In the previous post about the 7 micro projects we’re working on, we discussed about the small things that always seem to take so much time to take care of, and yet still you always end up leaving them to the last minute. This typically leads to that oh-no-we’re-leaving-tomorrow-and-the-house-is-still-full-of-stuff panic, which makes hitting the road often super stressful. We decided to skip the stress part, and start working on these panic inducing tasks months before the ETD.

Here is how we’ve managed to work on these projects so far. We think we’re doing a pretty good job. Or we did until we realized we’re leaving in less than three months and still working full day until then, and oh no there’s so much to do (add a shocked emoji here). Actually, this post could be titled a 7 hundred micro projects…

1. Getting medical and dental check ups. Done and almost done, at least on my behalf. The engineer is getting his beautiful row of chewing blocks checked soon, and I just got mine. The dentist I saw was very nice, helpful and had a nice, although very one sided chat with me about how it’s lovely we’re going to Thailand (yes, she asked me about our travel plans and having my mouth full of instruments Taiwan became Thailand quite smoothly). She also complimented me on being so brave (I was also a 100% hungover, so probably semi unconscious, too..) afterwards, to which I replied that yeah, didn’t even cry. I felt very proud of my 30+ year old self. However, all this means that unless there’s something special, there is no need to look for dental services in our future destinations. The medical check up side we’re still working on. (An update: The enginerd got his teeth checked, too, by the same dentist, who was once again happily chatting about how nice it is we’re going to Thailand.)

   

2. This blog and all the millions of social media accounts I’ve built around it. Well, see it for yourselves. There’s already over one hundred followers on our Instagram, a one thousand people following us on Twitter, the blog stat counter is ticking slowly but surely, and we are getting a very nice flow of private messages on almost daily basis. I wish I could work on these even more, since I’ve totally fallen in love with Twitter analytics, Facebook insights, all the blog sharing accounts I’ve signed up to, and WordPress support. I am also on a mission to reply to some of those automatic direct messages on Twitter you get almost every time you follow someone. I’ve read a ton of posts about how they are useless and annoying, but hey, I’ve decided to make the best of them. I don’t use automatic messages, but instead hand pick some of the DM’s we get, and write an actual, personal message back. You wouldn’t believe the positive and surprised feedback that has resulted from this, and also some pretty cool connections. And, of course, likes and follows ♥ Unfortunately, I only have time to reply to a fracture of the auto DM’s we get.

   

3. Looking for jobs and location independent ways to make a living. Let’s just say that LinkedIn and some very precious personal contacts have been in great use the past months. The engineer has his own projects, and is doing quite well on them. Right now I’m planning on getting some rest on the road, and of course, as our fellow blogger at Friendly Nomad points out, one has to consider the fact that a tourist visa does not usually allow you to work. Since we have put aside a small rainy day fund, we’ll get to enjoy the sunny days in Asia without a worry.

   

4. Getting rid of our stuff. Oh, this one is tricky. I thought we’d be able to empty the attic and basement storage by now. But how, oh how in the hell did we end up with so much stuff? Although they are mostly empty now, it seems there’s still always a new cardboard box waiting to be opened (and most of the times, the content of it to be sorted straight into recycling). I was planning on posting before and after photos here, but that would be too embarrassing (unlike telling that I was very hungover on a Monday morning when I had a time booked for a dental check-up). Lots of our friends and family have enjoyed getting some pretty good free stuff, lately, and we have decided that this year they will all get some used, but precious presents 🙂 But aren’t we happy we decided to start this project in time. Just thinking about leaving all of this for the last week. That would had meant a lot more stuff being thrown to the trash, as it usually happens when you move. And especially now that we’re  trying to get rid of most of our stuff, excluding what we need with us when we leave, we have so much stuff to give away that we want to make sure right people get them. Plus recycling everything is our humble apology to mother nature for all the flying we do. An update: Just ran into this awesome blog post about how to downsize to prepare for travel by our fellow travelers at The Rolling Pack. Like, this is us, too!

   

5. Planning the schedule. December: Goa. Christmas: Kuala Lumpur. January: Taiwan. After that? We’ll see.

6. Saving enough money. No money is enough, but we’ll manage. Should had skipped that one time I went to see a private doctor, though, cost me ten times (no kidding) more than a public one, with the exact same service. The enginerd also told me I’m not allowed to order custom made Adidas Pure Boost X running shoes (the most comfortable shoes ever, I have the floral print ones, and they’ll work as city shoes when we hit the road. That is, when I’m not using sandals).

   

7. Still not exactly fit (like, what is the definition of that, anyway?), but far stronger than in the beginning of summer. Tuomas, my awesome friend, maybe the strongest guy I’ve ever met in real life (Arnold, I love you!!!), has put me through such a boot camp that my warm up at the gym happens with same weights I was using for the heavy work out day still two months ago. I can’t believe it, but it’s true. My back sucks still, but giving up running on asphalt has improved the situation a lot. Also, playing PokemonGo has had an insane effect on the step count on my Fitbit…

How are your travel preparations going? Let us know in  the comments 🙂

The bonus project: Studying Chinese, realizing how much I’ve forgot, getting depressed, getting back to books and tapes, trying to stay positive about it. All I know is that I need to go back to somewhere where I can actually speak it, no matter how uncomfortable I feel. Also, since I love to read and write Chinese (how could I have become so bad at that, too??!!), and we’re heading to Taiwan, I started recently using this site to study traditional characters. Oh dear I’m worried now, only few months and I’ve promised myself to speak only Chinese whenever it’s possible to avoid English (the language, not the people 🙂 ) Wondering if I can still book a hotel room. One step at time, right? 慢慢来。

PS: Our another friend Tess at BlondVoyage has her own list of good iron solid tips for before you pack your bags, check them here! Luckily they are not anything you could consider a project but quite easy little tasks to do, however, maybe check them out in time before you go and see you’ve got them covered?

An update: This is where we were with the micro projects in early October.