Thursday 25 January 2018

Sea Air and Hills


Looks like it has been a couple of weeks since my first update. Part of my failure to update the blog last week may be down to laziness, though in my defence I have also been recovering from bronchitis and writing my face off, so I've been a mixture of mildly unwell and highly productive with other things. These are not excuses, as I don't feel particularly guilty, but as reasons they are pretty good.

So first of all the bronchitis recovery. I'm pretty sure the disease itself is long gone, and it's just the process of clearing up my lungs now. This is going slowly but seems to still be headed in the right direction. My energy levels have improved noticeably this week. Yesterday I walked to the store and back, and was a lot less wiped than I was on the same trip a couple of weeks ago. Today I went on a fairly long walk with the dog and am doing pretty well. I'm still noticing the limited lung capacity, but those limits are less severe than they were.

As for the writing, I seem to be over 35,000 words in the last few months, which is a pretty good volume. These aren't perfectly edited words, but they aren't just rough draft either, so that's a healthy productivity. I have another short story I'm working on that I would *like* to get done by tonight, though I don't think it's going to happen. If I can finish it off by Saturday, I'd say that's still winning, since Thursday is a little earlier than I'd normally be shooting for.

I haven't been doing much in the way of job searches or self-enrichment, though at least Karen and I made it out to the Royal BC Museum to see the First Nations exhibit. It was really interesting, with a large section on language activism, an amazing display of argillite carvings, and a neat buried-hut display. I think this confirms for me that I'd like to learn one of the languages. I'll need to do some research into which one.

In silly news, I'm really enjoying the Overwatch League (OWL), which is Blizzard's attempt at making a popular eSport out of Overwatch. I don't know if it will be successful, but I'm amused at least. Though they have so many games on right now I don't think I have the hours in the day to watch it all. I'm currently rooting for the Philadelphia Fusion for no good reason other than the fact I really like Shadowburn's Genji play (his Pharah is also really good). Though I also like Boston Uprising because they're underdogs who did really well against the Seoul Dynasty, who are probably the best team in the league right now. I admire Seoul too, for that reason. Also they have spiffy black uniforms which look really cool. :)

Anyway, I'm sure most of you reading this don't know most of what I'm talking about. But it's a thing that entertains me.

I'll aim to have another update next Thursday, provided I'm not nose-deep in a story like I was last week. Cheers!

Thursday 11 January 2018


Okay, it's not my best picture ever, but at this point I'm still getting settled and willing to live with slap-dash work. :)

Travel went well. There was little turbulence--just a bit as we descended through the rain clouds over Victoria--and my ears didn't suffer that badly. The plug in my left ear didn't quite do its job, and I was mildly deaf in that ear after landing, but the right ear was fine and both are feeling good today.

I went to bed at midnight local time, which is biologically 11:00 pm, and still slept in this morning. I guess I needed the rest.

My lungs are still mildly sensitive from the bronchitis, and I noticed them when walking around the block last night. So I'm resolved to take it easy with the exercise.

I've been here for less than 24 hours yet already have put several of those hours into writing, so I feel like this is going to be a productive trip. At least productive in terms of wordcount, if not salable wordcount.

Everyone here seems happy to see me. About halfway through the walk around the block, Luna suddenly got a great big grin and love-tackled my legs. I think it finally sank in for her that I was back. She's been demanding pets and tummy rubs all day today, and I have indulged her frequently.

It's raining outside, which counts as "bad weather" around here. To be fair, I've been staying in, but the sound of the rain on the roof is pleasant.

I don't know what kind of schedule I'm going to have with this blog, but I'll try to post at least semi-regularly, like once a week, maybe. We'll see. I'll be in touch. :)