Homestretching.

This blog post is my reward for finishing the last of my Fall 2011 annotations, and my Fall 2011 papers grading. This blog post, and a little chocolate too. Now I dive ahead into the last week of classes. Please know that my stairs are not filthy, as they appear above. I took this photo in the dark. That's a shadow-stair, not a filth-stair. Henri was obviously not pleased that I had turned on the dishwasher. I think that's what she's lamenting in the photo.

There is not much new to report. I am writing a lot of recommendation letters. Managing my daughter's fourth grade basketball career. Losing at fantasy football. Reading fiction, not writing poems. Hopefully the latter part of that sentence will change once the semester is officially done. Our weather is rainy and non-cold right now. Every day I wonder when the snow is going to start.

Nopoember

Dang, y'all. I am totally uninspired lately. I had to force myself to take some pictures this week. I think I've only written one poem this month so far, a crappy one to prove to myself that I can indeed still write poems on my new laptop.

I ended up feeling strangely sentimental about surrendering my old laptop for this new one. After all, I'd written both Saint Monica and O Holy Insurgency on it, not to mention my new coin-operated manuscript, and my new risk management manuscript, and another project I have in the oven. I also used that old hunk of junk to typeset numerous issues of Barn Owl Review, and to edit and paste together all the essays and foreword for The Monkey & the Wrench. It was hard to say goodbye at first. But I'm hoping that the new laptop has even more awesomeness potential. It does seem a lot more reliable, for one. Now I just need the inspiration. Insert wild, cackling laugh here.

I found this post by Julianna Baggott to ring so true to my life, especially in terms of writing and not writing. I know that the not writing is necessary to the writing, but it's so uncomfortable to me. I feel like a machine. This machine does get a lot of student poems annotated and rec letters written and laundry folded, but it doesn't make poems. I am going to try to look around a little more this week, at the very least. I am hoping for one poem by next Friday.

Weather over/under.

Universe, please accept today's offering of moderate laziness as recompense and allow me to wake up tomorrow okay enough to function. This message is being conveyed upon the heels of Nyquil, which will surely catch me in a few minutes. I apologize, here and publicly, for being so pleased with myself for making it to Week 11 without so much as a sniffle. I may have even smirked at the chorus of coughs resounding down the hall at work. I thought I was going to outrun it this year, but alas.

Currently hoping to beat this all down and not get really sick, as I have a tendency to do. Tried to watch as much football as possible today. I could really use a productive week. If you're out there, universe, thank you for your kind attention.

Artifacting.

November is here! I'm so glad, but not sure why. I have been cold almost every day. Like, waking up in the middle of the night cold, and wearing two sweaters cold. Otherwise healthy and functional, however. Maybe it's the new freezeicism. I don't know.

This evening John Gallaher and G.C. Waldrep read at UA. I'm excited to hear them. It's always fun welcoming writers to Akron.

I printed out our November calendar and it looks deliciously empty. I am counting down to winter break and planning a few home improvement projects, like painting, which is way overdue. I may even replace the mead hall chic hardware on the kitchen cabinets, if I am ambitious enough.

The only other news is that I fear I have become addicted to sending poems out. I've been doing it almost every day. I took special joy in sending out a number of print submissions. The downside to all this is that I haven't been writing much.

As in the past, I have found a bunch of poems that I forgot about after writing. Some of those are getting slapped around a bit and then put into envelopes and mailed away.