Post-Flood Update

Well, the trip to Boston was great, but when I got back, I found that my house had a disaster at some point over the weekend. Thanks to the extreme temperatures on Friday and Saturday night, the pipes leading to my bathtub exploded. The control knob on the shower popped off, letting water flow freely into the tub, and when it was too full to keep up with draining the water, the whole bathroom flooded. So: my ceiling tiles on the first floor (six of them, I believe) got soaked and fell out, and my couch became waterlogged. It was one of those moments where I opened the door, looked inside, and immediately wished for a do-over. What a mess. The good news is, the couch is (mostly) dry, with the exception of the mattress, which is still sitting in the (now-repaired) shower. The ceiling tiles should be replaced this weekend, and normalcy will return.

Another casualty of the weather has been my health--I am home sick as I write this, fueled only by DayQuil. I guess working outside in single-digit temperatures can really make you susceptible to illness. Who knew?

I am working on an article for the local publication I write for, which will appear in the March issue. My first article turned out really well, and I'm looking forward to seeing how my second one will look in print. I'm also hard at work on a new short story, and waiting patiently to hear from MFA programs. It will be such a relief when I start getting responses.

Hello! I am Exhausted!

Well, after trying (unsuccessfully) to work on a ten-minute play for the Lincoln Theatre's "Emerging Voices" contest, and also failing to get a short story rolling, I think it's official that my mind does not have the agility or focus to work on anything substantial this week. I think it's just the general exhaustion/malaise of hating my job and having to put so much energy into it that's really wearing me down. I realized on Tuesday, when I had to work late in obscene temperatures, that the only things that keep me going when I'm on jobs are a deep well of negativity and the promise of getting enough done that I'll have a little time off to concentrate and work on stuff I'm even remotely interested in. It's rough when you have a job that you don't want a future in, that you're doing for someone else's benefit. There's no satisfaction in getting a job done, only the knowledge that the next day, you'll do it again. That's no way to go through life. I need a shake-up or a change of pace, or...I don't know. I can't wait for the day I can stop fighting my alarm clock.

I'm really looking forward to going to Boston this weekend. I'll try my best to recharge my batteries.

Let's end this with Belle and Sebastian:

"Oh, Get me away from here I'm dying
Play me a song to set me free
Nobody writes them like they used to
So it may as well be me"

Two Movies

Now that the Pocono Cinema and Coffee Shop--or rather, the Pocono Community Theater--is back open, we finally got a chance to go inside to see a movie. We saw "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," and I have to say I really enjoyed it. The last hour is extremely sad, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it. The way the movie is directed is the best part--I really think David Fincher is one of the most talented directors working today--and although there were a few directorial flourishes (there is a recurring character who always talks about the seven times he's been struck by lightning, and each time flashes to an old-fashioned movie clip of the lightning strike) that were obviously just thrown in for Fincher to show off, they didn't detract from anything that happened in the plot. There's one subtle touch as the movie goes on, which is a little difficult to notice at first: when Benjamin gets injured in World War II, he gets a scar next to his left eye, which changes as he gets younger, until when he is a child and it's just a few dots where the shrapnel hits him. There's something about the fact that this never gets mentioned, it's just always there, that really stuck with me when I left the theater.

Over the weekend, we saw "Doubt." The directing wasn't as great as Benjamin Button, but the script was outstanding. When we left the theater, Allison turned to me and said, "I expected there to be some question at the end about whether he did it, but it's pretty clear that he did." And I said, "What do you mean? I don't think he did anything!" I like that kind of ambiguity in a script, the kind that makes you talk about the writing after you've left the theater. Of course, it helps when your script is being performed by three award-winning actors.

Happy Belated Christmas!

Hello everyone, and happy holidays! I hope everyone had a great holiday and got to spend time with the people they care about! I had a quiet Christmas. I got a fancy new watch, and my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins got a Wii, so there was much bowling. I love the Wii for the fact that anyone can play it. I bowled a few rounds against my cousin, who is eight, and I lost one game. You can't have an even match with someone sixteen years younger than you with many other systems, I don't think.
On the 26th, I went to visit my grandma and then we continued on to Atlantic City. I lost a little, so I quit playing. I think I'm going to spend the money I would have lost on a nice DVD for myself.

My Senior Prom

My former professor, Tayari Jones, is raising money Girls Write Now, a creative-writing program in New York. For everyone who sends her a picture of their teenage self, she'll donate $5, and for everyone who also posts a picture and some information on their blog, she'll double it! I think it's a great charity to support, and who doesn't like showing off embarrassing pictures of their younger selves?

So here is a picture taken right before my senior prom, with the beautiful and talented Allison Mosher!

When I Like Christmas Music

So I'm not much into those radio stations that play a non-stop Blitz of Christmas music from Thanksgiving until the Epiphany, and I'm very glad at this time of year to have Sirius satellite radio. Why? Well, because of Little Steven's Underground Garage, of course. Instead of the nonstop Christmas music that murders the holiday spirit, they play their own weird, unknown Christmas songs, scattered throughout their normal fare. While some of it is less-than-great (take, for example, this Joe Pesci Christmas tune), a lot of it is really fun and unexpected. Or it's the Beatles, which is always appreciated.

Out of my Hands and Into the Postal System

Well, they're done. On Friday, I took an enormous stack of 9x12 envelopes to the East Stroudsburg Post Office, and mailed out my Graduate School applications. I walked in and the Post Office was empty, and since I am the type of person who gets superstitious and sometimes believes in omens and portents, I thought, "Well, this is lucky. It bodes well." The postal employee at the counter, Lew, looked at the stack and said, "Applying for jobs?" I said, "Close. Grad School." He got everything ready, and they were officially out of my hands. When they went in the sorting bin, I felt a little bit of exhilaration and nerves. I was no longer able to grab my work samples and shout, "Wait! Not ready! Just one quick edit!"
I celebrated being finished by downloading World of Goo for my Wii and playing it. Oh, it's fun. It reminds me of building a house of cards with little black blobs. It's completely addictive. In fact, I think I'm going to go play it now.