Today is Mother’s day in the UK, which means I get to do even less today than I normally do on a Sunday
Sometimes, doing nothing is very hard work. You have to keep yourself from doing something active, which means you need to find things that you can do passively. This often involves consuming visual media (movies and TV Shows), but even that can’t always keep me from doing things. I mean, I am sitting here with my laptop open writing a blog post, aren’t I?
I have been dreaming recently about building a bed and breakfast establishment that is also a library. I think I may just want to live in a library. I have also been thinking a lot about writing again. I have the need to finish one or two of the novels in progress, and really get someone other than me to read it. But the power of procrastination has been very strong recently, even stronger than my inability to do nothing, and so I am stuck in this place where I don’t want to do nothing, but I also cannot bring myself to do the things I really want to do.
But, since I have scheduled these regular blog writing sessions, I am getting more into a good mind space around writing and creating a welcoming space for the words. If I can sustain this for a few more months I will be able to schedule regular writing time for fictions. In the mean time, I will keep filling up the well.
I travelled to Leicester again this week, where the world was wrapped in fog for a day. This picture was taken outside the hotel I stayed at, and is an actual Pokestop, because I am a nerd and two years behind the rest of the world.
I am still a little flabbergasted by the fact that I am alive in a year that sounds like a SciFi date. And, of course, if one reads the news, we are actually living in a dystopian novel at the moment.
I tried to participate in NaNoWriMo this year, and got to write quite a bit of a story that, when I started sounded like an alternate future, but 10 days in started to resemble the current reality too much that I simply could not continue. I am still not ready for a world where Trump is president, the 1% is blatant about their distaste for the 99% and Putin is fast on his way to becoming world emperor.
But, some good things happened this year too, and I think I am going to focus on those things instead.
The Big Move
While we started our very own Great Trek in October 2016, we only really settled this year. We had some touch and go moments this year, as we were not sure if our offspring would be able to join us (as they were not covered by my visa), but it worked out in the end. They received an unconditional offer from Reading University to study Art and were granted a Tier 4 student visa for the duration of the course. This means our youngling can stay with us for the next 4 years, at least.
My husband’s father has had to return to South Africa though due to some family complications, but we found him a lovely place to stay and he seems much happier there – he did not do to well with the UK winter.
We have now been in the UK for more than a year, and finally feel like we live here. Some things were super easy to get used to, while other things took a while longer.
The move would have been a lot harder if we did not have friends who lived here and we are incredibly grateful for them. They are now all family.
Sights
In between settling and sorting out family things, we have managed to see a few sights this year.
We have had a few visits to London, but have also visited Bodiam Castle, Stonehenge and Brighton.
Music
This is one of the main reasons we chose Europe, and the UK, as our new home – it makes it so much easier to attend concerts. And, in my first year here, I have managed to see two of my all time favourites live: Einsturzende Neubauten and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
We also travelled to Germany for Wacken, and we got to see so many amazing bands, including Apocalyptica, Amon Amarth, Powerwolf and Saltatio Mortis.
And were in the fortunate position to take our youngling to see one of their favourites, the Gorillaz.
I’ve discovered the joys of Spotify this year, and we now have a family subscription which allows me to listen to music more frequently than I have in the last few years. Spotify also allows me to scrobble to Last.fm, which means I have some stats of my last year’s listening habits. No real surprises with my top tracks or top artists, really
Favourite new find for the year:
Because, apparently, I really love history and music involving history
Books, Movies and TV
Thank goodness for Goodreads and giving me the ability to track what I read.
So I have only completed 13 books so far this year, I am pretty happy with having read a little wider. I started re-reading the Terry Pratchetts last year already, and that theme has continued this year, including Good Omens in preparation for the upcoming television series. I started reading the Skulduggery Pleasant series last year, and managed to squeeze in a few more this year. I also read the Handmaid’s Tale finally, and then started watching the series on Channel 4. So many articles have been written about how appropriately timed this show is, much better articulated than I can even attempt.
But the biggest new find for me this year has been the Expanse series. I watched Season 1 of the series on Netflix towards the end of last year, and was hooked instantly. I rewatched the season twice in a very short span of time and then got sidetracked into other things, until Season 2 was released on Netflix towards the middle of this year. I binged season 2, and then decided to give the books a try. Despite some limited reading time, I practically inhaled the first book of the series, Leviathan Wakes, and have since purchased the second and third books in the series. I am just about finished reading the second book, and hope to have both book 2 & 3 completed before the end of the year (I have 10 days to go, so no pressure). To say that I am a little obsessed with this series at the moment is a slight understatement.
There have been a few other interesting TV series this year, most notably Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. I was looking forward to the new Star Trek series, but I just could not connect to it, no matter how much I tried. I will probably give it another try at some point in the future, but for now, it is shelved.
The husband and I rewatched Suits, That 70s Show and The Good Wife. We also really enjoyed the Marvel offerings, especially the Defenders.
I haven’t really been to movies as much as I would have liked this year, and unfortunately missed seeing Thor: Ragnarok at the cinema, but did thoroughly enjoy The Last Jedi and Guardians of the Galaxy 2. I am really so happy to live in a time when we are getting new Star Wars stories.
Phew, what a year. I am sure I have forgotten many things, and will try and be a little better at keeping track next year.
I love Houtbaai. I love the beach here, and the feel of the area. One day, when I grow up, I would like to live here. Well, either here or in Germany. But here would be good. I would love to be able to see that beach, that view, every day.
After this visit, I started writing on my current WIP again, which is never a bad thing.
Oh my word. In just 20 days, we’re on a plane again
I fell down some stairs Sunday evening past, walking down stairs while trying to take a picture of the supermoon. It resulted in a twisted ankle with torn ligaments and a fuckload of pain. It may impede my ability to explore foreign cities in said upcoming trip a little, but I have a moonboot and I am not afraid to use it.
I am feeling a little nostalgic today. I spent some time on Tumblr this morning, going through the Blixa Bargeld tag, and remembered again just how much I love Neubauten, and how much I have always shipped Nick and Blixa, even before it was called shipping . And this video/song…
I really miss writing at the moment, and hope the stories return. I read one of my old stories yesterday after someone on twitter asked for a link to something I’ve written, and then missed writing even more – because, every now and again, I write something that I do actually like.
I point at myself and laugh. Because I really did believe, ever so briefly, that I would participate in NaNoWriMo this year and actually write. You know, commit to the words and all that. November’s not over, but NaNo is for me. Instead of actual writing, I played Sims and got those little virtual people to write all teh awesome books.
In other news, I have no other news. Our house is still on the market and still not sold. In limbo we shall remain for the remainder of the days of the year twenty hundred and twelve.
It is raining and it is glorious.
I want breakfast, but due to my amazing domestic goddess skillz, there is nothing in the house to eat, so having breakfast would involve not only leaving bed but also leaving home.
Have I told you how much limbo sucks?
But here, have a polar bear, because, like kittens, they make everything betterer:
Yes, it is the 31st of October, which, to normal people mean Halloween, and to a select crazy bunch of people it means it is the last night of rest before…
I was absolutely convinced, as before, that I was going to give this year a skip, but since my working conditions have changed considerably since last year and I no longer have as much stress, I figured why not.
So, as of tomorrow, I may post some words, word counts and snippets. Or lament my insanity and howl at the moon.
Funny old thing, this life thing. It keeps happening, regardless of what you do. So, it has ripped the carpet from under my feet a little again, but I guess that's to be expected. I was way too comfortable anyway with my overseas holidays and tech purchases and investments and things.
So we start over. And maybe this is the opportunity we needed to make a big change. The Big Change.
I am ever so cryptic again. It is to protect the innocent. But, in a nutshell, without spilling too much, the husband is going through what I went through earlier this year, with a slight twist. And while we will easily survive this, it changes some stuff. And these events, and the person who caused the situation has provided some good material for the story I am not writing.
I really hate stating the obvious, but it is cold outside. In fact, my weather gadget thingy tells me it is -1 outside, with a realfeel of -10 (centigrade). This means it is colder today, here, in 'sunny' S.A. than it was in Salzburg earlier this year when we visited. It was a balmy -2 there that day, with the Alps clad in snow. And, I am sorry to say, our houses simply do not protect us from this weather. Yes, I know, first world problems.
I think today I will go buy some blankets to donate.
It started with a dream. An odd dream, in which I was captured by tea traders and held as a tea slave along with Katie McGrath (her of Merlin fame). And so, a new story was born.
But, I notoriously struggle to find time to write, as the traditional sit down in front of type writer/computer and write every day just doesn't seem to work for me. I do, however, spend a fair amount of time waiting for people/things, and this is time I could use to write. But I don't always have my computer with me. I do, however, ALWAYS carry my phone. So, it got me.thinking about ways I could write using any platform, and at any time retrieve what I have written.
I tried Evernote previously (nanowrimo 2011), but it just didn't work. In fact, it corrupted so quickly that I lost most of the story and my will to live.
Then I realised that I already have such a platform that abuse almost daily - blogs. I have created another blog, set it to private and voila, I have a writing space. And I have been writing.
I will probably do the same thing with previous WIP, and see if that makes the edits/rewrites easier too.
you shout amandla wearing your armani and driving your blinged up beamer to vote for yet another despot so easy to talk about poverty when you wear gucci and promise the end of hunger when you live on sushi
***
I scribbled this into a book some time ago, and found it again last week. A little rough, but I think it gets the point across.
I scream into the void and nothing screams back lost is my voice between the jibber-jabber of the idiot and the wailing of the fool Give me peace or give me death, I cry into the void but the void is silent never yielding My tears a river drowning the last dragon Be still my heart Yes, the one with the dagger through And still no peace for me.
These are based on both real-life characters as well as fictional ones.
The Hero
He is cool, he is suave, and everyone thinks he’s just awesome. And when there is a crisis, he is there to save the day. But sometimes, you get the feeling that he may have set the crisis up in some way, just so he could ride in at the last moment to save the day.
The Brain
He knows everything. If you want to know anything, from building aqueducts to nuclear physics, he’s the guy to ask. He is smart, and funny, and very, very intimidating. But if you want good conversation, or to learn something really interesting and obscure, talk to him. Because, oh god, no-one else will, in fear of his very sharp wit.
The Joker
He’s funny, and everything thing can be turned into a practical joke. You’re afraid to shake his hand at times, and may crack a very inappropriate joke in the middle of a very serious meeting or right when the monster attacks.
Avatars courtesy of the Harry Potter doll maker found here.
I am exhausted. I am not really sleeping very well, and when I do sleep deep enough to dream, the dreams are dark. I did dream about drowning in happy numbers last night, which I’ve been told is not a bad thing.
I miss writing. I really, really miss writing. I just simply don’t have words. I am drained. But the novel is still visiting me when I least expect it, and I know I have to finish the edit/polish soon before it drives me completely insane. I just need some time. A sabbatical maybe.
Only 173 days until Wacken. 24 weeks until we fly.
And 5 weeks until I fly out to Vegas. I guess I should get cracking on that little Visa thing.
I was hoping to see something fun while I’m in Vegas, but, with my luck, the only performances on during that week are by Celine and Manilow.
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. ~ Albert Einstein
Clearly there was no NaNoWriMo in Einstein’s time.
Anyway, it looks like I may attempt NaNoWriMo again this year. I don’t have a story in mind, but that’s ok, because it’s NaNo, right?
I think this year I would like to tackle something completely different. I have a head full of Vikings right now, so I guess I am going to have to work them into a story somehow.
This of course means many blog posts and facebook updates over the next 30 days lamenting the lack of story, word counts and all those lovely things. Consider yourselves warned
This morning I cried an ocean to wash away all the pain, the suffering, the broken hearts, the silent cries. Tonight I sit under the heavy moon and sing a song of hope and healing, a benevolent Lorelei.
Expect massive amounts of random precipitation across the globe, as this naughty writer has started writing a new story, with characters and plot and everything.
It is a fairy tale of sorts, as yet untitled. Snippet to follow later this week.
Sometimes, we meet people who are just meant to be in our lives. But, the way we meet them often complicates the relationships, because there is always some baggage, some strings or some hurdles. Why do we sacrifice these relationships because of the strings others tie?
Fifteen years later, just about, and you are still my best friend. You get me. And I love you for that, and every thing else.
Why is it expected that one should become serious after a certain age? Are the 40-somethings not also allowed to have fun? And what about the 50 and 60 somethings?
We often forget the journey we have taken to get to where we are, especially when our children start their own journeys without us. While it is not good to cling to the past, it is important to remember the milestones and why they were what they were.
Even loners need people. Even if just to remind them why they are loners in the first place.
You can always approach a situation in two ways: a problem or a solution. The choice is yours.
Oh my word. In just 20 days, we’re on a plane again 
. And this video/song…
The Hero
The Brain
The Joker
You are not my friend, Sleep
Expect massive amounts of random precipitation across the globe, as this naughty writer has started writing a new story, with characters and plot and everything.