Armchair traveler's report

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Greetings to the travel universe and beyond!

I have finally returned to my TravelBlog after more than a year, yet the persistent e-mails from the site asking me to return were only one reason for my decision. It's true that I have seen the end of my travels in Italy and my initial reason to keep this blog, but as I carve out time (which is quite a feat at times, I must admit) to be an ongoing travel writer, I need to write while I am simply stateside and looking for a job. It is in this predicament that I find myself, yet I've been on a one of those journeys of self-discovery that has some extreme highs and lows since graduation last May.

My thesis was finally completed, defended, and shelved for future generations of those in my graduate program by last summer. I will probably talk about how trying and grueling it all was for the rest of my days, but I have much to talk about in terms of overcoming odds and sticking to my convictions and the like. I felt ready to anchor myself somewhere and join the 'real world,' although that took the form of a volunteer job (which I do enjoy), countless searches for writing or editing jobs (and now filing and organizing and most any other kind of job), as much networking as I could politely stand (even if some of it is fun and purely social), and writing for web sites, myself, and some interesting freelance assignments.

Perhaps I am still in limbo and looking to make it doing something, but before I ship off to the Peace Corps or crash on someone's couch and start waiting tables, I will muddle through in my chosen fields, reminding myself that I do have some credentials. Oh, and a sparkling personality and sharp wit! I am also highly involved in the reading that I somewhat have time for now, and the various art-like projects that help relieve stress. I also like to walk and stay active, so that is in the background of my psyche too. I will make a few notes about the various travel-related books that I'd like to highlight below. In the meantime, I am gearing up to assist with a book sale for the local library, writing about Newton County, Georgia, and going on a short trip to a state park in South Carolina. The residence of choice there for my group will actually be a cabin, so we're calling it "faux camping." I can turn this into a memorable time, as I want to do something just as good for my birthday in May...we'll see. I'll just take on the armchair traveler's role, for the most part. My books and maps and research and imagination will make it seem less so!

Current Books: "Don't Go There!"-- Peter Greenberg (from the Today show)
"To the Ends of the Earth"-- Paul Theroux

Looking for: "A Sense of Place: Great Travel Writers Talk About Their Craft, Lives, and Inspiration"-- Various notable writers
"The Best Travel Writing 2009: True Stories from Around the World"--also various notable writers
(I'm glad to see that it will be available at the start of next month; I look for these collections each year.)

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Photos

A Sense of Place
Image borrowed from Amazon.com, for it is probably the only place that I'll be able to find and purchase this book.

Best Travel Writing 2009
Also borrowed from Amazon--almost available!