I’m Jason, I’ve never written a blog, I have no Instagram or twitter account and the last time I wrote an article was for a funeral homes newsletter titled “G is for Gangrene”.
So Steemit is popping my techno cherry by inspiring me to write something to share with this unique community, so thank you.
Me in short, (well in average height 5,11”)
I’m a qualified Embalmer with 11 years in the funeral industry.
A qualified shot firer with 3 years underground mining (coal and gold), I’m nuts about anything with 2 wheels.
I love getting on, working on and talking about anything with a motor.
I love the outdoors I’m a bit of a nature freak; my favorite time of day is dusk. Well I seem to have a thousand sunset pictures anyway.
I love storms the bigger and louder the better!
I love the little things like a good documentary and a glass of red wine ,a rainy night in, but most recently I have had the craziest 18 months of growth, acceptance, heartache, adventure, happiness and the most amazing relationships.
Where it all started..well when a man loves a woman STOP not that far back
My working life started at 17 in the funeral industry, full time in the mortuary. I studied for 3 years and qualified as an embalmer. I had always wanted to be a funeral director but after seeing an actual embalming take place when I was 16 I knew then that was my calling. I have worked in everything from little country funeral homes to massive operational centers around Australia and all areas of the industry from transfers and staff training to arranging and conducting funerals but the mortuary is where I feel the most at home.
I know what your picturing, funeral workers, big lurch type characters all in black, never smile, no social skills, morbid to the core, but this stereotype could not be further from the truth you should hang out with funeral workers more often we are a unique breed of fun loving non-judgmental humans that feel privileged and humble because of the daily experiences we witness. Being exposed to so much grief and massive reality checks makes us honest and grateful humans with a sense of humor that can’t be matched.
It was becoming way to obvious that my embalmers pay packet could not support my love for (and collection of) motorbikes and I have a mate in the mining game who could get me in the door, I was up for a new experience and the thought of tripling my pay packet was all too tempting so I dived head first into a black hole, literately.
The mining industry, in a nut shell, is you working bloody hard long hours in hot dusty conditions, blood, sweat and tears. Drilling holes in rocks, putting explosives in and blowing shit up. It’s a great way to get muscles and earn what I consider to be big bucks.
The issue became that the hooks were in and I was on the money wheel, I had lost touch with the feeling of job satisfaction, the feeling of getting out of bed knowing you were going to make a difference to someone’s day, I was just a number working for the fat cat.
I needed to feel freedom, the itch was getting worse and the limited holidays I did have was not scratching it, so I threw it all in, managed to fit my life into a backpack and in a flash I was following that burning feeling in chest and leaving everything else up to chance.
Are you ready? here goes…
At the airport with 1 million butterflies in my belly and the same amount of tears in my eyes leaving my world behind, I already felt as though I was living and not just existing. First stop Singapore, I traveled all through Malaysia starting on the coast making my way to Langkawi a beautiful tax free island
some ferries and a night bus later I was getting on more ferries on the opposite coast line to Perhentian island( it has lizards the size of dinosaurs).
More ferries more buses and I was in the highlands and the trekking was out of this world.
Then onto the Philippines where it took 3 days to get to Sagada in the highlands,a lot of that travel was on the roof top of a jeepy. I was there because of the burial caves and hanging coffins which were mind blowing.
Then back to Malaysia I possibly couldn’t have felt more alive (well I didn’t know the little surprise the universe had for me later) island hopping had become my new hobby and where better to do it than Thailand, why not?. So without naming then all I spent over 2 months just on islands in south Thailand, I had become a professional sunbather, sunset watcher and part time explorer.Lots of snorkeling and partying and loving scruffy island dogs was now on my resume to.
After a few months of these shenanigans I was in the far North of Thailand, Pai, and almost broke already!
I felt the impending doom that I might have to go back to Australia to make money but no way in hell was I ready to do that I felt as though I had lived 1000 lifetimes in my short travels and was not going to give up these feeling so, I called a mate in Siem Reap (I had been to Siem Reap 3 times before and it always hurt me to leave, there is something in the ground there, I SWEAR) and explained to him that I’m in North Thailand and have to become a ladyboy cause I’m broke! He laughed hard and said “just get your ass to Siem Reap”
So How does it feel for you so far..?
28 hrs and 3 buses later I stepped onto the street to a magnificent sunset coloring the city. Right, I said to myself, time to dump your bag and get a beer!!. It had been 9 months since id seen my mate so with a spring in my step I walked into the bar he managed little did I know that the girl sitting at the end of the bar would stop me in my tracks, turn my brain to gooey love mush and change my life to what it is now.
Everything fell into place after stepping off that bus as if the universe said “oh great your finally here, what took you so long?”
Introducing Carly yes my better half , an English bombshell, an English teacher and my perfect drug she has nothing but love and the burn for adventure pumping through her veins (and sometime a lot of rum) our dream is to just work and live in other countries all around the world and I still have to pinch myself that we are “living the dream” or ‘this is the life!’ as she calls it.
To think how different my life would have been if I went back to Australia rather than taking the chance in Siem Reap I have to just smile inside and out.
Carly and I have had some crazy adventures since, we holidayed back in Thailand, Laos and Malaysia and a trip back to Australia where we road tripped in my 4WD campervan catching up with friends and family( which are very spread out around the country)
Carly got to experience four wheel driving in the bush, camping( all the creepy crawlies were included ha ha ha) and Australian beach life.
Heart breakingly my grandmother died whilst we were there, she did not suffer to much thankfully. After I prepared her we as family (my mum, sister, Carly and myself) dressed and cosmetized her for the funeral and she, as always, looked beautiful. RIP.
Ooohhhh..
OK so right at this moment I work in a bloody cool heavy metal pirate bar, which has a tattoo parlor underneath, I get to cruise round on my moto in the heavy rain, yes it’s raining season here…seeing amazing sights, like water buffalos being taken for a nightly stroll and catch some spectacular sunsets,
I have a freaking amazing partner and its ridicules how stupidly lovely life is.
I look forward to sharing more stories with you on the funeral industry, travel and random radness stuff. Be kind to each other people xo
Wow, techno cherry is officially popped…think I need a beer after that one.