It’s been a CRAZY few weeks since July started and I realized I had LESS THAN A MONTH before Japan to pack up my entire apartment and finish the novel and cancel all my utilities AND finish up a bunch of miscellaneous writing projects AND bring my Japanese up to par—so yeah, I’ve been pretty busy.
Having so much to do has partly been good, since it’s kept me insanely focused most days and pushed me to get more done…though the downside is that it’s also causing me a lot of stress and led to a lot of mad scrambling as I second-guess myself about what needs to be done and in which order.
So with a week before my flight, here’s a report card-style progress report of what I’ve been working on, and I’ll close with some stuff to watch for in the coming months…
The Novel!
As of this writing, I’ve finished typing up the edits on the fifth draft and I’ve only got a few fact checks and formatting issues to iron out before it’s ready for beta readers. The plan is to finish those up within the next few days before this post’s scheduled to go live, so that’ll be a giant load off my mind (boo-yeah!).
Still, it would have been nice to have this thing done with more time to spare, but I guess we can’t have everything…
Grade: A-
Japanese Studying!
I’ve been reviewing Book 1 of the Genki series, the best of several textbooks that I finished during my first time in Japan way back in 2011. Back in April I set the goal of reviewing all 12 grammar lessons and all 12 writing lessons before I left, and though I kept up a strong pace for a while, finishing 24 lessons in three months proved to be unrealistic. I started off doing two lessons per week (one grammar and one writing), then cut it back to one when the lessons got harder and I realized how little Japanese grammar I actually remembered. (日本語の文法は難しいよ！)
At the end of this week I’ll have made it through 10 of the grammar lessons and 8 of the writing lessons, or about 75% of the book. Since this is something I can easily work on in Japan, I consider this a serviceable start—but yeah, I still have a ways to go.
Grade: B
Multi-Part Blog Project About My Terrible Office Day Job Experience!
I mentioned a few months back that some sketchy shit went down at my last job and I wanted to write about it here…though recounting the entire story has been a HUGE undertaking that’s grown into eight (!) consecutive blog entries. I drafted the entire story weeks ago, though I wanted to separate myself from it before I dove back in for revisions because a lot of what I’ve written about is really…close to home.
That being said, last week I did some full-scale major rewriting on the draft, and I’m hoping to have everything typed up and polished this week before I leave so I can have it up sometime in August—watch for it around then!
Grade: B
Secret Project For My Writer’s Group!
I’ve been going to meetings of my local branch of the New Hampshire Writer’s Project for the last year and a half, where I got the chance to have an actor read part of my Japan novel at one of their theater readings. This new Secret Project is something that came up in our meetings and that I pushed hard to get off the ground, and it’s also something that I took the lead on when it came to organizing and doing the grunt work.
Though I can’t say much about this project yet (except that it’s awesome), I’m happy to say that my portion is DONE, and from here I’m passing it on to some other members who’ll bring it to fruition. Watch for more updates in the next few weeks or months, because this is going to be a BIG one!
Grade: A
Miscellaneous Japan Prep
These are all the little things on my To-Do list that have to get done before I leave—things like cancelling my phone and buying a gift for my new school and selling my car (sad face) and exchanging money that NEVER SEEM TO ALL GET DONE because there are constantly more and more of them piling up.
Nothing too interesting here, but yeah, it’s a lot, and I still have a lot to go…
Grade: C+
Packing Up My Apartment
Oh ho ho, that’s a good one! Does picking up boxes count?
Grade: D-
Oh Yeah, Here’s Something Cool…
Actual handwritten note from the editor that came with the book proof, which felt not only refreshing, but downright professional in the digital age.
My Eikaiwa Bums chapbook is coming out in August! This is a much-shortened alternate piece of my Japan novel published by the work-themed Blue Cubicle Press. It’s my first for-serious time having my work featured in print all on it’s own, so it feels like a big achievement, and it was downright AWESOME to get the hard copy proof in the mail this week to check over and send back to the editor for final revisions.
I’ll also say that seeing my name on the cover was just about the greatest feeling ever.
The actual book comes out on August 15th, so I’ll be in touch around then with info on how you can get a copy (!).
So, Where Do You Go From Here?
Since I’m leaving at the end of the week and will likely be CRAZY busy with limited access to internet for my first few days/weeks in Japan, blog updates might be…sporadic, or at least shorter than usual. The plan is to get into a rhythm with my new job and setup by the end of August and with any luck get back on track with creative work.
So here’s a list of stuff to watch out for in the next 1-2 months:
- Awesome updates about how cool Japan is, with pictures!
- Info on how to get Eikaiwa Bums after August 15th! It’ll definitely be available through the Blue Cubicle Press webstore, though I might just have a few copies for sale too…
- My EPIC web series about my Horrible Office Day Job Experiences! (Trust me, it’ll be worth the wait!)
So as always I’ve got plenty to do and not a lot of time to do it in. I’m going to miss this apartment and this setup a lot, especially these past few months of not having to go to a Day Job every day…I’ve been spoiled! Having my own place and being close to family and friends again has meant a lot to me, and nowhere in the world ever feels quite like New Hampshire…but in the end, it’s time to move on to new adventures and keep challenging myself, since my stay here was always meant to be temporary.
After all, constantly moving forward keeps life interesting, helps us to keep growing, and keeps us young. See you all in Japan…
So Japan’s not that far away, and I’ll still be posting cool stuff here—so why not keep in touch???
But I Also Have a Day Job on Facebook
Occasional Email Update List (with cool bonuses!)