A Writer’s Blog

On the publication of her 78th book, Kathleen Norris said the following:

“All writing is difficult. The most you can hope for is a day when it goes reasonably easily. Plumbers don’t get plumber’s block, and doctors don’t get doctor’s block; why should writers be the only profession that gives a special name to the difficulty of working, and then expects sympathy for it?”

Easier said than done. The last time I actually wrote was almost a month ago, during the Eidul Adha celebration, about my experience of going for the Haj. Between then and now, I had millions of topics ranging from religion to politics to bitching about stuff, that went unwritten because a topic would simply be overtaken by events. And this would go on and on and on that I never got down to writing anything.

Now for the blame game. My job has taken much of my time that I would be so burnt out during my spare time that I no longer read. In the last three months, I had bought me no less than five books to read; and the only one I got to read was by Paulo Coelho which I never got to finish. The sub-plots were going round and round, and things got monotonous that I gave up reading the book. It is still on the towel hanger inside the bathroom. I went back to reading defense magazines while on the porcelain throne.

Work has definitely taken a lot of my time; trying to juggle the year-end matters – rig inspection offshore, daughter’s school transfer, having to go back to my wife’s hometown for some kenduri, rushing my car to the workshop, juggling finances etc. It has been a stressful December for me so far and not being able to go diving makes it worse; not that I could if I had the time because the monsoon is here and to go anywhere else would require me to request to go on leave.

Talking about leave, I had to take six days off from my balance of eleven days of annual leave as we are only allowed to carry forward five days from this year’s leave. I get 20 days annually but only managed to take five days leave this year. The other four days were the emergency leaves I had taken. I am supposed to have like four days of replacement leave when I had to work over weekends and public holidays but I cannot be bothered to request for those days as it is so difficult for me to get any leave as it is now. The only reason I get to go on leave at the end of this year is because my boss is going on leave as well.

Other than that, November and December have been rather wonderful. I attended a three-day seminar in Cherating followed by a drilling-related course here in KL. And my mother and mother-in-law met for the first time over lunch at my mother’s house. My daughter, Farhanah, has also turned 18 yesterday – and I hope now that she’s 18 she’d learn to be more responsible towards her studies (that’s probably what my parents had hoped for 26 years ago).

Gosh! Reading back, I don’t think any of the above makes any sense at all. I hope to be able to write again soon, and write better. Well, I hope I’d get to write again upon my return from offshore.