Auld Lang Syne...

I've been ignoring my little blog for a while as I've not been traveling. No traveling = no travel stories, and the familiarity of home has warranted little by way of putting it to words. Which, has actually been a GOOD thing! But with 2009 soon upon us, here is the obligatory New Year message! As such I will start by wishing everyone much happiness in the coming year!

And quite aptly, this entry is about change, which will be upon me once again (traveling IS involved, massive shocker there, so there will be a lot more activity to watch for on this blog!), starting anew and all that wonderfully reflective stuff that surfaces at this time of the year.

The early parts of 2008 are documented in this blog, as I'd rung in the new year on a Costa Rican beach in what was a brilliant start to 2008; along the way after that ended up rather randomly in Nicaragua. A country which was nice, although the travel company was definitely not! However, there is balance in the universe, and I was rewarded at the end with meeting Nancy, a lovely (and lively!) retired lady who shared some margaritas and laughs with me, as well as Andy and Steve, the English father/son duo who left me with far greater impressions of Granada, only to be followed by David of France on the bus back to Costa Rica who also was a pleasure to have upon arrival in San Jose and without all the stress I'd been subjected to en-route to Nicaragua. note to self; travel with donuts is bad for the stomach.

Panama was my favourite country of this lot, and if I had it to do over, I think I'd have gone there and poss hit Colombia as well, but regrets are a waste of time! The end landed me on the fateful Mexicana/Distressed Airline passenger flights back to LA; which, oddly enough, is an experience I would not trade in as I met some absolutely fantastic people (Gianni, Perry, Richard, Chuck, Thomas and Gilbert), and in the words of Chuck, couldn't have had a better time in an airport (or multiple airports) if I'd planned it!

Arriving back in Vienna, had rethought my plans and gone through the dastardly process of extending it - the following months brought all manner of situations, soap operas, striking back (successfully) against racist neighbors, bunny boiling stalkerish spanish diplomat, and of course the requisite travels and good times with friends.

Notably the Easter weekend trip to Istanbul, the impromptu trip home shortly after, stuffing my face and jumping into fountains in Rome and what would summer be without a road trip with Geralyn and 'no destinazione', this time with added bonus of meeting up with Noe! of course the end of work reward to self of Morocco - amazing experience, involving a tale of random traveler kindness after I was taken in by a family in Casablanca, as well as getting of flat reward to self - Greece round 2, a trip in which I got everything I wished for, leaving me with a positive note on which to close the European chapter of my life - something officially done on Geralyn's terrace with shishas mere hours before boarding my final flight, homeward bound.

That flight took off from VIE with a hint of sunrise behind it, and with me not even looking out the windows, but rather looking forward, and I've not looked back since. I am very happy with my decision to leave the job I was in, as I was much like a square peg trying to fit a round hole there. It was an interesting time, and balance found working amongst one of the best colleagues I've had..and one of the worst. Further to this, a number of people revealed their true colors at the end - some which were rather ugly, but some..unexpectedly nice and noble, with the true friends shining through my time in Canada as well. Those, I miss. And the others; as I've learned after starting Vipassana meditation classes, those who make things difficult for us are our teachers. They teach us compassion.

The time in Canada has been refreshing, relaxing, rejuvenating and has given me new perspective (even if the weather towards the end has been daft!!), but the time has come once again to set off on something new, and go 180 degrees from where I was. As such, I will be starting this year off by landing in Southeast Asia, an area I wish to see more of, with a few different motivations this time (perhaps to learn more about Buddhism). I'm going to play it by ear, and see where I end up! At the very least perhaps some new material, as I was recently accepted to follow a writing course and may just do that (All breathe a sigh of relief, as yes! I will learn a thing or 2 about adhering to word limits!).

Whatever happens, I am very excited for it and positive about this decision. Life is a journey, not a destination? or, perhaps, this one is a good note to end on: "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow a mystery. Today a gift. That is why we call it the present".