Notes From The Desk(s)
Good morning.
I often get asked about where I live and work from, so I thought I’d share with you a little about my adopted hometown and my choice of desks.
My wife Leslie and I are fortunate enough to work from home. Well, when I say fortunate, I mean we’ve both worked very hard and made some good choices to be able to do so.
So where is home? Three years ago we bought a house in the beautiful colonial city of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Just 3 hours north of Mexico City, San Miguel is a stunning town full of fascinating Spanish architecture and panoramic vistas. Not only is it a UNESCO World Heritage city, but it’s also a hotbed of creativity, with world famous artists, musicians, and writers now calling it home.
We’re inspired on a daily basis just living here and being surrounded by so much creativity, and visiting here on a whim three and a half years ago was the best decision we’ve ever made.
So, how about the office?
Well, I’m spoilt for choice. The first image is my main workspace. It’s nothing fancy, and until we build specialised offices upstairs this works fine. I’m usually kept company by one or both of our cats, Ernie or Fitz (yes, you guessed it, Ernest Hemingway & F. Scott Fitzgerald)
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We are also fortunate enough to have a nice garden, a rarity in this city, so I often change my view by stepping outside. There are always dozens of hummingbirds and butterflies flitting about (hence why we named the property Casa de los Colibries… House of the Hummingbirds), and with a small fountain tinkling away, it really is a lovely space.
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And as per the norm in Mexico, we have a wonderful terraza with great vistas over the surrounding countryside, and though I often spend hours up here working, when the workday is finished the first thing we do is grab an adult beverage and soak up the view.
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San Miguel is also filled with outstanding coffee shops and bars, and Leslie and I will often head into Historico Centro to work for a few hours, before hitting our favourite rooftop bars for happy hour.
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And if you’re wondering who Ernie & Fitz are, well…
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I give you… San Miguel de Allende, Mexico:
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Here’s a little something I wrote a couple of weeks back I’d like to share with you if you missed it last time:
I’m writing this while sitting at one of my favourite bars here in San Miguel de Allende, La Azotea…The Rooftop (My view was the cover image of this newsletter) I’ve been here quite a while, I’m in a philosophical mood, and I feel great.
In my entire working life–that’s 30 years, including paper rounds– I’ve never felt more positive or inspired about my working future. Okay, I admit it, I’m into my 5th round of happy hour drinks…that’s 9 glasses of sauvignon, between you and me…and yes, I’m pretty sozzled.
But I also woke up feeling inspired, as I stepped out onto our patio to eat breakfast beneath an energising blue sky and surrounded by a kaleidoscope of colourful bougainvillaea and butterflies, the only audible distractions my hungry protesting cats and the once rusty cogs whirring in my over-filled head.
But…
I’m onto something. I really am. My writing, I mean, and within my writing, my protagonist Hiram Kane is inspiring me further (he’s a guy I wouldn’t mind being).
I’ve spent much of the last 25 years–yes, a quarter of a century– worried that I’d never be good at anything. Self-doubt is the burden of many a creative person. I’ve dabbled with this and that, and for a few years I was a decent English teacher. I’ve even sold a few paintings. But back then I was never inspired. That’s all changed now.
* wait, I see the barman approaching
Now… It’s not to say I’m a good writer, but that’s almost irrelevant. What’s important is that I’ve finally found something I’m at least confident I CAN be good at, and might already be. Time will tell, but the omens are good.
My guy, Kane, basically my imagined, fictional self, is a good guy, and very good at what he does.
Maybe, just maybe, so am I. “Barman? Uno mas, por favor.”
And with that, I’d like to wish you all a wonderful weekend, and, if you yourself are a writer, I’d love to learn about where you live and work from. Images of desks and offices greatly appreciated, and I always respond to all emails.
Cheers,
Steven
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