Brief Hiatus

I'm going to take a brief hiatus, which obviously has already begun. I've been working on a short story for the first time in years, and I'm absolutely exhilarated that the muse finally visited me again! 2013 appears to be my year.

I enjoyed the holidays, busy yet quiet. I've packed up most of my life and put it into storage as I prepare to move back to Japan, and have been working diligently at my short story. I already have ideas for several more and am absolutely thrilled that I'm able to sit down for hours and hours at a time and just write! Here's hoping I'll come up with at least one or two short stories worth publishing.

Not sure when I'll resume regularly posting, and I'm not sure if I'll mostly post stuff about life in Japan on this blog, or resume my old one. Time will tell. Happy New Year's!

A Concert To Begin, A Concert To End

Last night I enjoyed a kick ass concert where Tegan & Sara opened for The Killers. I had heard a few songs here and there on Pandora by the twin sisters, and I knew I generally liked them, but even so I have to say I'm impressed; gonna be buying their album making a station seeded with them on Pandora.

I've been a fan of The Killers since Hot Fuss was released during my college days, but this was my first chance to see them live. They are one of those rare bands that sounds exactly the same live as they do recorded, and the lead singer (Brandon Flowers) really knows how to work the crowd.

I found it ironic to realize that my time here in NOVA has been bookended by concerts; got to see my favorite band Death Cab For Cutie live at the Strathmore right after I arrived, and now this concert a few days before I move away.

Can't say that my time here was wholly enjoyable, since I lived away from a metro station and had to fight traffic for work on average six days a week. Even so, I do like the overall vibe and feel like I would be willing to give DC proper another shot, assuming I could find a job that would pay enough to cover the insane cost-of-living.

With the looming fiscal cliff that the federal government is marching towards, I think that the timing of my retreat is rather auspicious. It is really looking like the DC metropolitan area (and in particular NOVA) is not where I want to be come early 2013.