Just a Castaway

Apologies, as usual, I promise and don't deliver. I said at the end of my last post that I would write later in the day, but of course I didn't. Oh well. I'll try to be better in future...

I finished Robinson Crusoe a few days ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's said to be the first novel in the English language, nearly 300 years old, and seems really fresh even today. Reading about Crusoe's exploits - how he becomes self-sufficient, how he finds faith - is really engaging, and there was something about the self-sufficiency and what he does in order to fend for himself that really engaged me.

As I noted on Cognitive Blindspot, there were passages that just jumped out at me. One in particular towards the end of the book really stuck in my mind. Crusoe looks within reach of leaving the island, having found some allies (after nearly thirty years of solitude) but the course that they are about to take is dangerous, confronting many armed men. Someone points out that they are in a terrible situation, and that they might be injured or killed in the attempt.

I smiled at him and told him that men in our circumstances were past the operation of fear.

I really, really love that line, ...past the operation of fear... There's a tremendous thought behind it.

So what else has been going on? I had a meeting on Thursday last week which was going to be just about getting some experience in the area that I am trying to get into. Following a meeting on Friday morning I now have two or three weeks of covering some admin, then a couple of workshops where I will be working as a tutor lined up. It seems to be growing all the time! So that's quite interesting. Once this two or three week engagement being on call to cover whatever arises is done I'll be registering myself as self-employed, which is a whole other exciting adventure.

It just feels crazy that I went from a week ago with nothing in particular planned but an idea of a general direction that I wanted to go in, to today where I have a job that's paying the bills at the moment with promises of work in the next two months which are going to pay well and be invaluable in establishing myself in an area that I want to get into.

More soon, I promise. I still need to talk about Project Euler and how I've been getting on with that!

Just a castaway, an island lost at sea...