on the move....

The wisdom of youth.

2021-03-25T17:13:00.005+13:00

I spent much of my 20’s of no fixed abode – tour guiding was my gig and wherever I lay my head, that was my home. Hmmmm, sounds like a line from a song. I looked at (judged) others who needed home comforts and security as lacking adventure (being weak) and are missing out on so much (have no life).

And now here I sit, surrounded by home comforts and the securities of life, and cannot imagine being without them. Should I go back to my younger self and let him know no to be such a judgmental ass? Should I accept this development as a natural part of life, the accumulation of assets, knowledge? Of ageing? Or should I just be really thankful Ive had the opportunities to be adventurous at a time in life when it suited me, and now be thankful I have the opportunities of security, at a new time in my life where it suits me?

No real answer to that question but I do have to go now, I can see a 20-something year old out of the corner of my eye, and he is looking at me with a judgmental frown. I need to let him in on a secret.

I need to write.

2020-06-25T08:10:00.002+12:00

Somehow, I missed the fact that there have been over 23000 visits to this blog since it started back in 2008. That’s despite not having written for 6 of those years! I know some people would only have stumbled upon it after googling New Zealand or something similar, and left after a few seconds of realising it wasn’t what they were after, but still, 23000 visits! I'm not doing this for the fame or glory though, there certainly isn't any of that. When I am feeling philosophical and reflective, I need to write and then let the words speak back to me. Things become so much clearer and more comfortable. Problems seem to diminish, angers seem to subside and contentedness becomes heightened. That is why I am here and that is why I am doing this. For me and my sanity.

They need us.

2020-06-24T17:24:00.001+12:00

Something which has come to light during the national recovery of the post Covid-19 era, is domestic tourism needs help. New Zealand's biggest earner is tourism, international visitors arriving in their millions to our island nation. As a result, tourist activities and accommodation have now priced domestic travelers out of the market. Recent studies have shown the unsustainable reliance we have placed on international visitors splurging with the euphoria of travel. They are willing to spend big on accommodation, extra on tours, seek out more experiences with the attitude that after all, we are on holiday so let’s live a little. Now, we need domestic tourism to kick in to stave off tourism business failures, but their are few of us that can afford the same prices demanded by tourism providers. You can't have it both ways. Make is affordable for the domestic market, or stop complaining you don't have the support of domestic customers. Simple.

Looking back.

2020-06-23T19:27:00.001+12:00

I used to think that going back to somewhere special was a senseless risk not worth taking. Whether it be a special location, a rewarding workplace or extraordinary experience, these things are always preserved at a point of high regard. I have many of these accumulating in my life so going back to any could alter whatever it was that made the place or memory so special - it could be crushed. However, not too long ago it was with some trepidation but a little excitement that I ventured back to one such place. For many years it had survived on as the epitome of my formative experiences, from which everything I am today was based upon and to where all my achievements can be credited. But I felt I was ready to return, and indeed needed to. Something about it felt unfinished. Maybe a return would complete some sort of unseen cycle that I started all those years ago. And it did. Going back did complete the cycle. I left with a lighter sense of being than what I had going in, still without any real clarity of what that was, but it felt like that chapter finally closed. I can see now though that this place had lived on unchanged in my mind for years, and because of that, I sensed I was missing out on great things as I was no longer there. But going back made me see everything was different. I was different. My memories had hybridised and taken on lives of their own, never to match the reality that time had changed the place, the people and the protagonist – me. So as that chapter is now closed, I still have the memories, but time to start a new one. And I no longer think going back to somewhere special is a risk – it’s a gift.

Travel made easy.

2020-06-22T16:40:00.002+12:00

I take it as given that serious travel experiences must involve long distances, expensive flights or months of planning - preferably all three. The thought is we cannot possibly have worthwhile experiences or once in a lifetime opportunities without the effort and expense equaling reward. I also recall an old saying about fences and the grass been greener, or something along those lines. So here I sit, having just traversed some of the most stunning countryside in all my travels, all within a few hours' drive of my home. Yet I still can't shake that thought as I plan my next trip - it's got to involve a long distance, it will cost a fortune so I had better start planning it now. That grass is always going appear greener.

Toughen Up!

2020-06-21T08:54:00.000+12:00

We have come a long way from living in caves while fighting off mega beasts and eating whatever we found, simply to survive to the next day. We were as equal to all others creatures in the evolving ecosystems, liable to be eaten, defeated by the elements or die of starvation. Then we got wily and developed tools and fire and thus began our journey towards modern humans. So, waking up in a tent to –4 Celsius this morning should be in my DNA, but it felt tough. But as I thought about this, it felt like I had betrayed someone deep within me. The caveman who fought off mega beasts, the early tribal clans who clashed with their neighbours, the explorers from all continents who suffered great loss and hardship as did the cultures they encountered. Then came a sudden realisation that I had become soft to the real meaning of life being tough. I just need to make another cup of hot coffee and get over it.

Basic Instinct of Travel

2020-06-20T07:10:00.003+12:00

Travel, I feel, is a basic human instinct. Our ancestors did not sit on a couch scrolling social media. They wandered the earth searching for food, shelter and territory, expanding across vast oceans and great continents. Over a millennium this instinct has weakened for many, but not for me. As a young child I dreamed of places far from my humble small-town surroundings, where my imagination was lifted by the dry winds that parched the surrounding desert. Not knowing where these places were and what I would find when I got there, did not diminish the awareness I sensed that destiny would be my guide. And so it has been, but the journey of discovery is not over yet. I hear that familiar knock at my door, I have to go, again.

A Magic Carpet

2020-05-23T16:02:00.000+12:00

Its been a magic carpet ride for the past few years. Many a time have I needed to stop and pinch myself. My first few roles out of the zoo keeping profession were a bit shaky and uneven, not really sure of my own abilities and the expectations of others and if they would ever match up. Apparently not in some cases. The best way I described it to others was that as a zookeeper, it all felt so very natural, instinctive, innate, instinctual. I often felt I had been training for the role my entire life, everything was already part of me, an extension of who I was. Moving out of this field in to a corporate field, I had to learn everything. Nothing came natural, many new skills had to be developed. Not just the technical skills of working in office environments but the social skills of working with people who were clearly quite different from the circles I had spent all of my life in. Most didn't know much about animals, or conservation, or travelling, or all the things that were part of my daily conversations I had in previous roles. Conversations became about reality TV shows, kids, clothes and makeup, cafes to eat at......at times it was like another language. And yet here I am, fitting in to this new world as comfortably as a new pair of jeans. A bit tight some days, but generally a god fit. So if you don't mind, please stand clear. This magic carpet is set to continue on its way.

Wisdom of Hindsight

2020-04-27T08:30:00.000+12:00

The wit and wisdom of Hindsight means he can be a disturbing friend at times. He knows better. He told you so. He's so perfect. In a vain attempt to prove this, Hindsight has offered to visit a younger me and offer him some advice.

Hindsight (HS): So young Johnny Ray, how old are you?
Younger me, Johnny Ray (JR): 13
HS: Whats that you're holding there?
JR: A list of all the things I want to do with my life.
HS: Let me see- (takes the note from JR and reads) - Oh dear boy, you do dream don't you?
JR: What do you mean? I can do any of those things if I want to. Why can't I?
HS: Because you're a boy from a small country town born to parents of meager means. (Shaking the note at JR and says) You won't get to be a scientist, that takes years of study and money. (HS reads note again)You'll never have kids or a wife, but that is something to discuss another time. (HS reads note again) You'll never write a best selling novel, you'll never do any of this!
JR: So why are you here then if not to offer me advice, the wisdom of Hindsight, so I can achieve all these things?
HS: I'm here to stop you wasting time trying to get to places you'll never find or take up opportunities that don't count. (Folds arms and 'humphs' with a tone of superiority and victory).
JR: I write a new list almost every day of what I dream of doing. I don't ever consider setting myself boundaries or containing my thoughts. Some days I want to be a scientist, the next a teacher. Some days I want to get married, the next to remain single and travel the world. There doesn't have to be a set path for me to go forward. It doesn't have to be smooth either. Just a path of my own leading to every horizon. I have heard some adults wishing for the wisdom of Hindsight to get them out of trouble or so they can do things differently, but as a kid I don't need you. I wont ever need you. I have my goals, I have my ideas, I have my strengths and I have my weaknesses. Collectively these will allow me to live a life complete which resounds in adventure and never will I wish for the wisdom of Hindsight. That will only change who I am destined to become and I don't know who that is yet, but I like them already.

So, the moral of the story is that the wisdom of Hindsight is not always a welcome thing. We wish we could have used it many times over, but what would really happen if we did. How many accidental things would no longer happen that would turn out to be truly awesome!

Memories.

2014-09-07T06:16:00.001+12:00

Recently I realised that as I age my past appears to be defined as a series of events. I like to see them as short stories, each covering an event or era in my life. There was always a beginning and an end, usually focused on life events such as moving, changing jobs or ending a relationship. There is also a degree of overlapping between these stories. Some characters appeared in a number of them, some locations were the same but the characters varied. The point however is this – these short stories seem to be archiving themselves. Early events have started to feel distant, almost removed from who I am today. Is it that time has erased this connection? Is it because I have done so much since that I can’t remain emotionally attached to every memory? Have I relived the memory and looked at the photos too many times dulling the emotion leaving just the knowledge the event happened, not the actually feeling? I will never know. It has happened and it will continue to happen as long as life experiences continue to accumulate and time continues to pass. I don’t like the thought of losing the connections I have to my past experiences. However, I do like the inspiration my memories evoke and love knowing that there is more to come.

Hi, my name is John

2014-08-28T13:57:00.003+12:00

There has been much going on this year and the longer I left resuming my blog, the harder it became to do so. I was awaiting the right moment. A time when all things aligned and offered themselves to me in an orderly fashion, ready to be transformed in to succulent narratives. But this point in time has since been recognised as an assumption of my own creativity. There was never going to be a appropriate time. An exact moment where I could sit down and say I’m back and this is where the adventure has taken me! So with these thin words I begin to compose once more and will continue to do so.

An inescapable excuse for my absence is that now I work in an office based profession I am using a computer all day. The last activity I feel like doing in my down time is staring at a computer again. And I call myself a writer, eh? I struggled with the old school pen and paper way of writing but my mind went faster than I could write and my foreign scrawl ended up as slightly absurd babble.

Rather than fill this page with every detail since my previous entry, I will humbly reintroduce myself and begin a more determined effort to write more frequently. After all, this blog began partly as a journal for my own memories. I’m almost a year older since my last entry. I’d better jot these memories down before they start to fade. You know, old age and everything.

The Good Life.

2013-12-19T15:38:00.001+13:00

I like life’s little revelations, in particular when I am already feeling the world is wonderful. Last weekend was my birthday and I was already in good spirits. Call it Christmas cheer, birthday bliss or whatever, but I was feeling pretty pleased with the way life was going. To celebrate my birthday, we took a road trip across to the West Coast of New Zealand. It is a rugged coast facing out to the Tasman Sea, the physical and cultural buffer between Australia and New Zealand. The Southern Alps which form the spine of the South Island force moisture from the clouds to soak this part of the world with up to 18 metres of rain a year. It is a landscape of lush and vibrant colour, changing vistas at each corner and an absolute world away from the Canterbury Plains where we live. If the destination sounds extraordinary, the road trip across the island is as remarkable. Disappearing from the Canterbury Plains, the road carves in to the foot hills, pirouetting with the braided rivers as each criss-crosses the valley on separate paths. On their way to the ocean, the turquoise waters race past islands of brightly coloured flowers. Verdant vegetation embraces the valley walls, altering in density and stature as elevations increase. All around there is water cascading down the slopes in varying volumes, as though the mountains themselves are melting. Where the hills fuse with the rising mountains, the still snowy peaks draw the traveller’s eyes further skyward to blink in the summer sunshine at the cobalt blue skies. As the entire scene awakens my senses, I draw a deep breathe to capture this moment as Mother Nature reaches down to kiss my cheek.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly........for this week.

2013-12-08T19:51:00.001+13:00

The Good: Once again I find myself being self-indulgent thanks to the fortunes bestowed upon by my spirit guides. To have found the job I currently enjoy now is quite satisfying, but the New Year is shaping up to bring small pot of new work opportunities for me to choose from. It will require some careful thought about whether to return to the old and the familiar to put my training and experience to use or branch off on this relatively new path in I am currently walking to forge a solid career in the Aviation Industry? All have positives, all have drawbacks, but just how to weigh them all up is an unknown.

The Bad: With the passing of Nelson Mandela this week, the universe will need to dig deep to fill the void he leaves. A humble and passionate person who had an enormous impact on not just his home country, but the entirety of civilisation. What he achieved was remarkable and his inspiring presence was enough to shape the future for every generation yet to come. He will be sadly missed but will live forever through his legacy of hope and change is possible for everyone.

The Ugly: It has been a week of road works, more terrifying than normal. Because the earthquakes of 2010/11 caused so much damage above ground, it is easy to forget what damage there is below. Water pipes, power lines and waste water systems are all cracked while many roads themselves suffered severe buckling and appeared shattered like glass. I do understand the need to replace all of this and as a result, the ongoing traffic disruptions are a necessary evil. But I do wish it wasn't so.

''They have had me for 27 years. If I keep hating them, they will still have me." Nelson Mandela 1918-2013.

Are we Kiwis yet?

2013-12-02T13:58:00.000+13:00

So, we bought some land and now we are about to build a house. At various times in the past I have said to myself “now we are really Kiwis”, but if none of those past instances have served to be ‘the’ moment, then surely the purchase of a small slice of New Zealand counts? We have downsized from our farm back in Australia, to a paltry 10 acres. With only neighbours on one side, there is a wonderful sense of space and freedom. Slight undulation means there are some small ponds and winter flowing creeks. From one side, the rugged mountain ranges are watching us through the changing seasons. To the other side is the Canterbury Plains and views over to the old volcanic cones which form Banks Peninsula. The house will be a transportable, built off site and moved when completed. It was the quickest way to get a house given the housing crisis New Zealand is currently experiencing. It will be bigger than our house back in Australia though, and BRAND NEW! We will add decking and do some landscaping soon after moving in, plus we will be getting a larger pond dug out when the contractors come to put in a driveway. All the elements we want will be attainable and I am so pleased with our decision to do this instated of wait to find an established house and property. I will update you all regularly. Have to go wipe the smile of my face now. Don’t want people to think I am up to no good.

Not the greatest quality video, but it needed to be compressed to be uploaded. Maybe photos next time.....

As old as you feel.

2013-11-12T14:37:00.000+13:00

I was chatting to one of my new work colleagues during the week about general stuff and she started asking questions about my life. Things I had done, jobs I had worked in, places I have lived and so forth. It was a brief conversation yet quite revealing. Not just because I disclosed more of myself to this new person, but because I essentially heard what I was saying, as if someone else was doing the talking. Not only that, but they were talking about someone else's life. A life that I wanted to have lived. It was enlightening to think that this was me I was talking out aloud about. The colleague echoed my own quickly manifesting private thoughts by stating with a tone of surprise and astonishment that I have been living a great life. The real knock-me-down moment though was yet to follow. She continued in her admiration of past my past exploits by adding "and you are still so young!". Me, who lately has been spending more time than I can justify, thinking how I am beyond the magical prime years. That somewhere I passed the point of no return, where all the adventure dissipates to be superceded by routine, career, future wealth, old age and then death. So considering this older person’s point of view, I suddenly felt like the world was mine once again. That doors are all still open to a swarm of opportunities and things yet to accomplish. I could do anything, be anyone, and go anywhere. And you know what? That's exactly what I am going to do.

Great expecations

2013-11-10T14:33:00.001+13:00

One of my greatest achievements.....?

Great achievements come in all sizes. I often find myself reflecting on my own past experiences, feeling a glow of pride and accomplishment in what I have done. Plus, there is a constant source of optimism with the future being open and undefined, yet to be conquered like a new frontier. But achievements are not just the big experiences in life that are considered special – a university degree, foreign countries visited or careers forged. They can be as customary as raising a child, completing a course out of personal interest or just getting though the day without regrets or setbacks. Life is not the same for all of us and how we gauge our own success and our own level of achievement should not be done by comparing it to that of others. Triumphs are individual and what makes one person feel accomplished and successful will not be true for the next. If we were all striving to climb a mountain, there would be no mountains left to conquer. If we all wanted to raise a family of children, there would be no room left for those who don’t. If we all wanted to be in charge, there would be no people left to lead. So achieving our goals isn’t about being put on a pedestal or being able to boast about astounding experiences, it’s about feeling what you do is worth everything in the world TO YOU. That is what defines a great achievement and that is what defines the individual.

A good person.

2013-10-30T06:06:00.000+13:00

I do try to be a good person. I try to treat people with respect and give them encouragement and support when needed or leave them better and brighter than when I first met them. I have little else to offer the world than kind words and my clear conscious. But sometimes I encounter a situation which kills me inside just a little. Or a person whom I struggle to be around. So when I hear one of these people is being treated with the same bitterness and contempt as they themselves inflicted on others, I can't help but feel a little relieved. Another brick in the wall separating me from such a situation has been placed and it looks like it will be finished soon. I have been waiting for Karma to dish out some justice and while it has been slow in coming I am happy it has arrived. There is a very fine line between feeling vindicated for ones actions and decisions and being vindictive in seeing retribution arrive. I am not sure what side of that line I am on at the moment. I do try to be a good person.

A day in the life of....

2013-10-24T05:40:00.000+13:00

A little update on my job. It’s great.

It’s not what I had seen myself doing or being happy in. An office based position, computers, everyone wanting something from me and trying to keep everyone happy. While I still recognise that there is a honeymoon period for everything, I can’t believe how much I am enjoying the environment I get to spend my day in. I share a big office with another staff member who is not often around. From two walls of windows I look out towards some low hills (Banks peninsula) and across a section of the airport where the International planes pull up and the planes that service the Antarctic bases stand to be loaded/unloaded. Apart from this, I hear the constant rumble of aircraft landing and taking off, giving an energy to the place which can only be described as enthralling. From the staff room upstairs there is a sweeping vista of the airport and the snowy mountains beyond. I have many visits to that room for a coffee break. On my computer I have all the flights arriving and departing and if there is something out of the ordinary happening or one of the big military planes is heading off to the Antarctic I go up and watch it like a reality TV show. I don’t feel restricted nor confined to indoors. I can step outside as often as I like. I walk each day for at least half an hour, plus usually to and from work while waiting for Phil to pick me up. What a great way to start and end the day. Headphones on, great music, and the freedoms of life before me. As long as I do what my job entails, I can organise my day completely as I want. This often includes visits to other offices, or them visiting me, or a trip over to the airport terminals to stretch my legs among the travelers. And while I am there, just for a brief moment, I feel like I am about to fly off to another adventure. I have found myself in a position where I don’t feel I am struggling to achieve the goals of my job or to convince myself that I am happy here. Now then, the Emirates flight to Dubai is about to take off. Time to go and get myself a coffee.

The Berlin Wall vs. The Global Citizen

2013-10-06T17:53:00.001+13:00

In my late teens and early 20’s. I was fortunate enough to be what I considered a global citizen. Opening with a year in the USA when I was 16, for the next 10 years I found myself living, working or travelling overseas every year, sometimes for several months at a time. It wasn't a lifestyle I set out to capture, the universe simply unfurled its magic carpet and took me away. Every adventure was memorable and in some way life changing. A visit to the former West Germany was one such adventure.

Many younger people are unaware that Germany was ever once two separate countries. Time has a tendency to erase history in school books these days. It was my first visit to Germany and I was staying with friends in Hamburg which is in the north of the country. Unrest had been brewing surrounding the Berlin Wall and all it stood for. The division of a nation, the separation of families, the gap between democracy, freedom and communism. The Wall epitomised the politics of the past and offered little hope to those entombed behind. When the world woke on 9th November 1989, it was a different place. Overnight the borders had been opened allowing East Germans to cross freely into the west. The destructive cracks in the facade of East Germany had begun. People Power took over and used this weakness to physically tear down the wall. In the smash of a hammer, families separated for decades were reunited and a new freedom was found. Modern Germany had emerged.

Not one to miss a good party, I found myself on a train to Berlin crammed with others keen to salute the beginnings of a new nation and embrace the residents of the former East. I experienced the throng of a reunited city and was exposed to the positively intoxicating vibes. I grabbed a few handfuls of the crumbling wall as a memento of the greatest historical event I could imagine being part of. In a swirl of rapture and surrealistic emotions I headed back to Hamburg. I shared the carriage with some residents of the former East Berlin. They being unable to speak a word of English, conversations were clearly enjoyed using gestures and expressions. They marveled at the cars we passed, the flashing railway crossings, the petrol stations and more. They saw everything that I didn't and thought it was brilliant. If I had been able to copture the intense sense of delight in the rattling cabin that night, the world would never be a sad place again.

As a young person in such an intense environment, I left Germany with a new perspective. It made me realise many things, the most basic being not to take things for granted. Anything. Appreciate that I can go anywhere at any time. That I have money to do so. That things can change in a second for the good, as well as the bad. That there is power in the common people to not just topple a government, but to build a nation. That I am lucky. Lucky to be a global citizen.

The happiness beyond.

2013-09-23T14:49:00.001+12:00

Reflecting on my previous posts it would be easy to think I have fallen into despair and depression. Leaving my job with a bitterness that wont seem to fade, getting sick and injured increasing the fear of ageing and the relentless punishment of time and then most recently the sale of the farm we called home in the 'early years'. Rest assured, while it has been a journey of sorts it has not been a time of remorse or defeat. And here is why.

I live in New Zealand, one of the most beautiful and colourful countries in the world. I have a partner who cherishes me and inspires me to be a better person each and every day. I have a new job which is teaching me new skills and has many doors of opportunity waiting for me to open. I can walk down my driveway and look towards snow capped peaks. I have a small garden with plants that I have grown from seeds or cuttings. I have two dogs who love me regardless of how I feel or look. I have a grand sense of gratefulness that I am healthy, have food to eat, a house to live in and do not live in poverty. In my space there are no epic disasters, no mass shootings, no oil spills. No dictators, regimes, no wars. I am free.

So when you read my posts about feeling old or not having the great job I think I deserve, don’t be fooled. Like many people, when I look beyond my own mind and my own boundaries it becomes very clear and precise how happy I actually am

Home is where the heart is.

2013-09-12T16:47:00.000+12:00

As part of our move to New Zealand, it was decided to sell our property back in Australia and buy ourselves a small slice of New Zealand. As all plans begin, it was a brilliant one. We owned the property, not the bank, so it would enable us to continue on our merry way with financial security. No big loans, some spare cash for luxuries, travel, skiing and so forth. That was the plan.

Last week was settlement day for the property. For me, it came and went without fanfare. The benefits of selling were numbed by the loss I felt. Loss of home, loss of place, loss of memories and loss of opportunities. All these things were embodied on our 80 acre farm with endless views of a truly beautiful part of Australia. No more can I feel these views are mine. No more wandering through the beautiful vegetation, the trees which I grew from seed, the seed which I harvested myself. No more opportunities to plan the future – the decking, the landscaping, the constant re vegetating. It is now all in the hands of its new owners. That chapter has ended.

Now we're are in limbo – not here or there. I yearn for a place to call home, somewhere I can add my bit to give it life. The options are there, its just a matter of waiting for the right one to choose us. A new chapter has started but I sure did enjoy the last one.

For all the people who were part of that chapter, thanks for the memories. It all added up to a fine ending. Anyway, I had better turn this page.

Time waits for no-one.

2013-08-19T17:42:00.000+12:00

I was recently browsing through one of the boxes we brought over to New Zealand with us, the one containing old photos and other memorabilia of days gone by. I always get drawn into a world resplendent in nostalgia as soon as I see images of places and people that used to be part of my everyday life. Memories come flooding back like a gentle breeze forewarns of a storm. Feelings are awakened and more memories rekindled until I can close my eyes as the storm evolves around me. I am in that place once more. With those people again. No time has passed from the point the photo was taken till now. Then I open my eyes and the storm of nostalgia abruptly ends as I fall to reality with an awareness of place and time. Around me I see very little that connects who I am to my past experiences, just old photos. The young and healthy guy I see in the photos is not the middle age man I have become. It cannot be the same person. A recent slip at work has left me creaking and groaning, unable to stand without a grimace, walking has become a shuffle, doctors appointments to go to, gentle exercises to do, egos to mend and self esteem to be nurtured. It simply cannot be the same person.

Feel the fear and do it anyway.

2013-08-13T14:43:00.001+12:00

How I feel when I think too much about about the fact that I am about to change careers......

A new chapter begins.

2013-08-10T17:43:00.002+12:00

So whats he doing now? I finish my current job on the 23rd of this month and jump straight in to my new role the following Monday, on the 26th of August. I will be employed in a section of the Civil Aviation Authority called Aviation Security Services. They are responsible for a range of security functions throughout New Zealand. My area will be the Operations Team coordinating the 120+ employees from several airports in everything from rosters to training and development. I will be responsible for tasks as varied as approving staff leave to ensuring there are enough resources available to accommodate last minute flight changes.
I feel very fortunate to be able to change jobs as often as I have over my working career. I keep thinking I am getting too old to do this, and yet opportunities keep arising. As one dear friend commented recently "You can't sit still can you John!!" and this has been echoed in essence by others. And they are right, I can't. But while there are opportunities out there for someone to take, then I am going to darn well be the one to do so. Remove the fear and the rest is easy.

I am winning.

2013-08-10T08:38:00.000+12:00

For the astute who knew of my current situation, the resignation from my current workplace will not be a surprise. It has been several challenging months of trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Me being the peg and my work place being the hole (no slight intended). A few posts ago, I wrote how through every crisis there is a chance to be reborn. I felt I had been harshly dealt with by the universe and that at some point in the future, this imbalance will right itself. So, I waited. And waited some more. While beginning to doubt my own beliefs in restorative universal Justice, I waited even longer. Then suddenly, just this week, the balance began to tip back in my favour. Things started to shine again. I could see the snowy mountainous through beautiful new eyes. I could hear the chorus of birds again as I woke each morning, instead of the banging of work place dilemmas in my head. I am winning. I AM THE VICTOR.

If you can't figure out where you stand in a given situation, it may me time to stop standing and start walking.