Please have mercy on me. I've been getting my elbows dirty with the novel whose first draft is due on July 1st, and I'll admit, I've neglected some things, this blog being one of them. I promise to inundate you with enough mundane details to fill an empty canister of mixed nuts from this point on. Forward!
Novel? It feels like one of those epic, summer-camp tug-of-wars (guys vs. girls) where each side is evenly matched and dangling close, a little too close, to that huge mud pile in the middle. But I'm writing, every morning. And I'm trusting that I just need to keep up the momentum. I've enacted the "no looking back" policy, which at times feels essential for the upkeep of my sanity. Here's a sentence from somewhere in its depths:
"The background was painted in vibrant, neon colors, like a t-shirt from the 80's, and an assault rifle had been stenciled in the middle, its black shape a disorienting contrast to all the color."
Auckland life has been fast-paced and busy, it's hard to believe that I've already been here two months (with only 7 more to go). I participated in a reading a couple weeks ago that went well, although I think despite my practice I still read a little too quickly. But I did get to read about Bruce Springsteen, teenage parties, and throwing bricks through windows, so it was a good time. It didn't necessarily fit with some of the other readings (ie poetry about picking apricots), but there's strength found in contrast.
I'm a card-carrying member of the Auckland Film Society, which means that my friend Bea and I attend a rare, hard-to-see art film every Monday evening. The last couple of weeks have been dedicated to a Polish filmmaker named Lech Majewski who came and presented one of his films. Best part of the Q&A was when someone asked him how long it took to complete the film. His answer: "My whole life. A seed is planted and soon it grows." Seriously. You can imagine what the films are like. I'm just excited to see Tarkovsky on the big screen. It will be amazing.
Tonight I went to Hell Pizza with my friend Andrea since I had a Friday night craving. I haven't really seen that many pizza joints around, but this one was pretty good, for hell. I had Purgatory, which was feta, spinach, onions, and some kind of pepper. Andrea had Limbo which was bleu cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and carmelized onions. I learned that I prefer Limbo to Purgatory. They also had deep fried corn nuggets. If only we could have consumed vegetables like that growing up!
Up top you'll see a picture of my wall. I've lived with blank walls too long already, so last Saturday I picked up some magazines and decorated a bit. Don't worry Madie, your picture is still hanging up, now it's right above my window to remind me of sunshine and warmth on rainy, cold mornings.
Speaking of cold, my room features a window/vent thing that is permanently open in my bathroom. This means that my room is pretty much the temperature that it is outside. And it has been pretty cold at night. I did enjoy the fact that my room was completely fogged up after my shower, it was like I was in a swamp. Minus the ROUS's.
That's enough for now. I do have some adventures coming up since I have a two-week vacation for Easter. Here are some hints. Barn-dancing. Mordor.
Now I'm going to watch a movie. I'm not going to say the name of the movie, but I'll give you the tagline. "Laugh. Cry. Share the Pants." It's up to you to figure it out. I'm hoping it will make a good, light, semi-weird, kind-of-creepy-to-watch-alone Friday night movie.
Ciao.
