Friday, May 15, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Long Weekend Recap Part 2
Ok here's the rest.
The plan for Sunday was simple. I would take Julie to the airport, drop Mom off at mass, John would go see his mom while we stayed home, and the 3 of us would go to dinner later. That's not what happened, exactly. John and I had briefly discussed our parents meeting, but he didn't seem to want to complicate things so we just decided against it for this trip. But, I got home from dropping Mom off at church and he brought it up again. After an hour of discussion, he decided it really was important for them all to meet (because we're that serious *smiles*). So we all went down south.
The day was nice and relaxing. The parents met and all was happy. The Cooksey's were all very proud of my book. Caroline was smiling and cooing all day long. We grilled and sat outside talking. John took me and Mom down to the creek where he used to play and we took a short hike along it. I did not find crayfish though!
Monday John had to go back to work. We will now have a moment of silence for Oscar, the spider who lived in our coat closet, who John found dead on the floor Monday morning.
Mom and I headed to Annapolis for the day. John, in all his sadness over Oscar (and the drama of losing his ID, which he did find) forgot to leave the GPS. I wasn't worried about getting there, it's easy. But I was worried about making it out again after. But, all was fine.
We had crab sliders and crab dip for lunch. Then we took a trolley ride around the city and learned a lot of history. Woo! After a coffee break we took a boat tour.
We also did a bit of shopping. I got the most adorable wind chime... to one day reside in a cute seaside-inspired bathroom. And we found a great tea shop. (complete with a chatty owner who is going to STL this summer (maybe) and knows of a great place for John and I to have our wedding).
Tuesday mom and I were bums all morning. I started cleaning the house a bit while she packed. Then it was off to the airport.
When Mom got home, the boys immediately wanted to see the book. She had told Harrison that one of my poems was about him, so he wanted to read that. While I was on the phone, Connor wanted to know which was about him. So he read that one. Then they just started reading. And Connor found the poem where I wrote "fuck" so I told Mom to do a little censoring before they read any more.
Harrison now has some elaborate plan that involves me coming to read poetry to his class next week. Hmm.
The plan for Sunday was simple. I would take Julie to the airport, drop Mom off at mass, John would go see his mom while we stayed home, and the 3 of us would go to dinner later. That's not what happened, exactly. John and I had briefly discussed our parents meeting, but he didn't seem to want to complicate things so we just decided against it for this trip. But, I got home from dropping Mom off at church and he brought it up again. After an hour of discussion, he decided it really was important for them all to meet (because we're that serious *smiles*). So we all went down south.
The day was nice and relaxing. The parents met and all was happy. The Cooksey's were all very proud of my book. Caroline was smiling and cooing all day long. We grilled and sat outside talking. John took me and Mom down to the creek where he used to play and we took a short hike along it. I did not find crayfish though!
Monday John had to go back to work. We will now have a moment of silence for Oscar, the spider who lived in our coat closet, who John found dead on the floor Monday morning.
Mom and I headed to Annapolis for the day. John, in all his sadness over Oscar (and the drama of losing his ID, which he did find) forgot to leave the GPS. I wasn't worried about getting there, it's easy. But I was worried about making it out again after. But, all was fine.
We had crab sliders and crab dip for lunch. Then we took a trolley ride around the city and learned a lot of history. Woo! After a coffee break we took a boat tour.
We also did a bit of shopping. I got the most adorable wind chime... to one day reside in a cute seaside-inspired bathroom. And we found a great tea shop. (complete with a chatty owner who is going to STL this summer (maybe) and knows of a great place for John and I to have our wedding).
Tuesday mom and I were bums all morning. I started cleaning the house a bit while she packed. Then it was off to the airport.
When Mom got home, the boys immediately wanted to see the book. She had told Harrison that one of my poems was about him, so he wanted to read that. While I was on the phone, Connor wanted to know which was about him. So he read that one. Then they just started reading. And Connor found the poem where I wrote "fuck" so I told Mom to do a little censoring before they read any more.
Harrison now has some elaborate plan that involves me coming to read poetry to his class next week. Hmm.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Long Weekend Recap Part 1
I should say this is a recap of the last week, since it almost has been a week, but we'll still call it a long weekend.
Last Wednesday was my last night of class. I didn't really want to go talk about my book, which is odd because I've been wanting to do nothing else. We had champagne and all got to say what we loved and hated about the book making. Of course, I was distracted because Mom was flying in while I was at class, so John was picking her up. I was right to be concerned. Mom was on the top floor of the airport and John was down below at baggage claim. So they both wandered around for an hour looking for one another, with no success. Of course, Mom is without a cell phone right now, so she couldn't just call him. And I wasn't smart enough to give her his number. I was obviously not in the right state of mind to be organizing anything outside of my book. So I'm getting texts from John and calls from Mom (from a payphone) during the last 45 minutes of class. Once I was finally out and could use the phone, I told John to stay at baggage claim, and when Mom called back I told her to go down there. And the crisis was over. I actually ended up making it home before them.
Thursday Mom and I took care of errands I hadn't gotten to yet such as grocery shopping and a liquor run. We had lunch at Panera and went to Rita's for Italian Ice. Grilled for dinner. All very laid back.
Friday I picked up Julie from the airport in the morning. Took the wrong road out and ended up on 95. Which was ok, because I could still figure out how to get home. It just took longer. She napped for a bit while I printed my poems and did some other organizing for the evening. Mom was very into reading on the deck. I tried to breath as I was starting to get anxious.
Mom, Julie, and I went to lunch at Brian Boru, an Irish place I recently discovered. It was pretty good, though I think the atmosphere would be a lot better on the weekend when there's live music.
Came home and got ready to head to Baltimore. John called and said he WAS coming home early (yay for home finally realizing I knew what was best) so we waited for him. Got to Baltimore at 5:00, as planned. I went to help set up for the reading, sending the rest of the gang to the bar.
A lot was already set up, but food needed to be put out, books put on display, programs put on chairs, etc. At some point, a tray of rotten vegetables filled the room with stink, so we made a run for incense. Body spray was also used, so the room had a lot going on. But it all evened out and was fine my the time people started getting there.
The reading went great. I had a lot of support there (thanks guys!). I was nervous for awhile, but had enough wine that I was chilled. I would have liked to have gone earlier (I was 12th) but someone really needed to switch with me. Of course, I was wonderful. Hopefully no one noticed (much) when I messed up. I know I did a few times, but some of them may not have been noticeable unless you were reading along. Hopefully we get a video one of these days.
Went to Dionysus after for drinks. We all drank way to much. I was singing Mama Mia all the way home. Poor John! Also when we got home we had a minor plumbing problem which ended up causing the fire alarm to go off. So drunk Melissa (though I was quickly sober when there was a flood) and sober John were taking care of the house at 1am. Still, we try to forget this part of the evening.
Saturday was mostly a recovery day. We were lazy all day, though we did try to get a massage. They had no openings, though. Had a very nice cook out of BBQ chicken and corn on the cob. Then Mom, Julie, and I went to see Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Kind of cute, but I feel like something was missing.
To be continued...
Last Wednesday was my last night of class. I didn't really want to go talk about my book, which is odd because I've been wanting to do nothing else. We had champagne and all got to say what we loved and hated about the book making. Of course, I was distracted because Mom was flying in while I was at class, so John was picking her up. I was right to be concerned. Mom was on the top floor of the airport and John was down below at baggage claim. So they both wandered around for an hour looking for one another, with no success. Of course, Mom is without a cell phone right now, so she couldn't just call him. And I wasn't smart enough to give her his number. I was obviously not in the right state of mind to be organizing anything outside of my book. So I'm getting texts from John and calls from Mom (from a payphone) during the last 45 minutes of class. Once I was finally out and could use the phone, I told John to stay at baggage claim, and when Mom called back I told her to go down there. And the crisis was over. I actually ended up making it home before them.
Thursday Mom and I took care of errands I hadn't gotten to yet such as grocery shopping and a liquor run. We had lunch at Panera and went to Rita's for Italian Ice. Grilled for dinner. All very laid back.
Friday I picked up Julie from the airport in the morning. Took the wrong road out and ended up on 95. Which was ok, because I could still figure out how to get home. It just took longer. She napped for a bit while I printed my poems and did some other organizing for the evening. Mom was very into reading on the deck. I tried to breath as I was starting to get anxious.
Mom, Julie, and I went to lunch at Brian Boru, an Irish place I recently discovered. It was pretty good, though I think the atmosphere would be a lot better on the weekend when there's live music.
Came home and got ready to head to Baltimore. John called and said he WAS coming home early (yay for home finally realizing I knew what was best) so we waited for him. Got to Baltimore at 5:00, as planned. I went to help set up for the reading, sending the rest of the gang to the bar.
A lot was already set up, but food needed to be put out, books put on display, programs put on chairs, etc. At some point, a tray of rotten vegetables filled the room with stink, so we made a run for incense. Body spray was also used, so the room had a lot going on. But it all evened out and was fine my the time people started getting there.
The reading went great. I had a lot of support there (thanks guys!). I was nervous for awhile, but had enough wine that I was chilled. I would have liked to have gone earlier (I was 12th) but someone really needed to switch with me. Of course, I was wonderful. Hopefully no one noticed (much) when I messed up. I know I did a few times, but some of them may not have been noticeable unless you were reading along. Hopefully we get a video one of these days.
Went to Dionysus after for drinks. We all drank way to much. I was singing Mama Mia all the way home. Poor John! Also when we got home we had a minor plumbing problem which ended up causing the fire alarm to go off. So drunk Melissa (though I was quickly sober when there was a flood) and sober John were taking care of the house at 1am. Still, we try to forget this part of the evening.
Saturday was mostly a recovery day. We were lazy all day, though we did try to get a massage. They had no openings, though. Had a very nice cook out of BBQ chicken and corn on the cob. Then Mom, Julie, and I went to see Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Kind of cute, but I feel like something was missing.
To be continued...
MFA Reading!
I'm officially finished with graduate school and now have my MFA! My book of poems, River Under Metal, made it's debut at our final reading.
Flowers from my brother and sister-in-law
My book on display
Me reading
Me and my professor, Kendra
Me and John
At the bar, after, with Julie
more from the bar
Flowers from my brother and sister-in-law
My book on display
Me reading
Me and my professor, Kendra
Me and John
At the bar, after, with Julie
more from the bar
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Last class
Tonight's my last class in grad school. How crazy is that? As a classmate pointed out, it's not yet real. I have my books and that's exciting. But I have so much going on that I haven't digested anything. I know I had all kinds of plans for what would happen when I finished school, but at the moment I don't know what any of them are. And I haven't yet started to think that some of these people will no longer be a part of my life.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Wow
My mom will be here tomorrow!
Julie will be here Friday!
I wonder if anyone is going to buy me a cake.
I got Cardinals tickets for when I'm home. (Though, wow, way to be expensive, Cardinals.)
My grandparents lectured my mom on all the things her kids are doing wrong. I think I was a large part of that. Bring on the drama.
I biked 4.5 miles last night. That makes up for my lack of physical activity all weekend, I guess.
I really need to practice reading my poems. Don't want to sound silly.
I need to get a lot of wine for this weekend.
I still don't know what to wear on Friday.
Or to Evan's graduation.
Today I was thinking how much my books are like my babies. And I am ready to send them out into the world. Somehow I picture my books going off to their first day of Kindergarten. So exciting!
Julie will be here Friday!
I wonder if anyone is going to buy me a cake.
I got Cardinals tickets for when I'm home. (Though, wow, way to be expensive, Cardinals.)
My grandparents lectured my mom on all the things her kids are doing wrong. I think I was a large part of that. Bring on the drama.
I biked 4.5 miles last night. That makes up for my lack of physical activity all weekend, I guess.
I really need to practice reading my poems. Don't want to sound silly.
I need to get a lot of wine for this weekend.
I still don't know what to wear on Friday.
Or to Evan's graduation.
Today I was thinking how much my books are like my babies. And I am ready to send them out into the world. Somehow I picture my books going off to their first day of Kindergarten. So exciting!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Flood
So, there was a water main break in Baltimore today which caused one road to be flooded. Which means roads were closed, traffic was a mess, etc. Of course, there were also two accidents this morning, one on my route to work. After an hour in the car, I realized it would be another hour, at least, until I got to work. So I turned around. They are still saying it'll be terrible during evening rush hour, so I guess it's good that I didn't try to fight and get in to work. Even though this means not going to the Orioles game.
Internet was out at work, also, so I couldn't even work from home. So I had a lazy morning. But I am taking off so much in May that I really needed to work.
Luckily, some people have internet at work now, so I have a few files coming to me that I can work on this afternoon. So I'll only be out half a days work.
Here's hoping traffic issues are resolved by tomorrow morning.
Internet was out at work, also, so I couldn't even work from home. So I had a lazy morning. But I am taking off so much in May that I really needed to work.
Luckily, some people have internet at work now, so I have a few files coming to me that I can work on this afternoon. So I'll only be out half a days work.
Here's hoping traffic issues are resolved by tomorrow morning.
Monday, April 27, 2009
On my mind
Do I have enough time to go to the Cardinals game the Sunday I'm home?
Do I really want to see certain people I already said I'd see?
How tired will I be Weds after I go to the Orioles game tomorrow (and don't get home until 11 or later)?
My hair currently looks cute in a ponytail. That's unusual.
I biked (stationary bike) 4 miles today! But I only pushed myself for the last 5 minutes.
How will I entertain my guests when we're not at the reading?
Do I really want to see certain people I already said I'd see?
How tired will I be Weds after I go to the Orioles game tomorrow (and don't get home until 11 or later)?
My hair currently looks cute in a ponytail. That's unusual.
I biked (stationary bike) 4 miles today! But I only pushed myself for the last 5 minutes.
How will I entertain my guests when we're not at the reading?
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