Finally, I get the energy and time - having tripped down to Brisbane and back and worked slavishly on a quote for editing and journalism services - to do a post. "Post every day" is a great mantra but sometimes you need to concentrate on other things. Like, things that pay the bills.

Brisbane was fine but the food at The Rendezvous Hotel on Ann Street is over-rich and the servings on the small side. Which means you end up eating an entree and dessert as well as a main.

I mention the food because yesterday I felt awful, starting with a sick headache in the morning which lasted until early evening. I took a couple of naps to try and shake it off, and I can only assume it had something to do with the rich fare at the hotel restaurant.

Getting paid work is a priority right now, although I'm still writing for some vehicles for free in order to benefit from their editorial input and to build my portfolio.

I found a nice surprise on my return home, in the shape of bottles of chilli paste. They were sent by a grower I interviewed for a story which had me worried for a while as the editor who had commmissioned it left to do other work in the company. Finally I got an email from the new editor saying he'd be glad to have a story on chillies. It also looks like it'll be the cover story, just like for the peach story last time.

So I did one last interview for the chilli story yesterday and I'm gearing up my resources to finish it by Monday. Not sure about the ethics of naming the chilli paste in the story, tho.

Then there's the tuna story. This one's more problematic because I just got a bunch of new stuff from a valuable source which could change the storyline significantly. Which means a major rewrite. In fact, I'm even thinking of altering the story's structure a lot.

The tuna story has been challenging because of the world limit. They only want 600 to 700 words, so I'm constantly reassessing the value of every paragraph hoping that I'll be able to combine economy with comprehensiveness. The new material could wipe out half of what I've written, so I'm preparing for a brief struggle. Luckily it's not due for almost two weeks.

Overall I'm feeling good about things. The weather has helped by turning to rain again. More of those broad sheets of drenching rain this morning, which always cool down the air. The crows can be heard, their cries echoing across the football field with its bright green grass.