Joining the Dots

Loads of people at work have stopped by to congratulate me on my 'bravery' in leaving without another job to go to, and have lent me lots of out of date guidebooks that they want back before I leave.

One manager made an open offer of employment at any of four businesses in the area on whose boards she serves, at any point in the future. I'd be stupid to take her up - more time down the mine? Seriously! But somehow I don't think she'd have made an offer like that if I'd stayed on, quietly messing up in the corner.

J came over and helped me match up my list of destinations into five discrete journeys. She pointed out that they don't necessarily have to match up - that I could circle a few times. She also said that when you buy a RTW plane ticket, you have to always fly up or down, apart from one flight. I simply can't make that match where I want to go.

Someone else's perspective simplifies things so swiftly that it's almost stupid, though. In one sudden flash, I could see that if I did the Americas journey 'backwards', both visas and difficult border entries were solved.

there are all these big black swooping lines over my map now.