As people know, I have been quite involved in a lot of aspects of my life. Work projects picked up and I had some medical concerns needed tending. Some of my work projects also included involvement with extracurricular activities that took additional time outside of my work hours to attend.
I seem to have gone on about different topics, so, I will be going over those further in breadth.
The good news is that I am clear on the skin cancer concerns. That mole I found troubling and concerning was determined to be a scarred mole, and nothing more. To this end, I am probably going to wear sunscreen a little more than I have in the past, namely when I know I will be out longer than fifteen or so minutes. As it turns out, my olive skin makes me resistant to skin cancer, but not immune.
In honor of the upcoming Navaratri, I had been preparing my recipes for October and maybe a bit beyond. My upcoming week will be full of omnivore dishes, but I also made a promise to the Powers-that-Be that I will not be buying-and-eating beef any more than once a week. Another promise I made was if my test results were clear, I would go vegetarian for all nine nights of Navaratri. My promise to the Higher Power is nothing I am doing out of some obligation to a tradition, but my way of showing thanks for being in good health. The fact I generally end up less depressed after having a vegetarian diet for a bit is an added bonus.
This weekend is going to be a busy one, so I am going to take what break and reprieve I can. I will be preparing some minced turkey goulash and also spaghetti to eat throughout the following week after I sort out some work-related things. Then there will likely be a nap or two, and if I have the energy, I might bike at the gym. Because of the amount of stuff I need to get done, I had to cancel my self-defense classes in the town nearby, for the timing has not been in my favor this weekend.
In the somewhat bad news (not entirely bad, mind), I am still behind on my beta-reading and editing. I am also behind on my other writing. With all going on, my creative juices have been depleted. Hopefully, with the health situation being sorted out, all will be improved. Importantly, I will also be having a short story going through some revisions while I polish it for an upcoming short story contest. Suffice to say, I am both nervous and excited about all of this!
When mid-October comes around, I am hoping to also have my beta-reading on my novel complete so I can start sending queries again. I will keep people posted on the awesome news when that happens! In the meantime, I am spending my writing time on either my second novel, occasional poems (like this one), and short stories. Among these short stories are fantasy proses based on the world I created, or retelling of South and Southeast Asian stories.
Now that fall is here, not only am I really enjoying the cool breeze…
… I really am starting to crave mooncakes.
Please be good to yourself!
—Arya