Midterms

No more than a week after I bitch about the cold weather, the sun is shining and birds are chirping: Spring is on its way. The weaver has returned to its nest making activities outside our bedroom window, and highs are climbing back to around seventy.

Given that we are closing in on the halfway point of our stay here, I thought it apropos to take stock of where we’ve been. When not writing little nuggets of joy for you folks, I participate in a writers’ forum called the Cult. This is the brainchild of the author Chuck Palahniuk, the guy who wrote the novel Fight Club. You earn points by reviewing other people’s submissions, and can post your own stuff when you have accrued enough credit.

Unfortunately, I’ve only submitted one piece, about a guy with bladder control issues (if you read Chuck or authors like him, you would know that this is a perfectly reasonable topic of discussion), which was well reviewed. I’m working on a piece right now about albinos and witchdoctors, but I tend to LABOR… OVER… EVERY… SINGLE…WORD.

A friend of mine invited me to participate in a 50,000 words in a month challenge, after which the group would exchange manuscripts, but I just don’t have it in me to “spew”. If I write something that is crap, it needs to be fixed, immediately. By the time you read the finished version of this blog, I’ll have read it in its entirety at least twenty times. So, needless to say, I’m a bit disappointed about my output in my time here, but I’m getting better.

Marnie’s research is going well, and she has completed her third and final interview with a couple of her 60 subjects. The Somalis are really opening up to her, which is great for her research, but mentally taxing. It’s hard to stay detached when hearing some of the awful things these people have had to endure, more so given that many of them have become her friends.

Marnie and I are both starting to get that itch- this being the longest we’ve been here without a trip out of the country. I’ve planned a trip to Cape Town for the beginning of September, but I doubt we’ll make it that long. Mozambique, anyone?