It’s farewell Oval, and hello Balham.  I have left my jacuzzi, monster kitchen, and local pub.  I believe that the Oval was the longest time I’d lived in one place since, well, school.  Kind of depressing.  And made me realise that this job - actually, just the project I recently finished - is the longest I’ve been in one job since the Dairy Board/Fonterra.

Which makes my feet kinda itchy.  Well - they were itchy anyway, both metaphorically and not.  But now - well, I’m certainly casting my eyes about for some kind of escape route.  And, my plan of North Korea is slowly being refined.  Unfortunately - it’s also being postponed.  The new plan is September 2010 - but now involves catching a train from one side of the world to the other.  Have a look on a map - and check out the line from London to Beijing.  The plan is now to do that.  Twice.  Well, nearly twice.  London -> Moscow, via Mongolia, with a couple of stops on the way.  A couple of weeks in North Korea - bowing to the almighty Kim Jung, and not taking photos unless given permission.  And not being allowed cellphones, video cameras, or cameras with a lens over 150mm.  No internet.  No credit cards.  And no going for a “walk around the block”.  And then - train from North Korea back to London, via Siberia.  Oh yeah - it’s been a long time since I had a plan as good as this.  It does mean, however, that I need to do something in the short-term - so that I don’t go crazy.  I have discovered that I have a disorder where I actually require international travel.  Otherwise, I… ummm… die  break-out-in-hives  sulk get a little bit sad.

I think I’ll be making a trip to Aotearoa in January/February (should probably start looking into that) - but I’m not sure if that counts.  I might have to stop off somewhere on the way, or on the way back - for a few days.  Dubai doesn’t interest me too much, but if anybody’s got other opinions on it, or places nearby - I’m happy to hear suggestions, thoughts, etc.

In other news, I have started playing squash.  I am a squash player.  I play squash.

And - there’s a New Year’s Party at our place this year.  Probably.  For those who have experienced Opononi, Lake Taupo, Waikaremoana, Houseboats on Waitemata… this will be kinda like those.  But in a house.  In Balham.  And cold instead of hot.  And no barbeque.  (hmmm… maybe no barbeque).  But definitely no swimming.  Which means no bombs/staples/bellyflops.  But - it will still be good.  So come.  Airfares are cheap around that time of year - so all you people in NZ/Oz - no excuse.  And yes, we have heaps of space for cricket and/or tents, in the snow.  (Really).

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 21st, 2009 at 2:10 am and is filed under Ingerlund. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.