Faith, Hope, and Love

Costa Rica is known for it's coffee. But coffee wasn't originally grown in Costa Rica. In fact, for many years, Costa Ricans didn't know what to do with the plant. It just sat around and looked pretty on the countryside until some European showed that it'd be a good way to make some money. So, who first discovered that coffee could be a delectable drink that can give you a burst of energy to jump start your day and keep you moving when you're sluggish? Here a retelling of the tale I learned: Once there was a young African goat farmer. Each day he would guide his goats across the mountain ranges, allowing the to graze on whatever plants were available. Life was simple, and each day passed with little activity.   One day, however, he noticed one of his goats was a little more active then the rest. She bucked and kicked her back heels up a lot. She nipped at the other goats. And she always seemed ready to play, instead of lazily grazing like the rest of the her...

So, last night I had a mini panic attack. I was in the process of going through my checklist for UT-Austin and Ohio State University--you know, dotting my i's and crossing my t's--and checking to see if the application materials had to be  received by December 15, or just postmarked (I was kind of hoping that maybe if I had one more day, I could include the new version of "Ruined," too). UT stressed that it must be received by, and OSU said postmarked. Except, then I noticed that on their website, OSU had the deadline listed as December 1. My heart stopped. I was pretty positive that I saw December 15 on their website when I was first creating my list of schools, where had this December 1 date come from? I was 13 days late! I didn't know if I should cry, scream, rip out my hair, put on ashes and sackcloth... . I had spent like $40 dollars requesting transcripts, $23 on a GRE score, pestered my recommenders to 'get on it!' AND just 4 days ago, on Decemb...

Today is December 13th. On December 15th, in two days, five of my 12 MFA applications are due. Three, thankfully, are entirely submittable online. I just have to hit "enter" before 11:59pm Wednesday night. The other two, I actually have submitted applications for already. But they require me to mail in my writing samples. To some degree, this upsets me. It means I can't work until the last minute tweaking sentences, replacing verbs, etc. I actually have to get to the post office tomorrow, with two packets of writing I'm proud enough to let represent me. Tomorrow. So far, I'm sufficiently happy with one story. It's a re-write of a story called "Laundry Day." It started out as a short vignette (which you can read here ) and now has grown to be a 7-page story about a girl and her sisters preparing for the big move to Nigeria. It's the only one that I feel is in a good enough place to stop and say, "you can be submitted." I've als...

It's official. I signed up for the National Novel Writing Month (a.k.a. NaNoWriMo ). This means I have 30 days to write 50,000 words or more, successfully completing a novel. I have no outline. No characters. No ideas. Okay... some ideas. But nothing really developed. I kind of decided to do this on a whim. I've had a few friends take up the challenge in previous year, and have been tempted to join, but always had some excuse as to why I couldn't do it. Well, I was seeing a lot of promo for it and then a friend of mine said she was doing it and asked me to add her as a writing buddy. And that's when I took the plunge. I've found a few tools to help me, too: Google's Writing Nook  and Scrivener .  And maybe along the way, I'll figure out what I'm sending as my writing sample(s) for my MFA applications! Wish me luck for next month! (And feel free to keep me accountable.)

It took a week or so, but I finally am able to use my computer again! The virus is gone! Granted I had to completely wipe my memory and am starting from scratch, more or less... but in a way, that's refreshing. It's a clean slate, and new beginning. And that's where I am in my life in general. A misguided judgement led to things falling apart. And so, "let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start." Over the last few weeks, I've begun to feel liberated in a way. And this past week without my computer has really given me time to actual live life and think about it in a new way versus trying to work out a system that had obviously collapsed around me. For one, I've officially decided to go for my MFA next fall and with a renewed computer plan to right fervently and furiously until December 1st when the first deadline hits. I'm still trying to decide if I should go for 12 programs, or lower the list down a bit. But with my par...

I've finally gotten through the list of the Top 50 MFA programs in the U.S. I was discussing my pursuit with a friend and wondering if I being foolish to go for the top  programs only. After all, those are a lot more competitive, and therefore my chances of acceptance are lower. And unlike when I applied for graduate school, I only plan to do this once. If I don't get in this year... I won't be applying again. Or at least not any time soon. We both came to the consensus that if I'm not good enough to get into any of the top programs, maybe I shouldn't be going for my MFA in the first place. I want the best training I can get, so why not go for the best? From the 50, I've narrowed down my choices based on location, program offerings, and the provision of full funding (I already owe a hefty sum from my undergraduate and graduate degree... no more loans for me!). All of the deadlines are between December 1st to January 15th, some require the GRE, and all require...

I've been a member of Fictionpress since 2006--I joined shortly after finishing undergrad, when I was trying to figure out "what's next" and was often bored and lonely in Oklahoma. Mostly I spent my time reading and reviewing other people's work (primarily my friend Tatiana Moore ), but occasionally I'd post my own stuff. I haven't updated my FP account since 2008, but today I decided I'd use it to post any vignettes or short stories I end up writing over the next couple of months (or longer). I have so many books that offer writing prompts and exercises and stuff (plus, I often pick up more at the library). My plan has been to do at least one exercise/prompt a day. However, I won't post all of them. I may also re-visit some of the novel-length projects I had been working on all those years ago. At least one of them is very important to me and I actually want to see completed. So we'll see what happens... Today I posted two "chapte...

I am the ultimate slacker. Or at least, I think that I am. I've had so many plans and goals and ideas and projects... and haven't made a move on any of them. My excuse is that after running after a bunch of kids for four hours each day, I'm beyond exhausted to begin evening thinking  about anything besides taking a nap and vegging out in front of the TV. Today, for instance, I came home, watched the end of The Rookie , ate some left over pizza, finished reading "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" (first time, and a very good read!), and then proceeded to take five or six hour nap. Tomorrow was supposed to be my day off, and I envisioned I'd begin on something useful. But then I noticed missed calls on my phone, which turned out to be a co-worker wanting me to work for her tomorrow. So now I'm working form 1-5pm. And since I most likely won't even get out of bed before 9am... my day is shot. (Not really, but if I follow my current trend, nothing useful will...

In 2006, I got my bachelor's degree. In 2008, I finished my master's. Two-thousand and nine? Spent three months in an alternative teaching certification course. And now in 2010, I'm thinking I went about this whole education thing the wrong way and need even more  school. To be fair, I don't think any of my degrees, or classes, have been useless. I believe ultimately they will all play a role in what I do long-term in life and each class was training to help me succeed. But I also feel like none of it has geared me for what I really want to do... especially since I'm feeling a little confused on that myself. Right now I'm on the fence about going after my MFA in Creative Writing or not. If you asked me what I wanted to be when I was five-year-old, I probably would have said Anne of Green Gables. Something about red hair, green-grey eyes, and being a quirky Canadian sounded ideal to me. I no longer want to be Anne--or at least not literally. I've always...