Dear Trippist readers, this is my last post on this wonderful blog. It's been five years and more than 500 entries. It's been wonderful writing here. It has made me more observant about life around me. Instead of shuffling to the train with my head down, I'm forced to look for fun and exciting things to share with all of you. If anyone feels like life is getting mundane, just write for a blog like Trippist. I guarantee you'll realize the place you live has lots to offer.

I'll end with a plug for a great project I heard about a while ago. It's called the Expatriate Archive Centre. It: "collects, preserves, promotes and makes accessible a collection of primary source materials, documenting the global social history of expatriate life."

Given that many Trippist readers are expats too, I thought it might be interesting to know there's a place out there that is interested in documenting your life stories! So what do they collect? Here's what they say on their website:

The main issues of a lifetime 'on the move' were common to most expatriates: children's schooling; health of grandparents; domestic servants; medical care; foreign languages; new cultures and friends; severed friendships; bridge; golf; sailing; climate; gardens; dual-careers; politics - a rich mosaic of life spread around an increasingly interconnected globe.

They regularly offer two main workshops: One called "From a suitcase to an archive - An introduction to the Archive's history." Here, participants get to explore a little bit behind the scenes. The other workshop is called "Out of the boxes! - Start writing your life stories." They also maintain a blog.

Happy holidays, everyone, and all the best for 2012!