Dirty underpinnings; or, the year of the tiger

This weekend I got a bunch of things done, and shoved them all in the same folder, which meant that 5160 labels were rubbing corners with NEA application forms, student essays grinding up against poems, and so on. I've learned that I need to get to campus well before 8 am if I want a good parking space, and with a laptop bag balanced on top of a rolling briefcase + a big noisy shopping bag filled with "lunch" in tow, and of course my bulky purse, having to walk two hilly blocks is a gloomy prospect. Not to mention the freezing weather, and the fact that I'm now six months pregnant.

Anyhow, so I piled all of my fantastic finished projects on my desk this morning, started looking over the NEA application checklist, and realized that I didn't have a postcard to include for notification. Thus began my rabid search of the office for a postcard, which culminated with locating a ten-year-old Year of the Tiger post card that I brought with me from office to office as a grad student. I found many postcardesque items that I contemplated using, but faced with an actual blank postcard I decided to sacrifice a tiger to the NEA. Though actually it should come back to me after its journey to DC or wherever.

The postcard looked so yellowed and ancient on top of that pile of crisp paper. What if this year the NEA's decisions are all based on reply postcard aesthetics? Unless shabby chic is in, I may be in trouble, though perhaps I'll get kudos for being quirky.

I will let you know when the tiger returns to my mailbox.