check marks the box.

although this is not cause for celebration

per-se, yesterday was my last day interning at

Atlanta magazine. i feel so lucky for the opportunity

to work with and get to know such a knowledgeable

expert staff, who not only make a really great magazine

but are all amazing writers and editors, too. 

keep up the good work Atlanta magazine!

and maybe i'll get to work with you again one day!

my congratulatory homecoming last night: 

this is real life

an itty bitty byline in Atlanta magazine!

so here's the thing. i got my undergraduate degree

in journalism and i thought i didn't want to do that. 

but then here i am again, doing it, and i'm starting to

think that i didn't really know what i want. and probably

 i never will. cause yesterday i was thinking  

a phd in history! yeah! 

seriously. who am i kidding? i obviously just

need to get the heck out of school and write.

:)

lunch al fresco

pretending it's summer (again). 

i decided to take myself outside today, 

to soak up a little extra vitamin d...

i've been feeling a little out of sorts, maybe or

maybe not due to some writer's block,

and i think being out in the sunlight really helped.

exercising afterward didn't hurt either. 

i think i'd like to live somewhere where it's sunny

and nice outside a lot of the time.

who's with me?

lookout world,

i have a story assignment. 

remember the reference to bouquets of pencils in you've got mail?

i want one. only, can it be a bouquet of black pilot G2 07s?

bring it on.

... 

p.s. and on another note, we have wifi again!

weekend recap

pretty much all i did this weekend was write, 

write and try to write some more. 'try to' being

the key words. but i did make progress. that's

what matters. i'm also reading another really

inspiring book, which i'll tell you about later.

there was also:

1. sleeping in on saturday in the in-laws' guest room

2. breakfast en famille this morning thanks to marvin

3. booking our hotel reservations for nyc in january

heard enough about writing yet?

in-between watching it almost rain

today, i wandered around barnes & noble

reading pieces of a few promising books like this

(currently on my wish list) and writing, writing. 

it was a getting back on the horse kind of 

writing day. an uphill both ways, mountain-

climbing writing day. but that's okay. 

my chief triumph of the day (i think) was 

resisting a nap and plowing forward.

it's nice to be successful, even in the small things:)

via

just the beginning

writing.

this semester is quite unlike the previous 

semesters in that i have no formal classes. 

besides my internship, i'm doing an indepedent

study with one of my professors, and i've decided

to write a piece of fiction (which i'm hoping will

be good enough for my thesis). maybe you remember

that i started working on a writing project this

summer. my goal was to write everyday for

90 days and actually finish the story. it didn't happen,

but i'm trying not to beat myself up about it. 

i do, at least, have a start. and that's something.

now, i'm just trying to pick it back up.

it's quite tough. 

some days i wonder why i chose to study 

writing. i wonder why i didn't want to do something

in the medical field (esp. since nearly everyone

i know does), or why i couldn't have done something

more physical, like painting or cleaning houses. 

sometimes, physical labor sounds just so easy 

compared to writing. i know it really isn't,

and i'm sure i'd get tired of it. but sometimes, 

i'd rather do anything other than sit at my computer/

notebook and try to string together two words.

anyhow, here i am. plugging away. maybe, i'll share

some of my insights/struggles along the way (if i'm

not already worn out with the putting of the words

together;). i have no inspiration today, so if you have

any extra, feel free to send some my way!

the essentials.

way to go class!

launch party!

last quarter i was in a class that collaborated with

local publication, Atlanta INtown, to produce their

july issue, you may remember me talking about that. 

well, tonight we had a little launch party for the 

issue. it looks beautiful, thanks to another

SCAD student who did the cover illustration. 

and i'm proud to say that i have my name

in print in a real-life, bonafide newspaper. 

yessiree, folks. better get your autographs now.

they might be worth something someday. ;)

i want to take a moment to express my frustration 

at trying to take pictures at an event i'm also 

attending. i do such a bad job of it, and it's because

i'm so awkward. contrary to popular belief that you can "hide"

behind a camera, i find it actually makes you more conspicuous,

to wander around with a camera up to your face, instead

of mixing and mingling (which i'm also awkward at).

and so i take a few pictures really quickly, trying to make

it as unnoticeable as possible, 

feeling so rushed and awkward. and then i 

get home and wonder why i don't have better pictures.

ugh. 

weekly reading

sad short story

f.x. toole's short story million dollar baby.

i hadn't seen the movie (until watching it in class today)

so i wasn't prepared for the terribly terribly sad ending.

i know that i've said that i don't mind sad endings. 

but, i take it back. i don't mind tragic endings, 

but only in works longer than short. i know

that's meaningless. but it's hard to appreciate

a short story with a sad ending. for me at least.

i recognize the wonderful writing, the idea, the

characters, the emotions, etc. i enjoyed it

for that. but i am not happy about it. 

has anyone else read this? 

p.s. the movie, of course, is a different story. and quite good, so far!

scary, exhilarating, thrilling, tiring

the next three months

are going to be interesting. 

i'm challenging myself to write

everyday on a certain project.

i don't know what's going to 

happen, but i'm excited. 

day one:

p.s. just to be clear, the project is not for poets&writers.

needing my space

my closet.

my closet might seem like a strange thing to celebrate.

but i often come here to write (escape). (ok, maybe 'often' is a stretch).

if you live in a one-bedroom apartment, you understand.

there just isn't really room enough for everyone's (my)

thoughts here, sometimes. (lars' has a pretty loud

stare when he's bored - which is always).

i always imagine that one day,

i'll have a big desk, and i'll get up

early every morning and run write

all day. yes, one day that will happen.

until then, there are closets.

and late nights.

 

publishing

SCAN launch party. 

Our quarterly magazine, for which I do copy editing, 

had its first real launch party tonight for our new issue. 

It was, in Rob's words, a "rousing success."

I couldn't have said it better. 

There was lots of chocolate, lots of picture-taking,

and some good conversations, which I really needed.

A&E editor, and baker extraordinaire, Malee.

Spring Issue 2011.

Amazing fellow writing grad students, Krystal & Sydia, who made my night.

where i stand up in front of people

SCAD writing competition.

in which i had to, yes, 

read in front of people, again,

for SCAD's Just Write It competition,

for which i got to write some fiction!
it was pretty cool to be recognized
alongside some other very talented writers! 

warning: blurry photos

hell hath no fury like

a grammar rant. 

i wrote an op-ed in The Connector, 

ranting about grammar mistakes.

because, you know, it's fun.

monster monday (what i'm reading now)

Frankenstein.

i've never read this book or seen the movie, 

so it's very exciting.

i have a feeling it's going to be very different 

from the depictions of frankenstein in other stories/movies.

once upon a time...

Author.

Elizabeth Kostova, author of The Historian, has been 

a visiting teacher in my class this quarter. 

I went to her reading tonight from her new book, The Swan Thieves, 

and I've been very impressed with her - 

ability to crank out these long, complex, historical novels,

dedication to and knowledge of prose,

wonderful coaching and advice to us in class,

love for Henry James' The Portrait of a Lady

and Wuthering Heights, one of my all-time favorite books,

and for being such a lovely, warm, genuine person. 

These opportunities are pretty great.

being writerly

working outside.

i love being able to sit outside in the sunshine

and do some writing. i don't mind if it's starbucks

if i can just sit and be writerly for awhile in good outside weather.

in fact, this is my career goal:) -

 

another writing post

freelancing work. 

in one of my classes this quarter, 

we're collaborating with a monthly publication in Atlanta

to produce their july issue....tonight we went to their

office and pitched our story ideas. 

From left: Matt, Krystal, Wendy Binns (owner), Collin Kelley (editor), Osayi.

a writer's life

a writing day. 

do you have melancholy days? days when you can only think

of all the roads not taken? days when it seems like things

weren't mean to be like this, at all? 

today was a little like that.

on such days, i think it's important to take a notebook 

and a really good book (like philip roth's goodbye columbus)

to a favorite marketplace/bakery/cafe (like alon's) 

and have a nice cup of coffee plus some colorful treats.

confession: i may have done this yesterday too.

the weather was incredible. i kind of didn't want to ever leave - 

i wish i were a cartoon character.

reading by Sarah Vowell

aka, the voice of Violet from The Incredibles. 

tonight I attended a reading by Sarah Vowell, 

author of many nonfiction books, including her new one

unfamiliar fishes, about the history of Hawaii.

needless to say, she is very funny and her voice 

really does sound like Violet. 

:)