"We're All Mojados"

I don't usually discuss religion on my blog, but my parents forwarded me an email from our church in Michigan that I just have to share.

Rev. Jim Burklo is speaking at our church next Sunday. The following is an excerpt from his most recent book, BIRDLIKE AND BARNLESS: Meditations, Prayers, and Songs for Progressive Christians.


Mojados in the Promised Land
by Jim Burklo and Lisa Atkinson

We are all mojados in the promised land
We’ll cross that bright river today
All our backs will be wet when we finally stand
At the throne of God someday

Nobody’s thirsty in the promised land
Coyote can’t steal your soul
Buzzards don’t glide over desert sands
There is no border patrol

There are no migra at the pearly gates
No fake ID’s to buy
They don’t take your money and leave you to fate
You can’t get caught in a lie

You won’t get deported from the promised land
You cross over there, you are home
It’s our place to build and our place to stand
Heaven to earth, kingdom come



He goes on to say:

"We’re all mojados. Wet on the back, wet behind the ears, just born, so to speak. If not from the physical womb, at least born again every time we cross that river and wash away our self-righteousness, our hubris, our sense of privilege and entitlement and superiority. We’re all ‘illegals’. We’ve broken the laws of Moses, the laws of nature, the unwritten laws of social and political correctness, and we’ve broken the law of love."


My parents sent this to me, I assume, because of the parallels with The Other Side, but I think the message here is something we can all appreciate, regardless of your religious beliefs. I have high hopes for the next year, and one of the first on the list is that the US will come up with a real resolution for the immigrants living there and hoping to become citizens.

Be safe, and have a happy New Year. Ibis and I are out of town for the next couple days - we finally made it to Huetamo - so I'll tell you all about the trip when I get back.

My Goals for 2009

I've given up on making resolutions. I try to improve myself every day, so to suddenly try to change myself because of the date feels wrong. Instead I have written a list of writing goals that I have for the new year.*

Finish & Submit The Other Side
I'm in the middle of rewrites (or technically first-writes) and hope to get it to a respectable length the first week of January. I plan to send it to my next reader by January 8th and start of my query and synopsis while that person has it. Once I get those edits back, I hope to write a final draft and start submitting.

I originally hoped to start submitting in January, but I know it's more important to have your work at its very best; rushing doesn't help anyone. That said, if my next reader suggests things that require more rewrites, I'll push the submit date back further. BUT, my goal is to start sending queries by the end of February.

Finish My Second, Yet-To-Be-Named, Novel
I set it aside at 62,000 words, so I'm already further ahead than with my first novel, at least in terms of length. I'd say I'm about three-quarters of the way through and I already know a lot of reworking that needs to be done. I plan to tackle this while my queries sit on busy agents' desks.

Write & Submit More Short Stories
I sent my first short story off a couple weeks ago and I'm still waiting to hear back. I know better than to assume I'll be accepted on my first attempt, so I'll send it out again once I get that first rejection. I recently started a second story, and if I can write one per month, I'll be happy.

Write & Submit Non-Fiction Articles/Essays
This goal is a little more ambivalent. I have some general ideas for topics, but I'm floundering a bit when it comes to actually writing anything. This is more of a back-burner goal.


I also have goals for my personal life, but they are all out of my control. For the sake of this post, I'll list them like my wishing will have any effect on their outcome.

Get an Agent
Yes, I know this ties into writing, but because it concerns an actual person, I'm including it in personal goals. :)

Master Dreamweaver
I haven't mentioned this much lately, but I've been teaching myself Dreamweaver - or trying to - over the past several months. I hit a wall earlier this month and I'm now waiting for my dad's arrival because he's bringing a Dreamweaver book. Yay!

Move Back to Chicago
Again, completely out of my control, but that's my biggest wish. Obama & Biden have put together a website called change.gov and they have currently opened the site to questions. You can vote on questions that others have submitted, or post your own at change.gov/openforquestions.

Assuming I Master Dreamweaver & Move Back to Chicago, Start My Own Freelance Business
Ideally I'd like to be able to use my skills as both a graphic designer and a writer. I know it's hard to make a living as a freelancer and I think doing both with expand my opportunities. Ibis and I talk a lot about what we'll do when we leave Mexico, especially in light of the US economy right now, and my only stipulation for him is that he finds a job with insurance. That will allow me to pursue my writing and designing without fearing for our health.

And that's about it. There are a couple little things I've left off, but they're the things I try to do every day: live a healthy life, love and appreciate my friends and family, and try to be a person that others can respect.

I know some of you have listed your goals and resolutions on your blogs, but is there anything you'd care to share here?


* Is anyone else in SHOCK that it's 2009? Ay carumba!

A New Beginning

I'm making progress with The Other Side. I've been writing 1000 words per day and I figured out that if I keep up this pace, I'll reach 60k a few days before my dad arrives. (I'm at 52k now.) That allows me to spend two days editing throughout, which I'm also doing as I write, then I can send it to my next reader when he arrives. I assume I won't get anything done his first couple days here so this way I won't feel guilty.

A third reader made an interesting comment to me. She felt I did the opposite of what most writers do, and started the book too late. The way it stood, it opens in a holding cell and how he was captured is only briefly mentioned. She suggested I open with the capture so the reader is more sympathetic towards him right at the start. She also suggested I injure him so he has another thing to worry about throughout the book.

For those of you who don't write, a common suggestion is to make everything bad that could happen, happen. If they need to be someplace at a certain time, have the car break down. The money in their pocket is all they have in the world, then they should get robbed. And probably kicked in the head for good measure. This creates a more sympathetic character that readers want to keep reading about.

I've done made her suggestions and I'm very pleased with the results. Today I plan to go through and insert places where he tends to his wound. Something tells me it will get infected. ;)

How about you? Have you taken someone's advice and found it drastically changed your writing for the better? Care to share that advice?

Fellow Zihua Blogger

There's a man named Zihua Rob who is kind of a legend here. He runs a website with a very active message board, where you can ask or answer questions on pretty much anything in Zihua. Where to stay, good local restaurants, even upcoming events are all listed there.

I've never met Rob nor had any interaction with him until yesterday when he commented on my post. I followed the link to his blog and found a plethora of articles about the sad condition of Zihua and its troubles. He goes into great detail explaining a lot of the problems that I'm too hesitant to get into here. This post is especially interesting.

His site gives a different perspective on our town here. It's clear he loves Zihua but doesn't describe it as something it's not.

Happy Day After Christmas

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, and for my Jewish friends, are still having a wonderful holiday. I talked with my family over the computer yesterday, including my sister who finally got Skype at her house, but other than that it was very low-key.

I've been plugging away at The Other Side, averaging about 1000 words per day. I also started a short story that came to me a few weeks ago. I was spending more time thinking about that story than the book I need to be working on, so I gave in and wrote down the bones for it. Now I can concentrate!

Ibis mentioned visiting his family in Huetamo, a small city in the mountains about four hours from here. He hasn't seen his grandmother since he was fifteen and would like to see them while we're still living here. He doesn't have any way to contact them before hand, so if we go we'll stay in a hotel and hope for the best. He wants to go BEFORE New Years, which would mean tomorrow, I believe.

*shakes head*

I'll keep you posted...

Merry Christmas!

The Christmas celebration is in full swing here in Zihua. The music started last night around 8pm and hasn't stopped yet.

Last night we had dinner at Ibis's boss's house and I was kicking myself for not bringing my camera. The house is beautiful - the entire outside looks like a hotel. There's a two level pool - with a waterfall - that wraps around a full bar, a large seating area on one side and a covered patio on the other. There were candles all over the yard and combined with the sound of the falling water, it was a very relaxing setting.

We were told to be there at 9pm, but dinner wasn't served until almost 11pm. She has three children, and the oldest is studying communications in Guadalajara AND speaks some English. We had a great time chatting with her in the hours before dinner.

Five minutes before midnight the fireworks and gunshots started and we were trapped beneath the pavilion for almost half an hour. (Not really trapped, but we felt safer with a roof over us.) We left shortly after the gunslingers settled down and quickly passed out.

Today will be a quiet day for me as Ibis has to work. Merry Christmas to my Christian friends and Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends! Everyone else - happy Thursday!

I'm Guest Blogging Today, So Enjoy Some Pictures

I'm guest blogging over at Spyscribbler today, so please stop by and check it out. I wrote about all the things I'll miss once we leave Mexico. For all my griping here, I thought it'd be nice to say good things for the holidays.

Stop on by!

*****

Yesterday Ibis and I went to Troncones, a small surfing town about half an hour up the coast from here. I'd gone a few weeks ago and discovered amazing rock formations, but yesterday we discovered a lot of wildlife living in those rocks. It was a very cool afternoon. The second picture is an "Ibis" bird.

Enjoy!