The adventure has begun indeed!
But who’s actually going on this adventure? Who’s determined enough to (maybe) drive around in a car with no air-con? Who are these marvellously unwise people?
But first… Let’s talk about the team name – Team Serious Business. I think the name suits the team quite well. Out team is to look serious indeed. The preparation would be thorough and rigorous. The car would be in a tip top shape and so would the organic bit in it. Well, it might look like that, anyway.
It’s finally time to introduce our two heroes who are embarking on this epic trip.
We are both from Zasavje (Slovenia), from Zagorje ob Savi (Slovenia) to be exact. That’s more like municipality. We are located in a small village (Slovenia) a couple of kilometres from the town centre. We are both working at work, which is more or less IT related. As the both companies are (also) located in Ljubljana (Slovenia) we tend to spend quite a lot of time on the road.
And we also like to go on a trip here and there. And we like to travel. Or just wonder around.
We are quite regular visitors in the Trbovlje and Zagorje cinemas. It’s cheap (and I mean cheap) and there aren’t many other visitors watching the glorious movies.
The co-participants name is Mateja, and the author of this magnificent text is Uroš. We are sister and brother. We are closer to the age of 30 than 40.
Mateja
Mateja is working with one of the largest retailers in our country. I know she does important work because she told me so. I, unfortunately, don’t really want to know what exactly she does and am therefore unable to describe her work in detail. But even so I managed to conclude her work makes the distribution of pineapples possible for the people in Slovenia. I struggled to find a connection between pineapples and IT, but it seems there is some.
The computers are a big part of her life even outside her job. She’s able to make a webpage or a video edit without a problem. Both skills are very important for The Mongol Rally 2019 project.
She’s also quite active when she has some time to spare. She likes to go for a walk, she likes to visit the coastal cities and enjoys watching sunsets. She also indulges in indoor rowing and running on a spot. One of her hidden passions in high jump which she only shows off when someone’s trying to take a photo of her.
One of her strengths is empathy. She’s very empathic, you see. I heard her say how hard it is thinking about prisoners for her. She’s trying to relive the feelings they must feel. I think that’s why she visits escape rooms with her friends quite often. She dedicates a lot of her time for family, friends and co-workers.
She says she has a taste in music. Unfortunately, I’m unable to find any favourite music genre. I just know she doesn’t like metal that much.
The only thing I can say for sure is the Mongol Rally project would be a lot more demanding without Mateja.
Uroš
Now, what about Uroš? Even though I work in IT I spend a surprising amount of time moving computers and furniture around. And under the tables. In my free time I shoot animals, people and nature with my camera. They all tend to stay alive, so no worries there.
I like cars. After a decade of practice I can even fix some things more or less successfully. I’m quite passionate about fast cars. And as I try to drive as the law dictates, I also visit a racetrack from time to time. I think there are slower drivers than me around. Even the clock usually says so. I like to go for walks on the same route. I enjoy silence provided by some forgotten valley. And I even take on sports and board games. But they are slowly getting too dangerous. The last time I played some board game I managed to injure myself.
I was the voice of the automated response machine in my previous job. A lot of time had passed since. I started to think the callers might have finally pushed the experience into their subconscious. I decided to jog their memories. I now (also) work on one of the bigger radio stations doing my best to deliver news to the audience.
I like music. I listen to many different genres, but metal mainly.
I think this is quite enough information for now.
The Mongol Rally isn’t just a story of the human participants. It’s also a story about brave cars going on an (unwanted) adventure.
And as any other team, Team Serious Business also needs a car.