My Cousin, My Idol

My cousin is staying with us for the next week and just flew in this afternoon.

Let me preface this blog post by saying that I saw Tara Moss (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_Moss) at the domestic airport when we went to pick up my cousin. As in, Tara Moss walked right past me and, at one point, was less than half a meter away. And we made eye contact. And I smiled. And she did not smile back but she was with family and maybe thought I was going to ask for a picture with her.

Instead, I took a couple of sneaky pictures of her back as she walked to get her luggage. Maybe I was just shocked to see a CELEBRITY in the vicinity of my modest hometown. It's also cool that I've actually read a few of her books and liked them (in a fluffy, non-committal way).

To move on, my cousin is basically the coolest human being I've ever met. Whilst being in awe of her, I am simultaneously ashamed of my own sad livelihood.

She is a journalist with the Sydney Morning Herald after quitting accounting after 14 years. She goes canyoning, absailing and rockclimbing every weekend. She has travelled throughout every continent except Antarctica (and when I say throughout, I mean she has travelled within that continent for several months or lived there for several years). She is unmarried and has had many loves and romantic conquests. She has basically done everything in her 37 years of life that I hope to achieve in mine before I die.

She is unbelievably cool and I feel so small next to her. At the same time, I feel so lucky to be around her. She has made me open my eyes so much in the few hours I have been with her. I just want to seize the fucking day.

I want to travel continuously throughout my life. Starting this year. Just go; save the money then go. I want to live everywhere. I don't want a measly one month holiday (although that's a good starting point!). I want to live there for two years, get to know my neighbours, buy my weekly groceries and explore that area thoroughly so that I can tell my younger, impressionable cousin all about it, 24 years from now.

She said she's making me go hiking with her in the desert this week. Tomorrow we're going on a short road trip a couple of hours out of Perth. I want to live.

J