Greetings, those of you who are still with us,
There’s a period of time, after a vacation, when you live the resolves you made in the other country. For me this is somehow always tied with morning routines. The second I land in a place I’m going to stay for over a week, I develop delicious morning routines that usually include some kind of reading and a ritualistic breakfast, usually with a lovely view.
It is the first thing I lose when I get home: In NYC I make perfunctory caffeine and get immediately to work. Always. Or I don’t get done with work by the end of the night.
Today, though, I realized that this is how my vacations slip through my fingers. First, the morning routines go, next the food: I always bring back whatever item I know I’ll miss most (this time I brought back some freshly-baked Lithuanian dark bread—dense as brick and redolent of rye fields and sunlight) — and when I finish the last bite of this item, the vacation is gone.
Whatever momentary isolation from the busy, frantic, insane, hypocritical, impossible-to-navigate “real life” you had found on vacation, it’s gone. Remember inner peace? There’s no time for that here.
It doesn’t help that in the States, you’re attacked every second by headlines that attempt to push your face into the news, long to-do lists for both work and home, and even when you’ve decided to relax, incessant invasive marketing that turns your entertainment into a demanding requirement (don’t believe me? how many streaming movies or new seasons do you still “have to” watch? what’s doing on your video game? how thick is your “to be read” pile? What’s next for your book club?)
And then of course, there’s email…
My inbox was full of these when I got back from Lithuania:
I honestly do not know how to feel about the “so close” rejection.
So, I think I’ll ignore them.
Let’s talk about good news instead!
I won an honorable mention in a fun Drabble contest with the theme “Space Junk” - I think my drabble will come out in August. (A drabble is a short fiction format that is exactly 100 words long, not counting the title.) This contest was run by Hiraeth Publishing.
Here’s an article in Lithuanian about the writers’ forum I just attended. It’s a Lithuanian-Canadian newspaper. (There are photos for those of you who don’t read Lithuanian.)
I also got interviewed by my alumnae newsletter - it’s got a great photo by the eminently talented photographer Luba Grosman. Scroll past the alumni note and you will find the photo (and the interview!) Here’s the link. Nothing Lithuanian in there.
I muse about hobbies in this article for Medium.
But the big news is: I was just published in Gargoyle! It’s a great long-lived literary magazine out of DC; I’m so proud to be included. (My friend and colleague Christina Chiu is also in this issue) Here is the link to my novel excerpt, and that leads me to a little news—I’ve decided to go with Brooklyn Writers Press (who published Book & Baby) to help me get THE BOY WHO LOVED TREES into the world.
Part of what make this decision for me was being invited by the First Lady of Lithuania to tour their Presidential palace. Walking through the grand rooms with a group of other expat writers made me realize that one of the things that make me unique is this ability to have a foot in both worlds: Lithuania and America. And this true middle is a place that is hard to inhabit - but also one that I know very well. It means that you are privy to things but also that you are a permanent outsider: as quick to be welcomed as family as to be branded a traitor. This time around, the publishing houses in Lithuania seem to want to embrace liminal people with Lithuanian heritage like me. I’m hoping that the timing is finally right for this novel. Maybe the next time I visit the Lithuanian White House, I will get to meet the president. Hey, a girl can dream.
Last thought:
Why does the 7-11 logo have one letter that isn’t capitalized?
Have a great week!