Day Six: What a Waste?

I don’t like to waste residency time.

As a consequence, I push myself too hard, try to see too much, and generally take every experience to excess.

Like last night.

Janet, our resident artist from Sydney, offered to cook dinner at the other space. Jen and I headed down there and met Sebastian, in for a week from Lisbon.

I ate too much. Drank too much. Talked too much. Fell in bed at 3am and stayed in bed all day.

(Not terribly unusual, as I write best in bed.)

So today, I decided to pull myself back. Since it’s hell-hot, I hunkered down in the cool of my studio and read all day. Elena Ferrante. My Brilliant Friend.

I didn’t write a thing other than this post.

But I don’t consider my day a waste. Writers need to be readers. Losing myself in other well-crafted worlds teaches me how to build my own.

I also considered some of the things we talked about last night. How creatives are last to be compensated for our work the world over. Political turmoil in the United States and Australia. The death of American exceptionalism and the view of most people beyond our borders that we’re a third world country. Art exhibits in Madrid. Portuguese lessons, at which I’m hopeless! ????

Human beings need time to decompress. It’s never a waste.

To follow my residency at Buinho Creative Hub from the beginning, CLICK HERE and read forward.