A New Appening

During perhaps the most exciting and most pertinent time of my blog’s existence, where I don’t have to dredge up tangential thoughts and obscure anecdotes, I’ve accomplished exactly what should have been expected, of me, which is nothing.  It’s been a busy two weeks, not that it excuses me.  Actually, it makes it worse.  So here’s quick recap of my life over the past two weeks;

Friday: August 10:

I picked up my new-to-me car from the dealer, 2006 Optima, which I’ve naturally named Optima Prime—not the most original name, but it is the easiest.  Plus, I feel much cooler/ less lamer talking to my car, knowing that you know, he's more than meets the eye.

My car isn't red.  Other than that, this is a dead ringer.

Saturday- Sunday: August 11-12:

In a series of St. Louis-to-Columbia moves ranging in usage of Optima Prime, a 15-person van, and my brother, I moved to my new pad in Columbia—a three person house with less character than John Kerry (notice how I took the high road around Lord Mittington) and an odor of cleaning products masking, well, other smells.  Still, I’m living with a good friend from my AmeriCorps days and that makes all the difference.

Monday: August 13

I began my graduate school orientation where I was congratulated for getting in and then told to prepare to not have a life.  This was orated by a roly-poly character wearing glasses and a bowtie, hence, I can only assume that he holds a complete knowledge of all things colligate.  I then drove back to St. Louis to play my team’s ultimate Frisbee summer league championship game, stayed over night in St. Louis.  We won.  I didn’t get much sleep.

Tuesday: August 14

Drove back to Columbia at 6am to make it to orientation for my writing center assistantship.  During my first year in the program I will be working as a writing tutor in the university’s Student Success Center, where among other more achievable duties, I try to convince freshman not to begin essays with, “From the beginning of history…”

Friday: August 17

Started the weekend of department get-togethers where I learned to introduce myself by new name: “First-year MA in creative non fiction”.  I found lots of free food, which I’m finding as exceedingly important as a grad student, and met lots of people.  Hopefully, I remember most of them and at least three or four of them remember me.

That weekend:

More free food, some unpacking (some), and a lot of quiet, work-conducive time.  I'm guessing I should get used to that.

Monday: August 20

First day of class!  and I’m 27, and it was a night class so I’m not sure if that’s something I should get excited for.  With that in mind I took a picture and sent it to the parents so they could get excited for me. 

Visual approximation.

Wednesday: August 22

After getting all jazzed about my writing workshop on Monday, I had my first lit seminar, which knocked me on my academic ass.  It’s been many a moon since I’ve dwelled in the pages of Dickens and the Victorians, many a moon… The literary component of my MA program is the biggest difference between the “all workshop, all the time” MFA programs that I had applied to and probably my greatest challenge.  I recognized this dynamic before accepting my position, but really?  Really literature?

It’s been a fast two weeks in terms of work—I honesty think I’ve done more work in these few days than I’ve done over the past few months at my old job—and a slow one in terms of building a “normal life”, whatever that means now.

Over the past two years, I've become ingrained in the 9-5 world.  For eight hours a day I was living a pretty“meh” existence, slogging through it just to celebrate those hours I wasn’t there.  The trade off now, of course, is that I work all of the time, but it’s work that I enjoy (supposedly) and won’t suck my soul (theoretically).  I’m really excited to see if it works out!... because it’s too late to get out!

**Another reason/ excuse for my blog hiatus is my new facebook friends from grad school.  I’m just saying, my writing is already measured and weighed in class; I don’t need it judged on the Interwebs too.  Just saying, if you must read it, read it in secret, for my sanity.

More posts to come, perhaps, even in a timely manner!