Today I've had a strange throat/congested chest that seems to come and go... yesterday I thought I would be quite sick today but that's not the case, though I have stayed home all day to make sure. Somehow sitting at my computer seems to make it worse, so I intend to retire early under a warm duvet.

I sent off my application to a writing residency in Beijing, China today. My hope is to spend three months there beginning in October, working on revising a novel that I have begun. I don't know how competitive the application process is, and I will need to secure grants in order to go, but I am keeping hope that it will be possible somehow...

My main concerns about going to Beijing are to do with my health. My legs still give me pain if I stand or walk for any length of time, and I understand that Beijing is a city where a lot of walking is neccessary I'm doing well controlling my eating but haven't yet been able to get into the swing of exercising regularly, so weight loss will be slow, and I believe it is weight loss I need to eliminate the leg pain. Also, Chinese cities are known for their terrible air pollution, which frightens me a little. But it's my mental health that perhaps I should be most concerned about...
I will be able to take medications with me, and I think for three months I will be able to work with my mind to meet whatever challenges come my way. This is all of course dependent on whether my application is accepted...and whether I can get the funds I need to go and the medical insurance I would need to cover me there...

Well my day at home seems to have improved my throat and allowed me to spend time on my application... It will be four to eight weeks before I hear anything. In the meantime Cate has offered to introduce me to Pilates, and Myra has said she can give me a pedometer, so I can see how much exercise I'm actually getting walking to and from the bus and around my apartment! It's probably not enough to get around Beijing but I can build up to that.