Hey, I'm Ruben!
So here's the thing - I'm a 49-year-old guy from Norway who basically hit the pause button on life. You know that feeling when you're sitting at your desk, staring at another IT ticket at the hospital, and suddenly think "what am I even doing?" Yeah, that was me.
I'm originally from Kristiansand - beautiful place, honestly, especially if you like trees (and wow, do I love trees). But after years of the same routine, fixing computers and arriving 10 minutes early to everything (can't help it, it's a curse), something just snapped. Not in a bad way though - more like a "I need to see what's out there" kind of way.
Why 500 days?
Look, turning 50 is weird enough, but I figured why not make 51 the real milestone? So I'm giving myself exactly 500 days to wander around this planet before coming home for my 51st birthday on January 9, 2027. It sounds random, but honestly, everything about this trip is. After Amsterdam, I literally have no plans. Zero. Nada. We'll see where the restlessness takes me.
What's with all the tree photos?
Okay, this is embarrassing, but I'm absolutely fascinated by trees. Especially the really tall ones. I can't explain it - there's just something about them. Every city I visit, you'll probably see at least one tree photo. My friends back home think I'm crazy. Maybe they're right.
Being 196 cm tall myself (that's about 6'5" for you Americans), I guess I relate to them? Though unlike trees, I hit my head on everything - bus doors, hostel bunks, you name it.
The real reason I'm doing this
Here's the honest truth - I want to change the world somehow, but I have absolutely no idea how. Pretty ambitious for a guy who fixes hospital computers, right? But I figure if I can't change the world yet, maybe I should start by changing myself.
There's this restlessness that keeps bubbling up. Sometimes I'll be perfectly happy in a place, then suddenly I just need to move. Can't explain it. It's like my brain is trying to debug life itself, but I keep getting error messages.
What to expect from my posts
I try to write every day, though sometimes the wifi has other plans (looking at you, remote mountain villages). When something exciting happens - like stumbling into a festival or getting hopelessly lost - you might get 2-3 posts in a day. When I'm stuck on a 12-hour bus ride through nowhere? Probably radio silence.
Fair warning: I compare everything to Norway. The prices, the weather, the coffee (nothing beats Norwegian coffee, sorry not sorry). And yes, I'll probably mention that I arrived somewhere 10 minutes early. Every. Single. Time.
The boring practical stuff
I'm traveling on my savings - not rich, not poor, just a regular guy with a decent IT job who saved up for this. No fancy hotels or first-class flights here. Just me, my backpack, and an obsessive need to help other travelers figure out why their phone won't connect to wifi (occupational hazard).
Oh, and if you meet me in person and I seem a bit awkward? That's normal. I'm chatty but also need my space. It's a Norwegian thing. Or maybe just a me thing. Still figuring that out.
So that's me - Ruben from Kristiansand, tree enthusiast, chronically punctual, searching for something I can't quite name yet.
Want to follow along? Stick around. It's going to be interesting, I hope.
- Ruben