The Red Tape

This past week has been quite challenging from the Red Tape perspective.  I thought going around the world would throw up a few nuggets to work with, but i haven't even left yet and i seem to be drowning in them.  For starters, my current UK visa expired in October, so i submitted my application to have it extended until my departure date 1 March 2010.  I was kind of hoping that it would take as long as it did last year, but they seem to be a bit more organised this year, and so last week i received their decision to deny me a visa.  So, my options at the moment are to either appeal their decision or to fly back to SA and apply for all my travel visas from there, because at the moment the likelihood of other embassy's granting me a visa are looking pretty slim...
This has brought up a lot of emotion for me, as you can imagine, and a great opportunity to practice remaining still amongst the chaos.  As i say, i am still practicing!
Oh, and in amongst all that is going on i am meant to be writing case studies as well as a dissertation, oh, and i am leaving my job... and moving... Breathe!!
And on some level, i have brought this upon myself... why?  I suppose somehow i didn't expect the level of unreasonableness that i am currently facing, can't they just see that i really just want to take a year out and see the world - that is it, no strings, really!!  I think what most frustrates me is the lack of trust, and i find myself feeling like a criminal when i have done nothing wrong.
Those sunny shores of South Africa are seeming all the more welcoming at the moment...

Four months till departure...

Time is ticking on, and the list of things that need doing just seems to grow...
My dissertation is moving along at the pace of a snail, while my mind races from thought to thought, not wanting to slow down long enough to enable me to write.
Visa-wise everything is up in the air. I am now waiting for my new UK visa which will hopefully take me until my departure date, and then i need to organise visas for India, Australia and the USA - these need to be done before I leave... 
I am also trying to decide what gadgets would be best for my travels, so that i can write my blog and post pics along the way... I must say, i am enjoying this bit, it is a great distraction from writing my dissertation... LOL!

I am getting excited... i can feel the edges of it, but i can't allow myself to get lost in that, because there is still so much to do - the list remember!!

Six months till departure...

Well, this is really just to test how this all works...

Today is exactly six months till i depart on my round the world travels, and it still seems so unreal... I am actually just going to be travelling for a year? Me? There is still so much to do before then, so much money to save... therefore so much work to be done... LOL!