What to Write About

First of all, Hello. I am happy to report that I am still alive, living in upstate New York with my dog Ruby, and both of us are healthy (knock on wood). I do feel slightly mortified that it took an actual Apocalypse to get me blogging again, but here we are... at home for the indefinite future, trying not to go insane, ie. the perfect time to dust off this old Wordpress site and hit "new post."

Now that I have Nothing but Time, there are so many things to write about, I don't even know where to begin.

I could write about my first ever trip to Paris in December 2019 and how great it was, and how relieved I am that I went when I did because who knows when it'll be safe to go back and leisurely walk around museums and eat all the things in restaurants like one does in Paris.

I could write about the new screenplay I recently completed and sent via the matrix to Los Angeles, what it feels like to wait for feedback, how I'm trying to not count the days (7 so far) or analyze what each additional day with no feedback could mean, how disappointing it is that I'm not as over this kind of angst as I thought I was, and how I'm now questioning whether I was I ever cut out for this in the first place, and what was I thinking trying to be a writer?

I could write about the trip I was supposed to take to Los Angeles (after a 5-year absence) last month that got postponed (not canceled!) due to the pandemic and how much I was looking forward to it, especially holding a reading of the screenplay with actors. I'm trying to wrap my mind around doing the reading via Zoom.

I could write about how obsessed I am with gardening and how I can't decide whether this is a healthy hobby or an expensive distraction from dealing with my actual life and all the projects I want to write but don't seem to be able to concentrate long enough to actually begin writing.

I could write about how, in addition to how hard it is to start something new, it's also extremely challenging to finish anything, which is a particularly frustrating conundrum.

I could write about how listless I feel these days, and how simple things like going to the grocery store totally exhaust me,  which of course leads to my using and eating everything in the house until there's only one cup of rice left, a few condiments and one roll of TP (donated by friends) to hold me over until I can muster the strength to go back out to the store.

I could write about how my mood has apparently become totally dependent on the weather; on cold rainy days I can barely get out of bed, on warm sunny days I am manically working on outside projects like erecting a fence around my property and painting said fence, all by myself, which is equal parts self-sufficient, frugal and insane.

I could write about how when the pandemic began I obsessively begged my relatives who live in major cities to leave their homes and escape to the countryside before the authorities closed the bridges and roads, and how, six weeks later, they finally did escape, and now they're marveling at the relative quiet (bird chirping having replaced ambulance sirens) relaxed atmosphere and green lushness.

I could write about how my community has come together to make masks and start food bank initiatives and other do-good projects, but I feel apart from all that and pretty isolated even though I'm only three blocks from Main Street.

I could write about how it's been 9 years since Kaz died, 4 years since my father died, almost 2 years since my brother died, and almost 28 years since my mother died, and I'm still not over any of these losses, nor will I ever be, but I'm grateful at least that my parents aren't here to witness the madness and dangers of this current U.S. administration and global crisis.

I could write about how much I've grown to admire Governor Andrew Cuomo and can't decide whether I'd prefer him to be my President, my adopted father, or my new husband, but his daily press briefings are one of the few things keeping me calm and giving me hope these days.

I could write about so many things... but for now, I think I will just say

Hello. It's nice to be back. I've missed this blog, and I've missed you bloggers and readers.

What are you up to?

What are you writing about?

How are you doing?

Talk to me.