Life Stories

Foreground text reads: Just Feb 14 things. Background contains a rope loosely knotted into a love heart shape.

Just Feb 14 things

I’ve never been much into Valentine’s Day. Maybe because I’m a perennial spinster at this point. Which is not a bad thing – I fully intend to rock some silver pigtails like an ageing Wednesday Addams someday.

But I will happily take your heart-shaped chocolates. Or any shaped chocolates. Mama don’t discriminate. 😉

No V-Day celebrations for me though. I just had an ordinary day at work. Busy and okay. Chocolate-less apart from my morning mocha.

February 14 is also the Australian Library and Information Association’s Library Lovers’ Day. Since working in academic and special libraries, I haven’t really celebrated it, other than to pop into local public libraries to see what displays they’ve got. “Blind date with a book” is always a winner.

Just get a library card, folks. It’s a great gift to yourself. Once you get the card, you don’t even need to physically enter the building if you don’t want to because, hello, eResources.

You can read up on interesting tidbits like how Captain Cook was stabbed to death after attempting to kidnap the ruling chief of Hawai’i. On February 14, 1779.

Or that YouTube was launched on February 14, 2005. Unfortunately too late to save me from horrendously cutting my hair. These days I could just search “how to cut your own emo fringe” but alas, not in the 90s and early 2000s.

I guess what I’m saying is February 14 is a lot of things, and means a lot of different things, and also nothing at all.

Probably didn’t warrant a whole-ass blog post but if you’re down here, you still read it. 😛

PS. 9 years ago, I wrote The History of February 14, a flash fiction story for Every Day Fiction. It’s not necessarily something I’d write now… I penned a whole bunch of second person stories around that time because I was trying too hard to be edgy or something… but this was probably one of the better ones. You can check it out on the Every Day Fiction website and let me know what you think.

A hand holds a sparkler.

New Year, same girl on film – a micro-vlog & Paloma Faith

I don’t typically make New Year’s Resolutions because, let’s face it, I know I’m not going to follow through. It’s like all the newbies at the gym in January that you never see again in February. Which is not a criticism — just saying that good intentions do not a good habit make. I know that from experience.

But I did put the call-out on TikTok and Instagram Reels for any takers to publicly pressure me into writing more consistently. 😛

@leeannkhoh

Book 2 is coming… eventually. 🙏 #AuthorsOfTikTok #AuthorTok #WriterLife #IndieAuthor #Vlog

♬ original sound – Lee-Ann Khoh
Video “Second book blues…” shows Lee-Ann sitting in a car recording a short vlog to camera.

Will it work? I don’t know. I can’t blame anyone else for my slow progress… “It’s me. Hi. I’m the problem, it’s me.” (Apologies to Taylor Swift.)

Anyway, from my crappy vertical phone video to something that actually looks great thanks to VocalTech…

Back in November, I sang “Just Be” by Paloma Faith and there’s a video of it. I’m not entirely happy with my performance but some of my extended family was asking about it so I thought I’d whack it online anyway. (Besides, I’m never 100% happy with anything I do in relation to the arts, but sometimes you have to let go, right?)

Just Be (Paloma Faith cover) by Lee-Ann
Text reads: Ebooks and audiobooks are real books and you're an ableist jerk. Background contains a person reading on an ereader with a cup of coffee and plate of chocolates and cookies.

Ebooks and audiobooks are real books and you’re an ableist jerk

I’m just overflowing with festive cheer, aren’t I?

Provocative title aside, something has been bugging me for a while and I decided to get it off my chest before the new year. And that something is this: the attitude among self-proclaimed avid readers that reading doesn’t count unless it’s a print book.

I know I know, not all readers. Probably not even most. But hang around certain bookish communities and you’ll start seeing posts like:

“Do you like ebooks or real books?”

Uh, bizarre question, Karenina. That’s like asking, “Do you like horses or bananas?” Ebooks are just as real as print books.

Or “I have loved books since before computers and Kindles! I much prefer actual books!”

OK, Booker. Congratulations on… being born before the proliferation of digital technologies?

Or even, “Does anyone else still read proper books? I feel like no one bothers to actually read anymore and just listen to audio in the car or something! Is it just me??”

Umm… Yeah, I just rolled my eyes so hard that they got lodged in the back of my brain and I can no longer see to read.

By all means, have your preferences. Nothing wrong with that. It’s the ridiculous superiority complex that irritates me. It’s elitist. It’s ableist.

Not everyone can read a print book. Maybe they can’t see the text, but they can if it’s enlarged to the right size on their ereader. Or maybe they still can’t read it in extra large print but they can listen and understand. Or maybe they can’t physically handle a book and turn the pages. Any of these things could happen to any one of us in the blink of an eye if it hasn’t already.

And not everyone wants to read a print book to get a good story. Audiobooks are a great way to enjoy books while you’re driving or cleaning or relaxing or doing other things. You’re not better or worse if you experience books this way. As for me, I do read print but it’s far more efficient for me to chuck my slim Kindle ereader with its protective case into my backpack than it is to lug a bulkier paperback around and worry about creasing it.

TL;DR – Read however you want, let others read however they want. Ho, ho, ho.

Anyway, in the spirit of… insulting people during the holiday season, I thought I’d end this post with my second favourite Christmas song, “Fairytale of New York” by the Pogues. 😉 (I posted my favourite Christmas song on this blog a couple of years ago.)

The Pogues – “Fairytale of New York”
Text reads: November, schmovember. Background contains a lush green garden and a winding path.

November, schmovember…

Another year almost gone and still no hand sanitiser sponsorship. C’mon, how much alcohol does a girl need (to rub on her hands) to get a break around here?!

But in all seriousness… it’s late November. Already.

November always ends up being pretty busy despite my best intentions. I guess it’s been like that since I was a student and most of my final exams would be in November (in Australia, the school year lines up with the calendar year). Now that I’m a professional (ha!) it seems to be the time of year where everyone starts realising they need XYZ before Christmas. And then there’s preparing (physically and mentally) for the end-of-year events that come thick and fast in December.

I actually had the first of my end-of-year gatherings over the weekend just gone, but it was just a small picnic in the park, nice and chill.

I’ve never liked crowds, even pre-pandemic, but I did go see Guns N’ Roses recently (masked up). And I’m glad I did – it was a fun Friday night. I mean, it was freezing… even in my hoodie, raincoat, hat and mask. There was also a sprinkling of November rain, but not during the song of the same name. Bruce Springsteen still holds the record for the longest concert I’ve ever attended (3.5 hours), but GN’R were pretty close.

A lot of us writers also attempt NaNoWriMo in November. I didn’t give it a crack this year but if you did, I hope you’ve made some progress on a manuscript.

For this writer… well, my firstborn novel, Black and Blue, turned one at the beginning of the month. Doesn’t seem that long ago but they grow up so fast, don’t they?

A paperback copy of Black and Blue by Lee-Ann Khoh stands next to a powdered sugar layer cake decorated with flowers and birthday candles.
Book and cake! All the important things.
Image credit: AllAuthor.

And yes, I’m being facetious – I know books are not the same as actual children, calm your farm. 😛

But yeah, it’s been a nice year of… not being a liar if I decide to set my Facebook page and Instagram profile categories to “Author”. 😄

Book 2 is coming… eventually. A few people have asked me about a sequel, but this one’s a standalone at this point in time.

Other formats of Black and Blue are also on the horizon but I don’t have release dates yet.

Text reads: After the first COVID. Background contains the silhouette of a woman stretching to the one side in a triangle pose.

After the first COVID…

I’ve been a bit quiet since my fling with COVID in early August but I’m very much alive and kicking.

(You may have gleaned that my blog title is a reference to After the First Death, the Robert Cormier novel, which took its name from a Dylan Thomas poem called A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London. But neither of these things bear any relevance to anything I experienced or anything in this post – I’m just a pretentious weirdo who wants people to know I can read. 😄)

I had a mild case of COVID and kept working from home the entire time so I was one of the lucky ones. And in my household of four, only two of us tested positive.

But there was the fatigue. It could’ve been seasonal affective disorder, or low iron, or something else entirely… but I definitely felt like my energy levels sapped when I had COVID and for a few weeks after that. Or maybe I just don’t get enough sleep. According to Fitbit’s Sleep Profile, I’m a Giraffe, which means my sleep tends to be on the shorter side… like my height, which is most definitely not giraffe-like.

One thing I’ve been trying to do since I recovered is to start getting up early and working out before heading to the office. It hasn’t been daily but I do generally feel better on the days when I make the effort. More energy, less mid-afternoon slump. The early start goes against my nature but I’m trying to retrain my brain… and body, I guess!

Any tips for turning a night owl into an early bird would be much appreciated. 😛