Porthole

41st week of the year 179

1.januar

Quiet, quiet day. Morning? I was up too late, slept in.

Cleaned coffee-maker because I have ground coffee I want to use up. I had to remove 3 or more years of oily dust. I'm making about 10 cups... that should hold me for the day.

Time to start packing. Could do a wash... or wait till Friday (everything MUST be dry by Saturday). I leave in a week.

31.desember

? Seventh prompt. Writing is due by Jan. 1 at 11:59 p.m. In this final prompt, you MUST wrap up the plot. Do not leave me with unsolved mysteries, couples that don't get each other, or other loose ends.

Needs editing "Sound of two hands clasping Chapter 7" ; but, at least I'm wrapping it up. I'll make sure there are no 'loose ends'. I think Lim-Pond is resolved as is Sato-san's role (and the Programmer and One).

#6 is split into 3 parts... one for each named character, but the threads are all there 1-6 and tied up in #7.

Great chat with Lundy. He's a poet. We talked about gatekeeping and colonialism.

Pile of mail: letter from Sonali, postcard/cards from Krista, Kit, Grace, Jen, Nanette.

Met Spencer and Julia at Butterfly Herbs... what a hoot.

30.desember

To Harlow: "I love bittersweet stories. Too realistic for the romance crowd, not enough gore for the horror crowd, no slash and dash for the Alphas.

I love Babette's Feast, Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Rashomon...

There's a certain sense of looking at life as it is not as we wish it to be.

Mind you, I'm an idealist... but I my feet trod on Mother Earth."

To Dave: "Nicely done. Eastern Montana has a BIG sky. I live in the west snuggled between mountains.

I loved the openness of Kansas... one reason why I'm going back to Isan in Thailand. "A little bit of who I am" resonates with wide open agricultural areas."

29.desember

Worked on my story for Annette.

Met with Billie Jo and Angie. Billie Jo got here postcard.

Scored a container of tuna casserole.

28.desember

Still damp and dreary.

To Sarah: "You've been busy! And surrounded by people. Me? In Montana I've lived alone in silence for years. In Thailand I share a condo with a TV. Quite the change.

I should do an end-of-the-year perspective. My writing has been off a tad but I stay at WDC because it suits me (for writing). Same with spacefook (for photos)."

To Cubby on the Newsfeed: "I wish this were true. My dialect is NOT supported by spell check or grammar check. At times I feel folks act like English Lit teachers or robotic grammarians. While they are critiquing I'm CREATING! Gatekeepers never understood James Joyce nor Emily Dickinson back in the day and many are still bound by British Colonial norms. I have to fight to keep my voice. There is more to writing than high-school essays grammatically perfect and dead-on-arrival."

ESG: The acronym for environmental, social, governance principles. Do No Harm? The Christian Right already does this, but the GOP objects to others with a differing p.o.v?

27.desember

01:23 I have my Asiana seats reserved. China is allowing travel as of January 8th so it was necessary to finalize everything.

I'm still nervous about the late-arrival into BKK.

Gonna be a wet day with temps above 40. At least I'll be able to get out.

A disturbing idea: "Common good constitutionalism".

To Fathertymme: "It's nice to have friendly neighbors and family.

It's one reason I may move from Montana. I have little keeping me here.

Tuesday... thankfully... I got out and saw friends. As dreary and gloomy as it is that's better than staying home alone."

To Dianne: "I looked up Timpson. Yup. Not much there... a Whataburger and a Dollar Store. Looks like you can safely walk around town though. Not much traffic.

Once you get to know your neighbors you can put the word out that it'd be helpful if they kept an eye on Dennis if he gets to wandering. Small communities can be good about that... at least Sabetha Kansas was decades ago!

The place I'm sharing in Thailand is nicer than here in Montana. Elevator, on-site laundry, pool, fitness room, and a TV!

Could I live there permanently? I dunno.

Change is hard on everyone. I'm not as sharp as I used to be, my body not as forgiving. Mentally, I'm faced with learning a new language and culture. As hard as that may be it could prove helpful for my health.

No ice there to slip on. Here? I'm very careful. Falls can kill. There... traffic is crazy and it's dangerous to cross a street.

Paradise has a price. In truth, there is no paradise. One adjusts and makes do."

I admired Hiroki's collage. He replied:

Google Photos
-> Pick up photos
-> make a collage

To Robin: "We seldom know how our flame can give warmth and hope to another."

26.desember

Monday dawned with a frozen fog. White upon white.

To Bikerider: "I wish this were true. So important for me to ask myself why I do things; priorities and perspective shift with age.

I'm going back to Thailand for 3 months to assess where I'm at and where I'm going. Hopefully a change of scenery will help me make wise decisions."

I shopped today: chocolate milk, bread, butter, crackers, ice cream! $22.

I finished "Spirit of this Place Chapter#4"  and started "Do Robots Ever Sleep? Chapter #5" . The ideas are flowing. Thank you, Muse.

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