NEW LOCATION....AGAIN
Whew, I'm officially almost kind of settled in Colorado Springs now, fresh from a long, drawn-out move from Columbus, Georgia. Don't get me wrong, I was more than happy to take a detour through New Orleans to hang out with Lish and some of her fantastic fam. (Even though there was no time for writing and pancakes, this time. Oh well.) However, breaking down in Dalhart, Texas, was no fun at all. In fact, the $800 we paid to have Tom's VW towed to Colorado wasn't exactly super either.
That being said, we're here, we're in our new house, and we're exploring the neighborhood. Would you like to see some pictures? Tom and I recently took a couple of short hikes at Garden of the Gods, which was gorgeous. Flynn loved it, but any dog off her leash would.
Here are two shots of the trails we rambled. Nice, huh? Still a dusting of snow on the ground, and it's usually around freezing, but for the most part it's gorgeous and sunny here. I think my mom would love it. Anyone else want to visit? The Hotel Murray Angstadt is open for business!
I'm hoping to get a writing group together soon, and I'm still scoping out places to advertise. If I can't find anything (or anyone) I might just go back to craigslist and see what happens. There is a public library just a mile away or so... I bet I could find people with a flyer there...
Currently, I'm waiting for the semester to start at Pike's Peak Community College. I have a training session this Friday to help get instructors accustomed to putting the majority of their learning materials, handouts, syllabi (read: everything) online. I was a little nervous at first, simply because I'm a big supporter of face-to-face teaching with only the occasional use of technology, usually just to stay in touch and update students on current events. My nerves are calmer now; I've realized that this might be a blessing in disguise, which I can turn into a learning experience. More and more schools are cutting back by eliminating as much paper cost as possible, so I should probably adapt sooner than later. (Now I'll focus all my worry on whether or not the students will be as cooperative as I prefer.) I'm currently in the market for a good flat-bed scanner so I can keep using my personal library as a supplement to classroom texts... anyone know of a good place to find one? Tom's already struck out at WalMart (not my first choice), Sears, and Target. Maybe amazon?
I'm also prepping an application to University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. I'm really excited to see how many creative writing courses they have there, and I'd love to be around that, even if I'm teaching introductory writing courses instead. We'll see what happens.
I'm also reading a couple new books right now, a few of which I really want you to know about. First, James Tate's most recent book of poems called The Ghost Soldiers. It's pretty much awesome. I fall in love with his imagination over and over. Read it! (Even you guys who say you "don't do poetry". You'll love it.)
The second book I've gotten into is 29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life by Cami Walker. It's a relatively quick read (or maybe only I think so because I tore through it on my Kindle while sitting in the DMV waiting area... for three hours...) and it's uplifting without being cheesy. I know, some of us writers are jaded and avoid the sentimental like the plague, and I'm not saying this is sentimental, but it's, well, feel-good. It's inspiring. In fact, I've even visited the website that Walker constructs mid-book, http://www.29gifts.org/. I'm seriously considering taking part in their movement, but I think I need to get a few of my marbles settled first. Maybe in a day or two. Anyway, my point is, read the book. (Speaking of books, I'm also on goodreads now. Look me up!)
I guess I'll end this post with a poem, even though my writing has been sluggish these past few days. I've only started writing once a day again, let's see, since Saturday? Before that, I don't think I wrote anything for two and a half weeks while we were on the road.
This poem is called "The New Woman." I like to think about having my whole person transplanted and reconstructed sometimes. Then I thought, if I got a Perfect Job instead of just a Boob Job or Nose Job, all the other women in the world would be jealous. No one likes a smartass. But what would a perfect woman be? Damn near too bright to look at, I think.
Enjoy!
THE NEW WOMAN
It is tough
I think
for women
to smile
at me when
they see
I’ve had
my head
made into
a golden ball
and my body
has been
reconstructed
into a doorway
of light.
I probably
remind them
of those long
nights when
they were kids
sent to
their rooms
while their
parents
wasted the night
staying up
to watch
the weather.
...
That being said, we're here, we're in our new house, and we're exploring the neighborhood. Would you like to see some pictures? Tom and I recently took a couple of short hikes at Garden of the Gods, which was gorgeous. Flynn loved it, but any dog off her leash would.
Here are two shots of the trails we rambled. Nice, huh? Still a dusting of snow on the ground, and it's usually around freezing, but for the most part it's gorgeous and sunny here. I think my mom would love it. Anyone else want to visit? The Hotel Murray Angstadt is open for business!
I'm hoping to get a writing group together soon, and I'm still scoping out places to advertise. If I can't find anything (or anyone) I might just go back to craigslist and see what happens. There is a public library just a mile away or so... I bet I could find people with a flyer there...
Currently, I'm waiting for the semester to start at Pike's Peak Community College. I have a training session this Friday to help get instructors accustomed to putting the majority of their learning materials, handouts, syllabi (read: everything) online. I was a little nervous at first, simply because I'm a big supporter of face-to-face teaching with only the occasional use of technology, usually just to stay in touch and update students on current events. My nerves are calmer now; I've realized that this might be a blessing in disguise, which I can turn into a learning experience. More and more schools are cutting back by eliminating as much paper cost as possible, so I should probably adapt sooner than later. (Now I'll focus all my worry on whether or not the students will be as cooperative as I prefer.) I'm currently in the market for a good flat-bed scanner so I can keep using my personal library as a supplement to classroom texts... anyone know of a good place to find one? Tom's already struck out at WalMart (not my first choice), Sears, and Target. Maybe amazon?
I'm also prepping an application to University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. I'm really excited to see how many creative writing courses they have there, and I'd love to be around that, even if I'm teaching introductory writing courses instead. We'll see what happens.
I'm also reading a couple new books right now, a few of which I really want you to know about. First, James Tate's most recent book of poems called The Ghost Soldiers. It's pretty much awesome. I fall in love with his imagination over and over. Read it! (Even you guys who say you "don't do poetry". You'll love it.)
The second book I've gotten into is 29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life by Cami Walker. It's a relatively quick read (or maybe only I think so because I tore through it on my Kindle while sitting in the DMV waiting area... for three hours...) and it's uplifting without being cheesy. I know, some of us writers are jaded and avoid the sentimental like the plague, and I'm not saying this is sentimental, but it's, well, feel-good. It's inspiring. In fact, I've even visited the website that Walker constructs mid-book, http://www.29gifts.org/. I'm seriously considering taking part in their movement, but I think I need to get a few of my marbles settled first. Maybe in a day or two. Anyway, my point is, read the book. (Speaking of books, I'm also on goodreads now. Look me up!)
I guess I'll end this post with a poem, even though my writing has been sluggish these past few days. I've only started writing once a day again, let's see, since Saturday? Before that, I don't think I wrote anything for two and a half weeks while we were on the road.
This poem is called "The New Woman." I like to think about having my whole person transplanted and reconstructed sometimes. Then I thought, if I got a Perfect Job instead of just a Boob Job or Nose Job, all the other women in the world would be jealous. No one likes a smartass. But what would a perfect woman be? Damn near too bright to look at, I think.
Enjoy!
THE NEW WOMAN
It is tough
I think
for women
to smile
at me when
they see
I’ve had
my head
made into
a golden ball
and my body
has been
reconstructed
into a doorway
of light.
I probably
remind them
of those long
nights when
they were kids
sent to
their rooms
while their
parents
wasted the night
staying up
to watch
the weather.
...
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