My Brief Sabbatical

I'm saying hello to you, my hypothetical readers, from Singapore. On the other side of the globe from where I live out my usual day-to-day, it's been quite a change of pace for me. But when my stunning friend S. Gabriel is involved, change is always an interestingly-dressed adventure. (For non-mutual friends, check out her blog here: http://swedishimmigrant.blogspot.sg/)

S. Gabriel is a teacher in Singapore, where she spent many years as a TCK (third culture kid). We bonded in Japanese class my freshman year, and we've been traveling together ever since! Our adventures have (quite literally) criss-crossed the globe: from the U.S. to York, England to Hikone, Japan to Umea, Sweden and now to Singapore.

This was a trip long in the making. Thanks to the unbelievable generosity of a relative, I was given round trip tickets to Singapore as a graduation present. (Thanks Uncle Eric and Aunt Nancy!!!) And, even though the dates were decided a year in advance, the timing has been perfect. Life has been incredibly stressful of late, with one move down (one more to go) and friends leaving town. It was (and still is) a frustrating and emotionally draining time of transition.

This vacation has been the deep breath I've been waiting for.

And who better to spend it with than S. Gabriel?

There was little to no talk of work. At least, not the kind that pays us. No, about 80% of our conversations revolve around our various works in progress (the plural is mostly hers, since Paladin has been my sole focus for 5+ years now). Our writing sessions/discussions go down a little like this:

An open notebook for Sanna...

...and some form of caffeine for me

While she worked out scene after scene in her own novel-to-be, I continued my revision process of Paladin, working through (almost) seven chapters, more than I've done in the last month (if not the last two). With her help, I've flushed out several scenes with *shudder* description. Thanks to my general impatience, those details are one of my weaker spots, but I know the finished product will be far better for it. (Okay, I hope the finished product will be far better for it.)

I know what you're thinking: "You went to Singapore and this is what you want to talk about? Writing?"

Well, yes.

I don't write well when I'm stressed. When I get home from work and errands, I just want to crawl into bed or get sucked into funny things on the Internet or watch six episodes of Supernatural in a row. Or all of those things at once. I just don't have anything left. No energy, no creativity, no spark at all--just "meh." That's why my blog goes through such dry spells sometimes--if I can't even lift my fingers to work on my novel, how am I supposed to figure out how to make my life sound interesting?

So the chance to indulge in my not-practical passion with energy and excitement has been an amazing gift this past week. And even though my inbox is undoubtedly full and I have to move again in a few days, I feel more at peace now than I have in over a month.