There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves.

-- William Shakespeare

Those who have been following my life story of late may be surprised to learn that I'm finally going to actually do something. In less than 24 hours, I will take the tide at its flood and fly out to Canada to live in a trailer on a mink farm. I have packed my bags with all essential items, tried and failed to close them, unpacked them, and then repacked them with considerably fewer essential items than before. I have ever-reliable Sony Camera, my Jared Diamond books to read across the Pacific, and of course, the wide-brimmed cowhide hat that no Australian outdoorsman (or more specifically, someone trying to pass themselves off as one) would be without.

It isn't as good an ending to this stage of my life as I had hoped for, but a far better one than I had feared. I can still succeed at life, and while my particular route to success will be slower and more winding than average, it promises to be far more interesting.

Canada is only the beginning - the grand plan is to circumnavigate the world over the next few years. It's the first real goal I've had in my life in months, and I plan to give it the best possible shot. But one step at a time.

At least I'll be able to get away from the disaster that's been building up here. Lemonade from lemons and all that. For those curious, the opening quote is from Julius Caesar, Act IV, Scene II, 270-275.