All good things come to an end:

Last day of the sabbatical and I have come to a great realization. I need to win the lotto. I really like the life I’ve been living for the last two months. While there are people at work that I missed and would miss if I didn’t see them regularly, when I win the lotto I’ll buy them an occasional beer.

That said, as you probably were able to tell Oxford was very good for me, and even more than I had hopped. Going there, even for the short time I was there, fulfilled a long time dream. As I have said before any place with that many colleges, bookstores both new and used, student pubs with real ale and fish ‘n chips, is a joy. On top of all that, when you add in the Bodleian Library you have just about defined my view of heaven. The time I spent there was special.

But it was not only the dream of the place that I take away. I picked up things in the classroom, the Great Hall and socializing with others that I wished I had learned when I was much younger. It was a treat and perhaps disproves that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

The travel to new places like the Isle of Man, Brussels and Bruges were great travel experiences, as most travel for me can be. I enjoy seeing new sights that I’ve never before come across. I love seeing things for the first time. I always think up a story that explains what I am looking at, and what it means. Buildings, bridges, fountains, and public art always fascinates me. The imagination runs wild as I try to get an impression of how people used them, and the stories that must go along with each place.

As I said to the tutor that taught the Medieval Pilgrimage course, I don’t really care about the arch over the doorway, how it is shaped and why, what I care about is who came through the door and why did they come through the door. So each time I go to some place new my mind is flooded with images and stories of the people who lived there and use or used those places every day.

Of course, as usual, the best part of the trip was spending time with old friends. Actors and playwrights that I have known and worked with for many years help me remember the person that I used to be. It is a nice touchstone to the past and it is always fun seeing them and spending time with them talking theatre and the arts till late into the night.

However, the two months are over and went by with the speed of light. But those months did what a sabbatical is supposed to do; it refreshed. We all get burned out with a job. The day-to-day pressure of work coupled with life can be something that weights a person down. The sabbatical is a tool that should refocus and refresh a person. I can say that it has done that for me. I’ll be back to work and hopefully with energy and a plan.

The plan is to buy more lotto tickets.