back on track

so the blog here has been quiet for good reasons. mainly it is because i moved and, in packing up my worldy belongings (again) and that makes me cry a lot and get completely overwhelmed.
this kind of thing rarely leads to solid writing or research. now i'm enjoying my reward and, as luck would have it, the writing is happening again. i think it is one of those things you have to be careful with and take care of. It is so easy to stop writing and, once stopped, painful to start again. but now, i'm in california--laguna beach--and writing again while looking at the ocean and being in the sun and being near friends. it is amazing how huge a difference those things make.
i began to think that perhaps the reason i find ann arbor unsatisfying is because i don't find it intellectually stimulating. maybe i am not in the right loop there. but i miss art and popular culture and good local radio. and a world that is bright and moving at a brisk clip.
and yes, i feel that energy in orange county and i feel faster, lighter. i breathe more deeply despite the haze and smog. i smell the ocean. and know i'm home.
or in the place that most feels like home even though i don't live here anymore.

and the book progresses at its own pace. but at least its back on pace.