Porthole

42nd week of the worn-out year 179.

8.januar

The Thailand postal service recognizes the following structure for a postal address EXAMPLE, not mine:
Line 1: HOUSE NUMBER STREET NAME Line 2: CITY Line 3: PROVINCE POSTAL CODE Line 4: COUNTRY.
119 RURAL ROAD 3009 SONG PHI NONG SUPHAN BURI 72110 THAILAND.
119 ชนบท 3009 สองพี่น้อง สุพรรณบุรี 72110 THAILAND.

7.januar

10 in the morning. So much to do. Coffee brews.

landscape of my lover
ripples to the moon-tide's say
under the cover of fog
awakens to the come-what-may
of another languid day

Thailand has changed its entry rules as of January 9th at 8 a.m. I fly in at 11 at night.

I managed to get to the library and make copies of my itinerary and most important my travel insurance. I should be okay.

It should be okay for my entry into Thailand... whether I'll be able to catch the skytrain however...

23:30 Almost ready but I'm too tired, so I'm going to try to sleep/nap for 4 hours.

Parked for later. This guy's hotel room is twice the size of the house I grew up in and costs more per night than my monthly income.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/i-moved-into-a-5-star-las-vegas-hotel-for-...

6.januar

Pot roast with Merry and others. Tea with Jay.

Jamie Stone got my postcard.

Bank and post office straightened out.

5.januar

It's an orange day.

Vote 7, 8, 9, 10... still no speaker.

I'll soon be back in Udon. Ponnya's mother is visiting him. Ah... he wants me to be family.

To huser:spiritspeak7: "I don't seem to need the 'physical' personal space that others crave. It's cultural. I felt comfortable in Tokyo shoulder to shoulder with thousands of strangers. I felt safe. However, I refused to work for one boss because I didn't feel safe 'emotionally' no matter how great the physical distance.

I tend to pick up 'vibes'. In my travels I immediately felt a connection in Belgrade while I felt the undercurrent of hostility in Cape Town."

To huser:cappucine: "I have no reading challenge. I need to learn Thai/Lao.

And write... I need to write.

Small talk in Thailand: Have you eaten? It doesn't necessarily mean anything. Like the weather, people say it when they don't know what to say."

Got some food to Scott because I'll be gone 3 months.

4.januar

Meatloaf. Friends. Paid rent. One less worry.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tripideas/frequent-fliers-are-sharing-the-trave...

Immediate thoughts:

Anywhere but Prague. Bratislava, Vienna, Budapest, Munich...

Beograd is a nitty, gritty, shitty, dirty city... and I loved it.

Northern Portugal: Guimaraes not Chaves. One is alive the other is dead.

Anywhere in Japan or Taiwan. Safer than the USA.

Luxembourg: pretty but soulless.

Grenada is the prettiest city in Costa Rica?

Kotor not Dubrovnik.

Tallinn never Narva.

Walking? Sofia Bulgaria, not Bucharest nor Bangkok (absolute nightmare).

Paris... I was charmed by the people!

Breathing? Tromso and the Lofoten... not Missoula nor Mexico City.

3.januar

To Lyn: "My writing has been chaotic this last year, but so has my life in general.

I will remind myself in Thailand next week that I need to make time for myself as well as time for my boyfriend.

I need balance. I'm not a Libra... but my boyfriend is. "

Saw Laxmi and others. Lasagna!

McCarthy (disclaimer: I'm Clan McCarthy) can't get enough votes in three rounds to become Speaker of the House. I'm thrilled. I think there are others better qualified. If 10 or so reasonable Republicans can approach the Dems with a viable alternative then this could be over tomorrow. If not... who knows how long the voting will continue. The rift in the GOP is quite deep and bitter. At least now it's transparent.

2.januar

Monday musings:

I posted this on the newsfeed: Annette's contest is officially over! I was tempted to ask her whether there was a prompt #8.

These are the 7 chapters. Since I knew my setting (Udon Thani in Thailand) and two main characters (Pond and Lim) in #1 I just tried to go with the flow no matter how qUiRKy the prompts. #4, 5 & 6 took the story in directions I would never have explored on my own.

""Sound of one hand clasping" Chapter#1"  A bang interrupts the angst of a new couple. Pond's p.o.v.
"Yellow Means It Must Be Monday Chapter#2"  Each day of the week has a color. Yellow is Monday, pink is Tuesday. Lim's p.o.v.
"Dreams of Butterflies Dancing Chapter#3"  Choosing a butterfly was fortuitous as it helped with #6. Sato-san's p.o.v.
"Spirit of this Place Chapter#4"  Does a spirit flee the scene of their physical death? PondLim & Sato-san commiserate.
"Do Robots Ever Sleep? Chapter #5"  A.I? *ack* Do robots know they aren't human? Lim's p.o.v.
"Metamorphosis Chapter #6"  Weaving in #1, 3, 4 & 5. From Pond, Lim and Sato-san. Are the Programmer and One supernatural? Hmm...
"Sound of two hands clasping Chapter 7"  Resolved. PondLim are closer than ever. Sato-san's task is complete.

They are all listed (in earlier and/or later versions) in one folder (One Folder to Bind Them All) with footnotes. At some point they will be re-edited and made into one short story of about 1,800 - 2,000 words. Genres used or alluded to: romance, cultural, animal, food, nature, (auto) biographical, business, spiritual, supernatural, relationship, death, LGBTQ... among others. Senses are used throughout.

"Sound of one hand clasping (Folder)" 

To Sterling: "I really enjoyed doing this once I stopped screaming ... a couple of the prompts threw me . But I mostly figured it out. I believe 10 of us finished!

I had done something similar once at a workshop in town. Having a "guide" to upend one's plotted (potted?) plans really forces a writer to be creative. I had to make one character a tad robotic.

I was really grounded in the setting and characters. That made my task easier. Ah... but the details of what the characters would go through... who knew! I didn't.

What part of the task did you like the most? Do you have a favorite chapter? Would you do this again?"

"Invalid Item"  Am I up for this? I mean, "Beginning is tough; but, OMG, do you; don't do Sally; only Sally can do Sally... and one Sally doing Sally is more than my heart can take! Bless her. Now pass the collards and black-eyed peas. I must admit that Sally's daughter Sarabel Lee knows how to cook. Just the right amount of bacon grease for the collards and the peas are soft but not mushy. Now about you. Not everyone can become a sheriff. It's more than sharp-shooting down on the range; but, you know that. You never did like to waste bullets and you have a heart. And this town needs a sheriff with a heart, I'll have you know. Too bad Old Tom's ticker gave out on his 80th birthday. Now. He knew how to handle Sally. Yes, sirree. Pass the mashed potatoes, please. Yep, he'd please-and-thank-you all day long when Sal-Old-Gal showed up with shoo-fly pie. Yep. He knew how to handle Sally and that wannabe gang that always hung around her like a rhinestone necklace. But. Do you. Old Tom's ghost won't haunt you. Sally? Can't make no promises about that." [179.120]

Express it in Eight:

Dave posted a poem today and this is my silly 8 line response:

I hurry down a grovel path
to hide from mighty blokes
residing where the mountains scream
at rabid city folks.

I soothe my wounds from acid tongues
among these squirrely butts
and count my blessings every time
White Rabbit brings me nuts.

K.E. [179.119] Maybe I should title it "Grovel me nuts"

Laxmi gave me a gift certificate. Got a maple-pecan danish and a molasses cookie. Still have some credit.

Wrote in my journal after a two month hiatus .

Got Crisco to Scott. Possible ride to airport on Sunday.

Bills - Bengals game suspended... as it should have been.

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