I sort of feel bad it took me this long to update you on Montevideo. Not enough to lose sleep, but enough to admit it out loud.
Truth is, when I was there, I was not focused on making updates. I was focused on living. I was not trying to document every breath like I am auditioning for a travel show called Q Walks His Ass Off. I wanted to see what it felt like when the trip stopped being a trip and started feeling like a life. People have asked me how I feel about the city after actually spending two weeks there. To be blunt, it was fucking amazing.
Yeah, I had vacation colored glasses at first. Everybody does. But I forced myself into routine on purpose. Mundane stuff. Grocery runs. Walking. Ordering food. Doing normal life things that are not sexy and do not make for good blog content. It is where the truth shows up though, and the truth was, it started to feel like I belonged there. Like I was just living my day, not visiting someone else’s.
The pace is relaxed. Nobody is in a rush. Which is great for your nervous system and occasionally brutal for your hunger, because if you are the kind of person who expects food to arrive quickly, Montevideo will politely teach you patience. Repeatedly.
In fifteen days in the city, I never once, not once, heard anyone raise their voice, yell, or act out in anger in any way. Not a public meltdown. Not a grown adult tantrum. Nothing. Other than car horns, it was basically live and let live. People moved through the day like they were not trying to fight the world. I walked all over hells half acre and I never once felt unsafe. Quite the opposite actually. People watch out for each other, its refreshing to see.
And the city has these moments that sneak up on you. I am walking and I end up watching a random cricket match on the beach like it is the most normal thing on earth. Then I keep going and stumble onto a stretch of sand where there is nobody. Just empty beach. Quiet. Space. Then you look up and remember you are still right there by everything just across the Rambla. It is contradictions and chill stacked together, and I loved every minute of it.
So yes, I still believe that is where I move next or at least end up at eventually. The only thing that potentially changed is the timing of the next part.
The Timing Got Rearranged
Here is where life reaches over, grabs your plan, and wipes it’s ass. My position at work got eliminated 3 days before this trip, and the house did not sell in over 6 months, indisputable facts.
When I got back, I pulled the listing. It was not even getting showings. I will re list it in April or early May and take another swing at it. That also means a new job is now at least on the menu, whether I feel like ordering it or not. So maybe this turns into a new company and a new chapter first. Honestly, it would not hurt my feelings to stack a little more cash. It might even give me the option to buy an apartment in Uruguay before I go. Maybe I build my container house in the US finally. Maybe I live in a camper and just say fuck it. Clearly that is not a choice I am allowed to make just yet. For now, I am looking at another winter/spring in Nashville, and who knows what that could turn into.
I have to remind myself that I have choices. I get locked onto a plan and I suddenly grow blinders. I want to sell the house, sure, but I am not going to die if I stay longer and find a new gig. I can live here and reset. That is not failure. That is just Murphy and his damn law again. Its easy to forget that we have choices.
The part that pisses me off is the uncertainty. It is either I land the new job and ride it until it reaches its natural end, or I do not and I stay on the original path with the house going back up in the spring, just with a little less cushion. I do not love leaving big life moves to timing, chance, and the balance of my emergency fund. But I also do not get to bully reality into cooperating, no matter how much I would like to.
Back to the Trip
I did not follow any real structure with photos and videos this time. I was not there for that. But I did grab a few fun things on film that I will share, and I am going to add a section on the blog for places I have been so it is easier to find later. Feel free to call or email if you have questions. I would love to talk to any of you.
One place I strongly recommend is the Andes Museum. If you know the story, you know the story. The 1972 crash. The survival. The part nobody wants to talk about at dinner. The movie Alive was based on it. The museum is heavy, but it is worth it. And they are strict about photos where it matters, which honestly feels right. Some things should not end up as content.
Speaking of the Andes, flying across them was the worst turbulence I have ever experienced, but man what a sight. I have driven through the Alps and I was awestruck. But there is something about looking out the window of an airplane, at elevation, and seeing the mountain level with the side of the plane. The photo I included is what I saw and we were at cruising altitude. That was awesome.
Why This Update Took So Long
I would have updated you sooner, but I came home with the black death. Literally, as I stepped onto the plane in Atlanta for the last leg of a long return journey, my nose started running and my eyes got watery. Then it was a full week of every gross flu symptom you can imagine. So between being sick and dealing with job and house reality, the update got delayed.
But the headline did not change.
It was fucking amazing. It just might be a minute before I get back.
Q
Q is a meat Popsicle living in Nashville with hopes and dreams of running away to Uruguay to retire earlier than all his friends. Skilled in the witchcraft of not giving a damn about the Jones’ and filled with a did it or damn it mentality. His thoughts are his own, and he is no role model.
