personal – Daisy M. Hall

2020 Vision

I’ve never understood the idea of pairing a holiday where everyone tries to get serious about goal-setting with one where you celebrate by getting smashed. It seems like waking up with a hangover would be a pretty crummy way to start off a new year. I didn’t stay up to ring it in, because IContinue reading “2020 Vision”

NaNoWriMo Year 10 (and Maryland)

At the start of November I had zero jobs and zero words. Now I have 2 jobs and just slightly more than 50,000 words. November ended 5 days ago, and I’m still tired. Probably because 15,000 of those words were written in the last two days. My plans were to have many more words thanContinue reading “NaNoWriMo Year 10 (and Maryland)”

Obligatory End-of-Year Post

I’ve started a tradition in the last few years where I’ll write a letter to myself at the beginning of the year, only to open it at the end. My 2016 letter was pretty sad. I don’t remember the details, but I felt impatient and dissatisfied with where I was in life. By contrast, myContinue reading “Obligatory End-of-Year Post”

On to Sharjah

Every year I tell myself that I’m going to leave the UAE, and every year I end up staying longer. In September I’ll have been here for four years. That was never part of my plan, but… I’m moving to Sharjah. For those who’ve never heard of it, Sharjah is an Emirate and a city thatContinue reading “On to Sharjah”

Rough Draft: Done

I finished out November with 50,318 words. I was so close to the end of my story, too. I figured it would take a few days to completely finish everything. Well, I just typed “The End” yesterday, almost a month and 18,000 words later. 18,000 words in one month is pretty sad compared to November’sContinue reading “Rough Draft: Done”

A Friend Again

I haven’t done much Pathfindering since I taught the Flags honor to the Abu Dhabi club. I got overwhelmed with planning for my trip to Russia, and it probably seemed to the Pathfinders staff that I dropped off the face of the earth. Now that I’m back, though, I’ve been trying to fill in theContinue reading “A Friend Again”

Finding a Green Thumb

The last time I tried to grow vegetables, I put them out on my balcony so that I could keep an easy eye on them without actually leaving the house. I kept the curtains closed and didn’t check on them for one day. When I looked again, they were dead. It isn’t easy to growContinue reading “Finding a Green Thumb”

I’m Famous—Grilling the 3rd US President

I’m officially back in Abu Dhabi for another year. Jetlag is killing me. But I’m happy to see my cats again. More importantly—Clay Jenkinson, award-winning humanities scholar and author, and David Swenson, semi-permanent guest host of the Thomas Jefferson Hour, know who I am. The Thomas Jefferson Hour is a radio show/podcast based out ofContinue reading “I’m Famous—Grilling the 3rd US President”

The Agrarian Utopia

Right now I’m in The Middle Of Nowhere, Wales, doing my first workaway on a small homestead that grows food and keeps animals. It’s just what Thomas Jefferson would have wanted. *shudders* I left Karelia and spent about a day and a half in Saint Petersburg before I had to move on. Although I was very nervousContinue reading “The Agrarian Utopia”

Off to Russia

Right now it’s 1AM and I’m at Dubai airport, waiting for my plane to Istanbul. After a short layover I’ll be on my way to Moscow. I’m spending a month in Russia to attend a Russian language school. I’ve wanted to learn Russian for years, but I was never very good at studying it consistentlyContinue reading “Off to Russia”