The Ramblings of Sharon

Well here I am .. I finally made it to London.

Its 1pm Tuesday afternoon and I'm lying in my hotel bed typing this up in textedit.
I really wanted to keep going until a more normal bedtime here but I was absolutely shattered.

I got in at 5am this morning, baggage and customs was straight through .. oh that gold priority baggage is a blessing, got the Heathrow Express to Paddington and was at my hotel before 7am.

Unfortunately check-in isn't until 2, so I had to wander around until my room was ready.

I was sooo tired, I had been in the same clothes for over 30 hours, all I wanted was a shower and a rest. My hotel is near Marble Arch, so I re-aquainted myself with Oxford St, Regent St, Leicester Square, Carnaby Street , virtually a huge backtracking circle that I'm so good at. I managed to down 2 huge coffee's to try and keep me going.

London turned on a cold, blustery day and I only had on a summer top with a light little cardy. My good red wool coat was in my luggage, but on the bright side I think freezing my butt off was the only thing that kept me awake.

By midday I'm sure I looked like some sort of zombie tramping around, I just sort of leaned myself forward and used the momentum to keep going. I knew I was getting real tired as I kept tripping on the pavement, I was waiting to end up face first in it at some point .. thank goodness I didn't.

I decided to trudge back to my hotel to see if by some miracle the room might be ready. Someone was on my side because the miracle occurred !!! So now I am showered, have a cuppa and am lying in bed :-)

Despite how crappy I feel, its absolutely wonderful to be back in London and I'm really looking forward to spending some quality time here.

At last its time for a new chapter to begin.

I really struggle with that last bit of things, but its done. Stuff is packed for storage, addresses changed, clothes and essentials are packed, alarm is set and I will be off bright and early in the morning.

This leaving has been very low key and I'm more than ready to be getting on that plane tomorrow.

I have caught up with all the people I love, goodbyes are done .. well there will be the last goodbye with the boys tomorrow but thats to be expected.

On that note I shall also keep my last post from Perth low-key, short and sweet.

Goodbye Perth and I will write when I get to London.

This one I have to shout from the rooftops .. I had vaguely heard about Couchsurfing but never really followed it up. I suppose you find things when you are ready, but OMG I am so excited about this.

Its a travellers dream. Their words are so much better than mine, so I shall quote from the website.

CouchSurfing seeks to internationally network people and places, create educational exchanges, raise collective consciousness, spread tolerance and facilitate cultural understanding.

As a community we strive to do our individual and collective parts to create world a better place, and we believe that the surfing of couches is a mean to accomplish this goal.

CouchSurfing is not about the furniture, not just about finding free accommodations around the world; it's about making connections worldwide. We make the world a better place by opening our homes, our hearts, and our lives. We open our minds and welcome the knowledge that cultural exchange makes available. We create deep and meaningful connections that cross oceans, continents and cultures. CouchSurfing wants to change not only the way we travel, but how we relate to the world!

I have already found wonderful people to host me and show me around Edinburgh and Lerwick (Shetland Islands) and suprise suprise they are having a huge 3 day gathering from all over in London the day I get back from Scotland.

I would love to encourage any of you reading this to check out the website http://www.couchsurfing.com and get involved if it appeals to you.

On the home front, I am 95% ready to roll .. despite my procrastinatic (lol is that a word) ways and counting sleeps ..

4 Sleeps to go !!!!!

How cool is that. As of last Friday, I am now officially unemployed.
One whole week to go and its time to .. be leaving on a jet plane (sing with me people )

I have to say despite all the fun that we've had on this project, I have been incredibly blessed twice.
Having moved across 2 teams, each time my managers have been absolutely wonderful. Nigel and Aaron, if you ever read this, Thankyou :-)
Besides just being truly wonderful people, they both trust you to do the job they are paying you for and let you get on with it.
My co-workers in both teams, what can I say ... we have all been so diverse, yet have that same vision to pull together and get things done, with a sense of humour and fun. It really has been a fantastic journey and I have learnt so much from these people on both a professional and personal level.

Heres a little peek .. unfortunately it looks like I cant embed slideshows in here, so it will have to be a link.
Disclaimer: That flash was brutal, yeah thats why I look so bad

http://www.slide.com/r/yIzDkGO2xD_J0ZrBN4KiYGaZV0AbOX9S?view=original

Now for a reality check, yes I have a million and one things to do this week and I am in diversionary plus mode. Started trying to pack yesterday and so far I have managed to make huge piles of stuff all over the place without actually achieving much.

OK, not very exciting stuff to everyone .. BUT .. I just practiced the bundle wrapping for this weeks work trip as detailed on http://www.onebag.com/pack.html and it really works.
I've got half a case free. I will have to see how it holds up when I get there but for now I'm amazed.

I just might get the hang of this travelling light thing yet.

For anyone that travels a lot, I recommend you have a read and give it a whirl.