On Bloggers' Block

Whew, it has been awhile! Are all of you guys nicely tanned, BBQed, and Labor Day'ed out? 

I've become a little bit disenchanted with blogging for the past few weeks. {This is where I say: it's not you, it's me.} {Really.} Everyday, I've tried to crank out a post. Every day. I open up a new document, type out a sentence... and then delete that sentence. Or the words simply refuse to write themselves. I think it has a little to do with trying to figure out my "blogging voice" - sometimes I think I sound too un-me, and then it just ends up screaming AWKWARD TACO. Other times, I lack inspiration and can't for the life of me put together thoughts that seem to mean anything. And finally, the rest of the time (aka - the majority of the time) I'm half asleep and can't think of anything other than a nice, long nap.

I know you're not NYC, but come on lights, inspire me!

The first day of every month is the cue for exclamations of shock and surprise at yet another month coming - and rightly so. How in the name of pumpkin spice lattes is it already almost Christmas Halloween?! But man, over here in Nanjing, September 1 not only brought to me the usual longings for Platform 9 and 3/4 and Hogwarts, but it actually very promptly brought to us MUCH cooler weather. We've officially turned off the air conditioning and have been sleeping with very sweet breezes blowing in from the open windows; my mom and I have spent our mornings taking walks around the city; my outings with my cousins and aunts are overwhelmingly more bearable with these cooler temperatures. It's nice not to worry about which shirt you care least about soaking with sweat, you know? {I kid, I kid.}

Post-dinner on the top of Zifeng Tower, the tallest building in Nanjing,

and the eighth tallest building in the world.

But this brisker weather has put an extra pep in my step, and I've found myself more excited and inspired than I have been in awhile. Seeing all of the kiddos around the city starting school has gotten me extra pumped to be back at Stanford in a little more than two weeks; I am giddy at the thought of all the adventures to come - fall football, seeing friends, grabbing frozen yogurt (this is a train that China needs to board...), the holiday season, and Europe so soon, so soon. Here's to enough inspiration to last through a number of quality posts, and also to bringing on the white pants! Heathens! 

And there's an exterior view of Zifeng... taken from the 11th floor of a building.

What gets you back to writing after a bad case of bloggers' block?