good post

I was pleasantly surprised this morning when I heard the thud of post on my doormat, and found my new passport had arrived. I posted my application less than a week ago, so I think such a fast turn around is thoroughly impressive. The only thing which dampened my excitement slightly was the fact that they have retained my old passport. I had a recollection of old passports being sent back with one corner snipped off. I had accumulated a nice set of stamps and visas from a good sized handful of countries, and now I just have a whole lot of blank pages to fill. I know that losing my old passport does not mean the memories of my adventures are lost or forgotten, but there's something nice about being able to look back at old passports in years to come and marvel at the stamps of different languages and nations all huddled closely together between pages.

I went for a run this morning, and yet again, my lack of a sense of direction was grossly evident. I managed to get lost. In a field. I just couldn't find my way out. I kept hitting dead ends and getting tangled up in thorns, leaving me with multiple puncture wounds. It turned out that the reason why I was having difficulty finding my way out of the field was because I had forgotten that I had come through another field to get to the one I was in, and I was looking for landmarks that I had mentally noted in the first field, in the second. Needless to say, I did eventually get out after 15 minutes of wandering. It was quite fun really, being in a new place, with the sun shining beautifully and the sky a glorious shade of blue, and knowing that somewhere in the field were a couple of deer which I had spotted when I jumped over the gate upon arrival. Not what you'd expect to see in the middle of the city.