Writing, Starbucks saves the day; Photography, Expat Life; Friends and Family

My dry spell lasted until Saturday morning last week. Thoth failed me but Starbucks saved me. I was able to write my way into a path that would lead to the next chapter. A character returns here at the end of the novel and explains his actions while he was missing. This will lead to a change that not everyone will be happy with and another character’s action will cast deep doubts into the mind of my protagonist. Writing is so much fun when it comes easily and smoothly. Struggling through the dry periods can be tough but they will always end eventually. Although, according to a movie I just watched, F. Scott Fitzgerald´s dry spell never did. Fitzgerald bemoaned the fact to Wolfe towards the end of the movie that his last royalty check for “The Great Gatsby” was only $2.52. I sympathize with you friend.

I enjoy watching movies about famous writers and their lives. My most recent was one titled, “Genius.” It starred Colin Firth and Jude Law and was about the short but brilliant career of Thomas Wolfe. Cameos by the characters of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway spiced the movie up nicely. In the movie, Thomas Wolfe was asked how many words he wrote a day on average. 5,000 was his answer. I was awed by that number. Still, his editor had to help him whittle down his first novel from 1100 pages. I guess with an output like that you would need to write at that pace. Personally, 2,500 in a day is the most I’ve ever achieved.

Photography took back seat to other projects this past week. Still, I managed to get a few good shots while walking around Barranco between writing at Starbucks and my meeting with friends at Bodega Verde. My morning walks for exercise have proved bad for photography. Keeping up a good walking pace does not allow for stops to take photographs. My plan is to try and schedule some in the evening about thirty minutes before sunset. The heat and humidity are simply too intolerable in the afternoon now that summer is in full swing here in Lima, Peru.

Taking up a walking program to lose weight here in Lima, Peru has been an enlightening experience to say the least. Although I am in a nice neighborhood, half of the streets do not have sidewalks. Plus, there is barely room for the cars so walking on those streets at the same time people are trying to get to work or back home is a frightening experience in avoidance. I started out taking my walk at nine in the morning but quickly changed to 06:30 in the hopes that there would be less traffic. That worked out fine for the first half hour but still left me with the drivers leaving at 07:00. Fortunately, by that time, I have progressed to the streets with sidewalks and all I need to worry about is crossing at the corners. Drivers in Peru are generally intolerant of people walking the streets for exercise. On a sad note for those of us residing out of the country, when the new president of the US dropped out of the TTP trade deal out favorable exchange rate dropped from 3.39 to 3.27 making everything more expensive for us down here. The vagaries of the global market and its effect on expats around the world.

Meetings with friends went well this past week. As usual, I met with Mona and Kelly on Facetime for cocktails. Nothing new and exciting came up but I imagine they will have a lot to say about the new president and congress after this week’s events. The whole gang was at the meeting at Bodega Verde this past Saturday. It was a bit stifling sitting in their garden with its high walls. As a result, we are going back to the MAC this coming Saturday. Our conversation though was lively and wide ranging as always. Then, coffee and chat with Kathy at the Starbucks in San Borja was fun as always. We always have interesting discussions about things pertinent to our lives. It appears that I will have visitors come visit me again this year. Friends from Arizona may come down in the next few months. This will make eight years running that I will have had company come. All other family and friends are doing well. My sister and her husband are back home from a recent trip to the Keys in Florida.

Well, that’s it for another post. I’ve been getting up and getting out, so, I know you can do it too. Exercise body and mind, you want to stay sharp for as long as possible. Have a great week everyone.