What a month! We had it all: health scares, long-listings, MA assignments, curriculum updates, plays, binge reading, and the ever-encroaching world around us.

I had a weird time of it, that’s to be sure. The health stuff really threw me for a loop as it’s the first time I’ve been sick while living in Tokyo and I was unprepared for how alone the entire experience would make me feel. Luckily with the help of some very kind-hearted friends we got it all sorted, so that was a relief.

During those couple of weeks, I was also ignoring my MA commitments, truth be told. And so I had to kick my own butt to pull something together this week. The books I ended up settling on for my essay were a somewhat eclectic sort: The Bloody Chamber, The Wild Girls and Normal People. At least now I have something that vaguely works. And my proposal for my next piece of writing also looks halfway decent. But I am, as always, still very stressed about the whole endeavour.

In teaching news, I have been updating my curriculums for next year. I like to swap out my books every three years or so when I get tired of them. Plus I’ve been working with the rest of the faculty to organise field trips and guest speakers and whatnot.

I also attended a play! A very small indie production that was beautiful, intense and very gay. So all the stuff I like. It was also a test of my Japanese skills and a reminder to keep studying.

I also managed to place on the Cranked Anvil Short Story long list! Which I’m very excited about. I have a theory that, after a certain point of professionalism is achieved within one’s writing, the only deciding factor in many competitions is the personal tastes of the judge or judges, so I hope they have a taste for me. Which is a very weird thing to write.

I have a reading roundup coming in the next few weeks too! I’ve been loving Talia Hibbert as of late and I can’t wait to talk about it. Until then, I hope everyone else is coping well with everything in their lives too x