Pat's been away

When I started the ex pat files a few months ago it was meant to be a wry and reflective look at the joys and confusions of living and working abroad. Since that time another issue came to the fore and this blog morphed into The Ex-files. Since that time almost everything I have done has been coloured by the struggle to rediscover my own sense of self worth after having been dumped by the woman I loved, redefine my life plan and rebuild a social life. (Hey when you're single you have to work twice as hard at it as your network is only half the size it was before). And it has been a struggle. But many friendships have been made or strengthened along the way, particularly among my Buddhist community who have kept reminding me that I am no less of a valuable person because one person realised she didn't want to spend the rest of her life with me.

We never chose to have difficult periods in our lives. But they are the times when our characters are forged. And I feel myself growing into a stronger, more focused and less needy man as a result of these last few months. And I like that feeling.

And next year we're going to bring Pat back to the ex-pat files