It’s been two months since last I posted. Crazy how time flies. Especially since I was lucky enough to get to visit old family friends in Germany to stand up for their wedding. It had been … decades since I’d last been there. On the one hand, there was so much that was familiar, on the other, the Frankfurt area has seen as much explosion in building and failing infrastructure as what I’ve seen in the DC area, so it felt as at home to me as it ever has.
Upon my return, I switched job location/assignments at work, we had visitors, and I learned about the National Language Service Corps. If there’s anyone else out there who is fluent in other languages aside from English, I would encourage you to consider joining as well. I also discovered a source of 3D interactive globes that show a wide variety of data about humanity and climate information in an easy-to-grasp way… that was helpful background to my writing process.
With all that hubbub, I’m grateful tomorrow is a federal holiday. Maybe I can finally catch up with myself. And maybe even get back to writing. (Interesting article from Fast Company affirmed there really are no shortcuts to performance and productivity. As a reminder to everyone out there who thinks they can just keep powering through.)
I’ve managed the first third of the story so far, and made a couple changes based on an article about mushrooms. I’m not really a fan of them myself, and know people who are allergic enough to them that they can die of anaphylactic shock after exposure… as well as knowing that some mushrooms are poisonous enough to kill. But: if people are living in bunkers, that whole lack of sunlight situation would be a significant issue to overcome, and mushrooms would thrive naturally.
On a completely different front, Gayla has also been pushing to finish writing the final book in the Discord Jones series, so I’ve been busy with editorial tasks, too.
So I’ll close with a series of links that document how being a dog owner can help women succeed at work and remain emotionally balanced; what it is that makes dogs successful (love); the radical empathy of Deanna Troi (I still love ST:TNG); and a very cute animation of the Finnish folk tale about the fox responsible for the northern lights. These echo the conclusion in my most recent post about how important feelings of love and connection are to help provide balance and context to our lives.
This may be why I keep diving back into the romance genre, both as a reader and a writer, and certainly is why I treasure hubs for the heart-centered life we share. The fact that we also share a core value centered on creativity is part of why I’m also super-proud of him for his music having broken into the European Indie Music chart. I wish you that heart-centered connection, too, and will return again next month with another status update.