Dotdotdot

This is how writing procrastination works: you tell yourself that you have nothing worth saying, and you wait until such a time when you think you do. Usually that time never comes and you stare day by day at the empty page hoping that something miraculous would happen and fill up the page. You could be lucky to have tonnes of other things to do to take up your space and time, but if you have been notorious in the past for writing even under extreme pressures of work, teaching, classes, events and many things else, you would usually not be forgiven for taking any kind of break. Yes, I know the works.

The evil thing about procrastination however is that it never ends. Like the fabled Sisyphus bound to head to the top of the hill with a ball of garbage only to be sent downhill rolling with no brakes, and to be condemned to repeat the same process for eternity, each day comes and goes, and the readers wait, and wait. In some cases the writer gets a kind of cruel satisfaction from keeping them in that kind of wait. Well, I never promised you to publish my everyday thoughts. I keep some of them for private people, or send some of them to newspaper editors in hope that they find them good enough to publish. And well, I’m such a risk taker myself and I wouldn’t mind to hear news that someone actually placed a bet that I would not write as much this month as I usually do. Wait a minute, why am I talking to myself?

All of this make a kind of sense, doesn’t it, and there is a win at every turn. The other thing that could bring a greater fun would be hours spent talking to people about an intending road trip: twenty-three hours on the road towards Las Vegas and California. Now wouldn’t that be something? Yet, it won’t be sufficient excuse to stay off the blog for that period of time. Well whatever, life goes on. πŸ™‚

Help!

Hey blog folks.

How are you doing?

I have missed you. Well, I haven’t technically left, so what exactly could that mean? In any case, I have actually been enjoying my time here at home. And that’s why you haven’t heard too many complaints.

There are no mosquitoes here. (I think that Lagos has patented their presence πŸ™‚ ) Heat is bearable, sometimes. But yesterday while it was about 85 degrees Fahrenheit here in Ibadan, I heard that it was almost 90 in Edwardsville. See? I can’t complain. I still miss it though. Edwardsville, I mean.

Now however, I have just found out that I now have more time on my hands than I originally bargained for. No classes to teach in the morning/afternoon. No Chris to hang out with in the evenings, or Catherine to disturb in the department. No youtube videos to make, and no bicycles to ride. Well, I still have that stack of outstanding translation works to do. But that’s too boring.Β What else should I do with this time?

All comments welcome! πŸ™‚

And have a nice week.

PS: On June 3, I will be speaking to a group of new departing Fulbright FLTAs at the US Consulate in Lagos. I’ve been invited as a “resource person” by the Consulate. I wonder if what I can tell those nervous grantees about the experience can ever be exhaustive at a three hour lunch meeting. But try I will.