With the recent spate of subscribers, I thought I would kick off our first discussion thread here for readers.
Friend or stranger, it would be really great if you would take a little time to say hi and share a bit about yourself when you have a spare moment.
Tell us about your enduring passions or, in this time, your lockdown pet projects. Tell us something about where you are now and how you’re riding out the pandemic. Include your links and social media handles too, if you like.
I’ll keep this thread open and ongoing, so even if you don’t get to it now, you can come back to it at a later date.
Hello kawan :) It's been a while, good to hear from you.
I know what you mean. I don't know that there will ever be certainty, and I'm trying to think that maybe that's okay—the way the world is going these days, haha. Just a series of crests and dips and pivots and loops-back-around in a lifelong pursuit. Sometimes I still find myself questioning what I want of writing, what my desired manifestations of it are; and flit between competing visions. But whatever way works to keep going. I have to say, I think the fact that you've managed to do both in parallel for as long as you have is, frankly, baffling, and amazing! I think I saw in Kyoto Protocol's newsletter recently that you have a new song out? Will have a listen.
Thanks again for subscribing and reading, and chiming in here x
I have been a bit of a nomad the past three years, and the pandemic caught me in an odd situation. I was attempting to live in Italy, but hadn't yet obtained residence, so I was spending 90 days outside the country. Rather than returning home to the USA, I decided to stay in Georgia for 3 months with my partner. While there, all the borders closed, and we received ominous warnings from our respective State departments (she's German) that we should return home immediately, or risk being stranded with no international support.
We took their advice, and I returned to the US and she to Europe. We've been separated 6.5 months now. I'm living with my family here, helping to take care of my mother, and working on some small contract based online gigs to keep a bit of income. My main passion however, is my Road to Rome project (roadtorome.org) That has, of course, been on hold with the pandemic, but we've had some small amounts of progress even so. Our bed frames have arrived, my partner has gotten her Italian residence, and some of the paperwork we needed for our apartment there has been completed. As soon as I'm able to return to Italy, we'll be ordering the mattresses for the bunks and opening the doors for guests in compliance with the Covid restrictions on such establishments.
Thanks so much for sharing your own stories and writings with us, and for giving us this space to communicate.
Georgia! I loved Georgia, have imagined living in Tbilisi, and am envious you got to spend three months there—albeit under less-than-ideal circumstances. I hear they're actually offering remote-worker types year-long visas now to make up for the lack of tourists...
Despite the chaos and the interruptions, your plans with your partner sound inspiring and exciting, and I do hope they materialise in time. And that you're both coping well with the separation, all things considered.
Will catch up with you soon on your stories. Thanks for adding to this thread, Travis x
It's Jamie (from Mongoose days, but now in England). I've loved your writing since our mag days, and have been really enjoying your newsletters :) Lockdown has been weird - I really love being at home and on my own, so isolation mostly hasn't been too much of a problem for me (and I know I'm coming from a great deal of privilege to be able to say that). It's only just starting to get to me now, about 6 months on, mainly because I don't think I'll be able to go back to M'sia this year to see family and friends.
I've been doing loads of baking and knitting during the lockdown. And trying to maintain a regular yoga practice again (until I stupidly managed to somehow injure myself and am not out of action for a bit). I'm also trying to lose 10 lbs (hah) but all the baking - and subsequent eating - has been making that harder than usual haha! And... writing, working, editing on revisions for my PhD - though in truth, that usually means more teeth gnashing and hair pulling than actual writing!
P.S. I hope the yoga injury wasn't too serious and that you're recovering well! I go through phases with yoga—intensive and then nothing at all. Right now, it's the latter...
Hello Jamie, it must be quite lovely in England right now! (Pandemic aside.) Always nice to find out what people have been up to after Mongoose.
I'd second that about being at home and on my own—it's not been too much of a problem for me, though I have had some moods occasionally, simultaneously feeling the need to account for every hour and letting myself go. I also printed out several recipes intending fully to get to them, but have only baked my way through two, haha. I think my spinach empanadas were somewhat successful...
We should meet if we're ever in the same place again. Best of luck with your PhD. And if you ever feel like sharing some of your writing, feel free x
Greetings from Tamil Nadu. I'm a video Journalist and I have put on hold all the short documentary projects that were lined up. But the pause also helps me in finishing all the pending books I was to read. Currently reading 'India's War- The making of Modern South Asia' by Srinath Raghavan.
I'm also trying to translate a Tamil novel into English. Hope that materialises soon.
A lil bit of painting, origami, gardening basically anything that can distract me from pandemic blues.
I live your writing, and your insta feed. Your newsletters are lovely and it's like a foreign window that's a refreshing change from what usually comes my way. Keep em coming! 💜
Nantha! How are things? Good to see you here. We didn't have much time to hang out after the workshop ended in Kolkata.
I commiserate with the stalled projects, and have also been reading more. One book I'm slowly working my way through to better savour it is one I think you might enjoy too—"This Brilliant Darkness: A Book of Strangers" by Jeff Sharlet, a brilliant collection of photographs and writing about people and places that reminds me of the work we did in the workshop. Painting is one of the things I was hoping I'd get to try as a bit of a lark during these stay-home times, but didn't. I have started playing the piano again, however, after more than fifteen years away from the keys...
Do let me know if that novel does get translated into English x
Before the pandemic, I was helping to run a Thailand tour company (thailandetcetera.com). By the first week of March, every client had canceled and we knew it was going to be a hard year; assuming we could even survive it.
Since then, I've been at my family's farm in rural Alabama where I began building a web development company (webniyom.com). My career until the tour company had been in tech and I wasn't sure what else to do.
Since I wasn't able to travel, I went looking around the internet for good travel stories. (I was introduced to you by Flory Leow (furochan.substack.com).) I read a few articles on your website and tried to add you to my RSS reader. Since you don't have an RSS feed, I figured your newsletter would be the next best thing. I haven't been disappointed.
Hello Brad! Thank you for kicking off this thread. Glad to know this newsletter has got a reader from Alabama—one of those places I've hoped to visit because I love the sound of its name—and very glad that Flory sent you my way. (Florentyna, if you're reading this, thank you!) Sorry to hear about how things went in Thailand, and I hope that'll be salvageable once travel resumes, somewhat, again. Meanwhile, good luck with your new endeavour, and I hope you've found ways to enjoy being at home again despite this pandemic. Speak again amid future letters x
Friend here HAHA
Doing the same old: straddling the life of a professional working in finance while pursuing my craft in music and songwriting.
It's been a 13 year journey thus far and something has got to give, I'm just not sure what. I don't know if I'll ever be sure!
Hello kawan :) It's been a while, good to hear from you.
I know what you mean. I don't know that there will ever be certainty, and I'm trying to think that maybe that's okay—the way the world is going these days, haha. Just a series of crests and dips and pivots and loops-back-around in a lifelong pursuit. Sometimes I still find myself questioning what I want of writing, what my desired manifestations of it are; and flit between competing visions. But whatever way works to keep going. I have to say, I think the fact that you've managed to do both in parallel for as long as you have is, frankly, baffling, and amazing! I think I saw in Kyoto Protocol's newsletter recently that you have a new song out? Will have a listen.
Thanks again for subscribing and reading, and chiming in here x
Hi Emily :)
I have been a bit of a nomad the past three years, and the pandemic caught me in an odd situation. I was attempting to live in Italy, but hadn't yet obtained residence, so I was spending 90 days outside the country. Rather than returning home to the USA, I decided to stay in Georgia for 3 months with my partner. While there, all the borders closed, and we received ominous warnings from our respective State departments (she's German) that we should return home immediately, or risk being stranded with no international support.
We took their advice, and I returned to the US and she to Europe. We've been separated 6.5 months now. I'm living with my family here, helping to take care of my mother, and working on some small contract based online gigs to keep a bit of income. My main passion however, is my Road to Rome project (roadtorome.org) That has, of course, been on hold with the pandemic, but we've had some small amounts of progress even so. Our bed frames have arrived, my partner has gotten her Italian residence, and some of the paperwork we needed for our apartment there has been completed. As soon as I'm able to return to Italy, we'll be ordering the mattresses for the bunks and opening the doors for guests in compliance with the Covid restrictions on such establishments.
Thanks so much for sharing your own stories and writings with us, and for giving us this space to communicate.
Georgia! I loved Georgia, have imagined living in Tbilisi, and am envious you got to spend three months there—albeit under less-than-ideal circumstances. I hear they're actually offering remote-worker types year-long visas now to make up for the lack of tourists...
Despite the chaos and the interruptions, your plans with your partner sound inspiring and exciting, and I do hope they materialise in time. And that you're both coping well with the separation, all things considered.
Will catch up with you soon on your stories. Thanks for adding to this thread, Travis x
Hey Emily!
It's Jamie (from Mongoose days, but now in England). I've loved your writing since our mag days, and have been really enjoying your newsletters :) Lockdown has been weird - I really love being at home and on my own, so isolation mostly hasn't been too much of a problem for me (and I know I'm coming from a great deal of privilege to be able to say that). It's only just starting to get to me now, about 6 months on, mainly because I don't think I'll be able to go back to M'sia this year to see family and friends.
I've been doing loads of baking and knitting during the lockdown. And trying to maintain a regular yoga practice again (until I stupidly managed to somehow injure myself and am not out of action for a bit). I'm also trying to lose 10 lbs (hah) but all the baking - and subsequent eating - has been making that harder than usual haha! And... writing, working, editing on revisions for my PhD - though in truth, that usually means more teeth gnashing and hair pulling than actual writing!
Hope you're all keeping well and safe! xox
P.S. I hope the yoga injury wasn't too serious and that you're recovering well! I go through phases with yoga—intensive and then nothing at all. Right now, it's the latter...
Hello Jamie, it must be quite lovely in England right now! (Pandemic aside.) Always nice to find out what people have been up to after Mongoose.
I'd second that about being at home and on my own—it's not been too much of a problem for me, though I have had some moods occasionally, simultaneously feeling the need to account for every hour and letting myself go. I also printed out several recipes intending fully to get to them, but have only baked my way through two, haha. I think my spinach empanadas were somewhat successful...
We should meet if we're ever in the same place again. Best of luck with your PhD. And if you ever feel like sharing some of your writing, feel free x
Hey Emily,
Greetings from Tamil Nadu. I'm a video Journalist and I have put on hold all the short documentary projects that were lined up. But the pause also helps me in finishing all the pending books I was to read. Currently reading 'India's War- The making of Modern South Asia' by Srinath Raghavan.
I'm also trying to translate a Tamil novel into English. Hope that materialises soon.
A lil bit of painting, origami, gardening basically anything that can distract me from pandemic blues.
I live your writing, and your insta feed. Your newsletters are lovely and it's like a foreign window that's a refreshing change from what usually comes my way. Keep em coming! 💜
Nantha! How are things? Good to see you here. We didn't have much time to hang out after the workshop ended in Kolkata.
I commiserate with the stalled projects, and have also been reading more. One book I'm slowly working my way through to better savour it is one I think you might enjoy too—"This Brilliant Darkness: A Book of Strangers" by Jeff Sharlet, a brilliant collection of photographs and writing about people and places that reminds me of the work we did in the workshop. Painting is one of the things I was hoping I'd get to try as a bit of a lark during these stay-home times, but didn't. I have started playing the piano again, however, after more than fifteen years away from the keys...
Do let me know if that novel does get translated into English x
Howdy Emily and greetings from Alabama.
Before the pandemic, I was helping to run a Thailand tour company (thailandetcetera.com). By the first week of March, every client had canceled and we knew it was going to be a hard year; assuming we could even survive it.
Since then, I've been at my family's farm in rural Alabama where I began building a web development company (webniyom.com). My career until the tour company had been in tech and I wasn't sure what else to do.
Since I wasn't able to travel, I went looking around the internet for good travel stories. (I was introduced to you by Flory Leow (furochan.substack.com).) I read a few articles on your website and tried to add you to my RSS reader. Since you don't have an RSS feed, I figured your newsletter would be the next best thing. I haven't been disappointed.
Hello Brad! Thank you for kicking off this thread. Glad to know this newsletter has got a reader from Alabama—one of those places I've hoped to visit because I love the sound of its name—and very glad that Flory sent you my way. (Florentyna, if you're reading this, thank you!) Sorry to hear about how things went in Thailand, and I hope that'll be salvageable once travel resumes, somewhat, again. Meanwhile, good luck with your new endeavour, and I hope you've found ways to enjoy being at home again despite this pandemic. Speak again amid future letters x