Home again!

[hamletta]

I’m finally back, and life’s returning to normal. I’ve had a very intense three weeks, starting with writing and work for the Solar System Astronomy course I’m doing, then a friend’s visit, and then a trip to see my parents.

 

I’ve had a great time when my friend was here. She’s a spec-fic writer as well, and at a similar stage of her “career,” though she’s had way more short fiction published (I write very little short fiction, so that’s how I explain that, lol). She’s also working on a novel at the moment, and we’ve been brainstorming each other’s plots before so it was great to compare notes and talk about the projects. We did a lot of sight-seeing, too, and generally had a great time chatting, enjoying the sights, food and drinks. She made a blog post about it here, if you want to check out some pics.

 

I had a great time, especially as I have very few physical friends where I live. I’ve moved too much; even in London, which is still a bit of a trek, there are only a few people beyond an acquaintance level. So it was amazing to be able to hang out in person. We have regular Skype chats, and it’s great (certainly better than nothing), but still not the same. It’s the silences that make the difference—just being there, without the pressure to keep talking, to fill the empty space that feels to unnatural online. 

 

Or maybe I just need to learn to Skype better…

 

After that week, which was lovely but still tiring with all the walking we did, I went to Poland to see my parents—and dropped right into a whirlpool of THINGS THAT NEED DOING. My parents are ageing and I’m the only child so increasingly my visits are about fixing and arranging whatever needs to be fixed or arranged. We bought a new fridge and new phones for both parents (my mum got her first smartphone—I’m amazed she hasn’t called me yet since my return to report a problem…) There was work in the garden and on the internet (somehow most of their settings disintegrate in my absence), and plenty other small tasks like changing bulbs as my father is missing his right hand and my mum can’t climb a ladder. All in all, it was exhausting. I’m happy I could do everything I did, but returned so tired my husband elected to leave me alone, even though we hardly saw each other over three weeks. I guess it’ll take a few more days till I’m back to normal energy levels (not that those are high anyway).

 

Oh, and the day after my return, I had the mid-term exam for the Solar System course… I got 83%, which wouldn’t be so bad if I hadn’t flunked two calculation questions that I should have been able to solve, except my brain failed me. The heat didn’t help, either, as it was about 30 Celsius (mid 80s Fahrenheit) and of course no airco… 

 

I’m hoping to get back to writing tomorrow or Wednesday. I’m so close to finishing the first draft; I really want to get it out of the way. Onward!

ETA: I did manage to briefly visit my usual pen & ink shop in Warsaw and scored Iroshizuku Yama-budo ink. Yay!