Take a deep breath...and jump in!

There have been many times in life where I have been confronted by things that make me stop in my tracks and take a hard look at the situation. Travelling around and meeting new people...moving to a different job...deciding on what is best in the situation...

...Let's face it, sometimes the journey means more than the arrival.

I would say that I have had a rather interesting life. Okay, I haven't won an F1 Grand Prix or hitched a ride on a space shuttle...but I've done lots of other stuff that many people would never dream of doing...even the simple stuff like holding a tarantula or boa constrictor and being in a cage with a live Cheetah. There are definitely times where I have been terrified by the decisions I have been called to make...but there are times when you have to take a deep breath and just jump in!

On a recent trip to Kenya, I found myself standing on a cliff face, looking down at the river below and thinking...I've got to jump into there!? Every instinct I had, was telling me not to but I knew that I had to do it or face the ridicule of everyone else in the group. Then it struck me...it wasn't the group that would ridicule me the most...it would be me, telling myself that I should have done it...so I took a deep breath and jumped in. When I surfaced, it felt like I was on top of the world...life couldn't feel any better...it was absolutely invigorating...not because I HAD jumped in but because I now knew that I COULD!

Yesterday, I had my 40th birthday. To me a birthday doesn't mean anything other than being closer to the grave by another day...and why would you celebrate that ;)? What was really important was the fact that after 22 years service, I had reached a major turning point in my career that, until last week, hadn't even dawned on me...I was now able to draw a pension if I left the service. I have been working towards this for the last 22 years...yesterday I took away that goal and everything seems to have become a huge question. I will obviously continue with my career but I now have the option of calling it quits if the going gets too tough and drawing a pension...it sort of makes you think long and hard about the future when you know that there are new options.

...I know...blah, blah, blah...but that is the sort of week I've had.

So this is what I have decided to do now:

Click the Pic!

Click the Pic!

Click the Pic!

So far, I have begun preparing 12 torsos and am waiting for the glue to dry before I chop the bottoms off them, ready to start the next phase. My plan is to build 12 Beetle-Bots with standard rifles to act as a parachute/shock-troop unit.

I have also been ticking along with the next Tunnel Fighter unit and have started assembling the next mech for them too...there just isn't much point showing them off at such an early stage.

This week I am on a normal day shift so I will have the evenings to play with. Hopefully I will have the energy and enthusiasm to get a bit more completed for next week's Blog update because I have been a bit slow so far this year and need to shake off the doldrums and wake up a bit!

See you over the new pastures!