'Release' from Oxfam GB

Lotus, Habitat Centre, New Delhi

July 11, 2005

I got fairly gob smacked yesterday afternoon.

I'm being 'released' from work here at Oxfam in Afghanistan about three weeks early (meaning early in October) because there'll be 'no more work'. This is partly to do with the fact that International staff cannot go to the field in October (because we fear post-election troubles) but I can't agree that there'll be 'no work' - it would take a lot less imagination than I have to come up with useful tasks for the rest of October. There's something behind this and I'd be upset if I weren't actually pleased to go early. Now to work out how to take advantage of three weeks of time off in Asia, with a squillion Star Alliance points available. Actually, option number 1, which I'm investigating, is to attend an Oxfam climate change conference in New Delhi. I'd already been invited but thought I had to decline because of having TOO MUCH WORK here in Kabul. Now I'll see if New Delhi will fund it. Option 2 might be to go and visit my friend Phil in Bangkok. Hm, perhaps I should ask him first...

Today I'm home with a cold and I'm working on a new project for www.haythornthwaite.net: a timeline of my memories, from the earliest the most recent significant event in my life. It'll take a long time and a lot more preparation before it's ready to be linked to my site but I might make an early link from here for my loyal readers.