This Post Has No Title

The past few days of inactivity of this blog has got to be the longest time I haven't posted anything since my Europe trip last year so I might as well give an account of what's been happening.

I'm currently in Hong Kong. When I'm in Hong Kong, I get my internet from our office in Manila. That internet line's been down for more than two weeks now so simple math tells you I don't have any here too. There's net at the flat we're staying at but since people share that connection, I decided to just let others who probably need communications (and Flo.Rida music) more use it instead.

The first day was hell, I swear. 8 hours of office doing nothing but real work was a bitch. Nevermind that I actually worked much faster and ended up finishing in three hours what normally takes a day or two, you know, like a real normal average employee (which is not really my style). It just made things worse. I was bored and there wasn't much to do. I started reading old chatlogs, email, anything that will keep me entertained. I even solved a stupid 3-hour puzzle that's worse than sodoku (I'll post the details of the problem soon). And then I chanced upon this:

GM*Fatima: Now I dont know what's worse. Being trapped in a room with you or completely lost in the jungle.
Nards: Either way, I'm still around. I don't see why you have to make such a big fuss.
GM*Fatima: Operative word is worse. Either way, I'd rather not be in any of the two.
Nards: You're saying it like me with you a bad thing.
GM*Fatima: Remove the word "like" and you're on the money.
Nards: Speaking of money, you know, getting lost like this has given me time to think.
GM*Fatima: Why the need time for something you dont do anyway?
Nards: Meanie. I'll prove it to you.
GM*Fatima: Feel free to debunk my observation about you.
Nards: Okay. What do you see?
GM*Fatima: Jungle. Lots and lots of uncharted jungle.
Nards: I see opportunity.
GM*Fatima: I see that we're completely lost.
Nards: I see potential customer base.
GM*Fatima: What.
Nards: See, if we open up an advice booth right here, we can guide other people who are lost to safety. Then we'd make money off the people who get lost here and become rich. I can see it now "Nard and Wife's Jungle Guides"
GM*Fatima: There's no way in hell the jungle fever did that to you. It must be genetic.
Nards: You know, why do you always have something to complain? My plan is flawless.
GM*Fatima: YOURE PLAN IS FLAWED! DONT YOU GET IT? WE. ARE. LOST. Even we can't find the way out, because like hell if I could, I wouldnt be idling around here talking with you!
Nards: Which is why we need an advice booth here. For lost people like us.
GM*Fatima: How the hell can the blind lead the blind?
Nards: A seeing-eye dog.
GM*Fatima: WHERE WILL YOU GET YOUR SEEING-EYE DOG??
Nards: From the pet store, silly.
GM*Fatima: *breathing heavily* I can tell that this conversation is not going anywhere.
Nards: Funny, you should say that.
GM*Fatima: Why?
Nards: Because neither are we.
GM*Fatima: The gods must really be hating me a little bit too much the past few days.

(for those of you not familiar with the series, it's one of the skits of Conversations)

I realized that before, I was also in the same position as I was now: netless and wanting to do anything but work. So I decided to do something that I did a long time ago. I wrote. I tried to recall details for the library fic I mentioned here a before. I didn't remember all the names so I put in placeholders instead.

And it's funny, when your brain stops doing other things and focuses on one thing, it just overdrives, making you perform that task much easier. Same goes for writing. Whence before I wrote at a pace of 2,000 words per week, I've beaten even the NaNoWriMo average of 1800 words a day and started blasting with 6,000 words the first day and then went for the daily average of 3,000 words per day.

I didn't even have to think about what to write. I stared outside and just wrote what my mind "saw". Characters came to life, acted things out. I just wrote my descriptions of the scenes down. All head planning came into fruition. The story followed the path I wrote down before, but taking on a form I myself couldn't have predicted. I was once again enjoying writing stories.

I love writing and I still do, and it took me a week without net to tell myself that. After a few days I finally got to check on the same stuff that I did back when there was still net. I realized how much of those things weren't really what I wanted to do, but how they're just something I do out of habit.

Even some places I used to hang-out in looked very different, with the realization that the reason I had when I joined those hangouts were no longer the reasons why I was staying. I was wasting my time and it was just made apparent. I used to wonder why writers stopped hanging out where I've been doing so for the past five years. Reasons just comes to you eventually, as with many many things in life.

This experience is temporary. I'll probably slow down my writing pace soon, but not in the same sluggish pace I had before, and I'm cool with it. When I get back to Manila next week though, things may become a bit different. Some things are more important and time is a luxury I don't have much of.

Of course I will still keep updating this blog as often as possible, as I have my reasons for doing so well above just loving doing so (and I do). Kayo pa? Lakas nyo sakin eh (you know who you guys are. Fuck if you don't).

Oh and in case you're wondering how I managed to post this, I'm in the process of mastering the ability of speaking to a Chinese ISP using modem bleeps over the phone. Backspace is a bitch. Trying to get to broadband speeds gives me sore lips too.

Whatever works though, works.