Odd

I'll stop harping on this soon, but I've kind of lost myself in the back & forth lifestyle of LA & SF. I haven't been in any one place too long to feel like I know what's going on with me anymore. When I'm in LA things are always go-go-go. When I'm in SF I have so much alone time that I'm constantly in my head and less a part of the outside world. And I think I appreciate my lifestyle up here because of all the fun that I get to have in LA.

So anyways, I've had a bit of a rough go of this second semester, but it's finally all falling into place. I went to my 14 Hills class tonight and I'm just elated. Basically we're given packets of poems (the fiction peeps get stories) each week and we mark them up and come to the following class either fighting for or against the works & which we'd like to see in the magazine (book). The advising prof (he says we dont actually have a teacher and that we're more like a staff of editors) spent a great deal of time talking about Francois' of the world and how miserable they are. I found myself chuckling like a little girl many a time. What's better is that two people that had that workshop with me are in this class and we all bonded during that moment tonight. I guess the best part about this is realizing that not every class is run the way that workshop was and that clearly that's not the overall attitude of SFSU.

So basically I get to play editor and feel like a teacher, red pen in hand, and discuss the poems weekly but not in a workshopy way. My mother assured me a few nights ago that this class will be a perfect fit because I used to publish class newspapers all in my spare time. I'd completely forgotten that - both in 5th & 6th grade. What an odd little girl I was. What's more is that if I enjoy this class, which I plan to, there's potential for moving up in the ranks - like assistant poetry editor, poetry editor and even editor-in-chief - a paid position. Doesn't that sound like heaven to everyone? I know that's a doubtful assumption so I'll just rest assured that maybe this still is my calling and I won't quit the whole grad school thing quite yet.

Thank You

Came home to an email from the school with a list of open classes. There was one that fit in with my program (the others were fiction & playwriting) and so I emailed the professor. We went back & forth for a bit and I'm officially enrolled in 14 Hills. It's a magazine (really a book - not sure why it's called a mag...) that our school edits & publishes of local writers. So we'll see. Hope it's up my alley and I'm not in over my head. I even found the professor on Myspace so how bad can it really be??

First Day Back

So I had my first class of the semester today and I'm in love with the professor. She is just my style and very refreshing after last semester. However...she made it very clear that she only thought end-of-the-program grads should be in the course bc people in their first year should be working on their writing. Apparently I'm just not far enough along in the program. And she's been teaching the course for so many years I feel like I'd be a dummy not to take her advice. The only reason I even enrolled in the class was because I really felt like I clicked with her and that's huge. So now I'm not sure what I'll do. If I drop I'll be down to one class and that's pathetic. So we'll see...I'm still thinking things over.

And the most exciting aspect of my evening was watching tv with Ashley & Corey. Nothing was on so we turned our attention to On Demand. Low & Behold - they have a San Fran singles link and we got to see about 30-40 singles videos...oh my! You can imagine they were quite the magnificent catch. I sincerely hope that all of you have this same access point and that you too can meet singles in your area. If not, come visit and we'll bask in the delight of singledom.

Ahhh

I can finally relax and not worry about living this back & forth in between unsettled life. Finally I unpacked all six of my suitcases and bags and got organized. My floors have never been so clean - they got swept, vacuumed and even swiffered. I also dusted (not with pledge Jen) off every surface in the bedroom and tried my darndest to make more use of the spaces. I'm feeling very content in my clean & very large room.

The only thing I put off till the end (I hope!) has been fixed. I can't figure out how to set up a line for my phone & a second for my fax. Seriously. It's been going on for months and I finally set some time aside to get it to work properly so I dont have to keep pluggiing & unplugging my phone during work. VERY annoying for all parites. That and work's been paying for the second line for a few months now...

Classes start up again tomorrow. Boo. At least I'm down to only two days a week, two classes, one class each night. Seems doable.

With no scheduled trips to LA I might actually be here for a few weeks now. As much as I'm going to miss everyone there, it's no fun to live out of your suitcase for 6 straight weeks. I'm craving some routine normalcy.

BJ...Mr. Novak?

On my Sunday flight to LA I saw B.J. Novak (Ryan from The Office) sitting in first class. Days before I'd finished watching every last episode available. I wanted to at least tell him that I'm a huge fan of the show, but I wasn't sure how to address him...Mr. Novak? Seems old. But then BJ is just awkward. Unfortunately when I asked to use the restroom the flight attendant pointed me back to the main cabin instead of my well-planned out route past Novak's seat. Boo.

Last night D and I went with a few work people to a children's charity sponsored event put on by the Anaheim Ducks. The theme was 20's inspired flappers & gangsters. We had such a great time and even walked away with 4 bottles of champagne from our gambling winnings.

And hours ago they reported that Heath Ledger passed away from a possible o.d. on sleeping pills. All sorts of stories are flying as to where and in what state he was found. It's very sad news and it's just looming over me like a dark cloud. Strange how some news affects you more than others. This is just one of those things that's sticking with me.

Sorry to be such a deb.

The Writer's Strike

Until now (about five minutes ago, in fact) the writer's strike hasnt' personally affected me. That was until I got compeltely caught up on Season 4 of The Office (thanks to http://www.sidereel.com/ and David S for leading me there). And now I feel helpless and distraught. I haven't been addicted to a show like this in a long time. I had no idea what I was missing out on. And I'm completly in love with John Krasinski and I want to be Pam. There. I said it.

The upside to spending $245 on groceries is that you feel too guilty to go off plan because you spent so much money. Maybe that was ediets' plan all along. Kudos - a genius idea.

$245 Groceries.

Some might say I haven't blogged in awhile. And those people would be correct. I only feel comfortable blogging in the city...is that weird?

So I made it home in record timing yesterday. I wasn't the least bit nervous on my drive. I chalk this up to a number of factors: there wasn't a raindrop in sight, I didn't have anyone watching me drive (you know like when someone is watching you type and you suddenly start making a bunch of typos that you wouldn't normally make?), and lastly my brand new gps. I'm still thinking of a name for her, but it's tentatively Olivia. Not to brag or anything, but my speed even reached a whopping 93 mph on the 5. For a self-proclaimed grandma driver, I felt like quite the rebel on the open road.

Onto more pressing matters: the new diet. I've been really wanting to try something new because I'm clearly not sticking to WW so I decided to try out ediets.com - they plan out a daily menu based on all the questions you answer at only $4.50 a week. You can even print out a categorized grocery list. Genius. What's not so genius is that instead of signing up for the $115/week fresh food daily delivery service, I opted for the $245-on-groceries plan and I still have to prepare the food!! Even the cashier asked "Throwing a party, huh?" to which I sheepishly replied, "No...I'm just starting a new diet so we'll see how it goes." I've never taken up an entire conveyer belt. So when this month runs out I might consider switching to the delivery plan but for now I'm remaining positive. Wish me luck!!