Carpal Tunnel, and other occupational hazards

My carpal tunnel came back.  Needless to say, I’m not doing much of anything writerly.  It’s also interfering with my ability to eat sushi.  This means war.

Oh PhDs

Me: Then I get to explain why I have two degrees from a university that I hate!

My boyfriend: That will actually look good to PhD programs, because it shows that no matter how miserable you are, you’re going to stick it out and finish.

Me: I hate my life.

 

After date-night conversations.  But we may have figured out a way to circumvent the Fudd, at least for now And even if we haven’t, that’s fine.  I actually WANT to have the degree.

Today

Today, well, yesterday, April 29 2012, will forever be known as the day that I met Terry Tempest Williams.

::dies from excitement::

That is all.

Riot

The time is coming.

The rage riseth again.

That Moment You Realize That You and Your Program Are on Completely Different Pages When It Comes to Desired Qualities for Publication

Yeah.

Feeling the need for indie/alternative narratives more than ever, because what I think is commercial and valuable is not what the people around me think is commercial and valuable.  This, on top of general frustration with the direction my institute of higher education is going has left me one grumpy bear lately, and it leaves my self-worth vulnerable.  Then I have to remember that mainstream narratives are what got the world into this mess, and they sure as hell can’t get us out of it because they perpetuate the same myths and ideologies that caused the problem… They talk about it and make it worse instead of offering ideas of how to fix the problem.

I can’t wait to be done with Stony Brook.  Academia, even creative endeavors that are still “Academic”, is such a head trip.  I don’t feel like myself these days.  Then I get to live with the fact that I’m never going to be proud of my alma mater.

Definitely should have thought this through better.

I’ll shut up and get off the soap box now.

Making Moves

It’s almost that time… Time to make some big moves, some drastic changes, to accept that the whole world is in flux, always has been and always will be, and to roll with it and find a new normal.

Bookstores are my Friends

This past Sunday, Neil and I drove out to Southampton for a poetry thing that my program was doing at the Parrish Art Museum.  It was pretty awesome.  Then, we decided to drive out to Sag Harbor and walk around.  We went to Canio’s (love), and lo and behold, when I was creeping in the kid’s section, I found a copy of PROMISE: An Anthology of Young Writers AKA the 2011 Rena’s Promise International Creative Writing Camp Collection.  It was in the store.  For sale.  The book that has 2 pages of my novel (TTOT).

It was pretty epic for me.

Spices of Life

Sometimes, it’s writing.  Sometimes, it’s lovin’.  And sometimes, it’s Doritos (some of them are even GF!).

Writing, and Other Things

I realized recently that I have 8 books in some stage of the writing process, plus other ideas that I’ve been percolating and sitting on.  This is more than a little kind of crazy.

School is going.  We’re more than halfway through the semester, and we’re coming up fast on spring break.  I have a lot that needs to get done.  I also need to get my shit together and apply for the summer conferences, and take out some loans or something.  I’m not crazy about increasing my student loans, but it might be the only option for now.  I can deal with the repayment when I get out and join the Peace Corp or sell my novel or something.

I made a Cursillo this past weekend!  That was pretty fantastic.  And I had a lot of people that I know and love on the Team for the weekend, which made it so much better and so much more special.

All in all, life is good.  I’m learning not to think too far ahead (see the gushy tweets on my Twitter feed to the right of this post to see the over-all success of these attempts…).  I’m getting workshopped on Tuesday, and I’m not concerned about if they hate it or anything.  I’m at peace with life and this whole crazy process and the journey I’m on.  I like it.

World Literature That High School Students Actually Want to Read- Share a Story, Shape a Future 2012

World Literature That High School Students Actually Want to Read- Share a Story, Shape a Future 2012.

Reasons why I love Children’s Literature… Share a Story, Shape a Future

So excited about this list of multicultural literature from around the world… Gonna have to read all of it when I have time!