Blissful February--Inspiration Wherefore Art Thou? + Mosquitoes, Wherefore Art Thou Not?
Ok, maybe February isn't quite blissful, but it is a far cry from the dark corners of endless January, which seemingly stretched on into eternity. Now, red wine is back in my life, and yet inspiration eludes me. Oh, my 2020 goals! My dear sweet goals! I cling to them and pick through them now and again and wonder how on earth I will accomplish them.
I sometimes feel afraid in the morning before I begin to write. A fresh daily dose of fear. So unlike me, is it not? Thoughts swirl around in my head. Ok, what should I write? Will it be good? Will it make sense? Knowing the helter skelter world that is my mind, probably not. I search for my inspiration in the lovely morning birdsong and the bottom of my cup of earl grey, and yet, I see only foggy ideas in front of me. But, perhaps, inspiration is just like that.
I have these moments I see that I write down in my notebook, and they're lovely, excellent moments. Snippets of a story or a book or even a scene. And yet, what goes on from there? I'm taking a course that is discussing the building of characters from which you can build your plot. Maybe I'm silly, but I was always thinking about it the other way around. But, it's so true. Captivating and compelling characters are what draw you into a story, right? Anne Shirley, Elizabeth Bennet, etc.
So, we shall see. I've started off a bit of short fiction writing, like I'm attempting to ease into a boiling hot bath quietly, so as not to disturb anyone. Wouldn't want a whole sea of people reading what is not yet to be completed.
So, this month, you find me working through my demons as I figure out what I would like to do with my writing and how to attempt to write amidst the fury of intriguing televison shows, sports activities, friends' nights out, murder mystery parties, and the like. And trying to concentrate while James regales me with how and why his beer keg system works. Sure, sure, you can tell me all about sediment and carbon dioxide, but first, pour me a glass.
Besides the beer situation (or is there more to life than that?), James has been very busy at work and doing after school activities. There are many more holidays here, which is great, and a few weekends ago, we had the chance to head to Lake Malawi with a few friends to enjoy swimming, kayaking, and the (or should I say my) fears of the water parasite. Don't worry, it's not everywhere you swim!
One of my friends that was on the trip and I went for a hike through a nearby village up the mountain and back down across the beach. Sounds idyllic, doesn't it? It really was. I have never walked through a village before since I've moved here, and what an interesting, vibrant, and happy place it is. It was that perfect time of the evening as the light is waning when we began to walk, and when we arrived, people were hanging out in the sand, listening to music and talking. As we walked by, people said "hello" and gave us a thumbs up. You feel like the coolest person in the world.
I was puffed up with pride in my apparent coolness which no one seems to notice in Akron, PA. We had a wonderful view of the lake from the mountain, but...we took too long. On our way back, it was longer than we expected, and the sun was slowly disappearing. Thank goodness there was a full moon to somewhat illuminate our path. We ended up "bouldering" (Katie would be proud!) over loads of rocks in the moonlight, trying to head back to our beach house.
It was pretty cool, but you can imagine my fearful thoughts as we crawled. Are there snakes? What if I slide into one of these crevices and am never heard from again? What if I get kicked by a goat? There were many hanging around them early in the day. And then, a new fear emerged that I did not expect. I was afraid that I would slip and fall face first into a pile of human feces. That's right, some of the rocks were covered in human poop.
And so, my new, unique and very specific fear plagued me as we made our way back. Good thing the moon was there to help me distinguish between gray and brown. Pooping is a natural function, of course, but besides the fear I had of accidentally eating it, I kept wondering, why not go in the crevices? Much more practical. If only there was someone there to give my useful notes too. But, we made it back alive, sweating, and I feverishly washed my hands before going anywhere near my face. Life lessons of Malawi.
And in more recent news, we had a crazy storm last night in which my car nearly drowned in lake-depth water at a traffic circle as I made my way home. The result was no power, and it has remained off for the last twelve hours! We've become well-versed in the use of our generator, which I'd say is a useful life-skill (check!), but I am longing for the time in which the electricity is back on, and the night time does not consist of laying in a puddle of my own sweat and listening to the mosquitoes come towards me to devour me alive, rubbing their thin hands together in malicious glee.
To sum up my February, in case you couldn't bear to read through the whole post, read the following:
My February has thus far consisted of:
-searching for inspiration
-James talking about his beer operation a lot
-People saying hello to me in villages
-Possibly falling and accidentally touching my mouth to poop
-Having no power
-The mosquitoes torturing me in the night
What a blissful February it is! :) Hope you are having one of those yourself!
I sometimes feel afraid in the morning before I begin to write. A fresh daily dose of fear. So unlike me, is it not? Thoughts swirl around in my head. Ok, what should I write? Will it be good? Will it make sense? Knowing the helter skelter world that is my mind, probably not. I search for my inspiration in the lovely morning birdsong and the bottom of my cup of earl grey, and yet, I see only foggy ideas in front of me. But, perhaps, inspiration is just like that.
I have these moments I see that I write down in my notebook, and they're lovely, excellent moments. Snippets of a story or a book or even a scene. And yet, what goes on from there? I'm taking a course that is discussing the building of characters from which you can build your plot. Maybe I'm silly, but I was always thinking about it the other way around. But, it's so true. Captivating and compelling characters are what draw you into a story, right? Anne Shirley, Elizabeth Bennet, etc.
So, we shall see. I've started off a bit of short fiction writing, like I'm attempting to ease into a boiling hot bath quietly, so as not to disturb anyone. Wouldn't want a whole sea of people reading what is not yet to be completed.
So, this month, you find me working through my demons as I figure out what I would like to do with my writing and how to attempt to write amidst the fury of intriguing televison shows, sports activities, friends' nights out, murder mystery parties, and the like. And trying to concentrate while James regales me with how and why his beer keg system works. Sure, sure, you can tell me all about sediment and carbon dioxide, but first, pour me a glass.
*** extra thrilling updates
Besides the beer situation (or is there more to life than that?), James has been very busy at work and doing after school activities. There are many more holidays here, which is great, and a few weekends ago, we had the chance to head to Lake Malawi with a few friends to enjoy swimming, kayaking, and the (or should I say my) fears of the water parasite. Don't worry, it's not everywhere you swim!
One of my friends that was on the trip and I went for a hike through a nearby village up the mountain and back down across the beach. Sounds idyllic, doesn't it? It really was. I have never walked through a village before since I've moved here, and what an interesting, vibrant, and happy place it is. It was that perfect time of the evening as the light is waning when we began to walk, and when we arrived, people were hanging out in the sand, listening to music and talking. As we walked by, people said "hello" and gave us a thumbs up. You feel like the coolest person in the world.
I was puffed up with pride in my apparent coolness which no one seems to notice in Akron, PA. We had a wonderful view of the lake from the mountain, but...we took too long. On our way back, it was longer than we expected, and the sun was slowly disappearing. Thank goodness there was a full moon to somewhat illuminate our path. We ended up "bouldering" (Katie would be proud!) over loads of rocks in the moonlight, trying to head back to our beach house.
It was pretty cool, but you can imagine my fearful thoughts as we crawled. Are there snakes? What if I slide into one of these crevices and am never heard from again? What if I get kicked by a goat? There were many hanging around them early in the day. And then, a new fear emerged that I did not expect. I was afraid that I would slip and fall face first into a pile of human feces. That's right, some of the rocks were covered in human poop.
And so, my new, unique and very specific fear plagued me as we made our way back. Good thing the moon was there to help me distinguish between gray and brown. Pooping is a natural function, of course, but besides the fear I had of accidentally eating it, I kept wondering, why not go in the crevices? Much more practical. If only there was someone there to give my useful notes too. But, we made it back alive, sweating, and I feverishly washed my hands before going anywhere near my face. Life lessons of Malawi.
And in more recent news, we had a crazy storm last night in which my car nearly drowned in lake-depth water at a traffic circle as I made my way home. The result was no power, and it has remained off for the last twelve hours! We've become well-versed in the use of our generator, which I'd say is a useful life-skill (check!), but I am longing for the time in which the electricity is back on, and the night time does not consist of laying in a puddle of my own sweat and listening to the mosquitoes come towards me to devour me alive, rubbing their thin hands together in malicious glee.
To sum up my February, in case you couldn't bear to read through the whole post, read the following:
My February has thus far consisted of:
-searching for inspiration
-James talking about his beer operation a lot
-People saying hello to me in villages
-Possibly falling and accidentally touching my mouth to poop
-Having no power
-The mosquitoes torturing me in the night
What a blissful February it is! :) Hope you are having one of those yourself!
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