A Blessing in Disguise? Discovering Northwest Myanmar Finale

The Botanical Gardens at Pyin Oo Lwin

As you might have noticed by the output rate on this blog, I’ve been rather unmotivated lately in regards to my productive leisure pursuits. This summer, I’ve made an occasional ukulele vid, a single beach excursion video and written practically nothing. It seems like every time I sit down to make a video, I quickly lose focus and the mouse wanders over to click on my favorite video game instead. 

I dunno exactly what’s caused this unmotivated malaise in my video-making hobby as of late, but I suspect I’m getting tired of making the same style of video over and over with just different footage and music in the background. Yeah, that’s it. 

Last April/May, I went on a long motorcycle journey through the northwest part of Myanmar. That was five months ago, and only today have I finished making the final video of the series, Part 21.  And even then, I didn’t capture the best part of the last day: my argument with the golf course people who at first would not allow me to play because I was wearing a button-down shirt, and after I had gone and bought a sport shirt, then objected to my track pants. I was angered, and left, but I still want to play the links at Pyin Oo Lwin, purportedly the best golf course in all of Burma. 

 

We’re nearing the end of the long slough of English teaching here at my school. From May to October, we get lots of students. Big classes are normal, and every teacher is needed, so there’s no vacation time available for any of us. As that’s coming to an end, I get 8 weeks off out of the next 2. The first week of which is next week.  I can’t wait, but unless I can think of a new way of making the videos, I may not share anything but pictures. 

I dunno. I dunno.

We’ll see, but I think the funk I’ve been in is best characterized in the last clip of the video below in which I say “So finishing up three weeks of vacation and I feel… I dunno. I dunno”

_____________________

I wrote that a week ago and it’s taken me that long to work through the computer problems I’ve been having to fix it. In the end, it came down to removing almost all the time manipulation I used on the motorbike footage. Nearly none of the fast-mo and slow-mo which have sort of defined my travel videos over the last couple years. 

Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.  

Enjoy what might be the last of this style video from me...