Settling in…
This is a vacation to me, no doubt, but it’s really about writing. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have settled in one place for 6 weeks. Ironically, I’ve been to Thailand twice now and the only thing I’ve done is flipped my view. Last time I was on Samui, looking north to Phangan. Now I’m on Phangan looking south to Samui. One could make a case that I’ve not seen Thailand and, to a large extent, they would be right.
If anything, my last trip here is what sort of got me off on this whole path. When I was here last time, I had no itinerary, and ended up on Samui because a friend was here and told me to come down. Within a week, he left, and I stayed for the next month.
The reason I stayed was that I started writing. And, it was the first time I had the hours and freedom to just write without interruption. I left with multiple notebooks and a handwritten first draft of the novel I’m now here to finish. It was also the point at which things changed, and ‘If I weren’t at this job, I could be writing my novel’ became something I realized was true, and not just something that had a nice sound to it, but had never been tested. To say it soured my disposition upon returning to work 6 weeks later would be putting it mildly.
But that’s when it truly started. Now, I’ll be the first to admit, the novel has taken an inordinately long time to complete, but as the only person who’s seen the countless drafts, it has been worth the time. Many of the lessons learned will never be repeated, one hopes. The first draft was basically a Chuck Palahniuk novel. Which, don’t get me wrong, I love Chuck, but I needed to find my own voice. So, every draft has been about removing the Chuck and removing the Jeff. The latter being the autobiographical musings that might be on topic, but not something the character would say or think. Since I am the keeper of both the character and myself, it’s difficult to pull back enough to see when that is happening.
But now that I am unemployed again, which won’t last long this time, I need to swing for the fences, and bring a draft home from Thailand.
But it does bring up an interesting point, of why go somewhere beautiful with lots of things to do with a plan of writing and not doing much? It’s an excellent point. But I’m here for 6 weeks, and I don’t think there are six weeks of unique activity here. I think I can do a lot of what the island has to offer and finish the book, just with the occasional day trip here or there.
Now that I’ve settled in, and have breakfasts handled, and know where the markets are, etc., I have my bearings. I’m still getting over the frenzy of having a job, but with every day the need to have an itinerary subsides.
What I’ve come up with so far is that I wake up and swim in the infinity pool for an hour, usually ending around 9, which is when the sun makes its appearance over Villa #2. I got a burn straightaway upon arriving, so I’m trying to get that handled, as I’m not quite Thai massage-friendly right now, and that is an unacceptable condition.
After swimming, I have breakfast of tropical fruit salad. I have a big tupperware container of it already cut-up and seeded in the refrigerator downstairs. It has pineapple, watermelon, purple dragonfruit, mangosteen, banana, and mango. I also have longan, mangosteen, and tamarind for snacking. And, when I’m really up for an adventure, there is fresh durian in the freezer (because it’s the only place where it doesn’t smell up the joint).
Then I write, which is what I’m doing now, albeit it will normally be the novel. This blog posting is actually a test of a new writing area, because…
Today, I broke down the downstairs kitchen and moved it upstairs. One bench is under the TV area, with the TV pushed off into the corner, for an inside writing nook. Then, I moved the table and another chair up to the balcony, giving me a breezy view of beach and palm trees from which to write.
So, the idea is to stay here, write, venture a small distance to eat, and then, when I start feeling a bit locked-in, go do something. I’m near a few temples. One day when I wake up early, I will take a taxi to Haad Rin, and then catch a boat over to the Sanctuary, where I stayed last time, and have some veggie meals there, and take a yoga class, then head back. There are options.
But I’m also here to break patterns, one of which is the unending cycle of drafts. Until I start publishing, there is little hope of leaving the corporate game. And my last stint at eBay, albeit great for the debt reduction, goody buying, and savings, was sort of bad on the novel and worse on my body. So, I have a novel to finish and weight to lose. The latter of which is also a patter that needs breaking, but I’m not sure I really believe that anymore.
When I think of when I was unemployed, writing, not yet in debt, and productive, it is also when my weight was at its lowest ever. So, I think my weight is a barometer of how well I am treating myself, and when I was creative, and going to the gym, and eating well, it was not about a crazy regimen, but just something to break up the day.
At eBay, I made sure to do my job well, but most everything else suffered. And I also don’t like the pace at which balance and full time work has to occur, with everything wedged into tiny timeslots. I just don’t like that. I like getting to the movies 10 minutes early. I like being in the yoga class and meditating 15 minutes early. So, when it comes down to working down a regimented schedule, I’ll sooner miss the gym or yoga than squeeze it in like that. The problem is that the pockets of time that are open tend to be small and fill up with nonsense.
So, I’m following Stephen King’s plan when I’m here, as I finally have the time. In his schedule, the mornings are about a new work, and the afternoons are for revising an old work. That sounds like a good plan, although I’ll switch gears if I think the revision needs more attention. That’s as much detail as anyone needs about that, though.
In front of me, palm trees sway in a palpable wind, and Koh Samui looms large to the south. I can see the archipelago of Ang Thong marine park off to the distance in the west, as foreign birds and animals make noises that are starting to seem familiar. It’s time to begin…
