Thanks for the kind words!
As it happens, I am a writer. I write under a variety of noms-de-plume and regularly publish stories, mostly on Medium.com but I've also been published in two anthologies this year. Actual printed books, mind. I make a modest part-time income from writing. I might be short on time over the next 30 days; I've signed up for NaNoWriMo where I have to write a novel of 50 000 words in the month of November.
I have another trans-Tasman trip coming up in February - in my next membership year - but the big one will be in April with a weekend in Tampere, Finland. I'm hoping that both trips will be as boring as batshit, apart from making inroads on the world's supplies of champagne and maybe getting a good foundation for a return to WP.