Summer hasn’t been up to snuff in my books. I can’t seem to motivate myself to much of what I want to do. I get out and do things often, but it seems like I also do a lot of sitting at home surfing the internet. It just dawned on me why last summer was different; last summer I didn’t have high-speed internet. Maybe I’ll cancel it for the summer. Maybe not.

I’ve found a better motivator for writing. If I write at my computer, the internet distracts me. My willpower and focus only go so far. Today I reverted back to writing by hand, like I did during November. I wrote a few pages in my notebook before dinner. It’s not as much as I’d hoped for but I’m still getting back into the groove. I’m going to try to keep up with typing too, I’d rather not have to type 40,000 words all at once again. It also means that the word counter to the left isn’t going to be updated on time (though it hasn’t really moved in two weeks anyway).

My landlady stopped by earlier this week because the gas company stopped by to upgrade shutoff valves for the stove. After they left, she glanced around my kitchen, eyeing all my imported foods. I gave her a walk through of everything I could find and explained what each thing was. For some of the spices, it was easiest to have her taste them than explain in broken Russian. She really didn’t like the taste of Cajun seasoning. Anyway, I agreed to make dinner for her and her husband in the next week or so. Tacos, non-spicy, it is!

Last update for the day, I think there’s something wrong with my knee again. It’s not the IT band this time because it feels like it’s under the kneecap. I had run 7 miles, 3 days a week until it started hurting. I’m wondering if the sudden increase of stress on it coupled with my non-supportive running shoes was the cause. Ice and ibuprofen, as every physical trainer has ever recommended, is what I’ll be doing for the near future. Hopefully it gets better. And soon.