Hello, small Internet audience! It is I, your favourite non-blogger, returning today on a mission to pull together an old-school blogger's blog post laden with juicy updates.
I use the word "juicy" here to denote a fullness that can't be contained, the kind that drips down sleeves in a delightful way. For it has indeed been a full few months, hence my absence on this space after the briefest of interludes in which I posted somewhat regularly.
I felt chastised as I read this today, in C.S. Lewis's "Learning in War Time":
"If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavourable. Favourable conditions never come... we must do the best we can."
Life has been full - have I said that enough yet? - but I am realising that I don't want it to be so full that I don't write. The conditions may be unfavourable, but I still want to work, most of all at my writing.
Thus having explained my absence and outlining a desire to do better, I shall move on to the good stuff - the juice, if you will. In no particular order, here are some of the things the past three months have contained:
- I completed my final practicum! And University! Those sentences may be short, but the days that allowed them to be written were not. Having had every intention to set clear boundaries and not work myself into a state of exhaustion on my final practicum, I stepped into school and... pushed my boundaries and worked myself into a state of exhaustion. The kiddies were delightful, but Practicum Three was gruelling, to say the least. I am proud that I gave it my all, and proud to have finished with great feedback, but also very, very happy to be enjoying a respite over the summer.
- Speaking of... your humble Internet friend is currently writing this from her Executive Business Suite at The Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur! She can barely believe her luck! (And will now stop referring to herself in the third person) This stay comes courtesy of my very generous and thoughtful brother who has purchased me a two-day buffer between non-stop end-of-year activities in New Zealand and non-stop end-of-year activities in Malaysia. I have an Emperor-sized bed, a bathroom with a TV in it and blessed, uninterrupted time to myself. Confirming this trip required wrangling with some complex family dynamics (another post for another time, perhaps), but gosh, I am glad I stood my ground. Time to sleep, pray, exercise and read has been blissful, and I know that I will be grateful for this crevasse in days to come.
- I have been running 8-10ks on my regular runs. This is after returning to running post a long absence (see aforementioned fullness). I am feeling good and steady on these runs, and although I don't anticipate a lot of scope for running while I am in Malaysia, I want to maintain my fitness in whatever way I can. I love feeling capable and (slightly) strong, and I want to continue on this healthy trajectory.
- I mention the running in part because my body has been at the forefront of my mind over the last year. Maybe one day I'll pull an Emily Ratajkowski and write about it, but for now I shall continue mulling and grappling over these things with God and a couple of close friends.
- I am genuinely sad to be leaving Auckland for a month. As recently as last year, a month away from home would have been no big deal, but this year I know I will miss my home, rhythms and, most of all, friends, acutely. It’s a bittersweet feeling, missing people, but one that I am grateful to be experiencing.
- On that note, it has been such a rich few months of friendships in Auckland. I have tasted the sweetness (and at times pain) of deep friendships that have been forged over time, and have thanked God each day for these. This year has also brought me my closest pal and co-conspirator, S. Gratitude doesn’t even begin to cover how I feel about her.
- I am pleased with the pace of my reading life this year, and am on track to at least surpass my book total from last year. Numbers aren’t the focus for me, but I’m proud to have achieved this in the midst of a very busy year. I have specific (non-numeric) goals in mind for next year and can’t wait to share a bit more about those in January.
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