Nothing like a jab in the arm with every vaccination under the sun to make this journey finally seem real. Reality sets in. I am really doing this. Yesterday I got the polio vaccine booster shot. I didn’t know Polio was still a thing. Next week I’m going back for my Covid booster shot. I …
Avoiding Spanners
We have spoken of the Stephen Bradbury moment of falling just before the finish line. There are various other cliches that can assist me at this time of trying to get to the end. Avoiding spanners is right up there. To throw a spanner in the works is to prevent something happening smoothly, as planned. …
Alpha and Omega
Alpha and Omega – the beginning and end. So much of our lives in the past two years has been controlled by letters of the Greek alphabet. We thought Delta was the worst. Now there is omicron. Is this trip of mine ever going to take off? With 23 days to go the excitement is …
Are we there yet?
Remember those family road trips to the old fibro holiday house or the caravan? Everyone crammed into a medium sized sedan, packed to gills with fishing rods, bait and eskies. And three kids in the back shouting all at once: “Are we there yet?” “Can I have an icecream?” “I need to go to the …
Thelma without Louise
Writing about moving on made me ponder my reasons for going back to places I have lived. Let’s face it, with more than 26 houses to revisit across three continents, I could almost do it constantly. At some point it’s time to leave that baggage behind and make new memories, preferably ones that include a …
Moving on and on and on…
Once I tried to work out how many times I had moved house. I think it’s about 26 times. That includes living in three countries and a tent. No wonder I never felt like I was from anywhere. Well, not until I moved to the beachside village of Thirroul which is about 60 kilometres (40 …
75 days to go
The countdown is on. With less than three months to go, it is starting to feel real, but still not soon enough. I want to enjoy the build up. But with my birthday next week, I guess it is not really 75 days, but just 7 days until the FOT begins. Bring it on…
Travel readiness
It has been so long since I’ve gone anywhere that my travel accoutrements are as neglected as my hairstyle. The suitcases are covered in dust and where on earth are those travel plugs? The FOT has been complicated by the hobbies taken up during Covid Lockdown. Over the last two years, I have finally learnt …
Down the rabbit hole
Travel planning is like shopping – it can consume you for hours. The FOT has been 50 years’ in the making, so there is a lot of anticipation. But I was surprised to find that when the time came to actually start booking flights and hotels, some of the excitement turned to anxiety. The problems …
Pivoting
Now that I’ve quit my job and most of Australia is in Covid Lock Down, it’s an ideal time to do what our government suggests. To pivot. It’s a term they came up with last year when all the gin distilleries started manufacturing hand sanitiser. It’s all about changing up the way you live your …