My dream fullfilled

Hey, guess what ... great news ... my travel plans are now complete, as far as I am able.

That's right. Over 30 flights and over 85 hotel / hostel rooms in over 30 countries in a sensible route around the world have all been carefully researched, taken into consideration, arranged and if at all possible also booked and paid for in advance.

Best of all is that by booking in advance I have managed to secure a few fantastic bargains along the way and have managed to set and stick to a fairly modest budget, which most people can't believe when they hear how much I have arranged.

Of course, there will still be a few visa issues at border crossings, airport pickups and drop offs and the like that can only be done while on the road, and I'm not even going to delude myself for a split second into thinking that everything will go off without any hitches along the way, but all the hard work is behind me and now all I have to do is go out, enjoy myself and most important of all .... LIVE.

I have travel insurance in place, my redundancy money comes through in less than three weeks, my works leaving do is all arranged { and on good terms so no hard feelings either way }, my house is in good hands, I am catching up with most of my good friends before I leave the UK, my snooker performance is consistently acceptable and even my hair is behaving itself.

I even have a few months left before I leave to dust off my old Spanish text books and brush up a bit more of the local lingo before I go, not to mention the chance to do a bit of extra temping work just to throw a few extra pounds into my savings pot. I even have time to design and have printed my own "Touring T-Shirt" just like my favourite rock bands do whenever they go on the road.

There are not many moments in life when things are going this great both in the present and for looking into the future.

Yes, at this moment, I am in a very happy place and the only thing missing is a loving, respectful and caring woman by my side to share it all with, then my life would be truly perfect.

I would not swap my life or the year to come for anyones as I feel that I am on the cusp of achieving a memorable and worthy ambition and I am finally becoming the man I so eagerly wanted to be while growing up as a small child.