I am freakin’ freezing. I’m in an unheated shop using the net. I’d go to a heated shop but this was the only place I could find with computers running on generator because the power is out. Those Indian power-cuts. They are… interesting.
Anyway, it’s been rainy here and I’ve stayed in a lot, only venturing out to treat myself to dinner, drink a little, see who’s wandering about town. Not many people are, actually, because the weather is pure crap. But I think soon it’ll be snow instead of rain, which is far preferable.
Because my laptop has a battery, I am escaping most of the power-cut problems, which is nice. Work on my novel is progressing nicely. Not necessarily rapidly, though actually so far it’s been flowing nicely, but it’s more that suddenly, I have a much clearer sense of how all the characters fit together. There are four of them, and they start from such different positions, at different times, facing different problems. But as I’ve been thinking a lot, kept my head down and also kept on writing through my confusion, I am beginning to understand what this story is that I am telling. Which means, I discovered this morning, some serious tinkering here and there, but which also creates a story so much more interesting than I first imagined, that I’m quite happy. Also, I can say for certain, I could never have written this particular story had I not come here, so that feels worth it to me. And, finally, yes, Rose, if you are out there somewhere, I managed to find a place where I can work in the word Reiki. What a gag.
Otherwise, things are good, if a bit cold. I’ve been using both a space heater and the sawdust burner, and I set it up before I left today so that this ebvening, when I return home, all I’ll need to do is simply light the kerosene-soaked starter at the bottom and I’ll be nice and toasty warm for the night. Tomorrow, though, I’ll need to find out how to get more sawdust.
Right, so I am off for some lunch, to pick up my laundry, and maybe look in a couple of shops. After I pick up some water and food and have dinner, I’ll probably return to the house and dive into my writing, unless I meet anyone interesting kicking around town. I’ve been working hard but I am also here on holiday, after all! In any case, I got my salbutamol (ventolin) inhaler for my asthma, which has been acting up since I got to India, and the fresh stuff is really helping. My breathing is fine now. I also have a flashlight in case the next cab driver has a vehicle too weak to make it up the hill to Harri Cohti, like the one I tok two nights ago.
Okay, I’m going now. Really. Honest. Off I go.