life's adventures lately

hi, friends! it's been a loooong time since I've written you a little life update. with so much blog material from the past year's travels stockpiled, I sometimes miss out on the present happenings. [I haven't posted one of these updates since February!]

but -- here's a few things that have been going on around here lately

writing for a cause

many of you might recall that I've been writing a novel off and on for the past year. I kicked off my current project last November with a program called NaNoWriMo, which is an online collective that encourages people to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. well, I didn't quite make it that far. I have, however, gotten my word count over 30,000 these past few weeks. I had been planning to participate in NaNoWriMo again for some motivation to start writing more regularly [and to finish my first draft.]

enter: The Mighty Pens. authors Susan and Kat have put together a writing group that will fundraise for the Malala Fund with every word. when November 1st hits I will share a link to my fundraising page, and I hope you will consider a donation. not only will you get to motivate me to keep writing, but help fund education for girls who desperately need it.

celebrating fall weather

the weather has finally, FINALLY changed. temperatures have been in the mid to high 70s this week and it has felt fantastic after all the heat and humidity of the past few months. the overpriced pumpkins are out in the grocery stores [I had to buy myself a tiny one, it's tradition] and half the locals are already in puffy jackets. I am even wearing jeans today. jeans! we are also prepping for Halloween by planning a Stranger Things marathon and of course: Hocus Pocus.

adventures around Taiwan

I did a lot of hiking over the 10/10 weekend -- in no small part thanks to borrowing a friend's car. [we are very seriously considering purchasing a vehicle now, because being able to escape out into the mountains so quickly was amaaaazing.] in the past few months I have also taken a trip down to Hsinchu for a scoot adventure, biked across Taipei in search of giant lily pads, and revisited some of my favorite old temples and hikes with new friends. now that it's cooled off, I hope to be getting out even more.

haunted by a cockroach

the other day, I spotted a cockroach in my living room. while it's true that roaches are just a part of life in climates like this, it has been a long time since I've seen one in my apartment. [I've had plenty of ants and my ceiling sprung another leak though.] the cockroach was squirming around on its back -- it should have been easy prey. but I hesitated. and instead ended up flipping him back over, and he dashed under my couch.

so now I'm living in fear that he will climb out to interrupt my Netflixing Star Trek Discovery, Mindhunter, or Outlander. Happy Halloween?

so, I might be a witch

speaking of spooky things... the other day while skyping with my parents, my dad filled me in on some interesting ancestry facts. namely: that we have both a witch and a murderer in the family. I guess I should say falsely accused murderer. he was executed for killing his mother, who was then exhumed, twice, and it was determined he did not actually murder her. obviously, a little too late.

but I'm more excited about the ancestor who was tried as a witch. apparently she lived. so clearly, she must have been an actual witch and used her craft to survive her trial... and therefore I've got magic in my veins. [I haven't been this enthused about family history since my mom told me a great-aunt claimed we have gypsy blood.]

upcoming blog projects

I still need to complete my expat recap series, though year 5 has proven difficult to write. I am working on a blog redesign, but can't settle on a small tweak vs complete overhaul. [this also may be put on hold since November will be pretty focused on book writing.] I think there may be another reader survey coming, an update to my "visiting Taiwan" series, and of course continued posts from Turkey, Prague, and the Pacific Northwest.

also: I've just realized that publishing this will bring my number of posts this year to 31, which is how many I managed last year between several extended breaks away from my blog. so that's kindof exciting.

and since I've run out of both coffee and things to talk about... that's all for now. hope you all are enjoying October, wherever you are.

[if it's a place that has candy corn, please eat some for me, ok?]