Yesterday I attended an outdoor event with a lot of important people talking (in an aim to stay semi-anonymous, I can't be more specific) and lots of press. It was amazing to see the New Yorkers being proud of being New Yorkers and I got chills of excitement when they said "In New York, the possibilities are endless". I was so proud to be living here and realize they were talking about people like me. I can do anything here. Zoe can do anything here. We are now New Yorkers.
Meanwhile I got terribly sunburnt because they had promised rain in the morning and I hadn't thought about the sun going through the clouds and been foreseeable enough to actually put on sunscreen. You would think, with my pale Scandinavian skin, I would have learned by now, but no. As I sat having lunch later on, I felt the burning start on my arms, the main part that had been exposed to the sun because I had taken off my cardigan. It ended up being so painful that I had to sit with frozen pea bags on my arms, shifting it from the right to the left every 10 minutes. Today I'm taking it easy, working from cafes, fully covered up.
But the sunburn brought one significant thing with it. As I cursed my stupidity I made a decision to not waste my precious time and feel sorry for myself. Instead I finally got started on my book, the academic book that I have had in my mind for six years or so, the one that I'll write and the one that will help me get my next job. It wasn't so hard. I realized that I know so much about this topic that I can just write like I write literature (yes, I wrote a novel, unpublished, but finished). When I get in to it, writing everyday, it will be done in a year. I can do this. Sunburnt or not.
Meanwhile I got terribly sunburnt because they had promised rain in the morning and I hadn't thought about the sun going through the clouds and been foreseeable enough to actually put on sunscreen. You would think, with my pale Scandinavian skin, I would have learned by now, but no. As I sat having lunch later on, I felt the burning start on my arms, the main part that had been exposed to the sun because I had taken off my cardigan. It ended up being so painful that I had to sit with frozen pea bags on my arms, shifting it from the right to the left every 10 minutes. Today I'm taking it easy, working from cafes, fully covered up.
But the sunburn brought one significant thing with it. As I cursed my stupidity I made a decision to not waste my precious time and feel sorry for myself. Instead I finally got started on my book, the academic book that I have had in my mind for six years or so, the one that I'll write and the one that will help me get my next job. It wasn't so hard. I realized that I know so much about this topic that I can just write like I write literature (yes, I wrote a novel, unpublished, but finished). When I get in to it, writing everyday, it will be done in a year. I can do this. Sunburnt or not.
YAY on the book. pooooh on the sunburn. and congrats on the Event.
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