book

Summering Along

Summer is half over. Moving along. I don’t have much to show for it. I’m hoping my book will come out the second week of August. Fingers crossed.

Books I have read recently. Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd. Kind of a weird book about chimpanzees attacking each other in central Africa. It was really three stories in one and I found I was skipping over one of them because I didn’t really get how it was important to the rest of the book. I don’t know, I wasn’t crazy about it.

The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl. I have read several of her books and I usually find them entertaining. She mostly writes about food but this is a novel about a dress. The history of the dress, the people surrounding the dress. All set in Paris. It is very light reading but good for a distraction.

I forgot all about doing the Monday photo thing. I just get distracted. The news is so disturbing lately. There was an article in The NY Times today about the couple who were caught out at the Coldplay concert. They were having an affair and the camera caught them embracing at the concert and then everybody filmed them ducking out of the camera trying to hide themselves. Of course it exploded all over the internet. The point of the article was that the guy actually did the right thing and resigned. He took responsibility. He probably didn’t have much choice and I’m sure he got a good severance package since he was the CEO of a company but these days it seems so few people are taking responsibility for their actions. People just do whatever they want and think it doesn’t matter how it will affect others. Pointing fingers directly at congress and the orange one. I really wonder how they can live with themselves.

In order to rid ourselves of all these pesky immigrants, ICE has 10,000 job openings. Can you imagine? What will this country look like this time next year? I shudder to think. And the food banks are already becoming bare. The poor are getting poorer by the minute. And they are erasing our history, taking down information from websites and information posters. Are we just waiting for the storm troopers to march down our streets?

This whole Epstein thing is ridiculous. The orange one has already been convicted of how many felonies and sexual harassments. Does anybody really care if he cavorted with a pedophile? I really wish somebody did. But I’m sure the orange one will get to Ghislaine first and shut her up. If there is anything there.

To the question whether there is any hope outside this world, since life in this world seems to be without hope, Kafka answers: ‘Plenty of hope—for God—an infinite amount of hope—only it is not for us.’

Maybe too dark. Maybe not. Time will tell.

A few photos from The Numbers Game #82:

Alebrijes on Raspberry Island

From the Minnesota Latino Museum: “Alebrijes are a Mexican folk art of colorful and fantastical creatures, often the combination of multiple animals (for example, the head of a fox with the body of a goose, fish fins, and horse legs). “

These creatures are made from papier-mâché and/or wood. When I visited Oaxaca in January I saw a lot of these but they were much smaller. These are giants. They are here for the summer located on Raspberry Island in the middle of the Mississippi River just south of St Paul.

In other news….

I read the second book in the Chara series, Ocean. You will remember I read the first book, Atmosphere a few weeks ago. Ocean is the second book in David Scott Moyer’s Chara series. It continues with the original characters from the first book and adds more humans from Earth into the mix. However, they have a very different mission and threaten to destroy all the first mission was able to accomplish. This book is full of tension and suspense and surprises. Again, I found it hard to put down. I recommend it and look forward to the third book in the trilogy.

I also read and enjoyed The Wedding People by Alison Espach. I found it kind of predictable but it was an overall “feel good” novel with good insights into human relationships and self discovery.

It is has been super hot here and my air-conditioning decided to quit working at the peak of the heat so have been a bit stressed lately. Was told I have to wait a week for service. Plus I just bought a new unit so not happy. Plus plumpie just started a war so am dreaming of foreign shores….

Have a great day! 🙂

Atmosphere, The book

I know I have said this before. I pick up a lot of books and don’t finish them. I either get bored or I don’t care about the characters or the story line is too convoluted. Sometimes I make myself skim it to the end just to see where it goes. Sometimes I skim through it so I have something to say at book club.

I just finished reading Atmosphere by David Scott Moyer. I had none of those problems with this book. I read it in two days, couldn’t put it down.

Atmosphere is a sci-fi story that takes place on a planet light years away from Earth. Twelve humans are sent to scope it out for possible settlement. Moyer has created a whole world for them to find. He includes all kinds of details to set the stage. Maybe he has been there? There are back stories for all the humans and some of the aliens they encounter. There is history, biology, science and emotion. It is a loving environment but through the whole book there is an underlying feeling of dread. I kept thinking, something is wrong. Something is not as it appears. There must be a twist. I was constantly looking around, on edge, eager to get on to the next page. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the Trilogy.

Atmosphere is available on Amazon

Friday All Day

I’m running out of photos. When I lived in Boston I went to see the Mayflower. I couldn’t believe how small it was.

I recently decided to check out the relatively new dating app on Facebook. I’m in my 60’s so looking for age appropriate men. Most of them look like old men. I mean, okay, I’m not young. I shouldn’t judge. But seriously. I guess it must be the genes. Of course I live in the midwest so lots of photos of fish, motorcycles, dogs. People who camp, fish, hike, kayak, cycle, swim, hunt, and generally love the outdoors. People who are “fit” and go to the gym everyday. A lot of emphasis on “fit”. Cycling hundreds of miles. Seriously? I started going to the gym three times a week cycling through the weight machines. It has changed my life. I can’t believe the difference. But it doesn’t define me. It isn’t who I am. I wouldn’t put it in an ad. The most promising ads say “no trumpers”. At least you know where they stand. But it’s not enough. I think I’ll just go back to fantasizing about my exotic latin lover who swoops me up and takes me off on a wild adventure. I guess I need to write a novel.

Last night I watched some of Masters of the Air, a TV show on Apple+. It is about US B17 pilots based in East Anglia. It is pure Spielberg. Drama, bravery, love, loss, emotions, and lots of battle scenes. Okay in small doses.

I also watched some of Shantaram which mostly takes place in an Indian slum. It wasn’t the greatest. I think I might have to read the book.

So all in all kind of a glum Friday. In an effort to turn it around, I will leave you with this….

Ahhhhh…..

Friday Photos

I am featuring random photos each week that pertain to my upcoming book, Echoes of a Global Life. Here are a few from Europe during the 70’s.

With my teenage passport photo thrown in.

Other things… I had Jury Duty this week. I spent all day Monday sitting in a windowless room with a bunch of people I didn’t know. Then I had to check the website twice a day to see if I needed to go back in. That was the extent of it. I was glad I didn’t have to go back and sit in there but I was kind of looking forward to being on a Jury.

Books.

There has been a lot of talk about The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store. Several people told me I should read it. I’m sorry to say I couldn’t finish it. I just couldn’t get into it. It seemed very long and drawn out. Same with This is Happiness. It seemed to go on and on and nothing happened. There were parts I liked and enjoyed but they were broken up with lots of nothing. Just my opinion.

I really liked Miss Benson’s Beetle. It was a real mad cap adventure and held my interest throughout. Of course it was subject matter I could get into, relate to on some levels. I Hope This Finds You Well also held my interest and I enjoyed it but I think it could have been shorter. It kind of dragged in parts. It was almost funny but not really. Sad/Funny. It is about office dynamics – good, bad and ugly.

I read From Here to the Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough. It is a memoir of Lisa Marie’s life. I found it hard to read. It kept jumping back and forth from Lisa Marie speaking to Riley speaking and it was often hard to tell who was talking. Not very well edited. And when it started to just list all the celebrities they spent time with, I jumped to the end. Actually I just looked her up on Wikipedia to find out what happened.

So that brings me up to the current book I am reading – The Chancellor – about Angela Merkel’s life. So far very interesting.

Have a great weekend!

Friday Photos

I am featuring random photos each week that pertain to my upcoming book, Echoes of a Global Life. My photos seem to be fewer and farther in-between during this period. Can’t find much. Here are a few of Africa during the 70’s.

Friday Photos – Mexico

Olmec Head, National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City

I am featuring random photos each week that pertain to my upcoming book, Echoes of a Global Life.

I lived in Mexico City from age severn to fourteen. I went to a British School and wore a uniform. We traveled around Mexico a lot.

Determination

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Last night I watched the film “True Spirit” about Jessica Watson who sailed around the world solo, non-stop, at age 16. I would say that is determination. First of all, who wants to do that? It takes a certain mind-set. It was her dream to do it and she was able to succeed. It almost killed her but imagine how it felt when it was over. A huge high. At 16, I would image you spend the rest of your life trying to live up to it all. But she learned a lot about herself, life, death, and the sea. She will always have that experience. The film was quite moving. It is available on Netflix.

Another film I watched recently was “Lee”. It is about Lee Miller who was a highly sought after Vogue model in the 1920’s. When she left modeling, she picked up a camera and spent time studying with Man Ray in France and photographing her socialite friends. When the war broke out she was an established photographer living in England with her husband, Ronald Penrose. She became a war photojournalist for Vogue and managed to talk her way to the Front. Miller took thousands of photos and was one of the first photographers to enter Dachau. It all had a profound effect on her. The film covers a short period of her life but shows her determination to succeed in a man’s world. Kate Winslet does a good job in the starring role. It is available on Netflix.

For the TCK in you, I came across a couple of new books.

“Blue Feet Monsoon” by Cynthia Green. It takes place in post-colonial Singapore, Anoushka’s seventh country – Peru, Brazil, India, Philippines, Japan, Colombia and Singapore. Anoushka decides she really likes Singapore so she pretends to volunteer at the elderly ward of a hospital in order to find somebody to teach her to speak Hokkien. She thinks it will make her fit in to her new country. This kicks off a series of adventures. The book is fast paced and a fun trip through adolescent ups and downs. I enjoyed this fast paced book about change and movement.

“Between Worlds: An Expat’s Quest for Belonging” by Inga Aksamet. Inga has written several books about hiking, camping and travel. This is her memoir about growing up TCK. She starts out in Pakistan at age four. She crisscrosses the globe always returning to California between postings. She evacuates from Pakistan and Bangladesh because of wars. She searches for her own identity through all the changes and challenges of constantly being uprooted. In the end she finds her calling as an oncology nurse. I enjoyed this story of self discovery. As I traveled through Inga’s world, I could relate to her adventures and traumas having lived in Asia, South America and even Oakland myself. It sounds like it all worked out very well for her in the end. I recommend it.

Friday Photos – To Ithaca and Back again

I am featuring random photos each week that pertain to my upcoming book, Echos of a Global Life. We left Burma when I was three and moved to Ithaca, New York. When I graduated from Nursery School, we moved back to Burma. After only one year, there was a coup and we had to leave. We took our time on the way back to the US and ended up in Rye, New York.

While living in Ithaca we traveled around the East Coast to Virginia and Washington DC with my grandparents.

That chair currently sits in my living room. I like it.

When I was five we moved back to Burma.

On the left is a Chinthe. A Chinthe is a Burmese “lion”. They don’t have lions in Burma so this was what they thought a lion might look like. They guard and protect the temples. In the background is the Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon. On the right I am practicing my Burmese dancing.

That year we took a trip on the Irrawaddy River and spent some time at an elephant camp where I got to ride an elephant.

On the way back from Burma we stopped in Taipei.

And Tokyo

Friday Photos

My postcard collection is done and I am back here at ExpatAlien.blog. I wrote a memoir about ten years ago and self published it. I recently decided I wanted to do better so I have re-written it and updated it and found a publisher and it will be rolling out pretty soon – Echos of a Global Life. Leading up to the great reveal, I have decided to launch a bit of a teaser. There won’t be tons of photos in the book but I have lots of photos. So I am going to feature random photos each week that pertain to the book with a short description. At least I’m going to give it a try. Friday seems like a good day for it. Friday Photos.

Here we go.

The 1950’s. Pyinmina, Burma.

I was born in Burma to Expat parents who were living on the campus of an Agricultural Institute. Top left is “Tigger”. My father always told people he killed the tiger but he didn’t. Back then it was a lot more common to find tigers in the area. If they were killing livestock or getting close to town, somebody would kill them. They are known as the Indochinese Tiger and are currently critically endangered due to poaching and habitat encroachment. They were originally found throughout Southeast Asia and in 1970 there were thought to be about 40,000 of them but now there are only about 200, mostly in Thailand.

I lived in Burma the first three years of my life and I enjoyed it.