Typing on a train
Here I am again, after a prolonged hiatus during which my Dad died of cancer. It's been a rough period of time and blogging has dropped way off the bottom of my priority list. Between work, a young child, housework and supporting my Mum, finding time to do anything beyond rest has been a challenge... but intercity train journeys are one of those liminal spaces where time seems to hang for awhile and possibilities unfurl.
Outside the window is a dark world rushing by, punctuated by urban lights, passing trains going the other way and the occasional smaller train station as we move out of London towards Reading and eventually onward to Cardiff. I've got a table seat, next to the aisle, facing backwards (beggars on a Sunday night train can't be choosers!), e-reader charging, music playing through my phone's headphones, a can of Camden Pale picked up from Paddington M&S open besides me.
I'm making an effort to start carving out some me-space again. Last week (or was it the one before?!) I went to the gym for the first time in a few years. I'm giving some tlc to my tech as well – my e-reader (I'm borrowing my wife's right now) is getting its charging port replaced (let's keep it alive longer!); this little Star Lite Linux laptop needed a new charger, an upgrade to Kubuntu 22.04, and next will probably come a new screen as there are dark and light patches on this one now.
Hopefully this brief entry will get the blogging juices flowing again, as it is nice to capture something of myself in writing from time to time. I may expand on my Dad's death and the grieving process, or I may not. Hard to tell where that line will fall for me between cathartic exposition and revealing too much of what is ultimately a deeply personal experience. Let's see... but for now, the e-reader next to me says it has charged enough for me to escape into a fantasy novel for the rest of this journey.
2023-02-12 #LiminalSpaces
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