Deadlines and Finish Lines

Some things take time. Some things take a long, long, long time. Sometimes those things just need deadlines so they get done. I [Mark] am getting to the end of one of those projects right now.

The novel I'm working on was started back in 1985. The first draft was completed in 1990. Yeah, that was 23 years ago!

I'm currently rewriting it based on comments and feedback I've gotten from people over the years--the same wonderful people who kept saying: "So are you gonna PUBLISH that thing??" Characters have changed, some of them dramatically, some of them simply blinked into non-existence. Whole chapters have been excised or replaced. Plot points and story lines have been reconsidered and summarily abandoned. Language has been simplified (thank goodness!). Even spellings of people's names have changed to be more easily read or pronounced. The title has changed three, no, four times--it's currently "The Midnight Stone." I've drawn pages and pages of concept art: character studies, scene studies, environments, monsters and architecture.

Here's the plan: I finish the rewriting by August 29th. I have to get this novel in submittable shape by then. That's my self-imposed goal. Why August 29th? Well, it was a random date that seemed just a little too close, but mostly just because it's a deadline. It gives me a finish line I can see.

It's been a long haul and there's a LOT to rewrite, even though I'm down to the last 1/5th of it. To keep me straight, I've laid out the positions of people at various times. Here's one version of it.

Wish me luck! (Click on the image to see it full size.)

Wheels, Phase II

Before we moved to Taiwan, we sold or handed down our much-loved cars. For almost two years now, we've used only public transportation unless someone offered a ride. We love to "go take a look," but buses may not go or stop when or where we want to go or stop. We missed that freedom, so we've had many conversations about it.

"Can we just rent/borrow/hire one? What kind of vehicle do we need? How will we actually use it? Isn't it just one more thing to maintain? Can we even drive in this wacko traffic? Heck, where will we park it?" We kept concluding that "we haven't been everywhere public transportation can go and we still don't know what format will work best." So we put off replacing our car. Again. But we missed the freedom, so it kept coming up.

Rather than basic transportation, we needed an exploration vehicle, something to get a bit further out, and further in. A car seemed like a bit much, especially since it would not be used every day. The obvious choice in Taiwan is a scooter which, according to the locals, can transport a family of four plus the dog! Unfortunately, scooters here are built for shorter families and I [Mark] wasn't that comfortable sitting on my tailbone with my knees bumping the plastic. That was the most reasonable reason; frankly, I just couldn't get excited about a scooter. Now, a motorcycle, on the other hand...

I knew which one I'd like, if it would make sense. I had the Ideal and the Cheaper/Practical options figured out--at least to my satisfaction. Ping was willing to work with that. We checked online for pricing, brands, configurations, used vs. new, etc. (Local joke: "How do you know if a used vehicle is a piece of junk? It's for sale!") We found a few ways to pick up something functional online at a reasonable price, but the universe had another option.

On Monday, after another one of these conversations over lunch in Shilin (士林), we decided it was time to find helmets. There was a whole row of helmet stores on the way home, so we walked a couple of kilometers to the first store. I had a hard time fitting a helmet in the U.S., so I was concerned about finding one at all in Taiwan. Within 15 minutes, we'd found one that not only fit but cost 1/3 of what I paid for one of the same quality 20 years ago in the U.S. Maybe we should check the other stores, too?

About 50 meters further down the sidewalk, I looked in a bike shop and said: "Hey, there's the one I wanted to try," pointing at a red Kymco Quannon 150 (my Ideal Option, right down to the color!). "If we can't sit on it comfortably, I won't think about it anymore."

Ping asked them to pull it out for us. I got on. It fit my frame perfectly. Ping got on behind me. She fit. The bike was a year old, in mint condition with only 3200 km on it, and it cost 2/3 of what we expected to pay new--in fact, less than my Cheaper/Practical Option.

But what about the local joke? It's still a used bike, right? Yeah, but there was only a minor scratch on the tank. It still had a year left on the warranty. The shop owner said the guy needed the money; they had two of his motorcycles for sale. We had them start it up for us. Nice! I took it for a spin--unbelievably nimble, obvious even within a few blocks. We hadn't seen such a good machine for that kind of price, so we put some money down and walked home (the last 7 km of our 11 km "stroll" that day). They transferred the title the next morning and we rode the bike home that afternoon.

We parked it behind a locked garage door, under a covered patio in Ping's parents' other house, two blocks away from our place. Perfect. We finally replaced our eight wheels...with two!

So this is how things worked: after months of discussion, we literally walked right to it. What are the chances?

Today, we went back for a minor clutch adjustment and came home the fun way, up into the hills and back down again. Next trip, the coast? Let's go take a look!! Now, if I can just learn to reduce the number of emergency maneuvers in traffic...

Taiwan 2013 Challenge - "ShaKaDang Pool 2"

"ShaKaDang Pool 2"
- acrylic on canvas
- approx. 455x380mm/18x13"

This is another view of the same pool from a slightly different perspective and later in the day. We had hiked in quite a distance down a trail that most take for only a few hundred meters. By the time we got back to this point, which is not far from the trailhead, the light had changed so much. Wind barely rippled the water, allowing for wonderful reflections and a refreshingly clear view of the rocks in the stream bed. This marble canyon has so many beautiful rocks. I thoroughly enjoyed painting so many of them in this image.

Taiwan 2013 Challenge - "XiaoZi Shan, Pingxi"

"XiaoZi Shan, Pingxi District" - 孝子山
- acrylic on canvas, approx. 33x24cm/13x9.4"
In the northeast corner of Taiwan, you'll find the Pingxi District where the land rises in great spiking leaps from the river valley below. What looks like a simple 3.4 kilometer semi-loop turns out to be a 4-hour challenge with hundreds of steps cut directly into the bedrock, and knotted ropes tied to conveniently obstinate tree roots or strung across an outcrop to help you get up a steep face--and almost all of the faces are steep. Every step counts. On several of the peaks, local authorities have bolted steel poles into the scalp of the tiny summit and strung a cable to demarcate the point past which what went up could go down. XiaoZi Shan 孝子山, or "Dutiful Son Mountain," is a  distinctive finger of rock thrust up out of the ground at the feet of several other taller peaks. By the time we got to it, we were too tired to climb it safely. (Next time!) I've depicted it here without its bolted poles or cables, as it was before people ever saw it. This painting shows only the very summit. For a sense of scale and to put the mountain in context, check out our view of the peak from another angle (zoom in to see a few people standing on top): https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtGeRcucwK4tXJgbXuMdQhBriJDQTNmt5r53CeorSLIyU0f2HRn8T7HoxlGeWGi0SKy4WHw7ZZW4vtkGajPtyDb1KLMDYrNXR1nGSxW8sqwlk9JYfjrmCcbVLetgVbQzab88RKmF96aaU/s1600/DSC03874.JPG

Full hike details here: http://letsgotakealook.blogspot.tw/2012/01/awesome-day.html

Taiwan Challenge 2013 - "Between Worlds"

"Between Worlds"
- acrylic on canvas, approx. 455x380mm/18x15"

He stands at the threshold, having crossed it himself long, long ago. You cannot pass without first proving your authenticity. If you can prove that you are who you really are, you may proceed. Otherwise, you may go no further--be you a deity or a mortal, it makes no difference.

These were my favorite guys from the Beitou Bai-Bai "Gods on Patrol." Someday, I'll do them from the front and show you their awesome face paint and tusks!

Taiwan 2013 Challenge - "ShaKaDang Pool 1"

"ShaKaDang Pool 1"
- acrylic on canvas, approx. 45.5x33mm/17.9x13"

Taiwan's Taroko Gorge National Park is a spectacular, steep-walled canyon, the largest marble deposit outside of Italy. One of the classic hikes in the park is the ShaKaDang Trail which follows a stream as it winds its way through the channel it has been cutting ever since the island rose out of the sea.

In the rougher waterways draining the gorge, the marble silt can be gray and opaque, but ShaKaDang is serene. The clear turquoise that typifies this area is on full display. One of the most beautiful pools is not far from the trailhead. Here is what our first view of it looked like when we hiked it on a brilliant, sunny day.

In celebration of this country where we've made our home, I'm painting a series of pictures--enough for a show sometime this Fall. Since acrylic is the medium that is easiest to use, store, frame and hang. Over the next weeks, I'll post pictures to show you the progress as we go.

If you are interested in purchasing the originals or prints of any of these, please let me know. We'll find a way to get it to you!

Significant People: Mike and Gail

I'm 18 years old. I've just moved to the U.S. from Ecuador. I'm clueless. My sister, Susan, introduces me to a friend who plays guitar. We hit it off. Mike thinks we could make money playing weekends at restaurants. He gets us booked. I just help set up and play. I learn that there's a business side to music and I'm not very good at it. Mike just gets out there and does it. He still splits the money with me 50/50. We do well, get regular gigs, and I get a taste of what it means to be a professional musician.

My car dies and Mike finds one for sale. "He's asking $500. Offer him $400 and he'll probably sell it for $450." I do. It works. The seller is Mike's brother.

Mike is going out with Gail. She has a great voice, teaches piano. Her brother is a former music teacher who now has a house painting business because the teacher's salary couldn't support a family. They all convince me that painting houses with Ross and younger brother, Jeff, is better than staying at the warehouse. Ross teaches me a skill that I rely on for the next decade whenever I need the money. Ross also teaches me what a good boss is like--over and over again.

Gail offers to teach me piano "for free, if you'll just practice." I have one lesson. I go home and practice on an old, out-of-tune, jammed-hammered instrument for 15 minutes. It sounds awful. I go to my room and wail on my guitar for half an hour before I can do another 15 minutes on the piano. I go back for a second lesson. She's moving me very quickly through the material. I try to practice on that old piano. It never sounds good. Frustrated, I tell Gail I just can't practice. I live on those two lessons for the next three decades.

I get to be the bass player in a band with Mike, Gail, Ross and Jeff. I get to go Christmas caroling as part of an eight voice ensemble that can pull off the "Hallelujah Chorus" as their closing number. I get dirty looks when I try to sing the soprano part during "King of Kings and Lord of Lords." I go back to "Forever and ever..."

Mike and Gail are getting married. I watch Mike decide to sell his convertible to get a car safe enough for his father-in-law's approval. I stay home from the bachelor party because I can't come up with a decent gift. Mike calls and asks why I'm not there. I tell him. He says: "I don't care about the gift; I want YOU here." I bring him the jacket he lent me a few months ago. He finds that hilarious.

I'm an usher in the wedding. I get measured for a tux with tails. I learn how to get a shaving accident bloodstain (mine) out of rented formalwear.

I buy out Mike's half of the sound system and sell the whole thing to buy a guitar amp. I go on to other bands. I go solo. I move to California.

Fast forward thirty years. Find Mike on Facebook and send a message. I get one back. Amazing. Same guy; same smile. Same Gail. Different continent!

Time after time, people have come into my life and done significant things just by being themselves. Mike and Gail showed me what it was like to be a friend with a heart, a brain, a backbone and a sense of humor.