Another year, Another dimension

I have survived innumerable opportunities for incident and disease to
survive for yet another year. I count victory over 24 of them so far and
am hoping for a fair few more. Am back in Rotterdam, the pearl of
Europe, after enjoying no small amount of medical treatment in Finland
and a visit to Sweden. I left Cairo feeling a bit dodgy and arrived to
Helsinki in a wheelchair- but nothing 1 liter of saline IV, loads of
penicillin and a few blood tests couldn't fix. Huge shout outs to the
inventor of air sickness bags, Ketofan and Gatorade- my best friends
during a 72 hour forced fast in which I visited a large percentage of
the bathrooms in Scandanavia.

Today is may be the anniversary of my birth, but less than a footnote to
the history that has unfolded on this date.
43 BC - Battle of Forum Gallorum. Mark Antony, besieging Julius Caesar's
assassin Decimus Junius Brutus in Mutina, defeats the forces of the
consul Pansa.
1912 - RMS Titanic strikes an iceberg on its maiden voyage - it finishes
sinking at about 2:20 am the next day.
Black Day - informal celebration day for single people in South Korea
1986 - 2.2 lb (1kg) hailstones fall on the Gopalganj district of
Bangladesh. These are the heaviest hailstones ever recorded.
Clearly, there is strong link between these events and my appearing, not
exactly sure what it is, but the day is still young.

Being 23 kicked ass. Best year of my life. Began in Africa and finished
revolving somewhere round Western Europe. Featured 14 countries,
incredible intelligent characters and rare and wonderful opportunities.
I discovered a lot about myself in the last year, largely through
expressing myself more fully, releasing that which exists inside and too
seldom finds a way out. The Best Job in the World has been tempering and
a test, an opportunity and reward- if I can ever give as much and learn
as much I will have lived a truly happy life. Twenty-three has been a
year that will define much of who I am and where I go in the next five
years. Twenty-four will be scarier, more challenging, more unknown, it
will be another unique step- one that both builds on the past but moves
in a new and unique direction. PEACE.