Six months.  It’s been six months since I’ve written anything for this blog.

What happened?

I don’t really know.  I’ve alternated between periods of extreme busyness and extreme laziness.  Nothing new there.

But for some reason I haven’t felt compelled to write in quite some time.  And that time really got away from me.

Six months passed in the blink of an eye.  Half a year gone in an instant.

What did I do?

Well, I worked and played.  As I have always done.  As I will continue to do.

I still teach English here in Phuket, Thailand.  In the past six months I have moved away from teaching young children and teenagers and now almost exclusively teach adults, primarily business clients for our language school.

The shift was gradual at first, the result of me volunteering to learn new skills.  Professional development is the key to keeping interested in the job.  My first foray into Business English as a Foreign Language was teaching staff members of Thailand’s fifth largest bank.  It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot.

I then taught a course to agents working for a Russian-owned properties company based here in Phuket, a mixture of Thai and Russian students.  I had to learn all aspects of the real estate business for those lessons!  That led to a sideline job translating their brochures from Russian to English and proofreading the results.

Currently, I have students ranging from a high-powered attorney wanting to learn Creative Writing and the local manager of a nationwide shopping club learning about Customer Service.

I haven’t abandoned teaching children altogether.  I have been asked to lead several English Camps.  These are usually two- or three-day affairs held at a local resort playing English learning games and performing short skits with large groups of kids.  The planning and preparation that goes into these camps is extraordinarily time-consuming work but is very rewarding in the end – for students and teachers alike!

Along with writing much less lately, my reading has also gone down.  I am still managing at least a few pages each night – maintaining my four-year plus streak – but I haven’t been able to finish as many books as I’d like!  I have finished only 55 this year so far, far down from last year’s total of 77.  But that’s okay, I’m enjoying what I have been reading and that’s what counts the most.

Other activities?

Well, I’ve been watching a lot of downloaded TV shows from America recently.  Current favorites include “The Black List,” “American Horror Story”, “Big Bang Theory”, “Gotham”, and “Chicago F.D.” along with old standby’s such as “The Amazing Race” and “Grey’s Anatomy”.  Anxiously awaiting the return of “Game Of Thrones.”

As always, I listen to a lot of music.  A huge variety as I have a lot.  Almost 85,000 songs are currently in my iTunes with more being added every day as I tag rips and downloads.

I haven’t done much with my photography over the past six months.  Most of my recent photos have been of school-related activities and class graduations.  I completely missed this year’s Phuket Vegetarian Festivals except for a few photos taken when stuck in traffic due to one temple’s street procession.

There have been a few recent forays in the relationship (mine)field as well but those experiences may be better told in a separate blog entry (if at all!).

Interests that have been temporarily shelved include my philatelic endeavors; I haven’t added any new stamps or covers to my collections since January nor have I designed any new issues for the Muang Phuket Local Post.  Both should change soon.

I also haven’t participated in Postcrossing at all in 2014, although I did receive a few nice postcards from my sister Marilyn during her travels to Washington, D.C., and the Mediterranean.  I think I’ll request a few addresses this afternoon.

I believe the time is right to resurrect various interests, including writing more frequent blog entries.  As in the past, they will probably reflect my many different interests.  One week, I may write about life or teaching in Thailand.  Another, I might want to write about stamps, postcards, or books.  Perhaps I will start to include food reviews.  Who knows?  I don’t.

The only thing I know for certain is that I don’t want to let another six months pass before writing another blog entry.

Six months is too long to wait.

See you soon….

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