Next Life in the Afternoon

I like to tell people that I am writing a book – partly because I am trying to market it and let as many folks here about it as possible, but also because of the mystery involved in being a writer. It’s like I am a modern-day Rob Petri, who was also a writer, or maybe a Major Nelson or Mike Brady. Except I really dislike Mike Brady and his bunch. I honestly can’t tell you how delighted I am to not hear that theme music or hear references to the show.

The fact remains that nobody really knows what writers, astronauts or architects do. There are few enough of them that not everybody has one in their neighborhood or circle of friends. This is why they made for such great careers for sitcom characters. Not many people would say Rob Petri was not a realistic or believable writer. Nobody knows what writers do.

For me this is great because I don’t want people to know what I do on a day-to-day basis. The solitary life of writing is a double-edged sword of loneliness and productivity and the lack of excitement in such a life is anticlimactic after you have been built up with such a mysterious title as “writer” or “author.”

All mystery aside, I still need to learn how to talk about my project. I need to make an elevator speech so I can quickly bring people up to speed with what I am doing. I am thinking of adopting text I just rewrote for my “about” page:

Next Life in the Afternoon is a book I am writing about a trip I took to Thailand in February 2004. My friend Phramaha Nattapong, a Buddhist monk I had met in North Carolina, asked me if I wanted to come home with him and become a monk for a short period. How could I say no? When would I have that type of opportunity again?

Traveling is used as a vehicle for this story of spiritual seeking, personal growth, adoption and rejection of culture, intrapersonal investigation, doubt and reaffirmation of strength. The book challenges popular concepts of home, strength, travel and cultural interchange.

The story surrounds the various people I encountered and experiences I had while in Thailand and what happened when I was told that I could not be ordained, after having traveled 28 hours by plane to get there.

So what do you think, fellow netizens, who still think a writer’s life is one of mystery and passion and all manner of excitement? How would you craft this piece of prose into a 20-second spiel I could deliver to people when they ask what I am writing?

Technorati Tags: writing, Rob Petri, writer, Major Nelson, Mike Brady, solitary life, double-edged sword, mysterious, author, mystery, elevator speech, Thailand, Traveling

When I tell people that I traveled to Thailand to become a Buddhist monk, they typically either focus on the Buddhist monk aspect, asking why the heck I would want to do such a thing or else ask why the heck I would want to go to such a place. It is rarely a positive conversation.

A few people, like my coworker Melissa, think it is really fascinating. She told me that I must have one of the most interesting lives of all the people she knows. Apparently, she has not seen me very much outside of work. Most of my non-work time is spent doing what I am doing right this moment – typing in front of a computer.

To the people who ask with contempt why I would want to be a Buddhist monk, there is really very little I can say. They have already made up their minds that it is a bad idea and I do not have the desire to fight that battle.

To the folks who want to know why Thailand, I have a host of great things to say about the place. For instance, it is a fascinating, beautiful country with many rich heritages to learn about, has lots of (mostly) friendly people, is the only Southeast Asian country to not become a European colony and has a long tradition of beneficent monarchs to provide an example to the common people.

The colonization factor is really just a curiosity for me, but let’s be honest for a second. Politically, Thailand was never a colony. Economically, it has been for quite some time. When you step foot into many tourist areas in the larger cities, you see Starbucks, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Swensen’s, Dunkin Donuts and even Auntie Anne’s Pretzels.

In short, you see the lowest common denominator of American culture – the bits we do not find particularly appealing but comfortable all the same when we are lodged in a foreign land and really need a half-caf double-tall part-skim mochalatteccino. With whipped cream.

This really dumbs down the experiences and perceptions other countries get of the US. It gives people a sense that we don’t care what goes into our bodies, as long as it is laced with fat and preservatives. Is that the message we want to send? I suppose exporting decent restaurants, foods and good elements of our culture might be expensive but it would give us a better appearance.

What would this do for Thailand? I am not exactly sure of the country’s benefit but at least it would have less crap going about the economy and less blind commercialism. That’s a good start.

Technorati Tags: Thailand, Buddhist monk, Southeast Asia, colony, colonization, American culture, culture, commercialism