The B-Roll #17

This is the seventeenth edition of my weekly newsletter, The B-Roll. Thank you for coming along for the ride. If you think someone in your life might also enjoy these letters, please share this with them.

Cheers from Scotland!

I’m currently sitting on a couch in one of the sitting rooms in this incredible estate in Scotland. The house is quiet for the first time since I got here on Wednesday and was the first to arrive, so I had the entire estate to myself for a few hours. Since then, family has started coming in and as of last night, there are 21 adults, 5 kiddos, and 2 babies all together in this place. So, needless to say, it’s been a little chaotic and overwhelming. I’m lucky that I have my room to retreat to when I need to but what I’ve preferred to do is go to one of the empty sitting rooms to regroup while still being part of the group.

I’ve also been doing what I do best, which is try to take care of people in small ways. I prepare the coffee pots so the first person to wake up can just hit the power button in the morning. And to unwind every night, I’m the last person to go to bed, after unloading the dishwasher and cleaning up the kitchen so when the chef comes in to prepare breakfast, the kitchen isn’t in disarray.

When I realized that I had an opportunity to just stay here and enjoy the quiet while the rest of the group broke off for their respective “free day” activities, I jumped at the opportunity. Because the entire group (plus a few people who aren’t staying at the house) will be together all day for the Loch Ness tour and then Monday is the wedding.

Instead of pushing my limits both mentally and physically, I made the right call to just stay in, read, do laundry, and shower.

It’s been overwhelming in the best way. I mentioned that I’m the only non-family person staying at the house but what I didn’t expect was the fact that every new person I’ve met has greeted me with “It’s so good to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you and was so glad that you could make it,” and that wasn’t just Jackie’s side of the family. Zac’s mom gave me a hug the moment we met. 

Needless to say, I’m feeling overwhelmed and have been oscillating between overcompensating and retreating. 

So, I’m just taking the day to recalibrate. 

Since we’re on an estate in a small town, it’s not the kind of trip where I can just go out and do some exploration and come back (I didn’t want to rent a car because heaven forbid I try to navigate roundabouts while driving on the left side of the road).

But we are in Scotland, so there had to be at least one distillery tour.

A group of us went to Glenlevit yesterday and it was just lovely. I’ll probably do a whole blog about that, tying in my relationship with whiskey. 

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I don’t remember my dream from last night except for one very specific snapshot: A publishing deal announcement. For my first book. 

I remembered the feeling I had when I saw that announcement in my dream. 

I want to experience that feeling in real life. 

So, I started mapping out the interview process, with the names of the people I want to reach out to, the questions I want to ask, and how I want to structure the book.

It’s one step at a time. 

When was the last time you had a feeling in a dream that you wanted to make a reality?

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No culture/language corner this week (and also no picture because the wi-fi is not the strongest here.)

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Thanks for reading this far, friend. As with everything in life, this is a continuous work-in-progress and you can always hit "Reply" to give me feedback, commentary, or your thoughts on the topic of the letter.Until next time, I wish you a sane and healthy week.With love,