New Places and an Herbal Tea

Today is a gorgeous day in Toronto and is supposed to reach a high of 14C, which is the same temperature that Firenze is supposed to reach. I know this because I keep a few foreign city profiles on my iphone weather app just because they are places I wish I could just be •snap• like that. And boy oh boy do I have itchy feet right now.

But I’m most definitely still here so I’ve been researching what kind of jobs are available and reading up on career reinvention because I feel a different kind of energy (one that doesn’t come from caffeine or sugar since they are verboten for a few more weeks) than I have been feeling. I quit my last job-job in 2010 and have been doing some freelance work that I do from home, which technically is a job but one that has always felt like a temporary one. The thing is, until recently, and lack of work might have something to do with it, I’ve had this urge to do something more.

So I’m researching jobs and seeing what’s out there and since I have itchy feet I can’t resist looking up international opportunities. I’ve learned that I’m not too old to get work/travel visas to at least a couple of countries. I’ve come across house sitting websites (here’s one) and seen postings for long term engagements at houses in the remote hills of an Italian village and others in the south of France. The idea of living rent free, especially in a foreign villa, is very appealing to one who has a tight cash flow and is trying to pay off debt. It makes me happy to just know that these opportunities are out there. It gets the creative juices flowing in a think about alternative routes kind of way – even if I don’t leave Canadian soil for a while.

While I haven’t gone anywhere new and done anything different I am in a new place, a very different place than I was a year ago. I’m feeling, I almost dare not say it, an optimism; the slim edge of confidence has wedged itself into my mind. I know I’ve still got a long way to go but when it comes to personal growth I hope that I never stop traveling.

Tisane for pondering career reinvention and international travel

One doesn't need caffeinated drinks to have a nice hot cuppa to accompany all this pondering and searching. I’ve started quite the collection of herbs, roots, and flowers to keep the taste buds tantalized and the caffeine cravings at bay. Recently I made a particularly tasty one and I wanted to share.

The players:

Dried ginger root

Nettle

Spearmint

Licorice Root

Lavender

Let steep longer than you would a normal tea (8-10 mins) to give the roots more time to infuse the water. Eyeball it, play around with the proportions to your liking, and, most of all, enjoy!