tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84111656672767138902012-02-17T05:44:21.511+02:00One man's quest to escape waking up at 6 a.m.Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.comBlogger301100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-32410470185395239462008-03-20T01:43:00.003+02:002008-03-20T01:47:49.561+02:00

Due to my inability to view my own blog (blogspot.com is blocked by Syrian internet authorities) and a perpetual need to re-organize things, I have moved this blog to Wordpress. It can now be found at http://textcalibur.wordpress.com.This blog will not be updated beyond this post - thanks for everything blogger and blogspot, too bad it didn't work out!

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-72383960622767435082008-03-16T00:51:00.003+02:002008-03-16T01:05:43.572+02:00

We're hosting the first of hopefully many guests this week, and as is inevitably the case when entertaining and attempting to find things for them to do, the host ends up learning a lot more about their place of residence than they even knew existed.I mean, I knew there was a lot to see in Syria. I read all the guides before coming here, I studied the blogs of other ex-pats in Damascus, I looked

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-66082762766420158832008-03-08T23:26:00.004+02:002008-03-08T23:31:03.119+02:00

Last night I finished the first 'part' of my project, somehow managing to crank out another ten thousand words in one day, for a total of 40,011. For the record, I do realize that word counts are a pretty arbitrary and superficial measure of my progress, but since my greatest problem has been with sticking to one project long enough to see it through...I hope you'll forgive me!Today I'm doing

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-55953474119374738402008-03-06T23:43:00.003+02:002008-03-06T23:51:53.269+02:00

30,437 is the current word count, which according to my math makes my weekly progress roughly ten thousand words. I'm not sure if that's good or bad as I have no real reference point, but it certainly feels like I'm actually getting somewhere as opposed to just...well, just writing. It feels like I'm writing something. Yeah, what a mind-blowing epiphany, huh?I picked up a few books I had lying

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-29895788995486067072008-02-28T23:10:00.003+02:002008-02-28T23:24:21.497+02:00

Twenty thousand words; the amount of text added to my project since arriving in Damascus. It roughly equals the amount which I'd written in Riyadh, which doesn't necessarily seem very impressive until you consider the fact that I only started writing again a week ago.For reasons which remain unclear to me, I find the act of writing itself infinitely more fluid here and now. Rationally speaking,

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-46958816961913174132008-02-14T00:03:00.002+02:002008-02-14T00:31:01.975+02:00

So, here we are again.I'm not really sure how to begin telling my impressions of Damascus, so perhaps it's best to do what is usually suggested at such junctures: start at the beginning.We left Riyadh in the pre-dawn hours of the 14th of January: three adults, three cats, one dog and entirely too much luggage, all crammed into a fortunately well-ventilated SUV. After 1,800 kilometres and 36 hours

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-79455956643541915952008-02-12T21:02:00.000+02:002008-02-12T21:07:03.858+02:00

Finally! Finally an internet connection at home. My apologies to those of you who have sent me e-mails since I left Riyadh, sadly getting a connection set up has proven more difficult than learnin Arabic (which I am still committed to doing, unlike learning to drive here - I've never seen traffic like this!).This is just a ditty post to let everyone who reads this know that I have, in fact,

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-7799402690030895682008-01-13T15:30:00.000+02:002008-01-13T15:39:52.265+02:00

It's roughly 5 pm now, meaning in 12 hours we'll be on the road. Yes, we're leaving at 5 am.We'll be driving roughly 1800 kilometres, from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia through Jordan and finally to Damascus, Syria. Right now we're estimating the trip will take a total of 20-25 hours of driving time, thanks to the fact that we're bringing a dog and three cats along, which will inevitably force us to stop

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-55348326367275037032008-01-05T14:29:00.000+02:002008-01-05T14:58:35.903+02:00

I hope everyone had a peaceful and relaxing Christmas and New Year's - I'm not sure those are the words I'd use to describe mine, but they certainly were fun! I'm still a little miffed we didn't make it to Damascus in time for Christmas, but that has not dampened my enthusiasm for the move, which is slated to take place in nine more days.I must confess that I'll be glad to be someplace a little

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-39660913543524020102007-12-20T14:46:00.000+02:002007-12-20T15:09:32.615+02:00

It seems that there are limits as to how many revisions of one particular chapter - or a particular scene - people are willing to read!I have been instructed by my agent (though I hesitate to flatter myself by suggesting that anyone looking out for my interests should be called that until they have something to display) to stop writing for the time being. Instead, I have been given a sort of

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-58198549994421371512007-12-16T14:22:00.000+02:002007-12-16T14:27:21.757+02:00

On Friday the 14th, roughly 100 people participated in the Hash "Carols in the desert" walk in the Third Airport area outside of Riyadh. The walk itself was relatively easy in comparison to the two walks I've previously participated in, largely to accomodate the large number of families and beginners taking part in this Holiday edition.After the walk, live music was arranged in a scenic ravine of

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-11459220020208578672007-12-09T14:00:00.000+02:002007-12-09T14:08:02.913+02:00

On Friday the 7th, the local chapter of the Hash House Harriers staged a walk at the "first camel trail" here in Saudi-Arabia, about 40 kilometres outside of Riyadh. Seeing as how it was the day after the day of Finnish indpendence, the walk had been designated as "the Finnish run"...how could I not go?I was also a "hare" for the first time, meaning that I went ahead of time with the other hares

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-40233100135821776602007-11-30T19:47:00.001+02:002007-11-30T19:57:01.155+02:00

I'm a dirty liar. I promised I wouldn't actively revise any "finished" material until the whole novel was done, but as of today I have broken that promise. If it's any consolation, my editor will probably kill me for it.As I've probably mentioned before, this whole project is a new and learning experience for me. I'm still finding my own pace, style and working habits - the sheer magnitude of the

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-18855273270790454812007-11-27T11:15:00.000+02:002007-11-27T11:22:41.415+02:00

How in the name of God do real writers come up with such intricate and cohesive plots? I've spent the last 24 hours mulling over the relationship between three simple, secondary characters, trying to piece their history and emotions together. When I finally finished, it looks more or less right, but since the whole thing was inspired by some commentary on an as-of-yet-very-much-unfinished story,

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-82777518914333790362007-11-25T13:16:00.000+02:002007-11-25T13:22:16.345+02:00

Cohesion; a word that has come up unfortunately often in my attempts at defining the challenges of writing a novel. The past two hours have been spent pacing back and forth in the small room I've been using as a "writing space", trying to discover the way to start my next chapter without losing cohesion.I suppose it's as much a matter of pacing as cohesion, as the story does need to progress. The

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-27953909999454338942007-11-19T17:09:00.001+02:002007-11-19T17:24:16.759+02:00

So apparently Saudi-Arabia is experiencing a break-out of the Avian flu. This is pretty irrelevant to me as there are virtually no birds nearby aside from the parrot in the guest room (who, by the way, attempts to sing along to Finnish pop music from the 90s), but it has shut down a few lovely take-out restaurants with a wide variety of chicken-based dishes. Curses! I want my shawarma!In other

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-27507626472960927322007-11-11T14:52:00.001+02:002007-12-08T13:56:13.403+02:00

Here are some pictures from the Hash House Harriers camp-out and walk held in Thumamah Park, Saudi-Arabia on November 8-9, 2007. A good time was had by all!Thumamah camp-out and walk photos

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-85737296059209908972007-11-07T20:22:00.000+02:002007-11-07T20:33:44.065+02:00

So, I got a little feedback on the first draft of the first chapter - extremely helpful feedback mind you, and exactly the sort I was looking for. Most feedback tends to be very subjective, and caters to one individual's particular tastes, but when a specific point is made a sufficient number of times, it doesn't really matter how much I might decide to not revise until it's all done, or not look

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-82310083802484936812007-11-01T11:31:00.000+02:002007-11-01T11:51:39.477+02:00

First things first; the first chapter of the novel is done, and has been sent to my editor. It's obviously just a first draft and will very likely undergo major editing before the novel itself is completed, but it feels good to know that the first milestone has been reached.What I really want to write about however, is Arabian hospitality. I've just returned from a brief shopping excursion with

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-12185019455606859532007-10-29T22:18:00.000+02:002007-10-29T22:28:23.566+02:00

So much of doing seems to be determined by simply trying. This may sound like some pretty blatant truism, the sort of generic babble Dr.Phil would dish out to his woefully disconnected "patients", but when you have been as hopelessly uninterested in everything as I have been, it does come as something of a shock.I've just made a preliminary deal for another article, and have two more proposals in

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-56228334437716022422007-10-26T00:55:00.000+03:002007-10-26T01:06:57.056+03:00

So I finally managed to get a dial-up connection from the house up and running, and though it's good for little else other than sending off some e-mails, it seems steady enough to allow for posting updates here and there...albeit very slowly. Nothing happens very quickly here, which seems directly related to the heat...despite it being technically winter, we're experiencing temperatures upwards

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-41074743809840721052007-10-12T16:44:00.000+03:002007-10-12T17:10:59.721+03:00

A growing pile of cardboard boxes threatens to block my third-story view, and I can't tell if I'm exhilarated or exhausted. This will be my last post from the old continent until next summer. Until then any updates may be sporadic and any posting schedule will be dictated by how available internet access is over there.There's something terrifying about moving everything you own. Over the past few

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-63621692300462257742007-10-11T18:21:00.000+03:002007-10-11T18:46:22.226+03:00

I am a man of many flaws and limitations. Fortunately, these flaws and limitations have been pointed out to me sufficiently often (and usually with frightening vigor) that I am able to recognize them and their potential for sabotaging my upcoming mission. Therefore, I will now create a mission statement of sorts with the purpose of drawing a public declaration to regiment my work habits while on

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-33756083415257816132007-10-10T13:28:00.000+03:002007-10-10T13:32:46.604+03:00

I am leaving my current apartment this coming Saturday, and have subsequently been sorting, packing and throwing out an inordinate amount of items. During this endeavor I thought of something which really should be made into some sort of pseudo-Law a la Godwin's law. Here it is:No matter how exciting the prospect of moving is, the process of moving will always be tedious.This shall henceforth be

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-1930381697387475672007-10-08T05:07:00.000+03:002007-10-08T05:34:31.887+03:00

I was recently discussing the standards of modern literature with a dear friend, and as tends to be the case when one participant is a would-be auteur, it devolved into a mockery of the publishing industry and its demonic overlords, 'sell-out' writers and the general idiocy of modern readers.Despite my vitriolic outbursts, I believe there is some truth to the claim that writing today is immensely

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-63007164134559880252007-10-01T00:12:00.000+03:002007-10-01T00:40:12.199+03:00

I've already mentioned and thanked him once, but I feel I should thank my high-school creative writing teacher Dr. Jack Penha again. Tonight, in preparation for the upcoming move, I've been going through various shelves and closests, trying to separate that which I want to store from that which I want to burn and never see again.One of the lessons that Dr. Penha hammered into our young minds was

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-64742736593072524392007-09-27T02:54:00.001+03:002007-09-27T04:03:31.178+03:00

It's 3 o'clock in the morning and I can't sleep. I can't sleep because I'm too excited about finally getting on track with what seems like a life-long desire. It's corny, but this feels like destiny.I first gave a crack at "serious" writing after graduating high school, I was 17 at the time. I'll admit that I've never gotten very far in terms of writing serious fiction - laziness, poor discipline

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-51835918407299965272007-09-15T22:42:00.000+03:002007-09-15T23:05:09.728+03:00

Having briefly touched on the nature of my upcoming project and my main inspiration for it, I thought it might be appropriate to elaborate on some of the specifics. As mentioned, the genre will be historical fiction, specifically set in Latin Syria during the height of the Crusader conflict (c. 1100 - 1300). I haven't settled on a specific period of time just yet, mostly because that era is so

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-38826489957612249802007-08-22T15:23:00.000+03:002007-08-22T16:14:01.471+03:00

In the unlikely event that someone should actually read this, allow me to expand slightly on my coming project: I am planning a 6-8 month long trip to the Middle East in order to research and 'live in' the subject of what I hope will eventually turn into a book. The genre is historical fiction, meaning an accurate account of historical events with fictional storylines woven into the history.When

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411165667276713890.post-87870789112630345122007-07-30T16:07:00.000+03:002007-07-31T16:40:49.052+03:00

I suppose I should begin this blog with an introduction, in the unlikely event that someone who isn't my mother or searching the internet for pictures of "sexy Tony Danza"(frighteningly enough, one of the most common search topics that led visitors to my previous site) stumbles across this little one-man sanitarium.My name is Olli, and I am a 28-year old Finnish male who is about to depart on his

Ollihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13817926421943373807noreply@blogger.com0