Now what?

Way back when (and why does it feel like it's been ages ago instead of just a couple of weeks?), when I was wandering the streets of San Francisco by myself as I waited for Will to get home from work, I came across this street sign that had me LOLing right there in the middle of the city.  

There I was, last day in SF, last day of RTW travel, heading home the very next day, and I saw this sign as kind of a personal sign from the universe to me: End Shannon. Like, you've been on the road for a long time and now it's time to call it quits and go home. Just End Shannon. I was amused by it, but you know what? It's not really the end. 

I've officially been back in the States for two weeks now and home for just over one week. So what's next on my agenda, you ask? First up is a shorty-short recruiting contract that I trained for on Wednesday and officially start on Monday. An added bonus of being a recruiter is being able to schedule, interview for, train, and start a new position all in less than two weeks after returning from a country on the other side of the world. :-) The contract will last for just over a month and then I'll take a two week vacation. What? I'll need a break after all that work! Gotta ease into it after not working for so long, lol. Nah, in reality, a friend asked me if I wanted to come with on a trip to Scotland. I'll also have a chance to see Marina and Rhian in our sixth country, so I figured why not. You only live once, right?

The plan after that is a bit more up in the air. I'll try to get a longer term contract beginning around Oct 4 after I've returned from Scotland. And I'll stay with my parents for awhile so I can save up some money for an apartment. But this is most definitely not the End Shannon as far as traveling goes. More of a pause, really. There's a whole lot of world to see out there! I don't think I'll travel again for the same length of time as this trip, it's just really tiring after awhile. One to three months is probably more ideal. Not that I'm already planning my next trip or anything, but I think for my next one I'd like to go to Eastern Europe or South America.

As for the blog, things may be quiet around here for the next month or so. You may see some stories or other random items that might be of interest (photos, Scotland ideas, etc). I'll save the RTW trip wrap-up and highlights til I'm back from Scotland. In the meantime, if there are questions you have for me or aspects of my trip that you'd like to hear more about - speak up and tell me all about it!