If only we could capture The moment of connection The electric fire and energy All cosmic flowers blooming That moment That microsecond Before rinsed away By the wash of time Of thoughts and senses Living and life And forgotten Lines and lyrics And visions lost <sigh> For want of a notebook
We’ve probably all had those flashes of brilliance at completely inopportune times. The perfect lyric or book title or even snarky comeback that strikes while you’re in the checkout lane, or in a public toilet, or walking the dog two blocks from home. If only you could remember it you could prove to the world how absolutely brilliant you really are, but…
You never remember it quite right and you never ever have a notebook. Damn!
In 2023 I took a six-month break from writing in order to get a professional certificate (PMP for those wondering) but I’m now trying to get my creative juices working again. My current situation is that I find my brain full of ideas up to the point of actually putting words down. I enjoy outlining a scene or a blog post or even an entire novel plot. Yet, when it comes to actually creating the prose … my creativity locks up and lets me down.
Other than being creatively cramped, I find myself completely full of advice for ‘others’ to follow. I’ve got an endless litany of pointers and guidelines and tricks for the beginner or struggling writer. And yet … I struggle to take my own advice. The old saw about teaching immediately comes to mind: Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach. I don’t want to be that guy; I’m not qualified to teach. I want to write.
The trick I’ve been foisting on others lately while failing to do myself is: Write yourself out of the weeds.
It is an extension of my most quoted advice: Write all the words, even the crap. Which is an exercise meant to get the gears moving and to keep them moving.
Writing your way out of the weeds is meant to take the gears that are now moving and use them to find a direction for your writing. Write so much crap that you eventually write your way past your block or hangup or whatever was keeping you from writing useable words until you can find a path through the weeds and back to the plot of the story.
Essentially: If you write enough garbage you’ll find something worth keeping.
Currently, I’m at the write-all-the-words stage. To be honest, I wish I was in the weeds; I’m still trying to find them. To be in the weeds you have to be writing, even if it’s garbage. I have yet to get to that point. Writing this post was a start and painful as all get out. But it is part of my working through the issue. And hopefully, create something I can post to my long-neglected blog.
Only more writing can lead to better writing. I’m hoping this is the start of more.
2023 started out well; I had goals that were moving in the right direction and felt good about things. But then halfway through the year, I heaped an additional goal onto the heap that completely upset the apple cart and forced everything else to a halt.
I made the decision to further my engineering career by getting my PMP certification. It is a professional project management certification that requires extensive study culminating in a three-hour exam. I poured myself into the task and expected to have it complete before Thanksgiving.
Well, that didn’t happen. It’s mid-January of 2024 and I’ve only now scheduled my test. It wasn’t that I didn’t study or gave up or anything like that. It was that life events and the ephemeral reality of time placed metaphorical chutes and ladders in my path. (two-week vacation, tiling my basement, large projects at work, etc.)
However, now that I have the test scheduled and the end of this particular task in sight, I can resurrect the goals I’d set aside, such as organizing my vacation pictures, the rewrite of my book, and this blog.
However, I’ve found that restarting a project or goal is much like getting back on a horse. It’s as if both you and the goal are reluctant to start. I’ve yearned to work on these things for months but held my back because I knew I couldn’t give them the time they deserved. So, now I find that I am still a little shy of jumping into the task too hard, afraid that I will be pulled away again, unable to give it the attention I want. I feel the projects shying away from me for the same reasons. I’ve avoided and ignored them for so long that they’ve gone feral.
It will take some time to get my goals tamed and myself refocused. But the last six months of concentrated single-minded focus on a task have taught me some valuable skills. I tended to spread myself too thinly across too many projects. I now realize that I need to concentrate on the single task at hand.
Today it’s this post.
So, here’s to getting things rolling again in 2024. I have a lot to accomplish.
We got back from vacation on Saturday afternoon and caught a breather before picking up the pup on Sunday. Two weeks is a long time to be away from home and I was ready to return. It was either that or I started looking for job in Montana. Sheri can work remotely but I cannot. So, we’re back and I guess it’s my fault!
This was the very first picture I took on this trip. It was a beautiful sunny day in Glacier National Park and we went for a bike ride around Lake McDonald. This is from a bridge over the river before we got to the lake. The clarity of the water just called to me.
I took almost 3000 pictures on our trip through Glacier, Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, Yosemite, and Alcatraz, so I have lots to show you.
I am your typical introvert: I don’t have a need to talk to people. I can go an entire day and not say a single word and not mind at all.
Likewise, I don’t have a need to interact online. I enjoy peek into the socials to see what’s going on and what other people are up to, but I rarely feel the need to share my own activities.
Therefore I really don’t have much of a social media presence. I appear once in a while, say something snarky, and disappear back into my cave.
And I like it way.
However, I’ve been told repeatedly that I need a social media following to be a successful writer in this market. But it’s been hard to keep myself focused on the task. I have to pull myself away from other tasks – more important tasks – to do this… whatever ‘this’ is.
I’m not sure what I’m to do about it. I’ve laid out media plans, scheduled wiring tasks, outlines, etc. And have failed to stay on task at every turn. But yet, I’ll rework a single scene from my story for hours on end. Because ‘that’ is the work to me. Not this… not talking… not socializing in electronic packets… not showing you my lunch or my cat or derpy dog.
Sigh… But I guess I will for a laugh….
Whatever happened to that solitary tortured soul of a writer?
I am a busy guy. I don’t really have ‘free’ time and I like it that way.
I have things to do.
I am an engineer and project manager, a husband with a large yard and an old house, a scuba diver, a traveler, an aspiring writer and guitar player, and occasionally a blogger. It’s the ‘occasional’ that I want to address here.
I started blogging because I had ideas, opinions, and general thoughts that I believed someone would find entertaining. I also enjoy writing and do it every day in some form. Lately, it’s spent more planning to write than actually writing. But that is always a struggle.
Yet, this year my other tasks seemed to have gotten the edge on me and I found myself buried in ‘things to do.’ This all resulted in two months vanishing without me really writing anything substantive. This blog will break that cycle and tick off one of my tasks. I have made a nice dent in my list and have even started using a Kanban board to manage my priorities.
(I can honestly say that it has worked. The engineers and nerds out there will know what I’m talking about.)
The pics in this post are a small sample of what I was doing in May and June, including:
Rewiring a production line
Scuba diving in Key West
Visiting the Hemingway House
Laying tile in my basement
Shakespeare in the park
Drinking beer with a cat
And something to do with a saw
As you can see, I’ve been busy.
There are still lots of stories from our Egypt trip to write up and I need to have that wrapped before our Italy trip. So, I’ve got some work to get done.
I hope you’re enjoying your summer. I’m going to go tear out a basement closet, now.
On the way back to the boat after touring the temples, our guide asked if we would be interested in seeing the nightlife of Luxor. Of course, we jumped at the opportunity. We were kind of dragging ass by this time, so we preferred an early evening tour rather than a true ‘late night’ excursion.
After dinner and a nap at the boat, we met him on shore where he had a horse-drawn carriage ready for us. There are hundreds of these carriages in every city that gets tourist traffic. They are cheap and can get you places just as easily as a cab and are easier to find than a cab. The wooden carriages seem to be straight out of photos from the 1800s. The large wheels a have layer of rubber on them to help with the ride on modern streets. And they are ALL DECORATED!! They are covered with buttons and painted flowers and patterns or with cut metal shapes riveted to the sides. Each carriage is a piece of art painstakingly created by the owners. These carriages are their livelihoods and they care about them like pets. The horses look miserable and haggard, but I imagine they are just as well taken care of at the end of the day.
Our guide initially took us through the back streets of Luxor through the old town. Where the oldest buildings are located. Some of these are centuries old and still inhabited. These were also the poorest streets. I felt bad about gawking at their decrepitude, but I also wanted to experience the country, even the ugly side. For the most part, the streets were deserted with few people about. However, we soon saw why, everyone was down at the night market. It turns out that most Egyptians sleep during the day and come out to do their shopping and business at night after the sun has set and it’s cooler. Makes perfect sense!
When we went through, the market was not yet at full stride. It really doesn’t get going till around midnight and runs to till four or five in the morning. The streets through the market area were narrow and crowded. Sheri had been invited up to sit by the driver and steer the horse and, of course, jumped at the chance. She was excited until we got to the crowded streets, then she was all worried about running over someone.
Our guide explained that Egyptian women love fashion as much as anyone else and one of the busiest and most expensive streets in the city was dedicated to women’s fashion stores. He offered to take Sheri there, but by this time we were both exhausted and called it a day.
I would have loved to explore the market on foot and check out the food market. One thing we failed to explore in Egypt was the local food. We usually make a point of it when traveling, but on this trip, we were rarely out and about in town. We ate most meals on the boat which did have some Egyptian-style options, but nothing I would call local. Next time, I want to explore that aspect of the culture more.
The entrance to the Luxor Temple feels much more complete than that of Karnak. There is the usual Pylon of stone on either side but with an obelisk added and two seated pharaohs guarding the entrance with two more standing pharaohs on each side. Luxor has so much more ‘stuff’ than Karnak. The reason for the difference is easy to explain.
Karnak is a shrine to the gods – Amun, Mut, and Khonsu specifically with a plethora of shrines to other gods added over the centuries. Whereas the Luxor Temple is specifically a temple to the Pharaohs and the yearly rejuvenation of their rule. So, it seems to me that the pharaohs went out of their way to make sure everyone knew what big powerful kings they were.
Ramses II
Obelisk
Ramses II in particular left his mark on the temple. He added the grand pylons at the entrance. The statues guarding the entrance, two seated and four standing, are stylized depictions of him. Ramses II also added the first courtyard with seventy-four Lotus bud columns and even more statues of himself. As I said, this is a temple to the Pharaohs by the Pharaohs – look how great we are!
At one time a grand scene of Ramses II going into battle decorated the Pylons. You can just make out the remnants of the carvings that were originally painted in bold bright colors. Also, there were originally two obelisks set at the entrance, but the smaller of the two was gifted to France in 1829 and is now in the Place de la Concorde in the center of Paris. We drove past it on our stop-over in Paris.
The city of Luxor was built on the ruins of Thebes, the ancient capital of Egypt. The power of the pharaohs was centered around the worship of the Gods at Karnak and rejuvenated every year at Luxor during the flooding of the Nile with the Festival of Opet. They were then buried in the Valley of the Kings across the river on the west side of the Nile. Thebes was the site of more than sixty festivals and feasts annually. It was the center of both religious and political power for centuries.
Alexander the Great recognized this and had a shrine built here after he conquered the country. He had his image stylized as a pharaoh and carved into the walls depicting him receiving his power from Amun. This is the Amun-Min version of the god with one arm, one leg, and a massive penis! On our visit, there was a line of people to see this carving. Apparently, massive penises are very popular with tourists!
Shrine to Alexander the Great at Luxor
The Luxor temple complex has been an important religious site for more than 3000 years. The original temple was dedicated to Amun, the God of the Air. Romans used it as a church and monastery that was then converted into a Mosque that is still in use to this day.
Our personal guide Ahmed knew that I was an engineer and writer. At Karnak, he pointed out the temple of Ptah – the god of architects and engineers. At Luxor, he showed us an image of the goddess of writing and knowledge – Seshat. (My new favorite goddess.) The image is carved into the back of the throne of one of the seated Ramses II statues inside the temple. You would never notice it unless someone pointed it out.
The central aisle through the galleries will take you to the most important room in the temple: the room where the god’s barq was kept. They have a replica displayed inside, but again there was a line to peek in and no lighting, so it was impossible to get a good picture of it.
All the professional guides in Egypt are required to be Egyptologists. Seriously, they are experts at the stuff. Our guide, Ahmed, had a PhD in Egyptology. When we visited the temples, he flooded us with information. The history of the sites and the narrative of the stories carved into the stone is so vast that it would take a PhD to absorb it all. We did our best to retain and understand as much as we could, but it did not take long before it was a blur of names and symbols. This was when I stepped away and began just looking for great photos.
Ancient temples and the world’s tourists surrounded us. I was literally eating up the culture and the atmosphere. I loved it. I took hundreds of pictures here and got my first taste of the monumental architecture of Egypt.
As an avid photographer, I love looking for the perfect picture of a scene. I tend to see what I want in my mind’s eye and then attempt to recreate it. Egyptian temples are a treasure trove of photo ops. I love a good space and the massive stone construction provided some great shapes and shadows to work with.
In the back corners of the temples, you will run into locals that have staked out prime locations and will point out extra special photo ops for a few dollars. I am sure they make a pretty good living during the tourist season.
When I travel, I like to step away from the group to explore and absorb the atmosphere of a place. I did that here. I avoided touching any carvings, but not everyone is so careful. However, I did place my hand on the rock of the temple and even hugged one of the massive columns. I always hope to feel something – such as an energy reaching down 3500 years to somehow connect with me. There was nothing there to feel, but it was still thrilling to be able to place my hand in the same place another person had touched hundreds of generations ago.
That is how travel can really put your life into perspective. Compared to the age of this place, my life is a grain of sand. How could my daily stresses mean anything in comparison?
Our first thought on entering an Egyptian temple was: Damn that’s big! Particularly when you realize that everything is built of cut stone and with manual labor. Massive props to the engineers and workmen!
As an engineer myself, I tend to analyze the possible building techniques before I even notice the art and aesthetics. But beyond the amazing architecture, they are beautiful, well-built structures and I was duly impressed.
Our first temple was Karnak, one of the most iconic Egyptian temples. This is the most visited temple after the Pyramids at Giza. Karnak has appeared in many movies and is usually the one pictured when they want a generic ‘Egyptian temple’ in the media. However, what they don’t show is that the temple is right next to the river Nile and surrounded by a modern city.
Both the Karnak and Luxor temples are located in the city of Luxor and most of the economy is driven by the tourist trade generated by the temples.
Our first approach to Karnak was down the Avenue of the Rams, which appeared in one of my favorite movies: The Mummy Returns (2001). The first thing you notice is the different heights of the two pylons of the gate. These were a late addition to the temple and ultimately unfinished and undecorated. The remains of the mud-brick ramps used for construction are still in place. This detail got me pretty excited. …Engineering-nerd, what can I say.
The temple is dedicated to the worship of the god Amun, the sun god, and was added onto for over a thousand years.
During the Opet Festival when the Nile floods, a statue of Amun would be carried on a symbolic barge from the temple of Karnak down the Alley of Sphinxes 3km to the Luxor Temple where he would be ceremonially married to the pharaoh, thus promoting the fertility of Amun and the pharaoh and all of Egypt.
The Alley of Sphinxes is still extant and walkable. I was unable to talk my wife into the hike, so we were shuttled to the Luxor, just down the road.
The Temple of Karnak is iconic and absolutely beautiful, and yet a little of a letdown. This is a working tourist site and has a worn-in and trampled feel that can take away from the experience. However, I found that I could ignore that and turn my mind inward to experience the atmosphere. I could almost feel time hanging in the air like cobwebs.
The most famous and photographed part of Karnak is the Great Hypostyle Hall. It is 50,000 square feet of COLUMNS!! I love me some columns! Karnak is a column farm. 134 of them. Most are 33 feet tall with another twelve 70 feet tall! There are several examples that are not completed showing how they were constructed. The unshaped rock was stacked and mortared into place, then craftsmen shaped the column, followed by artisans that would carve the art and hieroglyphs into the stone. Finally, everything was painted in bright colors. Most of the paint is now faded and gone, but there are places where it can still be glimpsed.
At Karnak, I first encountered the ramps used in the construction of the temples. For some reason, these are never mentioned in any of the books I’ve read. The stones were cut, roughly shaped, and placed on barges at the quarries in southern Egypt. Then when the Nile flooded, the barges would be floated down the river and into preconstructed canals leading right up to the building site. They used the same technique for the pyramids. Amazing engineering!
Our first full day in Egypt began with a boat ride across the Nile at 4:30 in the morning! We were to welcome the dawn from the basket of a hot-air balloon over the Egyptian desert. We’ve always wanted to go up in a balloon and when Sheri found out that we could do it in Egypt, she jumped at the chance. The worst part of the experience was that it was so early after arriving in Egypt. We were still suffering from jet lag and were a bit punch drunk from the international travel experience. But we weren’t going to miss this for anything!
Of course, the balloons are popular and we were part of at least a hundred people on this particular morning. There was an entire field of them going up at once. Watching fifteen feet of flame shoot up into the night is pretty exciting. I took hundreds of pictures on this trip.
The baskets are large and hold sixteen or twenty people at a time, divided into little compartments. The pilot is in the middle surrounded by tanks of propane. The tanks don’t last long and he changes them out quite often. The balloon pilots are actual trained pilots with uniforms displaying their wing pins. Our pilot was very professional. Sheri and I were placed directly next to him and got to watch as he worked his magic.
The flame was directly above us and HOT.
From the balloon, we could see the Nile twisting through the country with a narrow band of green fields on either side. West of us was the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Hatshepsut.
In the hills, we could see openings cut into the rock. Were they ancient tombs waiting to be explored, but off-limits to tourists? It made me muse on what wonders we are not allowed to see?
From our height, we were able to look down onto some of the local houses and businesses. There on the edge of the desert life is clearly harsh and hasn’t changed all that much in 3000 thousand years. There were more carts than cars and more donkeys than bicycles. But even then it seemed peaceful and content. The lack of noise that surrounds us in our normal life was stripped away at that height and it was both exciting and calming.
Even with a pillar of flame above me, I found peace and contentment in the sky above Egypt. Part of the allure of Egypt is what we imagine is there but aren’t able to see. We conjure up cities of ruins under the sea of sand and hold our breath as we round each corner.
But the grandeur we seek is long gone, only the vestiges remain among an impoverished populace that sells access to the illusion. I don’t blame them for it; this is their inheritance. But I am nostalgic for what we’ve lost.
So Many Words... 