85: Batu Sabbaticals
6/17/2014
I haven’t made an entry in my journal here about my Batu work these last three months because I haven’t done any Batu work here in these last three months. I’ve written a couple pages on The Song of Mugasha fable, but that’s about it. I’ve been on a Batu Sabbatical painting murals for teddy bears five days a week. Combining that with the convenient timing of finishing Part Two: Left Behind, as well as realizing I have a huge two-chapter gap in Part Three’s scene outline with no current plotting ideas to fill it. I’ve not even found the energy to tackle it on my off hours or weekends.
I’ve been Batu-lazy.
But tonight I got a letter from Uncle Paul saying that his retired English teacher friend from Lakeside, Rob Dogett, offered to read what I’ve got done with my Batu so far. He’s the one who critiqued my application essay for the Northwest College of Art in 2003. I was ecstatic about this offer, so I packaged up my prologue and first three chapters and mailed it to Paul for Rob. That’s only 162 pages of 556 I got done, but it’s a good sampling for Rob, letting him know where my strengths and weaknesses are. If he wants more, I’ll send more. I’m not sure what kind of feedback he may give, but I’m open and anxious to hear anything from an unbiased professional. This will be my first quasi-professional reading.
I’m excited. Maybe it will motivate me to start writing the second half now.
Present-Day Reflection
8/18/2026
I painted a large mural for a project I was working with that made teddy bears for children in the midst of crisis situations. The teddy bears we made were donated to local law enforcement who kept them in the trunks of their patrol cars. They’d be handed out to comfort children during domestic violence calls or other emergency situations, and the mural I painted was a long parade of all the teddy bears and other stuffed animals we made, marching through a mountain valley.
That mural led to a few other mural jobs promoting other programs, keeping me busy with painting instead of writing. I probably needed the break from my Batu work. I get that same feeling a lot in my present-day life situation as well. Managing burn-out when I can’t afford to take a sabbatical. I got my book launch deadline set of October 1st, and I intend to keep it. I allow myself micro-sabbaticals in the form of taking an evening off to just read or go to bed early. Or to give a couple hours to doing housework, catching up on general life maintenance things that have been slipping through the cracks. But I never really take a whole day off from doing any Batu related work at all.
There just isn’t enough hours in a day, and I need to get things done for my launch.
