From a long hiatus

My life took a different turn from the end of November last year, ending with me substituting long-term as a Japanese teacher. I love to teach, but I had never taught a foreign language class before. My training and internship was in social studies, so this assignment was difficult, time-consuming and full of trail and error. Once that hurdle was completed at the end of January, I went back to day-to-day substituting and my sanity, which of course meant I could write again. I know people will say, "Make time!" but these people have not experienced life as a new teacher. Being both teacher and surrogate parent to middle school students is draining on many levels; when you get home, you are mentally exhausted. This is why I prefer teaching high school, as it is not as emotionally draining when you deal with students who are nearly adults that also understand your humor.

I have been writing since the end of February and now stand near the 40,000 word mark. I rewrote the first 30,000 words into a new 20,000, thus giving me more story for the word count. I've started a summer routine that forces me to write every morning, after breakfast. I may not yet be 30, but I naturally wake up around 5:30am every morning, giving me peace and a fresh start to my day.

No one is likely reading this, but the lonely link showed up in my browser today, and I couldn't stand the thought of leaving my last entry in November all alone. Posting will be infrequent, but yes, I am still alive and, most importantly, writing.