Agua Volcano, Arch of Santa Catalina, La Antigua Guatemala by Rambling Traveler

It’s been a week since I left my job and probably the biggest thing that’s happened to me in the last 168 hours is the realization that I hate being unemployed.  Hate it.  Hate. It.

Which is pretty ironic considering I spent the last six months I was employed with the airline and working 60 plus hours a week, fantasizing about all the things I would do if I had more free time.

Things like update this blog more often. Or work on adding to the 150 page novel I’ve been writing for the last four years.  I’d read more, go hiking, visit my little brother or finally get around to listening to my Foder’s “Spanish for Travelers” tapes that I continually check out from the library but never get around to listening to.

But now that I have nothing but free time, its all just so overwhelming.  There are so many things that I want to do that it’s paralyzing and I wind up doing nothing.  Nothing being a lot of long walks and sitting in parks people watching and journaling.

But in between the long stretches of laziness, I’ve managed to set a date for Operation: Run away to Guatemala and now the adventure is set to begin on April 11th.  I bought a plane ticket this time around (farewell free travel, you will be missed) and it’s one-way and non-refundable.  But it only cost $164.00, so I’m not too worried about it.  Pretty good deal, huh?

Before you think I’ve completely lost it, I’m not planning on ‘moving’ to Guatemala, exactly.  It’s more of a mini retirement; a little break from the real world.  The plan is to head to set up camp in Antigua, study Spanish and maybe volunteer.  Hopefully a month or two in Latin America will be long enough for one of the dozens of jobs I’ve applied to to get back to me, because ideally I’d like to work for another airline again.

But who knows what will happen.  One of the friends I made while working on a cruise ship is moving to Cologne, Germany and has invited me to come along with him and be his roommate.  I used to live in Germany and haven’t been back in five years and so this offer sounds pretty tempting.

Altstadt Köln / Cologne by Hans van Reenen

But before Germany and before Guatemala, I’ll be headed to Oahu, Hawaii!  My parents have a vacation condo there which will be vacant starting March 28th.  So rather than let an ocean-view apartment in downtown Waikiki go to waste, I decided to use one of my mom’s buddy passes (she works for an airline and gets 24 free passes a year), and fly to Hawaii for a few days.

I haven’t been back to Oahu in six years, which is criminal really, considering that I was born and raised there.  It’s just that between working at Disney World, living in Europe and Japan and oh, the pesky thing called a full-time job, I haven’t had the time.  I plan on meeting up with friends from middle school, re-visiting my old high school and all the little spots that teenage Reannon used to hang out in (read:  the Windward Mall and the Honolulu Library).  I’m thinking of labeling the the trip ‘Reannon’s Magical History Tour’.

Kualoa Beach Park by Didimouman

Reannon Muth

Reannon Muth is a full-time writer, social media consultant and owner and manager of the Taken by the Wind travel blog. Born in Hawaii, Reannon has lived in five countries, at Disney World and on a cruise ship. She currently lives in fabulous Las Vegas.