The Limbo Chronologies

Hello again Reader, Today marks one week out of six that I’ve been back on land. Five more and I’ll be back AT sea. Time flies by too fast… I’ve finished the short story, and though I’m happy with it, I feel that it could be better (as every writer feels about his or her work). But, regardless of whether it’s satisfactory or not, I will be returning to the Limbo Chronologies! Shortly… Vacations within Vacations Photo by Ninara Back in summer me and a friend of mine from my Burger King days planned a trip for the following winter. We would go far up north to Kilpisjärvi , (see image for reference), and spend a week or so hiking and ice fishing. The planned trail is a little under 100 kilometers, (62 miles for you across the Atlantic, or 187476 long cubits for you in the years B.C.), so the trip in total, once you include driving there and back, would be around 6-8 days. Now, technically we’re in spring already. In Finnish we have a saying: “Maaliskuu maata näyttää,” which is r...

Unrelated photo   Hello again Reader, If you are reading this on Saturday, 7 th of March, it means I’ve been able to post this before I’ve signed off. At the moment I’m about an hour and a half away from berthing, and I’ll be hopping aground and going to the train station soon after. Timetables, as they always do, have hopped skipped and bumped back and forth and only now, with the pilot on board and the quay in sight, can I confidently say that I’m going home today. Originally I’d be on my way home by now, on the train back up north, but due to the ever-fickle nature of maritime schedules you’re receiving this around 12:45. Also, as a sidenote, the terrible curse of the “final night of contract” struck me BAD. This curse sees one have the worst nights of sleep before crew change, and in my case I didn’t sleep a wink, meaning that as of writing, I’ve been up for thirty odd hours give or take. So forgive my typos and weird phraseology. Honestly, most of this post, (apart fr...

Hello again Reader, It is Saturday once more, and it’s the last day of the month! I only have a week or so, (give or take depending on the schedules. Most likely give), before I go back home to see my lovely girlfriend (whom I miss dearly), and to the peace and quiet of solid, non-rocking earth. And, of course, nights of sleep that are more than 7 to 7,5 hours long. I plan on taking my lovely miss to some fancy place and have some good food, then surprise her with some souvenirs I got during my quick trips ashore. (I hope she ain’t reading this specific post). Also, last night I saw the 22 ° halo around the Moon, (perks of working at sea), but my potato camera couldn't capture it for it was too faint. Image for reference: Found here You’ve book three, and I’m taking a creative pause from The Chronologies to rewrite the little story I spoke about last time. I’ve forgotten just how fun the rewriting progress is! A magical clarity smacks you in the face and I find myself explaining ...

Hello again Reader, Apologies for the short post today. I’m under a bit of a mid-contract-malaise. Not that anything untoward has happened aboard, far from it. I just find myself a little glum. A gloominess that has become a negative feedback loop of: while working the will to write burns because I didn’t write enough the previous day – get off work; get slapped in the face by fatigue – don’t write enough / good enough per my personal standards – get a little down because of it – go to work again – go to sleep; sleep bad – back to work – cycle repeats. With each cycle I inch closer to almost not writing at all. Sometimes it feels like I’m forcing it. And we all know forcing something doesn’t make for good outcomes. Still, I’m an advocate for keeping up a skill daily, even if it’s with the smallest thing. On Thursday, for instance, I reread one of my novella/short stories which has lingered as a first draft for quite some time. It is very Lovecraft-esque considering the narration is...

  Hello again Reader, We’re halfway through February now, and compared to November and January, man has it gone by fast! I blink and three days are gone. I wake up in the morning, I sneeze, and I’m in bed already. Then I close my eyes, and back up I go. We’re headed west now, and we’re running away from the sunrise, so mornings stretch by increments, making me stay up on the bridge as lookout for the entirety of my morning watch. So, blackness abounds. We’re no longer in coastal waters, so there ain’t a strip of land, much less another ship, in sight, making what is outside (which unless there ain’t any clouds), complete and utter darkness. That, and the seagoing has gotten a little rougher. I slept in 40 minute bursts for around six hours last night, and man can you tell from my face. I’m all puffy and bleary. Still, I come to you today on 14 Feb. (That is, if I’ve the internet to post). 3-5 should be up and ready for you to read, and man o man whatever might happen? Wha...

  Hello again Reader, I’ve been a bit under two weeks out of an approximate six on board. As I’ve warned you, things in the writing department have gotten slow . I reach my point of diminishing returns in just about an hour, after which the structuring of a basic sentence becomes a chore. Or I just flat out lose track of what’s happened and what’s happening next. Also, I draw blanks more often. I’ll be hammering away, in a zen flow state, until BAM! What next? What next? Man, if that ain’t the worst feeling. It requires retreat back into the mental ZIP files where the story resides in its cosmic jumbled state, waiting to be pieced together. It doesn’t help that I’ve got that dawg watch of 4-8, which, although I sleep from about 20:30 to 3:30, leaves me a little dreary and glum, pale with dark crescents below half-open eyes. I’m a ghoul that skitters down to the mess for snacks and lunch between breaks from writing or napping or reading. Disheveled, oily and flabby are my prim...