KaleidoKleio

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Can't think of a fancy title

I keep attempting to start blogging again and clearly my attempts are not working! I have three or four draft posts just sitting there since my last "I'm back" post but I've never gotten around to finishing them. Life is simply too busy at the moment.

But I just got a comment on a very old post so I published it and then decided that since I'm in here, I may as well say something!

I just got back to London yesterday after the Christmas holiday, but this time I came back alone. P is starting a new job in Kuwait this month, and he and our baby Thunder have moved back there. I'll be following them once I'm done with the semester, around early May. I can write from anywhere but I'm teaching three undergrad courses this year so I need to stay in London until the teaching term is over. It sucks that we have to be apart for these three to four months, but it's necessary for both of our careers so we decided that we can get through it. These next few months are crunch time for me anyway, so I guess this way I can just totally immerse myself in writing and teaching with horse-blinders on and plough through. But I miss looking up from my desk and seeing P sitting at his desk working, with little Thunder curled up on his red pillow next to P's computer.

I'm sad that our life in London is coming to a close, and we're definitely going to miss our amazing little flat here and our lovely neighbourhood and daily routine. But I think I can honestly say for the first time in maybe four years that I am actually looking forward to moving back to Kuwait. There are a lot of exciting things going on right now that I want to get involved with. Kuwait has a lot of potential, particularly in individual people who are doing interesting things, and we need to find a way to really harness all this potential and make a change. And I really feel like Kuwait is slowly changing and I want to come back and be a part of it, because change can go either way and the more of us there are pushing for good, the better chance we have of getting Kuwait out of the mess that it's in. I'm sick of being negative about Kuwait and want to go back to feeling positive about it (the way I used to feel years ago), and rather than focusing on the things I hate I want to start concentrating on how I can perhaps contribute to fixing it. I had many conversations with people over this break about ideas and projects and things to work on when I'm back, and I'm eager to get started.

So that's it for me for now. I have tons of work to do today as I'm teaching a new class starting tomorrow and need to plan out my first lecture. I don't know if this post means I'm going to start posting again - chances are it just means that I'm procrastinating!!

11 Comments:

  • omg i found out about your blog like yesterday and i already read more than half the things on here! your writing techniques are amazing! you should seriously think about writing a novel of some sort.

    &&& what kind of things do you want to change about kuwait?

    im kuwaiti too but i lived pratically my whole life in the states and canada. i recently moved here about a month ago to study university here, but now im getting second thoughts. what do you recommend!??

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/11/2010 10:37 pm  

  • is P kuwaiti too?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/11/2010 10:39 pm  

  • Hi there. I'm glad you're enjoying reading my blog! As you can see, I used to post much more regularly than I have over the past couple of years. Thank you for your kind words about my writing. I do write and publish professionally, but my regular work is academic/historical.

    As for what I'd like to change about Kuwait - there are so many areas that I'm hoping I can contribute to! First and foremost is by teaching and working within an academic environment. But I'm also hoping to play a role in areas like women's rights, the preservation of our built environment, etc.

    I'm sure it'll take some time to get used to living in Kuwait, but hopefully you'll find your comfort zone. The most important thing is to surround yourself with like-minded people - people who appreciate the same kinds of things you do and who have your same values. Once you find people like that - even if it's just one or two friends - then Kuwait becomes that much more bearable!

    No, P isn't Kuwaiti. :)

    By Blogger Kleio, at 1/16/2010 3:05 am  

  • I saw P on Thursday! He was at Pecha Kucha, wasn't he? It was really dark there and I was sure that it wasn't him because what would he be doing in Kuwait? :P I was also sure it wasn't him because you weren't around. I don't think I've ever seen one without the other ;)

    I'm sorry you have to be apart for a few months but good luck with the writing & classes! Can't wait til you're back :*

    By Anonymous Tooomz, at 1/17/2010 8:55 am  

  • Hahaha Tooomz yes that was him!

    Hiiii! Long time! Yes, it sucks that we have to be apart for these next couple of months, but he'll hopefully be visiting me a couple of times so that should make it easier. But this is the home stretch!

    Can you believe the five years are almost over?!

    By Blogger Kleio, at 1/17/2010 1:50 pm  

  • Yes, time flew by, didn't it? I suddenly feel very old.

    Enjoy your last few months. Kuwait should improve with you back!

    By Anonymous Tooomz, at 1/21/2010 10:34 am  

  • I know you are gonna disappear for another 6 months and come back with a (I am back) title :) hehehe
    but I have a suggestion to encourage you to blog more often... why don't you write once a week about your experience teacheing in England..the positives and negatives..maybe give some stories about your students.
    and how is the write up goin?
    I passed my viva and it is taking me longer than expected to do the corrections.
    Good luck :)

    By Blogger Traveleer, at 1/24/2010 10:03 am  

  • Tooomz: I'm flattered. :)

    Traveleer: Congratulations on the viva!! That's great news. I think by the time you get to doing corrections you must be so exhausted and tired of it all! Hopefully you'll finish soon. Once again, congrats on getting it all done. What are your plans now?

    I keep postponing my submission date. At first I was planning on submitting by April, but then by around November I realized that was not realistic and decided to settle on June. But now I'm thinking, why rush for June when I have until 15 September to submit (without paying fees for an additional year since my funding has now ended)? So September it is!! :)

    Once I get through this week of madness, I'll write a post about teaching here like you suggested. I think maybe once I move back to Kuwait I'll start up a new blog with more focus!

    By Blogger Kleio, at 1/24/2010 3:26 pm  

  • I wish you all the best. Hopefully you won't postpone your submission date beyond September. I from exprience that you are never satisfied with your work and always want to add more. But you should draw the line somewhere.

    I already have a job so my plans are to get promoted based on the new degree and hopefully continue with the subject of my graduate work.

    By Blogger Traveleer, at 1/25/2010 10:16 am  

  • I love your blog. I haven't read your blog for more than a year. You got married :) congratulations.

    By Anonymous Farah, at 2/15/2010 11:00 pm  

  • Hi Kleo,

    I was following a reference from wikipedia about Zahra Dickson and it lead me to your blog. Since I haven't been here for a very long time I decided to take a look at the latest updates and found this :)

    Good to see you back-ish, and good luck with your classes.

    By Anonymous moayad, at 3/26/2010 12:38 am  

Post a Comment

<< Home