This time tomorrow I will be on a plane to St. Maarten. I have to say, the dismally cold and wet weather makes the parting all the sweeter. When I spoke to the real estate agent about it, she complained about the winter weather down there. You know, 85 degrees. She helped my boyfriend and I find an apartment with a view of the ocean.
At this point, I’ve been living out of a backpack for over a week, staying with various people, and making some very long commutes. I’m ready to leave! Blogging will resume at a normal schedule once I settle in. I have a backlog of things I want to write about, and just haven’t had a chance to focus on (or an Internet connection, depending on where I am staying). One of the things I’ve been thinking about is the best way to spend all this newfound free time. I want to finish the novel. I want to do some freelance travel writing. But there are so many other things I hope to do–learn how to speak French and play chess. Build a website (I’ve wanted to make a new home for this blog for a long time). Read Proust and all of Dickens. Try to revive my dying Italian. Scuba dive. Online classes. So many things. If you can think of a good project, send it my way.
But for now, I’m off.
L
Hello St. Maarten!
Good luck!
Bonne chance & tanti auguri!
(you lucky ducky!)
I will miss you so much…please write to me by email. What part of the island will you be inhabiting. A view of the water OMG…so lucky!
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You left out working on tan, lazing in hammock and collecting umbrellas from your drinks. 🙂
Perhaps you and I should talk when regular blogging resumes…we’re on the same wavelength! Enjoy your tan!
Bon voyage!
If you decide to tackle Dickens, I’d suggest trying the stuff that has rarely been filmed and is least read: OUR MUTUAL FRIEND, DOMBEY AND SON, MARTIN CHUZZLEWIT. These books might vary in quality compared with his more famous stuff, but sometimes a writer’s misses are as fascinating as his hits.
If you’d like a Victorian besides Dickens, look to Anthony Trollope. I’m particularly keen on THE WAY WE LIVE NOW.
I envy you. I can’t wait to see the writing this sojourn will produce!
I think quite a few of us are feeling a tiny bit envious – you’re living the dream.
Enjoy the reading and writing. I’ll think of you when I’m stuck in a traffic jam in the rain 😉