Get me out of here!

Midlife crisis-"a period of dramatic self-doubt that is felt by some individuals in the "middle years" of life, as a result of sensing the passing of youth and the imminence of old age." (Elliott Jacques)
I turned 30 in April. A milestone some would say. I agree. Midlife? I hope not, but a milestone all the same. I automatically took stock of my life-my career (same company for 11 years, halting to a dead end with no opportunities), my love life (sadly non existent, if you've lived in San Francisco you know what I mean), children (thankfully non existent, definitely not ready to be a single mother), success (monetarily-not much to speak of, I live in San Francisco, remember?). I was in a city I didn't love, a job I didn't love, and squirming to get out.
I have been the epitome of responsible my entire life. I babysat until I was old enough to get a real job, worked every day once I turned 16, full time in the summer. I saved all my pennies until I got to college, so I didn't have to work my freshman year. I worked almost full time through college, on top of being a full time student. I have been with the same company since I was 19, working my way up the ladder.
Now don't get me wrong. I have experienced a lot. I've lived in three different states, traveled to 40 different ones. I have friends all over the country, good friends that would do anything for me (including let me sleep on their couch, we'll get to that later). But when I hit 30 I still felt lost. Self doubt? Definitely. What was I seriously going to be when I grew up? Was I too late?
An event at work finally made the decision easy. I had to leave. I couldn't sit in front of a computer one more day (well at least not for another year), this muffin top was getting way too large. So I asked some of these good friends, and my family, and they agreed. I was still young, single, and in good health. No better time than now. Time to be irresponsible.
So I'm leaving. I'm selling most of my belongings, putting a small amount in storage and am going to travel around for a year. Loading the Civic up and heading to Montana on August 31st (where the fam lives). From there a short stop in Seattle where I lived for 9 years, then on to Brooklyn to take over my great friend Mo's futon for a couple of months, back to Montana, Seattle, finally to Europe. At least that's the plan so far. You never know what could happen, and that's why you'll have to read the blog. :-)