ANOTHER FULL MOON, ANOTHER DEPARTURE

“The hustle and bustle of Chiang Mai” is a strange concept, since the town, while busy with traffic and people marketing and eating and enjoying themselves, is not exactly an intense place. But it feels that way to me right now because I have so much on my plate. perhaps also I’m aware that I won’t be here for much longer, and so I am regretting the time I spend in my apartment working away rather than out appreciating the hereness of here.

No complaints, just sayin’!!

The close-work that pins me, with both pain and pleasure, is editing the first galleys of the Burma book. Pinch of Turmeric, Squeeze of Lime is feeling so good as a title, and so in synch with the contents of the book at many levels, that i continue to be delighted with it. ANd the look of the book is feeling good, and will be even better as more photos get placed etc. But in the meantime the pain part is that it’s running long and so I know that in the conversation I’m going to have with my editor Ann Bramson later this week, there will be some hard news. I know there are short pieces of writing that will need to go, and perhaps also a few recipes. Yikes! And I instead of course have a few I’d love to add, things I learned when I was again in Burma last November-December.

It’s always this way. The long geeky explanations that I am fond of, and the rambling stories full of detail, are not always a good fit with the demands of publishing. They’re better suited to conversation or internet blogposts like this one.

Today is full moon day, and an especially holy day for Buddhists here. Last night as we walked back through the old city the moon hung huge over us, waxing still, about to be full. The night was clear, and the stars bright. This morning’s dawn was glowing pink-orange on the horizon, a sign that the haze of late winter has started. No longer are shadows sharp-edged. Instead everything has a rounded softness to it.

I’ve talked about this before, but it seems to me that digital photography, with its ability to hsarpen and over-sharpen images, has affected how we see the every day. And now I find myself in revolt against sharpness, enjoying and seeking out the softer light and rounded contours it gives everything. I feel like I’m swimming against the current though.

And now it’s time to get in a small rented car and drive up to Fang for a couple of days. The light always seems lovelier up in the mountains...