m fairly certain he secretly wants to travel too. We’re coming up on our one year anniversary, and I’ve already started planning our second anniversary trip (we’re going to Australia for New Years 2011/2012). I can’t wait!
I’m not certain how often I’ll be posting – I’m hoping it’s at least 2-3 times a week, but we shall see. I hope you stick around cause this experiment could be a lot of fun.
All for now!
