As Soul II Soul once said "Back to life, Back to reality"

Tomorrow marks the great return to the halls of academia. The summer has swept by fast and furious and, like a quart of ice cream in my freezer, it was gone before I even realize it. Although quick, this summer has been packed full of adventures and discoveries. Life changing arrivals (in the form of a lovely little baby!) life changing decisions (goodbye Bangkok, hello Bali) and even a change of scenery (hello new apartment!). Unfortunately all good things must come to an end however, and now it is time for my sober reunion with work. It has sat silent and patient in dark corners of my conscience all summer and now it is clawing its way out in the most violent of ways. I'm bleeding out. Oh well, hopefully the boredom of the next three days of staff inset will staunch the bleeding and I can start to get into the swing of things.

Now that I've decided that this will be my final year in Bangkok (at least that's the plan at the moment), I'm going to concentrate on drinking Bangkok up. I'm going to try to notice of and record (both in words and in photographs) all the things that make Bangkok so wonderful. I am sure that I will not leave BKK hoping that it sinks into the sea (as I have felt when I've left other countries) instead it will leave a hole in my heart. I do love it here but bigger adventures await and I can't let myself get too comfortable. Bangkok will always be here and the jobs are plentiful. Now is the time to grab hold of what I'm really passionate about. I think too many people let their passions pass them by because they're too afraid to take a chance. What a interesting place the world would be if people just took the plunge! The world would be full of divers and painters and inventors and singers and dancers and ultralight pilots and flower delivery people and ventriloquists and pirates! But instead it's full of corrupt bankers and insurance salesmen and tired looking office workers paying off morgages and waiting for the pensions to kick in. 

Well I don't have a pension or a morgage or kids or even any real belongings for that matter so I guess I am free to follow my passion and be financially irresponsible...for a while. I will still apply for school jobs in Bali but they are few and far between and I would be silly to assume that I would get one. So I will apply and expect not to get one and have a well plotted plan B just in case :)

Alright, off to bed in preparation for tomorrow big return. Sigh....
But I'll let Soul II Soul bring you back to reality on my way out.

Cheers from the reality check
J