Stopped on a Dime
What's this? A new post? It's all for you, canyoncat... all for you. (I'm not sure if I did that HTML right, geez... it's been awhile.)
The semester ended almost a week ago and it's been strange since then. Not having anything to get done, no clients to work with, no papers to write, no meetings to attend has been weird. Right now it's just past ten-thirty, and I'm lounging in bed. A month ago, I'd have been somewhere in Bridgewater trying to figure out how I would possibly finish all the work I had to do. I've stopped on a dime, and while it's cool that I can relax now, I miss school. I miss the editors of The Bridge V5 and my friends at the Writing Studio.
Despite this semester being the damned-near hardest semester ever, I did well: five A's and a B+. The B+ was in "Logic and Reasoning," and I am quite okay with my grade. I thought it was going to be closer to a C. This fall, I'm taking another full load of classes. In addition to that, I am also taking on the role of editor-in-chief of The Bridge volume 6, I'm one of the producers of the Vagina Monologues, a writing fellow for a targeted English 101 class, possibly a tour guide, and something else that I'm forgetting. I'm also looking into grad schools now, MFA programs in creative nonfiction in particular. Dr. Walker has been helping me with this. He's been really encouraging and supportive, but I'm terrified of letting him down; the odds of being accepted into any of these programs are bleak. But if Walker thinks I stand a chance, I'll try my damnedest.
I'm also in the process of writing a book. A memoir. I've written over a hundred twenty pages at this point. If anyone is interested in what I've been writing lately, let me know. I'd be happy to share (and I'd love the feedback). I've pulled much of my work directly from this journal-- the topics, anyway; I'd like to think that the writing is more polished and detailed than what you read here.
I was looking back in my journal the other day while I was doing some research for my book (researching my own life-- weird...), and I realized how much my life has changed over the past three years. I was so miserable in 2005. Then I started at BSC, and though it was a slow process, and my life improved dramatically. I remember writing a long time ago that I missed my high school because of the familiarity-- the fact that wherever I was in the building, I was able to name nearly all the people sitting in the vicinity. Even if I wasn't in the same circle as another person, I knew a lot about him or her because we had practically grown up together. Though I don't know everyone on campus, I can say that I'm more comfortable here now. I can't walk across campus without running into at least five people I know. I love my school, and I'm going to miss it when I graduate next year.
I had my orientation meeting for the Bridgewater-at-Oxford program yesterday. My plane leaves for England on July 5th. This'll be my first trip overseas and I'm pretty excited. While I'm there, I'll be taking a course called "Oxford Fantasists" in which we'll be reading books by authors with ties to Oxford, such as Lewis Carrol, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Philip Pullman, and others. There are ten books on the list that have to be read by the time I leave for Oxford. I ordered them online a few minutes ago, but I will probably start The Hobbit this afternoon (thanks for lending my your fancy copy, canyoncat!)
My friend Paige is also going on this trip, and I'm so happy that she'll be there. We took a couple writing workshops together last year, and she's just an awesome person. She introduced me to her friend Stephen, who is also going on the trip. I have a feeling that July is going to be amazing.
My last day at the bank is June 28th. I was told that if I left for a month, there probably wouldn't be a job for me when I came home. I'm okay with that. I've been there for five years, and I think it's time for me to move on. I'll miss my coworkers, and I'll miss my customers like hell, but banking just isn't for me. I might go back to Shaw's two days a week. I talked to Don and Andrea, and they said that they'd love to have me back in the bakery again, and that they really need the help. I always liked that job.
When I come home from Oxford, Mom and I are taking a trip out to Iowa to visit a potential grad school. The University of Iowa has the best nonfiction writing program in the country. It has a 2% acceptance rate which means I don't really stand much of a chance, but I've never been to the midwest, so why not?
I'm going to Las Vegas with my family in a week and half... another place I've never been. We're meeting Maeve and Mike and Mike's dad, John out there, and doing all the Nevada tourist activities, which includes taking a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon. I keep forgetting that I'm going, actually. I'll take lots of pictures.
Not promising I'll update again soon. You know how that goes. I'll try though. I'll certainly have the time for it now.
The semester ended almost a week ago and it's been strange since then. Not having anything to get done, no clients to work with, no papers to write, no meetings to attend has been weird. Right now it's just past ten-thirty, and I'm lounging in bed. A month ago, I'd have been somewhere in Bridgewater trying to figure out how I would possibly finish all the work I had to do. I've stopped on a dime, and while it's cool that I can relax now, I miss school. I miss the editors of The Bridge V5 and my friends at the Writing Studio.
Despite this semester being the damned-near hardest semester ever, I did well: five A's and a B+. The B+ was in "Logic and Reasoning," and I am quite okay with my grade. I thought it was going to be closer to a C. This fall, I'm taking another full load of classes. In addition to that, I am also taking on the role of editor-in-chief of The Bridge volume 6, I'm one of the producers of the Vagina Monologues, a writing fellow for a targeted English 101 class, possibly a tour guide, and something else that I'm forgetting. I'm also looking into grad schools now, MFA programs in creative nonfiction in particular. Dr. Walker has been helping me with this. He's been really encouraging and supportive, but I'm terrified of letting him down; the odds of being accepted into any of these programs are bleak. But if Walker thinks I stand a chance, I'll try my damnedest.
I'm also in the process of writing a book. A memoir. I've written over a hundred twenty pages at this point. If anyone is interested in what I've been writing lately, let me know. I'd be happy to share (and I'd love the feedback). I've pulled much of my work directly from this journal-- the topics, anyway; I'd like to think that the writing is more polished and detailed than what you read here.
I was looking back in my journal the other day while I was doing some research for my book (researching my own life-- weird...), and I realized how much my life has changed over the past three years. I was so miserable in 2005. Then I started at BSC, and though it was a slow process, and my life improved dramatically. I remember writing a long time ago that I missed my high school because of the familiarity-- the fact that wherever I was in the building, I was able to name nearly all the people sitting in the vicinity. Even if I wasn't in the same circle as another person, I knew a lot about him or her because we had practically grown up together. Though I don't know everyone on campus, I can say that I'm more comfortable here now. I can't walk across campus without running into at least five people I know. I love my school, and I'm going to miss it when I graduate next year.
I had my orientation meeting for the Bridgewater-at-Oxford program yesterday. My plane leaves for England on July 5th. This'll be my first trip overseas and I'm pretty excited. While I'm there, I'll be taking a course called "Oxford Fantasists" in which we'll be reading books by authors with ties to Oxford, such as Lewis Carrol, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Philip Pullman, and others. There are ten books on the list that have to be read by the time I leave for Oxford. I ordered them online a few minutes ago, but I will probably start The Hobbit this afternoon (thanks for lending my your fancy copy, canyoncat!)
My friend Paige is also going on this trip, and I'm so happy that she'll be there. We took a couple writing workshops together last year, and she's just an awesome person. She introduced me to her friend Stephen, who is also going on the trip. I have a feeling that July is going to be amazing.
My last day at the bank is June 28th. I was told that if I left for a month, there probably wouldn't be a job for me when I came home. I'm okay with that. I've been there for five years, and I think it's time for me to move on. I'll miss my coworkers, and I'll miss my customers like hell, but banking just isn't for me. I might go back to Shaw's two days a week. I talked to Don and Andrea, and they said that they'd love to have me back in the bakery again, and that they really need the help. I always liked that job.
When I come home from Oxford, Mom and I are taking a trip out to Iowa to visit a potential grad school. The University of Iowa has the best nonfiction writing program in the country. It has a 2% acceptance rate which means I don't really stand much of a chance, but I've never been to the midwest, so why not?
I'm going to Las Vegas with my family in a week and half... another place I've never been. We're meeting Maeve and Mike and Mike's dad, John out there, and doing all the Nevada tourist activities, which includes taking a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon. I keep forgetting that I'm going, actually. I'll take lots of pictures.
Not promising I'll update again soon. You know how that goes. I'll try though. I'll certainly have the time for it now.