One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

I've busy with my massive research project on New Zealand, working holidays and round-the-world traveling. However, I'm not sure this is a very effective way for me to go about this whole adventure.

As some of you know, I lean more toward a type A personality than a type B personality. Because of this, I continue to have this need to as prepared as possible. While other people would just buy a ticket and go, I am stressing out just from researching a potential trip.

The more I scour the web for information, the more I feel I am sinking under all that information. Yet, I cannot seem to stop myself from learning more. What's worse is that I hop from one topic to the next and never find a definite answer for anything. My mind is just buzzing with activity and before I know it, it's past midnight every night and I'm nowhere nearer my goal.

Each search just seems to creates more and more questions. What's the best credit and debit cards to use? Which financial institution has the least amount of fees involved with currency conversions and transaction fees? Should I open a bank in NZ when I get there? How do I go about setting up a NZ tax ID number? What's WWOOFing all about? How safe is it? Which mode of transporation should I use - public bus, backpacker bus, rental car or purchase a used car? What's the deal with travel insurance? How do you get covered for stuff like skydiving? How do you get work? Is it easy? What kind of work is available?

The questions are endless. I've started posting some questions on a New Zealand backpacker message boards and most of the advice is the same old Nike saying, "Just do it!" At some point I think I'll just be so overwhelmed with my researching that I'll end up just doing it out of frustration. The other info I'm getting through this site is pretty helpful though, and it calms my nerves because it proves other people have already done it so I'm not exactly blazing any new trails. The fear comes from the unknown, which is pretty normal, so I just need to jump this one hurdle and be done with it.

Community Service - Meals On Wheels

I just got back from our company's community service project. We volunteered to deliver healthy meals to seniors in Lanakila Pacific's Meals On Wheels program and had a great turnout of staff and their family. We covered 16 routes, which enabled all regular volunteers to take the day off. Like most events it was quite stressful especially in the morning. However, overall I think we did well and made a good showing.

One let down was that we discovered one of our routes was done incorrectly. This really rained on our parade, not to mention left seniors without vital nutrition. The seniors were not given the appropriate amounts of food and drink because this particular group did not follow the delivery guidelines established by Lanakila and reinforced by the community service project committee.

Why must there always be that one person in a group who tends to ignore all rules and do things his/her own way. It's such a shame, especially when people painstakingly plan things out to make the event run smoothly. I'm not really sure what causes these people to be this way? It's probably just the American upbringing in general that establishes independence and an almost overwhelming self-confidence. Unfortunately, this actually inhibits group work because it results in too many leaders.

To successfully orchestrate an event, it takes time and organization. When you have a loose cannon in your midst, it's difficult to keep things on a steady course. People should realize that there's a time and place to set your mark as an individual and that this trait is not always beneficial. Sometimes being a little humble and more docile generates better results.