Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Where has the time gone?

So I haven’t written a blog in what seems like a very long time. It started with my R&R break and then like a good habit fallen to the wayside, it just fell out of my normal routine. I’ve been guiltily thinking about writing one for weeks. Each day, I wake up with good intentions – “Today I will write a blog,” I think to myself, only to get sidetracked at work, errands or small tasks that seem to take enormous priority over writing my thoughts down. When my computer crashed and I lost 10 months worth of photos, notes, stories and blogs, I was … well, devastated might be too strong of a word, but I was definitely not happy. It definitely didn’t add writing to my list of things to do.

And let’s face it folks, part of it is a little laziness on my part. It takes a lot of mental effort to go out on a mission, take pictures, interview people using interpreters, negotiate the Kabul city streets and produce imagery and a written product. By the end of each day, I’m usually wiped out, not write more.

So each day passed to the next, and suddenly it’s been two months since I’ve written anything for my personal blog. As each day came and went, it became a little easier to justify not writing anything. It’s like when you skip a workout; each time you’re tired, not feeling very well, or just not energetic enough to go, it becomes easier and easier to skip the next session. But like going to the gym, I know if I just force myself to start, I’ll get into it, and maybe, shockingly enough, actually enjoy it. It’s just a matter of time. SO like jumping into a cold pool, I’m taking the plunge back in. And besides, with less than a month left to my time here in Afghanistan, I figure it’s best to finish strong. Let the writing (and photos!) commence.