Tuesday, February 15

One of the kids in one of my classes tested positive for Covid last Tuesday, so all the kids in kindergarten didn’t come into school Wednesday through Friday last week, and the kids from that class aren’t coming in all this week.

Which means my schedule has been much lighter than usual. For the latter part of last week, I brought my computer to work and spent the days submitting my fiction to various literary journals, writing in the kids’ books that they take home to their parents, and getting a no-notice but positive end-of-the-year performance review. This week I’ve mostly read my book and messed around on my phone in my off-time between classes.

I’m feeling some anxiety at the moment—I’m planning to visit the US in April, but the process for reentry into Thailand is complicated and right now the tickets are insanely expensive, so I am waiting…in the hopes…that something…will change.

I’m also a little anxious about this play reading, though so far it’s going well. On Saturday, the actors and I met at Darren’s place and did a read-through, went through some notes, and then did a second read-through. By the second time around, the actors had really found the rhythm of the thing and it was sounding pretty near to what I had intended (for a musical without music).

But I’m just at a point right now where I kind of hate the script? It has a different tone for me, and I like that—it feels a little more adult, a little more understated. But it’s so much a piece about ART and the PAIN of trying to BE AN ARTIST and at the moment it just feels so navel-gazey and self-involved and insular. And not very fun. 

I probably wouldn’t be too concerned with these feelings—since I often experience them at some point when I’m developing something I’ve written—except that Darren has talked about staging this as part of a Bangkok theatre festival next year and I’ve just started talking to Rory about writing the music and I’m feeling a little like…do I really want to spend all this time and money working on this particularly piece? I think I will likely have to let my feelings settle a bit after the February 25 reading and then decide if I really want to pursue this project but…I also don’t want to leave Rory hanging. So that has me feeling some anxiety. 

Anyway, here a few random pics…on Friday, I met Elle in Sathorn and passed by these lovely lush plants. 

I also saw this really weird sculpture while riding a songthaew through Thong Lo. 

Yikes 

On Sunday, Roman and I went to Siam to run some errands, and had lunch in the food court in the mall. I ordered from a vegetarian cart, and they had some kind of soy product that looked so much like moo krop (crispy pork) that I had to order it.

It didn’t really taste like anything though. 

And finally, today I bought young coconuts from the fruit vendor at the street corner by my work, which is essential because Roman and I have developed a one-a-day habit.