Tag Archives: Morocco

Morocco on the Radar

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It’s been a good day off.  I cleaned my condo, saw Wreck-It-Ralph, wrote some Haikus, and generally relaxed.  I finally broke out my Peace Corps packet it today and started getting a better feel for what the next 27 months are going to look like.  I even met someone who vacationed in Morocco (he made me much more excited about going). I wish the day would just come.

I think I am going to take a break from what I have been trying to write.  It just isn’t working.  I’d rather spend these 39 days free writing anyway.  I also need to read a lot more than I have in the past week.  That means I will have more to upload in the week to come.  Until then, here is another poem from my freshmen year of high school:

Look at Me

40 Days Out

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Today was my last day of substitute teaching.  After two longs years in this field, I hope to finally say goodbye to the job.  In 40 days, I will leave for the Peace Corps.  Then comes 27 months of service.  When I return, I hope to make a career in the government.  So, this is the end of a long, strange shift in my jobs.  Substitute teaching allowed me to live the way I wanted to live.  I made enough money to get by.  I never took my job home with me.  I could choose what days I wanted to work.  It was the perfect life for a writer.  Now, I am on Christmas vacation with 40 days left in the United States.

Since I worked on the blog instead of writing yesterday, today I need to focus again.  A large part of me just wants to lay down, take a nap, watch a movie, and talk to Sofia.  I can’t do that.  Yet.  That can be tomorrow’s plan.  This evening has to be about writing.  I will get started now.  Here is another poem from 2004 for all of my readers:

When You Look at Me

Why Haikus Make Me Smile

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I miss your eyes—and
waking up to see them there
looking back at me
–Sofia

There is something beautiful in the way Haikus work.  I’ve written poems, flash fiction, short stories, and novels.  But now, thanks to a lovely lady in my life, I am finding the beauty in Haikus.     They capture the same thing I hope to capture in all my writing–the emotion of the moment.  With a Haiku, however, we are limited to 17 syllables (5,7,5).  It is the perfect tool to force a writer to be concise.  I think it will be a great tool for me.  I have become much more precise in my writing over the past three years.  This will force it even further.

Today, after a shortened day of work, I am getting back to work.  I was able to write almost 1,300 words today.  I need to break the 1,00 mark today.  Unfortunately, as I develop this story, i know full well that I will not be able to share much or any of what I am writing for years to come.  That is okay.  I will continue to update my old poems and writing in the weeks to come.  It’ll be enough to hold you over until the writing blog also becomes a travel blog.  Here is today’s poem:

The Sight of You

Force Yourself to Write–Every Day

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After the long work week, I am caught up on sleep.  I spent last night caught up in a fascinating (and disturbing  conversation with one of my closest friends.  We spent more than an hour talking about what we would do if we were eccentric billionaires.  Are basic conclusion would be that neither of us should ever come into money because we would use it to create strange social experiments.

I failed to write–yet again–last night.  I need to start forcing myself.  With only 44 days until I leave for the Peace Corps, my time is short.  I want to finish the rough draft of what I am working on before I leave.  That means a 1,000 word daily minimum is necessary.  I will start this evening.  I get back from Denver in the afternoon and have plenty of free time after that.  I need to force myself to make this happen.  Here is another poem from my 14-year old self:

The One Thing the World Needs

 

50 Days Out

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I got back from Washington about 14 hours before Thanksgiving Dinner.  Now, as the Holiday Weekend comes to a close, I find myself with a score of decisions and realizations.  With 50 days left before I am scheduled to leave for Morocco with the Peace Corps, there is plenty to figure out in a short amount of time.  For the first time in my life, I am coming to a crossroads where straight is no longer an option.  I must make a hard decision.

Although I do have more pressing matters to think and write about, the one I spent today on seemed appropriate.  I have been mulling over the idea of home for more than a month now.  I finally found the words to articulate the feeling that has been grown inside of me.  I hope you enjoy it.

on Home

 

A Month in Tacoma

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As of right now, I am 55 days out from my 27 month Peace Corps commitment in Morocco.  All that is on my mind, however, is how I just spent the last 30 days…With 55 days left to my own devices, I can think of no better way of using my time than writing.  These final two months will be spent with friends and movies, yes.

But, in the end, these 55 days will be used to write about the last 30 days…

 

A Week for the Record Books

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The past week has been jam-packed with so much emotion and change.  It’s difficult to even begin the process of understanding what has happened.  It all started this past weekend with a 60-hour trip to Seattle to surprise a friend for her 21st birthday.  While there, I became a part of a 26-hour relationship that has since upended my understanding on what I want for myself in the months and years ahead.

Upon returning to Colorado, I started the process of moving back to my hometown.  The central idea was to be closer to my family for the final holiday season before I leave for the Peace Corps.  It’s been a strange transition.  Now, as of a few hours ago, my father was just laid off.  My God…it’s been one hell of a week.  Here’s the first piece of writing to come of it.  I pounding it out this morning after hearing the news about my father.

When Politics Gets Personal