Ugh. I wanted to write a response to this list that was eloquent, but after ranting to my aunt about it from Philadelphia to Delaware Saturday night (and I assure you she didn't care one bit but was quite amused by my anger). But Mayumi already did it, and did it quite well. Anna over at Jezebel had a nice send up too, I checked over at the Huff Post and they have a poll going on about who's right. Jezebel (aka "Girls") or Shavani. The Girls are winning.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Seriously, it doesn't take much...
to cheer me up. On my way back east, I stopped to visit my friends Jen and Patrick in Ann Arbor, MI. I love this town for many reasons, but they are the top two!
To help me cope with leaving Iowa (Weird right? I mean I seriously had a hard time leaving Iowa for the east coast. Who knew that would happen?) They greeted me with this dinner:
This meal was love. I arrived in Ann Arbor, tired, emotional and in a wrinkled party dress after having driven for 8 hours. I also ate anchovies for the first time. Yummy.
The following night we had this deliciousness. From the cookbook Modern Moroccan. Once I start making money, and have a kitchen, I'm buying this book.
Then it was my turn. I kept it simple with a recipe I really like that combines my love of all things Italian with pork and sage.
Then there is a restaurant in Ann Arbor that I love called the Jolly Pumpkin which offers these yummy selections:
I will learn to make these (the martini). Mayumi over at May in the Bay is all about making the perfect gin martini. This is one of my goals. After becoming an awesome teacher, guidance counselor, novelist, etc.
Oh yeah, and this was the very delicious Manhattan Patrick made for me during Mad Men.
Jen said, "What should we do with this fresh melon?" and I said. "Make margaritas?" Patrick got to work.
Last one, I swear. Somewhere in all this for lunch we had a simple Italian meal, on of my favorites in fact. Perfect summer food. Also another good use of melon.
That's it. There are no pictures of the Zingerman's sandwiches but rest assured they looked as good as they tasted.
To help me cope with leaving Iowa (Weird right? I mean I seriously had a hard time leaving Iowa for the east coast. Who knew that would happen?) They greeted me with this dinner:
 | |||
| Baked salmon with veggies in some yummy anchovy sauce. The beverage of choice? Pink Champagne. |
This meal was love. I arrived in Ann Arbor, tired, emotional and in a wrinkled party dress after having driven for 8 hours. I also ate anchovies for the first time. Yummy.
The following night we had this deliciousness. From the cookbook Modern Moroccan. Once I start making money, and have a kitchen, I'm buying this book.
 | |||||||||||
| Roasted chicken with a saffron, apricot, and poppyseed sauce accompanied by a saffron rosewater risotto. |
 | ||
| Pork and beef sage (plus some other yumminess inside)meatballs over rigatoni. |
Then there is a restaurant in Ann Arbor that I love called the Jolly Pumpkin which offers these yummy selections:
 |
| Truffle salted french fries. |
 |
| Strawberry Balsamic Martinis |
Oh yeah, and this was the very delicious Manhattan Patrick made for me during Mad Men.
 | |||
| Mad Manhattan |
 | |||||||||
| Fresh melon margarita |
 | ||||
| Proscuitto e melone |
This is about Writing
My first story has been accepted for publication (more details when I get them). Needless to say I am overjoyed. A week after this good news fell into my lap, an agent with whom I'd been sharing some emails and eventually, the same story, contacted me to tell me she enjoyed the read. Always nice for a writer to hear. She asked for a synopsis of the novel in stories in progress and I mailed that off with promises of a few sample stories/chapters.
My novel is in a weird place these days. All my writing feels as if it's in a weird place. My novel in particular is in desperate need of editing. I know that if I just sat down with it for two days and did nothing else, I could probably figure things out, which would allow me to continue with the narrative. I want a draft by December dammit! A complete (if largely unedited) draft!
On top of it all, I'm kind of in between homes, about to start a new job and all my papers are buried underneath boxes of clothing a books in my car. AND I'm all tied up in writing my Iowa story about New Yorkers who move to Coralville from New York City in search of a better life only to get there just as the river was rising in June 2008. Whoops....(FYI: Coralville, the little town next to my first apartment in Iowa City was flooded, destroying the strip. It was so close and so flooded that when I saw pictures of it on CNN, I was sure they were talking about some other Iowa place and not half a mile from my house).
My novel is in a weird place these days. All my writing feels as if it's in a weird place. My novel in particular is in desperate need of editing. I know that if I just sat down with it for two days and did nothing else, I could probably figure things out, which would allow me to continue with the narrative. I want a draft by December dammit! A complete (if largely unedited) draft!
On top of it all, I'm kind of in between homes, about to start a new job and all my papers are buried underneath boxes of clothing a books in my car. AND I'm all tied up in writing my Iowa story about New Yorkers who move to Coralville from New York City in search of a better life only to get there just as the river was rising in June 2008. Whoops....(FYI: Coralville, the little town next to my first apartment in Iowa City was flooded, destroying the strip. It was so close and so flooded that when I saw pictures of it on CNN, I was sure they were talking about some other Iowa place and not half a mile from my house).
Traveling Woman II: The Stats
Miles Traveled: 1,031
Hours Spent in the car: 19 (over two days)
# of stops made along the way: 9 (4 to Michigan, 5 to Pennsylvania)
Party Dresses Worn While Driving: 2
Color of Sunglasses: Neon Green
Cups of Coffee: 6 (this seems absurdly low)
States Driven Through: 6--Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania
# of Fast food stops: mercifully only 2
# Times I broke down in Tears while Driving: 2 1/2 (Why is "The Way We Were" on a mix in my car?")
Knitting projects completed: 1 (Yay Traveling Woman Scarf!)
Zingerman's sandwiches: 2 delicious #44's in two days. That's $30 worth of sandwiches. Best $30 I spent!
#of Pages Written: 2 before I realized I am not in the state of mind to work on my Iowa story
# of Hearts broken along the way: 1, mine. I miss you Iowa.
Hours Spent in the car: 19 (over two days)
# of stops made along the way: 9 (4 to Michigan, 5 to Pennsylvania)
Party Dresses Worn While Driving: 2
Color of Sunglasses: Neon Green
Cups of Coffee: 6 (this seems absurdly low)
States Driven Through: 6--Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania
# of Fast food stops: mercifully only 2
# Times I broke down in Tears while Driving: 2 1/2 (Why is "The Way We Were" on a mix in my car?")
Knitting projects completed: 1 (Yay Traveling Woman Scarf!)
Zingerman's sandwiches: 2 delicious #44's in two days. That's $30 worth of sandwiches. Best $30 I spent!
#of Pages Written: 2 before I realized I am not in the state of mind to work on my Iowa story
# of Hearts broken along the way: 1, mine. I miss you Iowa.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
This is not about Writing, Reading, or Knitting.
If I were to say that on Saturday I didn't shed a single tear as I left Iowa City, I'd be lying. I woke up crying, feeling frantic and downright uncertain that I could make the move. I'm getting ahead of myself.
Last week was one of the more interesting weeks I've ever had in Iowa City. I somehow found myself partnered up with someone. Like together nearly 24 hours a day partnered up. It is and it isn't what you think. But there was a level of intimacy there that I don't believe I've ever experienced. I'm not very good at relationships. I usually want too much from the other person, or I don't want anything and it frustrates my partner. This time, I didn't put any thought into, just dove right in. What are we having for brunch? Will you pick up a ginger ale? Can you move over? Where are my sunglasses? What time should I pick you up from work? What should we watch? I'm too tired. I'm stressed out. What are we doing tonight? Who was on the phone? Why didn't you call me back? Thank you. No thank you. Ours, not mine, not yours, ours. This was my week. And the intensity of a week like this escaped me until I woke up alone on my last morning in Iowa.
I'm not saying that I fell in love as I was leaving town, that's far from what happened, but I did realize how much in love I was with my life in that town and with the people who were part of that life. I don't remember feeling this way when I left New York for Iowa--perhaps because I had a strong idea of what I as in for. I was going to train to be a writer. To become someone who made literature. Yes, it was a daunting task, but it was one that made sense, and I had a clear idea of what I was getting into and seven months to prepare. This time around, I had less than half the time and half the confidence. I know what my job is going to be I just have no idea how I'm going to do it. My fauxmance (what else do you call it?) was the perfect excuse to not deal with any of these feelings and yet, it created a whole new set of emotions.
I learned a few things about myself in this last week an the most important one seems to be my complete inability to recognize intimacy, whether it's real or the kind that shields me from dealing with reality. It was much easier to walk around holding his hand than to pack up my life. It was much easier to spend time with him than my friends, because he's "super cute" (and he was) and I'm not attached to him, he won't make me cry.
So put it on the list of things I need to improve on as I continue on this new journey.
As for the Fauxmance? We're friends right now, we might see each other in a week or so or we might not. And that is okay.
Last week was one of the more interesting weeks I've ever had in Iowa City. I somehow found myself partnered up with someone. Like together nearly 24 hours a day partnered up. It is and it isn't what you think. But there was a level of intimacy there that I don't believe I've ever experienced. I'm not very good at relationships. I usually want too much from the other person, or I don't want anything and it frustrates my partner. This time, I didn't put any thought into, just dove right in. What are we having for brunch? Will you pick up a ginger ale? Can you move over? Where are my sunglasses? What time should I pick you up from work? What should we watch? I'm too tired. I'm stressed out. What are we doing tonight? Who was on the phone? Why didn't you call me back? Thank you. No thank you. Ours, not mine, not yours, ours. This was my week. And the intensity of a week like this escaped me until I woke up alone on my last morning in Iowa.
I'm not saying that I fell in love as I was leaving town, that's far from what happened, but I did realize how much in love I was with my life in that town and with the people who were part of that life. I don't remember feeling this way when I left New York for Iowa--perhaps because I had a strong idea of what I as in for. I was going to train to be a writer. To become someone who made literature. Yes, it was a daunting task, but it was one that made sense, and I had a clear idea of what I was getting into and seven months to prepare. This time around, I had less than half the time and half the confidence. I know what my job is going to be I just have no idea how I'm going to do it. My fauxmance (what else do you call it?) was the perfect excuse to not deal with any of these feelings and yet, it created a whole new set of emotions.
I learned a few things about myself in this last week an the most important one seems to be my complete inability to recognize intimacy, whether it's real or the kind that shields me from dealing with reality. It was much easier to walk around holding his hand than to pack up my life. It was much easier to spend time with him than my friends, because he's "super cute" (and he was) and I'm not attached to him, he won't make me cry.
So put it on the list of things I need to improve on as I continue on this new journey.
As for the Fauxmance? We're friends right now, we might see each other in a week or so or we might not. And that is okay.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Packing Up and Shipping Out...
...in 10 days anyway. Maybe 11 days. I'm shooting for 10. I've packed about 6 boxes, all books and for some reason, I keep committing myself to things that take me away from packing...College counseling, teaching children how to crochet....cooking for parties....Someone make me stop. But seriously, I guess it has to do with a reluctance to cut ties with certain elements of Iowa City. Now there are some things that I will eagerly leave behind, but there are a few things (mostly people) that I wish I could strap down to the roof of my car and make them come with me to B'more. Look forward to a bunch of posts where I complain about packing, being sad about moving, moving between elation and depression and how I'm going to learn to take certain things and cut them out of my heart (too dramatic? yeah, probably).
Monday, July 5, 2010
Detox
So I spent the last four days with a terrible summer cold. It totally knocked me on my ass. After ingesting too much high sodium chicken soup, NyQuil, and Theraflu (none of which really work by the way) I'm going on a detox. My lungs are still weak but I do feel a lot better and I'm excited to get things done. And there are a lot of things to get done.
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