So shortly after writing up my last blog post, I got an email from myself marked December 27, 2013. How freaky is that?I don’t know if it’s a glitch or a feature, but apparently in 2013, you can use gmail to send messages back in time. In any case, the letter is pretty interesting, so… Continue reading A Letter From My 2013 Self
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A Letter To My 2011 Self
Dear Joe, Well, 2011 has been an eventful year, hasn’t it? It sure didn’t feel like it when you were down in the trenches, but now that it’s over, you’ve got to admit, you sure came a long way. You’ve discovered a lot of things about yourself since January. In your quest for economic security,… Continue reading A Letter To My 2011 Self
Trope Tuesday: Peking Duck Christmas
It’s Christmas, but for whatever reason (most likely because you’re Jewish), you don’t celebrate. Or maybe you do celebrate Christmas, but you live in a place where no one else does. So December 25th comes around and you feel left out. What do you do? Simple–you find a cheap Chinese place, or somewhere similarly non-festive that’s… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Peking Duck Christmas
Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis
When Doctor Elwin Ransom went on a spontaneous walking tour of rural England, he wasn’t expecting to be kidnapped by a mad scientist and taken to Mars. He soon escapes, only to find himself lost without any way to return home. Fortunately, the native Martians soon take him in, teaching the otherworldly stranger of their… Continue reading Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis
Hello internets! I’m back (sort of)
So today I said goodbye to my village and moved out to Tbilisi, where I’ll be spending the next week. It was emotional. My host mom cried. It was raining, too, which pretty much reflected the way I felt. Goodbyes are tough when you’re going halfway around the world. The last few days have kind… Continue reading Hello internets! I’m back (sort of)
Some thoughts on internet access, self-discipline, and productivity
As many of you probably know, for the past four months I’ve been living in a small Georgian village in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains. It isn’t as remote as some places in this country (like Tusheti, where some people still practice pagan animal sacrifices), but my internet access has been limited, especially compared… Continue reading Some thoughts on internet access, self-discipline, and productivity
Some new thoughts on productivity
I’ve been thinking a lot about writing and productivity, mostly because I seem to be struggling a lot with it lately. With nanowrimo just starting, this is a pretty topical thing to blog about, but I also want to look at it from a long-term career perspective, since that’s what I’m personally more interested in.… Continue reading Some new thoughts on productivity
Still here, wherever that may be
Wow, it’s been forever since I’ve been active on this blog. I guess living in the developing world will do that to you. It’s not that I don’t have good internet access, it’s that the places where I can get it are often noisy and crowded, with a fair amount of cigarette smoke. By the… Continue reading Still here, wherever that may be
Updates and a book blurb
So I probably won’t do a Trope Tuesday post this week, just because today is going to be kind of busy. One of my coworkers in a neighboring village has a birthday, and Georgians tend to go all out with birthday parties. I’m currently blogging from one of the government offices in the village center,… Continue reading Updates and a book blurb
Trope Tuesday: Well Done Son Guy
So the hero gets the call to adventure, initially turns it down, meets a mentor figure who gives him some sort of supernatural aid, crosses the threshold of adventure, faces a series of tests and trials, loses his mentor, experiences the power of love…and then what? Well, if we’re playing the hero’s journey straight, the next… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Well Done Son Guy