Planning for 2012--The Reading Challenge

With the exception of Anna North's America Pacifica and Justin Torres' We the Animals, I haven't done as much reading as I would like. I'm finally reading The Yiddish Policeman's Union. I was pushed to get going on it so that I could sit in on classes with an11/12th grade English elective. I'm actually enjoying it quite a lot.

I have a lot of books I haven't read. Blame Iowa. Blame my book buying habits. Blame the insistence that I have a job and can no longer lounge about on my couch with a cup of coffee and a cigarette (on those days when I smoked, they were very, very, few) and get lost inside my books. There are so many things to blame but mostly, there never seems to be enough time. I have only knit one completed project this year. One. WTF? So....Next year, I'm knitting and I'm reading, and I'm writing.

Here's the starter list, the first 15 books that I'm going to attempt to tackle. Now, some of them are still in Iowa, some of them might be on their way as I write this. Some, I have yet to purchase.  I'll be adding and scratching off books from the list as I start reading. Since I decided not to join a formal reading challenge,--I couldn't find one I liked--I'm making my own. I'm calling it my: Read 100 Books from my TBR (to-be read) shelf, some of which might be considered "classic"works of literature and some I have not yet bought, Reading Challenge. 


(Feel free to make suggestions)


The Marriage Plot by Jeffery Eugenides
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
2666 by Roberto Bolano
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Endless Love by Scott Spencer
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Io no ho paura by Niccolo Ammaniti (in Italian, I'm going to be ambitious)
Netherland by Joseph O'Neill
Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Temple of My Familiar by Alice Walker
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai


I will also knit one complete project a month. On the docket: Socks, shawls, fingerless gloves and headbands. I will attempt to sell the things I knit.

Wish me luck.

Thanksgiving

This year I was fortunate enough to celebrate Thanksgiving twice. The first was on the actual day with my family in Philadelphia--always a treat, always full of laughter and really, really, good food. The second celebration was with the Airman and his sister's family. I cooked. It was my first time making Thanksgiving dinner and I hope it won't be the last time I do so.


The Menu:

A turkey, named Matthew McConaughey (whose name is really hard to spell), was brined in kosher salt and Cajun seasonings. For roasting, I peppered it and stuffed it with fresh rosemary and sage. The result was a juicy bird with the right amount of saltiness. Next time I think I'll give it another coating of seasoning just for fun.

Green beans with bacon (cooked decadently in bacon fat).

Garlic mashed potatoes.

Mac and Cheese (I was way too conservative with the cheese and apparently afraid of salt because it was good but needed more of both).

Stuffing (from a bag but with some extra yumminess). Not bad. but I've never been a stuffing person and I think it shows in the preparation.

A small roast beast (beef). This actually turned out really nicely. Perfectly flavored--the butter coating I gave it before and after coming out of the over didn't seem to hurt it much either....

And for dessert: My grandmother's sweet potato pudding. (It would usually be pie but there was a gluten issue so I just made it pudding. It's amazing either way.)

The evening was topped off with cocktails at the glamorous TGI Friday's and then The Muppets, which was as good as I expected it to be. Though by the time we made it to the 11:15 showing, I realized that cooking all  day (starting with the 4:30 AM flipping of the turkey), made me very, very tired.

Today I'm taking it easy with a latte, and a good book while The Airman sleeps (he's back on night shift so he sleeps all day and stays awake all night. As someone said to me recently, his Circadian rhythm is all fucked up).

I like these lazy Sunday mornings. Book. Coffee. Breakfast. Someone you love in the next room. I could easily get used to this.

BTW, this is Matthew:

Oh, hey, yeah...I'm here...

Where have I been? In my head I post here all the time. No seriously, in my head I think, "I should put this on the blog." It's very likely that I've convinced myself that think is the same as doing. Like I think about writing letters of recommendation and then I don't actually write them but I convince myself that I've done and, well, yeah.....So, where have been? Let's see. Mostly Baltimore, but there have been trips to New Orleans, Boston, Philadelphia, Delaware, Delaware, Delaware.

Back in September, I went to New Orleans for a conference. It had it's ups and downs. Ups: I was in freaking New Orleans! Downs: I was on antibiotics and had a sinus infection. I basically went to my conference and then went to bed. I did some writing but give me a few paragraphs before I get to writing.

After NOLA, we took some kids to visit colleges in Boston. 'Nuff said. Though, it should be noted that we had an amazing dinner, Mexican/Cajun. Who knew?

The Philadelphia/Delaware trips are all connected. My aunt, my mother's youngest sister got married this past Friday. A few things: Please, don't get married on a Friday, or, if you do, don't ask me to be in the wedding(unless you're family/someone who I really, really, really want to be a bridesmaid for--think carefully before answering this question).

And I straightened my hair for it. 

The wedding was lovely. Not to be overly sentimental, but I can't think of anyone who deserved to get married in such a lovely ceremony more.  And on top of that, I remember being a little girl and wanting so desperately to be in my aunt's wedding (at the time she was engaged to her high school sweetheart who died in a car accident when I was in the 8th grade). I got to put her veil on the evening of the wedding--I can't even tell you how emotional it was. I was thinking of her, her sisters, my uncle who passed away back in 2002, and my grandparents who weren't there. 

I feel bad for The Airman. I'm a bit wedding crazy, now. He knows it, is very patient with me about it, indulges me even. He actually watches Bridezillas and Say Yes to the Dress, with me. He's a bit of a saint that way. When I wake up from being supremely tired from all the wedding nonsense, I'll probably get over it. In the mean time....We're approaching the six-month mark, [Applause, please...Fucking clap. I've never been good at this!]  and when I tell him I'm bored, he says, "You could be doing something like, I don't know writing your novel." When he says this I don't want to slap him, so I guess it's love. I want to slap my mother when she says things like that. Truth.

Did I mention the time he showed up at my house with flowers, champagne, and Maker's Mark? Yeah, I'm really, really, lucky.

So, you wanna hear about writing? I've done some writing. This goes back to my time in NOLA. I spent most of the time I was there sick, like nasty sick. So on the last morning when my head was a little clearer, I took myself over to Cafe du Monde shortly after the sun rose. I ordered a cafe au lait and some beignets and let my powdered sugar fingers do some writing. NOLA is a beautiful city. I can see how many people are inspired by the place. It reminded me of many cities that I'd lived in. Cobblestones like Philadelphia; a city that stays awake like New York;  a rich artistic history (music) like Iowa City (literature); and a people that love their city like Baltimore. I don't know if I could live there, but it was so easy to write there. The words flowed. Pages and pages. I wrote until I had to leave for my flight.

I had a second order of beignets.

Dinner for the Airman

So it's been four months with the Airman. He's still here. That's saying a lot. Anyway. He's a tad under the weather these days so I wanted to do something nice for him. I thought about making what my friend Jen calls "Jewish penicillin" but I went the Pioneer Woman route instead and made shrimp scampi.

Now, my mother makes this dish fairly often and it tastes really, really, good. She also puts about a whole stick of butter in the pot. I can't live like that. I like that my heart beats (fairly) regularly. I used slightly less butter and a dry white that was on the sweeter side. The end result was a flavorful but light dish that I would love to make for a crowd.

Here are some photos.

 

I done good.

In more writerly type news, the date is being set very soon for the first Hampden Writers' Workshop!!! It will be a one day seminar. We are also planning an Open House so that prospective students can meet the teachers!

Hampden Writers' Workshop: Big News!

Hampden Writers' Workshop: Big News!: "I'm very pleased to announce that author Laura van den Berg has joined the Hampden Writers' Workshop! Laura van den Berg’s debut collectio..."

Instead of writing my novel...

I'm blogging. Or thinking about blogging. But I suppose that since I have begun a post and written at lest two sentences, I am, in fact, blogging.

I did have some editing momentum this afternoon. And I actually made it out of the house to get some work done. Though I feel I have been foiled by the internet (the cafe I work out of didn't have internet until recently). The internet and the missing edited pages and the short piece I know I wrote last year about the main female character having an affair with her Ethics Professor while she was in medical school. I know I wrote and I don't know if I can re-write it because the first time it came our so well...I was really, really, angry at men and it came out very well in the fiction. I know I have it somewhere and maybe when I start packing up my house I can take some time to go through the dozens of notebooks and legal pads I have that contain the remnants of my unfinished works.

But now, I'm going to go back to novel writing.

We we we so excited. So excited. Part II

What? There's more? Yes! There is more!

My dear friend Justin Torres has a story out in this week's  New Yorker. I am beyond proud and excited for him. The story is exquisite. I had the pleasure and privilege of being one of Justin's classmates back in the good old day's (or something like that) in Iowa.

Seeing the success of my peers always makes me feel like I too can accomplish big literary things.

Justin also speaks about his work with Willing Davidson, a New Yorker fiction editor. You can read that here.

Lastly, Justin's first book We The Animals (I've read it. It's awesome!) will be out at the end of August. I recently had drinks with a Pulitzer Prize winning writer and we both agreed that "Justin Torres is going to go very, very, far."

We we we so excited. So excited. Part I

Admittedly, I've watched the Friday video one too many times. Don't worry, this has nothing to do with the video or the lack of a verb. It's all about the Hampden Writer's Workshop. Next week will be the very first planning meeting between my new partner and I and I can't wait to unveil who the writer signing on will be. I'm thinking two weeks from now, and you'll know!

In other writing related news I've been working on a draft of a story I wrote about two years ago. I recently submitted it to the Summer Literary Seminar contest and while I didn't win or place even, I received a very nice note from the Seminar's director about how much he liked the submission. Add to that a 5 day stay in Wellfleet where the story takes place, I'm feeling very close to the work and the characters and I think that in the next couple of days I will have a draft that I'm really proud of. Perhaps What the Bay Broke will find a home in 2011!

In novel writing news...Meh. I'm a little more than frustrated. After having made a significant amount of edits to the manuscript, the manuscript has gone missing. Frustrating isn't the right word. I'm ever so slightly devastated. I'm trying to get over it and start working again, but my momentum is off. Next week, I'll sit down with the edits I had the chance to transfer onto the computer and start again. I have a feeling that I won't have a completed draft at the end of August as I had hoped. End of 2011? Yes, please, maybe?

Good Grief

Let me tell you how I spent my weekend...Friday, boyfriend and I are reunited after nearly two weeks (really, really hard, like I didn't know it would be that hard to be away from him). I go straight to him. Make dinner (he requested Indian I made Indian from a jar--sue me). We watch lots of Mad Men (please note, Boyfriend waited TWO weeks for finish season 1 of Mad Men even though I've seen it all. I just happened to mention that my favorite episode of the series came at the end of season 1. That's all). We are happy. Saturday: We sleep until 3, have dinner with his sister and her family and then see Harry Potter. Boyfriend knows me well so after movie he takes me to Borders (close-out sale--amazon or half.com still cheaper). He knows me really well so after Borders he takes me for beer. He knows me really, really well so back at his place we watch lots of It's Always Sunny. Sunday: Boyfriend brings me Dunkin Donuts, a latte and champagne for breakfast. After many hours we finally leave the house. I get a pedicure, I convince boyfriend to let the Black guys at the barber shop down the street cut his hair. We grocery shop. At his place, I make lunch, then I make dinner. We watch a lot of The Wire. I make a chicken, shrimp, paella type dish for dinner. More of The Wire.

Happiest weekend EVER. I cooked/prepared all but two of our meals and I did dishes this afternoon.

Who am I!?!?!? (answer: a very happy lady)

It's in the Desk

Sometimes I sit in front of my computer just thinking about writing. This infuriates me. It feels like wasted time, though somewhere in that mass of matter science calls a brain, I know that it’s not, in fact wasted time. In Iowa, I wasted time. Mostly because of the in-s and un-s: insecurity, uncertainty and unrequited love. Those are things I am good at. And with one phone call on a February afternoon, I’m supposed to be good at writing too. Since I moved to Baltimore, I don’t write as often as I did in Iowa. Life here moves differently, I move differently. The in-s and un-s are still there but they mean different, more urgent things. I still teach for a living but not in the same way I taught in Iowa. That is, I take it seriously but when I speak to my students it feels different. When I stand in front of a room full of ninth graders I become painfully aware that I’m laying down the foundation for what we tell them will be a life of learning. I’m teaching them about comma splices, verbal phrases, and the past participle. Things I had to re-learn over the summer and still, I feel uncomfortable with them (to the point where I really pay them no attention). In Iowa, I taught ideas more than anything. I offered my version of “What fiction is,” that is, I told them what my fiction was as though it was the standard and they believed me. Took notes even, as though they were going to be test later. There never was. But teaching about writing made me want to write more. As if I had something to prove to my students. I suppose I did.

In my apartment in Iowa City, there was more of an affectation to my writing time. I spent an hour preparing breakfast, turkey bacon, two hard boiled eggs, and a homemade latte if I was feeling healthy. I watched podcasts of the previous night’s Rachel Maddow because, of course, I didn’t have a television. When that was done, I sat down at my desk my dingy white macbook in front of me and what was left of my coffee to my right. When I first came to look at the apartment, I fell in love almost immediately. I can write in this space I thought. I can finish here. There was a little open sun porch, just enough room for a desk and a bookshelf. When I moved in I put the desk underneath two windows that looked out onto a little grassy hill where my neighbors often sat sunning themselves when the weather was nice. I lined up my favorite novels and the collection of How-to books on writing and achieving inner peace so I could have easy access to them as I wrote. I even put en empty vase on the left corner of the desk in case someone bought me flowers or I felt the urge to buy some for myself. I received flowers twice, on my 29th birthday from my parents and then again from James Alan McPherson on the occasion of my Grandfather’s death. I never put the flowers in a vase. I liked to sit at that desk and drink coffee, smoke forbidden cigarettes and eat red berries when I felt rich, which was only once a month and always in the first week when paychecks arrived. I even placed the framed photograph of Tina Fey from the writer’s strike in the space just behind my computer. I’m still not sure why.

In Baltimore, I write in coffee shops, usually one in particular, on The Avenue in Hampden where I live. They make a good latte and it’s usually quiet, although today, as I write this, it is unusually noisy. But it’s not working quite like that desk did. For some reason, without it I feel less like a writer and more like a teacher. Not that that is a bad thing. It just is. I loved sitting behind that wooden desk handed down to me from another workshopper. When I left, I did the same. Perhaps that’s the missing link to writing in Baltimore. The desk is still in Iowa.

Publication Update

Well Kittens,
It feels like I have it all: Good friends. Awesome boyfriend. New computer on the way. And...my first published short story.

You can read mystory Until the Heart Stops Beating in the current issue of the Hawaii Women's Journal...now! I'm really honored and excited to be part of such an amazing publication which was created by some Phenomenal Women.

You can read it here

Is there Such a Thing as a Happy Writer?

I was recounting the holiday weekend for a co-worker today and apparently there was something in my voice that sounded like, I don't know...happiness? My boss ( with whom I have a big brother/little sister relationship--i.e. a lot of teasing) said, "This won't do! A happy writer? Is that even allowed?" He was kidding, of course. There has been a lot of Khaliah teasing of late, what with my singing in the hallways of the school, wearing colors other than black, and the perpetual smile on my face--I can't say I'm not obnoxiously happier these days and people have taken notice. But the question of whether or not I, or anyone for that matter, can be a happy writer has stuck with me all day.

Think about the subject matter of some of the greatest novels and stories ever written, they tend to be tales of death, lost loves, unrequited loves, war and other such sadness. My own work tends to take on the darker things in life, even my comedic writing involves dead goldfish and a break-up. Much of that work came about when I was in the throes of one failing love affair or another. Or I was dealing with a less than ideal work situation. Or someone had died. Basically, all the shitty things life serves up, I took and turn it into my art. That's natural. That's whatvwe do. I'm not saying that the introduction of this new element into my life has blocked out all the shit and dirt that makes up our existence. I'm not saying that I
no longer have feelings of self doubt, or that all of a sudden I'm loving life. I mean I am, but not any more or less than before. And because it's still new and somewhat undefined, there's a whole new element of anxiety that's latched itself onto my female brain (you can't
see it but I'm sticking my tongue out at this whole liking a boy thing).

So there's a slight chance I'm looking at things a little differently. And maybe that makes me nervous for my art. Just a little. My school year is ending in a few days. I mean, I'll still
have to work through the 17th and then I'll have two weeks of vacation before I start my new contract (y'all I'm back to working 12 months a year with only a month of summer vacay). I'm
planning on getting a new computer and putting myself to work. But should things continue as
they are, should I remain happy and excited about the prospects that lay before me where is
the pain going to come from? And how will it make it's way onto the page? Sure, I haven't
forgotten the last 15 years, but they seem so far away these days.

So, can a writer be happy and still create literature that is reflects the humsn condition (whatever that may be)? I suppose I'll find out soon.

Summertime

Well, today I taught my last official classes. Tomorrow I'll do an exam review session for 40 minutes per block but in terms of actual, teaching time--I'm done! Year one is down. And as soon as I catch up on all the grading I have to do and writing my exam, and grading that exam, and finishing the last of my family meetings, I will be free to work intermittedly throughout the summer (I made the possibly crazy decision to go full time college guidance next year, teach one English class and advise the yearbook).  So I only have four weeks of vacation as opposed to two months, but I'll spread it around so I feel good about the amount of time I spend in office. Plus, there won't be any kids, and I'll get to write most of my letters of recommendation. But most importantly, I'll write. I'm talking novel pages people. The current goal is to finish a draft before school starts on Spetember 7th. Considering I think I'm only 90 pages away, this feels more than doable.

The only possible stumbling block? My plans to be a summer vampire with the boy I'm dating.

That's right. This dating cynic is dating. Contrary to my previous beliefs and experiences, not all men suck. Just the majority.

Where have I been?

I'm not even sure how to answer that question. Life has been happening at a faster speed than I'm used to after my life in Iowa. I'm just going to go down the list.

Travel

Mostly I've been hanging around Baltimore but I did manage to have a busy spring break in March: Philadelphia, New York City, New Haven, New York, and back to Baltimore. In April I went to San Francisco for the wedding of a dear friend from Iowa (more on that later). And just last week I visited Jackson, Mississippi and Millsaps College--more on that too. So it's been an eventful travel season.

Writing

Um....okay truth be told not a lot of fresh work coming out except in revision form. But, I have revised about 80% of the first half of my novel. I'm rather proud of the changes.

Knitting
Finished some socks...bought some yarn....not really knitting. It looks like I'll be spending summer alternating between knitting and writing.

What else do I do?

Teaching? First year is ays away from being over!!!

Dating?

Yes.

Hampden Writers' Workshop: Editors and Editing

Hampden Writers' Workshop: Editors and Editing: "This is something I am still learning about in the publishing world: Editors. I'm fourtunate enough to have had my first experience be a goo..."

Good Health Habits=Productivity?

Well, I'm a week into my no whole grains no alcohol lifestyle and in this week I have begun to re-write sections of my novel, finish an edit of my story that is going to be published in the March issue of the Hawaii Women's Journal. Then had a moment of inspiration after talking to Ann, one of the editors of Bound Off and wrote another, hopefully better revision. I finished a pair of socks, started working on finishing another pair, and began baby brother's birthday fingerless gloves (the poor baby works outside).

And I lost 8 pounds.

Feeling like a rockstar this Sunday after throwing myself a pity party for one last night.

Kill me now.

It's Saturday night and I'm home watching Bette Midler's Las Vegas show, knitting and waiting for my underwear to dry so I can go to bed. And I filled out an online dating profile.

#imisshavingalife

Dinner Break

Well, I'm on a little health kick. Not, resolution for a new year health kick, but really thinking about the food I eat. It's been a huge problem since I started my new job. Faculty lounges a full of sugar, carbs, and other high fat items. It makes sense when you think about it. Teachers get up early, go to bed late, and in the hours in betwee, you're doing shit. It's the msot exhausting job I've ever had. No wonder we consume sugar at the most insane rate I've ever seen. Sometimes it feels like you need it to get through the next hour.

For 30 days, I'm doing a little experiment. Little to no sugar, little to no whole grains and no alcohol. That last part is actually the hardest part. I love a good glass of wine, or a smooth martini, or a nice frothy beer. Especially after a day at school.

The other day I recounted the healthy and delicious dinner I made the other night. Yesterday it was my very light take on beef with steamed broccoli topped with low sodium soy sauce. Tonight? Salmon cooked on top of the stove with a little olive oil and a lot of steam, some avocado lightly salted and some steamed spinach.

What I didn't eat today? The bagels and cream cheese at work (easy because I don't LOVE bagels) and the blueberry muffin tops (which I do LOVE). I had a bite of the cherry gluten free deserty type thing one of my co-workers made but only after ascertainging the ingredients. And seriously, only a bite.

This is easier than it sounds and mostly it's about me being less lazy than I usually am. The post New Year's Rush at the gym should be over so I'm going to join some time next week. In the mean time....A picture of dinner (sorry it's the phone camera. I couldn't find my regular camera):

No More Resolutions: A Recipe

I didn't really make a respolution this year. I don't think I really made one last year either. I'm just making some small changes here and there so I can continue to make myself happier.

I generally cook pretty healthy food...although I do have a weakness for coconut milk based curries...Yum!

Tonight I made a "Pasta" all'inverno. Now, I'm not a huge fan of winter. In fact, it's my least favorite time of year. I love springtime and the dish I think of most when I think of my favorite season, is pasta primavera. Simple Italian fare but good.

Tonight I made my own little bit of springtime, only it's winter so I called it "pasta" all'inverno--winter pasta instead. So why the quotation marks around the pasta part? Well, I didn't use any pasta for this dish.

in order to make the dish healthier I took a couple of zucchini and sliced it lengthwise and super thin. An easy way to do this is to use a potato peeler and then slice those pieces so that they look like noodles.

You can also make real pasta (just less of it) and mix it with the zucchini "pasta".

I made my standard tomato sauce:

Olive oil, freah garlic, onion and then add the tomatoes--roughly chopped.
Add salt and pepper as needed.

When the tomatoes are nearly cooked down into a sauce, add the zucchini "pasta".
Earlier you should have tossed your peeled and deveined shrimp in some salt, pepper, and olive oil. Add the shrimp and cook until pink. I would have added basil but it's winter and all the basil at the market looked gross. I did add some spinach for that little extra green kick! .

Oh and I was in the mood for a little arrabbiata so I added in some crushed red chilli pepper.

In Memory of 2010

I thought I would just give a quick rundown on the goings-on of 2010 before I take on 2011. Let's see...

2010 started out with a little bit of a broken heart and very broken knee. And yet, I managed to make it out to Michigan in the eary days of the year to celebrate birthdays with my dear Jen and Patrick. My knee was slightly healed by then but I successfully managed to re-injure it swordfighting at two in the morning because, I'm awesome like that.

In March, Little German Girl Number 2 aka Liebescroissant came to visit Iowa City. Then Batch came to Iowa city. Then Wifey came to Iowa City. And I remembered just how loved I was.

Sometime in between all those visits from friends, I began the job search.
And I turned 30. And I got to celebrate other with other good friends as they turned 30. We drank lots of champagne because that's what you do when you turn 30.


In 2010 I worked as a college professor (Assistant Adjunct, but still, I was an honest to god professor). I made the difficult decision to leave Iowa City behind in the hopes of finding a new home and a new life on the East Coast. And with that new life came a new job title. I decided I would teach high school. I interviewed in New York, Philadelphia and then, Baltimore where I would ultimately find my home.


Summer of 2010: I had a month-long adventure with and Italian Lady, a FFrench neuro scientist, a Greek architecht, and the founder of a local Opera. We drank lots of champagne and had dance parties and dinner parties and general happiness and merry making.

I TA'd another summer class at the workshop and made more, lovely, and talented friends.

I co-habitated for the first time with a partner(of sorts). It was only a week but it was a LONG week. (Won't be repeating that anytime soon)

I made my last road trip (for a while) from Iowa City to Philadelphia making one stop in Ann Arbor

In 2010 I took up residence in Four states. Iowa for 7 months, Pennsylvania for 2 weeks, Delaware for a month, and then Maryland.

I met a psychic who told me I would be a successful writer. Seriously, she walked up to me on a New York City street and said "You're a writer and you're going to be very successful." I'm going to take her word for it.
My first story will be published in March of 2011. The first step is always the hardest.

I threw about 4 pretty awesome parties in my places of residence in both Baltimore and Iowa City.

I came up with an idea and outline for a second novel. And then a third.
I discovered Battlestar Galactica. I began my first sweater. I taught my first semester of high school.

I ended 2010 with my heart intact and renewed sense of excitement.