This Writer’s Life: Plane Ticket to Paradise

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As a writer,

a person who lets her fingertips tap dance back and forth across a keyboard for hours each day

in coffee shops and cafes,

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I’m mobile.

I’m flexible in hours and location and lifestyle.

My office, my whole career, is tangled in the web. And my book- that weight loss memoir I’m penning at age 27- she’s locked up tight in a 14” PC prison.

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So long as I’ve got a computer, I’ve got a career. So long as my fingers remain unsprained and my mind undisturbed (who’s kidding who?), my chosen field is sprawling. Limitless, really.

And so this year,

being freer than I’ve been in many years, as a professional writer, I’m going to travel to places far away and write. Mostly because every morning that I wake up, I say to myself,

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Andie, you’re blessed and bold, go

see

do

tell

scare yourself

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teeter on the very ledge of your comfort zone.

Tomorrow I’m leaving the States and traveling to Central America for two and a half months of living in small beach towns, surfing communities, and jungles-

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places that hopefully embrace a gal in the same bathing suit six days out of seven, lounged and locked lips with her laptop.

But as for you and me,

what really matters here,

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not much will change. I’ll be online daily. I’ll be writing just as I always have.

I’ll still be cooking and eating lustfully, though perhaps more exotically. Which,

I think

we’ll both enjoy.

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And you’ll be here too, through jungle-d pictures and insect bites and sun-burned posts and *precarious adventures.

*Someone comfort my mother.

Same blog, different country.

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74 thoughts on “This Writer’s Life: Plane Ticket to Paradise

  1. BeBe

    Wow. I am so envious. I hope one day to not only be in my happy physical place but to be writing, professionally, as my career.

    *sigh*

    Don’t forget sunscreen

    Reply
  2. Chelsea

    I did that about 10 years ago, for a full year. It was amazing! Perspective is the best thing about traveling. It will change you forever. Don’t forget about El Salvador and Nicaragua. Have fun and be safe, lucky girl!

    Reply
  3. Stacey

    This is my dream! Someday…..when the kids are grown. What an amazing time in your life! Enjoy!

    Safe travels.

    Stacey

    Reply
  4. Lu

    I’m from Costa Rica. Are you heading in that direction by chance? I’d love to give you some of my favorite out-of-the-way destinations. You are so lucky to be able to travel like this. Safe journey, my friend. Enjoy every minute of life, at every turn. Can’t wait to hear all about your adventures.

    Reply
    1. admin

      LU! Yes, I’ll be staying in Costa Rica for most of my time in Central America. First- Puerto Viejo, then Manuel Antonio. I would adore your suggestions, friend!

      Reply
      1. Bea

        Hi there,
        I’ve been following your blog for some time now and loving every tasty morsel of it! I’m so excited to hear you’re traveling to CR! I ventured down there in 2010 for about five months and stayed for about a month in Puerto Viejo! I think I may have had a mango a day the entire month down there. Also, if you find yourself traveling through the Los Santos region, you might find yourself some avocado ice cream. YUM! Buenas suerte!

        Reply
  5. Tracy

    Doll,
    I am so super excited for you! This is amazing. I am so jealous but excited to be part of your exploring. I cannot wait for what is to come. Please share all the details!

    Reply
  6. Lauren C

    How exciting! Congrats!
    This post couldn’t have come at a better time….I’m going to be starting a new job myself and I’m terrified-but seeing those few lines you wrote? It was reassuring….Thank you!

    Reply
    1. admin

      Hey K,
      No, DeeDee will stay here with her mom and dad (my parents) in all her pug glory. And, sad to say that Daniel and I broke up.
      Andie

      Reply
      1. Lisa

        Sorry to hear that, but what a perfect time to go on this adventure – Soak up EVERY MINUTE! Have a great time! Can’t wait to read about it from my boring cubicle :-)

        Reply
      2. Katie G

        Oh dear, I am so sorry for bringing that up then . Even more so then, I wish you the best of luck on this exciting adventure and look forward to you finishing your book–the sooner for us to read it!! I haven’t anticipated a book this badly in my life, just so you know how awesomely awesome you are to me. :-D

        Be safe, eat well, and have fun!

        Reply
  7. Kristen

    That’s so wonderful!!! I hope you have the best experience ever. Have you considered adopting the “Yes Man” mentality? Saying yes to any (physically safe) opportunity could make it even MORE interesting. :)

    Reply
  8. johnny

    I applaud you and your adventurous life! So many dream of such adventures but so very few actually live them! Good luck and Great times I pray for your journey.
    Looking forward to hearing all about it!

    Reply
  9. marian @ MarianWrites

    Andie,

    This post is so inspiring. I am currently traveling too, and am simply adoring the ability to just experience and write and LIVE. Do you have any advice for a gal who wants to keep writing, and possibly pursue it as a career? And maybe travel the world while doing so?

    Thanks a million, and I hope your tropical fruit is bountiful.

    Marian

    Reply
  10. Amy

    Oh Andie! Good luck in your travels, I hope they bring you so many wondrous adventures and delicious forays into local culture :) this year I am taking a big left turn in my career as a dietitian and am going back to graduate school to learn about writing, editing and publishing. I have to thank you for a part in this decision, you are a role model for what I would like to pursue for my profession and a source of inspiration. I wish you all the best in your new home and as a fellow gypsy, safe travels always.
    xx Amy

    Reply
  11. Jennifer

    Wow, this sounds absolutely amazing! I am so glad to have found your blog, you are a great inspiration and part of the reason I am thinking of going into writing myself. Have a fabulous trip. Cannot wait to see all the yummy food and scenery.

    Reply
  12. Ferreh

    I just recently started following your blog, so I’m very excited to see where your journey takes you and to live vicariously through your travels! Have fun!

    Reply
  13. Damyon

    I love quest stories. Please make this a quest. Let’s say, Merlin sends you on a quest to find the golden grail from which the king must drink to save his life, kind of quest. Along the way, you find out more about yourself than find the grail, which is really the quest. I send you all of my best wishes on your adventures.

    Reply
  14. Lanae

    I am green with envy! But so glad I get to live vicariously through you and your
    travels. Be safe sweet lady and ENJOY!!!

    Reply
  15. Carole

    So looking forward to hearing about these new adventures! Just keep telling your mom you’ll be careful. Over and over. :)

    Reply
  16. Kelly B.

    Find a blooming Jacaranda tree to sit under and eat some fried plantains, black beans and rice and a Carambola for me! I am happy for you and so glad I get to read about your adventure!

    Reply
  17. sarah

    How wonderful! Enjoy it. relish it. Your everything I hope my daughter is someday….bold, fearless, talented, loved.
    xo

    Reply
  18. Mrs. Bee

    So, so, so exciting! I cannot wait to see/hear about this jouney. Thank you for sharing it with all of us! Safe travels!

    Reply
  19. shannon

    Now you’ve done it Andie. Pushed me right from envy to complete jealousy*. That being said….WOOOO HOOOOO!!!! You Go Girl!! ?Habla Espanol? Can’t wait to watch the adventure unfold.
    *my life is truly amazing** and I am completely blessed
    **not amazing like i get to just go off and live in a foreign country for two years, but amazing none the less!
    !Via con Dios! y !Buena Suerte!
    Shannon

    Reply
  20. Carrie

    Enjoy it! I’m quite jealous, but I can still be excited for you. Thank goodness you blog so that I can give us a small piece of this adventure. Bon Voyage!

    Reply
    1. Carrie

      Oops. I need sunshine. (I’m also a Northwesterner). That should ready so that you can give us….. That might have been a freudian slip from my envy.

      Reply
  21. Jen

    Awesome! That sounds amazingly brilliant. I hope you go to some places that have pupusas and plantains. Yum yum, I love ’em. Have fun, be safe, live life!

    Reply
  22. MomNom

    Holy s***! How fun!

    1) I’m SO envious
    2) Sad to hear about the BF…hope you’re doing well.
    3) How in the world do you swing that? I need a tutorial on how to MAKE THAT HAPPEN.

    Reply
  23. Jacey

    Weird. I was sure I’d left a comment here but now I don’t see it! I think what I said was something like:

    Can I please have your life for maybe 15 minutes or so?

    I’m 41 years old with a good amount of weight to lose and I want to be a real grown-up writer some day. So you’re pretty much my hero.

    Can’t wait to read about all the ways you’ll be torturing your mother with your adventures!

    Have fun and be safe.

    Reply
  24. Michelle in N. Cal

    Oh wow! How exciting!!! I will be looking forward to hearing all about your adventures! Every person needs to live in another country at some point in their life if the opportunity presents itself. I did after high school and never regretted the decision. The experience is an integral part of who I am today.

    Safe and happy travels to you :-)

    Reply
  25. Laura Jane @ Recovering Chocoholic

    Wow, that sounds amazing! I really want to travel but my 9 to 5 gives me limited vacation. However, there are plenty of opportunities to teeter on the edge of my comfort zone right here where I live. And if I’m not willing to step out of my comfort here and now, why do I think I’d do it on a grander scale if given the opportunity?
    Great post! So inspiring!

    Reply
  26. Mindy

    Andie, that is great! I know you will experience amazing things. It will be fun to see all these great places through your words – almost as good as being there:)

    My prayers go with you for this truly fantastic opportunity – enjoy and live it up!

    Reply
  27. Jessica F

    So. Freaking. Amazing.

    I wish you the best in your writing, adventures, and going out of your comfort zone.

    Have an amazing trip. Isn’t living just wonderful?! (Besides the whole figuring out who you are and dealing with the mess life brings – important but less wonderful while in the middle of it.)

    Congrats and share lots of photos, pretty please!

    Reply
  28. Megan

    Andie I am so excited for you! You are amazing and so positive, you deserve a fantastic trip. I can not wait to hear about the adventures (food and non-food) that you will have in Central America.

    Reply
  29. Ms. O

    have a great adventure Andie! I’d kill to have such freedom. it must be so exciting to be your instagram-follower *hint

    Reply

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