Turkish Muse

Remiss

I wish I could say I've been doing some thinking lately.

In fact, I have not. The fact of the matter is I have checked out in a way. I've taken a holiday from my own life. I've been reading novels -- if you're curious, I'm reading "The Sea, The Sea" by Iris Murdoch right now and finished "The Museum of Innocence" by Orhan Pamuk before that -- and watching too much television. I've been working, of course, which is about the only thing that provides some kind of structure to my daily life.

I know that you don't come here for navel-gazing crap, and I promise that this kind of tripe won't become a regular feature at TM. But I do feel compelled to explain myself to the lovely people who emailed me and said "Hey, WTF? Where ya been crazy lady?"

Okay, maybe they didn't say that in those words, exactly, but you know what I mean.

So I am going to start holding myself accountable to you, to you who are reading from Japan and you who are logging on from France. You come here for a reason, and I really do want to provide you with more reasons to keep coming back.

I am going to say my goal out loud and put it out there in the world in the hopes that if I do, if I make sure that I am accountable to more than just myself, then maybe I have a better chance of beating this thing and coming out on top again.

My goal is to post three times a week, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, without fail. If I don't uphold my end of the bargain, feel free to chastise me and give me a good what for.

I have other goals for 2010 swimming around my head, but lest I get too far ahead of myself here, I think it's best to keep a few tucked away for now.

It's time to shake off the lethargy and get engaged.

Most Popular of Turkish Muse 2009

As I get ready to ring in a new year and a new decade -- and all I can say is THANK GOD FOR THAT -- I decided to take one last look back at 2009 to see which posts were the most popular by page view. In case you missed them the first time around, here are the top 10 most popular posts on Turkish Muse this year.

See you all next year!

My American Stash

Free Speech, or a Lack Thereof, in Turkey

Finder's Fee

Best Foreign Food in Istanbul

What's Cooking: Domates Soslu Hamsi ve Sardalye

On the Road Again

Cleaning Considerations

5 Questions: Helena, an Expat with a Press Visa

Musings on Opting Out, if Only for a Weekend

Is Istanbul Cheaper Today Than a Year Ago?

30 Posts in 30 Days

I have decided this year to participate in National Blog Posting Month where from Nov. 1 through Nov. 30 you write one blog post a day. (Yes, I know I am a day late; I just decided to participate this morning.)

Considering that last year, in November 2008, I only wrote 4 posts in the entire month and the year before, in November 2007, I wrote 19 posts, it seems I have quite a bit of work to do to fulfill my goal.

And for those of you who are wondering, no, this post doesn't count towards my 30-post goal. I mean, I suppose technically it does, but I think that's cheating, don't you?

More posts coming soon!

Permanent Staycation

Do you have any idea how much I have not gotten done in the past three weeks?

Three weeks I've been here in Izmir, and the entirety of that time has felt like one looooong vacation. After busting our humps for a very busy first week, the house was all set up and I moved onto the next project: doing nothing.

In three weeks, I have published about as many posts to this blog, ignored dozens of emails languishing in my inbox -- so if you have sent me a message, I am not ignoring you, really, and I WILL respond (hopefully this weekend) -- and have probably gained a few kilos with all the food and drink I've  been consuming.

I'm having a hard time adapting to the oh-so-relaxed atmosphere in Izmir. It's hard to go from the fast-paced, go-go-go lifestyle of Istanbul to....not much at all. It's like going from 60 to 0 in 5 seconds. I can't do that.

So for the last few weeks, I have done absolutely nothing, nothing at all, other than work and clean my house. I've read books, watched movies and television, sat on my balcony late at night with a glass of wine, taken walks in my neighborhood. I've been reading lots of blogs and telling myself it's for "inspiration", you know, for when I finally get back to writing.

I woke up this morning and decided that today is the day I am going to shake off my sloth and get to it. I'm going to shower before 9 am, I said (didn't happen), eat fruit for breakfast (I ate carrot cake; does that count?), and write and complete a to-do (well, I wrote it).

And then I went searching for a photograph among the many I took when my friend was in town this past week and found this:

 

I took this photo earlier this week while eating lunch at a restaurant right on the harbour. Then I found out the restaurant had wireless internet and I could do my work there.

With a view like that, and the sun shining and the breeze blowing (watch out for salt in your laptop!), how could you do anything other than sit a spell with a cup of tea?

Cease and Desist Order

Dear Ed,

Ever since you first showed up in my bathroom, I have been wary every time I go back. Before I open the door, I do a quick scan of the floor and all the surface areas to make sure you aren’t in there, waiting for me, hiding, lurking, ready to jump out at any second and scare the bejebus out of me.

I don’t know where you came from, and I don’t know why you don’t leave. After all, we don’t have anything you want: no standing pools of water, no piles of rubbish (my bathroom is spotless, thank you very much), no food of any kind.

I’ve seen you scurrying into our drawers and I think, what could you possibly want in there? The drawers are full of lotions and creams and lipsticks and cotton balls and toothpaste. Nothing you could possibly ever want, right? So why do you insist on hanging around?

It’s not that I have anything against your kind, either. Really, I don’t. I think you should be able to exist peacefully. In your own habitat. But that does not include my bathroom. I think that our kind should not mix with your kind, that we should keep separated by drains and sewers and running water.

I don’t know if the tenants who lived in our apartment before us tolerated you or what, but I am here to tell you that I will not stand for this. I am asking nicely, then, for you to depart. To cease and desist your creepy crawly activities on my sink and in my cupboard. To put away your tentacles for good. We have neighbors. Why don’t you go check in on them? They just might keep food in their bathroom. Who knows?

Look, Ed, if you don’t end up leaving, I’m going to have to resort to drastic measures. And I really don’t want to. I really don’t like these bottles of who knows what that purport to kill your kind instantly. There’s got to be stuff in there that’s not good for me, either, let alone my four cats. And since I can’t understand what exactly the bottle says in Turkish, there’s a good chance I’m going to screw something up here and melt the paint off the walls or something. And we don’t want that, do we?

So, look, it’s been fun. Well, for you maybe. So why don’t we just amicably part ways now, before I – or, really, Jeff – has to do something drastic? I’m telling you, I’m not afraid to use the Raid.

Your former landlord,

Barbara

She's baaaaack!

Whew! What a week it has been! We have arrived in Izmir safe and sound, along with our four cats, and we have unpacked and set up the new place too. We busted our asses last week getting it all done AND in 35 degree heat, but we did it and the apartment looks great.

We still don't have internet at our house, but I think that situation will be remedied this afternoon (insallah), and then posting will be back in full swing. I've got some Ask the Expat features, a few 5 Questions profiles, and of course, stories about our move from Istanbul to Izmir!

Stay tuned!

Turkish Muse is on Facebook!

Yes, yes, I am slowly getting the hang of this "social media" thing. I joined Twitter the other day; did you know that? (My updates are on the sidebar to the right.) See, I'm getting there! I just have a hard time figuring all this stuff out, a harder time than most people, I think. If you haven't noticed, I am constantly -- sometimes several times in one day -- changing things on my blog's sidebar or updating pages, adding or deleting a picture here or there. (By the way, many of you will be happy to know, I put the archives back!)

But I finally did something I've been meaning to do. A few days ago I started a Turkish Muse Facebook group. The group provides a platform for members to post discussion threads, pictures, video, wall posts and links. I think it's a great way to grow the Turkish Muse community and allow you all to interact in other ways than the comments section below each post.

In fact, one group member, Jeffrey Bernard Wessel from Florida, has posted a question about his upcoming move to Tarsus. Isn't that an amazing opportunity?! If you have any advice for him, check out the group and let him know your thoughts!

Also, Marien Parsons has asked what the commonalities are between Turkey and Pennsylvania, so if you have any thoughts there, be sure to let us know! (Full disclosure: Marien is my step-mother.)

And, if you've always wanted to contribute to Turkish Muse -- and let's be honest, who hasn't?! -- (cough cough), send me your ideas for a guest post!

Yup, it's official

Yes, by now (if you've read my previous post) you all know that we will be moving to Izmir next month to begin anew in a brand-new city (for us, at least). We made the decision a few weeks ago, but I wanted to wait to announce it here until Jeff gave his formal resignation at work.

And now that he has, it's official: We are indeed moving to Izmir! We're still not sure exactly when (sometime in August), or how (hopefully, a bunch of burly Turkish men will be packing and moving our stuff), but at least we know why! Jeff has gotten a wonderful job at a university in Izmir as a senior lecturer (one step below an assistant professor), and we've decided to make the plunge and see another side of Turkey.

So, what does this mean for Turkish Muse?, you might ask. It means that a few things around here will change. I will, obviously, be writing more about Izmir, at least in the beginning of our move. The essays and photographs will continue, although the subject will change from Istanbul to Izmir.

However, as I do plan to come back to Istanbul often (at least once a month) for writing purposes and to visit friends, I will be posting regularly about Istanbul as well. I hope to be able to concentrate more on my writing about Istanbul, despite the fact that I will actually be living in Izmir. I know, I know, it sounds like my logic is off, but really it isn't: being able to spend 3 or 4 uninterrupted days in Istanbul a month I think will allow me to discover even more about this city than when I'm living here and working and buying groceries and cleaning my house and doing this, that and the other thing.

This week, in fact, I'm launching two brand-new features on Turkish Muse: "5 Questions" and "Good Eats." "5 Questions" will feature, um, 5 questions with an expat who currently lives in Turkey and has done something of interest to other expats. The "Good Eats" section will focus on a different Turkish dish with each post.

These two new sections will complement the recent launch of "Ask the Expat" where readers submit questions about life in Istanbul and Turkey. So far, we've talked about online forums for expats, safety for women, and overnight trips from Istanbul.

Next week, we're going to Izmir to find an apartment and hopefully we can find one from an owner. (You know how I feel about real estate agents.) I will, of course, post here about our search. (And if you know of a 3-bedroom apartment for rent in Karsiyaka, please do let me know!)

All of this is to say that I hope you will stick with us during our move and keep coming back to Turkish Muse for essays, photos, advice and more about expat life in Turkey.

Happy travels!

Psst...looking for work?

I have it on good authority, although not from the school itself, that Dilmer Language School in Taksim is hiring an English teacher immediately. If you're interested, I suggest you call the school at 0212 292 9696 or send your resume to dilmer@dilmer.com.

The Written Word

I'm going to do some shameless self-promotion here -- hey, it's my blog, right? -- and announce the official launch of my website, The Written Word, which outlines my freelance writing and editing services.

Check it out!