Blogging versus other things

Guilty as charged! I have not been updating any of my blogs.

While blogging provides a platform (or perhaps more accurately, an outlet) for me to voice out on matters that I feel important, this activity has to take the back seat for the time being. I may not be able to blog as frequent as before.

Family, work, studies and a few other things have to be given the priority.

My wife has yet to fully recover from her illnesses. While her sinusitis has been treated by the surgery she underwent, the aftereffects from pneumonia and bronchitis are still there. The specialist who is treating her has given her some new medications to treat the symptoms she's having now. And she still has a number of follow-ups in the coming weeks.

Workwise, things are pretty busy. I am trying to get a number of titles published by the year's end. And to do this mostly on my own can be quite time-consuming. Fortunately, one of the executives at the office is kind enough to assist me when she's not tied up to her actual duties. Aside from this, there are a few seminars that I will be involved with in the coming months. And I will have to sit down to prepare working papers for these seminars.

Lecturing part-time at Universiti Malaya is also taking up quite a chunk of my time. The subject I'm teaching, "History and Philosophy of Science", is a killer subject for most of the students. I spend up to six hours at night to prepare for the lectures. I want the students to understand the subject in simple terms and I try to put things in perspective so that they would be able to digest the subject better. I have been told by a few of the students themselves (some of whom are resitting for the subject) that I am doing a good job so far. I hope they are right, and we shall see if they are right from the results of their exam.

My PhD thesis is also something that requires a lot of attention. I am hoping that I'll be able to complete at least the first draft of the thesis by the end of the year. It may sound crazy judging from the things that I have to do, but then again some have said that I am crazy to be taking in so much at any given time. My thoughts? I don't think I am crazy. Eccentric maybe. Workaholic definitely.

On top of all this, two deadlines await. By the 31st July, I will have to submit the manuscript for my third novel which happens to be the sequel for my second novel. By the 31st August, I will have to submit another manuscript for a novel-writing competition. Both are science fiction novels, and I think I'll be sticking to this genre for the coming years.

This coming Thursday, I'll be at the Read Malaysia 2009 book fair at the Malaysian International Exhibition and Convention Centre (MIECC) at the MINES between 2.30 to 3.30 p.m. for a meet-the-author session. If you have the time, do drop by and say hi (and buy my novel).

Phew. No wonder I have been getting less and less sleep and rest these days. With these things to do, I guess that's why blogging comes out bottom of the list of things to do. When it comes to blogging versus everything else that I do, I think everyone could see which of the two becomes the priority. I don't want to promise anything, but I will try to blog if I have the time and energy left in me. Do drop in from time to time though. There just may be something new here.