Fork in the road!

So today is another fork in the road moment.  After six months in Spain, five months in my current job, I am now finally moving on.  In reality, I probably stayed in the job too long.  The nature of work is very different out in Spain.  You have to make all your money in the summer season, which only consists of about two months.  This money has to also tide you over for the winter.  How great I hear you say, you get to have all the winter off.  Well yes that is a bonus, but when you consider just how much you earn, and in my case the limited hours you work, it is very difficult to sustain yourself for any length of time, let alone, all throughout the winter.

I am lucky enough now, to be able to take a step back, while Darrell returns to Australia, earning far more than you can here.  There are many things I want to do with my time and this is the chance I have been waiting for, to explore all new avenues open to me at this time.  With my first new column being published on Friday, I do of course have my first glimpse of the future.  I am a writer, and that is what I first and foremost want to concentrate on. This blog, Spanish Views has been noticed and that is a great thing for me.  I now have a regular slot in a magazine, expressing my views, on a number of different topics, in the main those that are expat focused, but I also have a lot more ideas for discussion.  I of course write this blog, as well as updating Bipolarcoaster and Foreverenduringcycles and am currently working on a new website that will be focused on bullying, offering help and support to people, who may have been in similar situations as myself.  

I am also applying for freelance writing jobs and others in Spain or internet based companies.  In the meantime I do want to start my tefl course in Barcelona, as soon as I can.  This will allow me to teach in Spain.  Whilst not cheap, it does offer a more secure future, long term!

I would of course like to do more writing for newspapers and magazines.  I have written much in newspapers in the past, most noticeable about the age of consent reduction in Britain, the debate surrounding it and the nonsense spouted about it by people, who really have nothing better to do with their time, than write discriminatory rubbish.

I also have a love of poetry.  I have written many pieces in the past and often sit down and write a poem that has meaning at the time of writing.  I would like to get some more poetry published, having my first piece published in a book called 'Light of the World', in the early 1990s.

I also have a book to finish.  Yes I am writing my memoirs, the first unedited chapter of which I include, for my readers to take a sneaky look.  I have been writing this on and off for about ten years now, so it is about time I sat down and finished it.  To be honest, so much has happened in my life over this period, I haven't been able to keep up fully, but it is now firmly at the top of my priority list!

Then there is the continuing saga of the charity I used to work for.  I have been asked to write about what happened for a magazine, when I am able.  Whilst I am dealing with the legal ramifications, through various Government bodies, I am unable to write about it in the way I would like.  This is the reason I haven't been able to finish the 'My Story' section of this blog, but it will happen soon!

​So I do have options available to me now, I have finally semi retired, at least for a short while. Someone like me, has a lot to say and a lot to write about, so you can be sure, you will hear from me a lot more in the future, as I explore more ways to creatively write about a life I never chose!