My answer to the "what are we doing today" question is the same each time: "Twiddling our thumbs and dancing a jig." However, despite that consistency, please see a far too typical conversation below.
Student - "So, like, what are we doing today?"
Me - "Twiddling our thumbs and dancing a jig."
Student - "Awwwwwwwwww come on, you say the same weird thing every time!"
Me - "And yet you continue to ask."
Student - "What?"
P.S. kaybay - I post my weekly lesson plans on Edline too.
P.P.S. I am afraid to mention this and open a can of worms of another sort, but are there any other transplants out there who are mystified by the fact that, no matter where you are in the state of New Jersey, you are always going "down the shore" to get to the beach??
Sorry, suicide *is* a verb. The oxford english dictionary has examples going back to 1841.
to wit:
1. intr. and refl. To commit suicide.
1841 LEVER O'Malley xxxii. 171 Here was I enacting Romeo for three mortal dayssoliloquizing, half-suiciding. 1847 MRS. CARLYLE Lett. & Mem. (1883) II. 18 The expediency..of suiciding myself is no longer a question with me. 1881 Philad. Rec. No. 3443. 1 Isaiah McNeal, aged 60, suicided at Conyngham on Wednesday. a1890 SIR R. BURTON in Lady Burton Life (1893) I. 45 There is hardly a place in Italy..where some Englishman has not suicided himself. 1893 Athenæum 24 June 794/2 The principal character, after behaving like a cad, suicides ‘beautifully’. 1898 ‘R. BOLDREWOOD’ Rom. Canvass Town 133, I don't wonder that they suicide now and then.
@kaybay and other teachers re:What are we doing today?
I have a similar experience at the restaurant I manage. The question there is: "Do you think we'll be busy today?"
Mind you we do fairly consistent business and have for years. Tuesdays are, shockingly, just like 94% of other Tuesdays, etc. Without fail I will get this question over and over. Sometimes I drag all the staff over and award a dollar to the last person that asks me this question but mostly I do a lot of lying.
Various answers:
"Actually, I don't. Let's lock up right now and go see a movie (to be used when they've asked an hour or two into the restaurant being open).
"Are you kidding me? Jupiter is in the third moon tonight! You know that means lots of large walk-in parties."
"I hope not, cause I'm pretty hammered."
"It's going to be crazy busy. That's why I cut all the other servers. You're going to make so much money tonight!"
This neighbor lady uses the word "boughten." As in, "I've boughten a new washing machine." Grrrrrrr. She is mocked on a fairly regular basis. (Yes, my family and I are bitches.)
Also, a friend of the family says "natrocious" instead of "atrocious," except it's never even the right context for atrocious. Like, "I couldn't believe that football game, it was just natrocious." Luckily, she is awesome in every other way.
I love when students are absent and ask, "Did I miss anything important?" No, we all sat around mourning your absence and had a staring contest. That's my go-to answer.
Also, not kidding, I have a student that prefaces everything he says with, "Real talk, Miss." As opposed to fake talk.
I have a friend who always says "whenever" when he just means "when." He'll say things like "Remember that night whenever we were at the bar?" And I don't say anything but AHH.
For my next one, I must admit to sometimes watching American Idol. On the show Randy likes to sometimes say "good looking out" to contestants to say that they are singing well. It makes me SO MAD every time because he is not using that phrase correctly AT ALL. It's like what you say when your friend is looking out of you, not how you compliment someone's talents. AHHHH this one is the worst.
I also hate the "Call Jane or I" thing. Some English teach in middle school pushed the "'Jane and me' is wrong" thing down their throats they really think it is ALWAYS "and I."
Alaska acceptances are pissing me off. I'm so mad I didn't apply there. I can't remember why I didn't (funding? dry cabins?).
But Dry Leaves, Congratulations!!!! There was another Fairbanks acceptance toward the end of the last mailbag on the second to last page, I think. Fiarbanks is beauuuuutttiifffull!
@AB, seasonal depression's a real thing. that's why i didn't apply to alaska. one of my friends is from anchorage, and says every winter she lost a few friends to suicide. a few. every year.
i'm not sure i'm strong enough to contend with that.
I did two years at UVic's BFA before transferring out. The BFA shares all its faculty/physical space with the MFA (which is brand new), and I still have lots of friends there. If you or anyone else wants to know anything about it, I'm happy to share.
@burlaper - as a midwesterner currently living in hoboken, i proudly refuse to go down shore. it's the beach or nothing for me.
unrelatedly, (i know), @digapony - at least your neighbor has not boughten a wa"r"shing machine. that's mine - letters inserted into words where they have no business.
Koru, That's depressing to hear. I think I could handle it pretty well (I've spent time in Reykjavik, I love things like freezing in the snow and watching the northern lights), but if it got that bad for people around me... I'm not sure. Mood is pretty contagious! I also don't know what it would be like to endure the entire winter several years in a row. It would be an experience, that's for sure. They're still a definite on my list for next year if I need to reapply.
miss private eye, So much remorse! I haven't actually looked at the University of Victoria much either... is there funding there?
That's exactly how my grandpa talks. But, he's 80, so it's acceptable. He also says "Yello" when answering the phone, and calls me punkin. But, grandparents are probably exempt from all of these rules. :)
Koru, Haha, I also love summers, warm weather, and beaches. This is one of the good things about the midwest, but I feel like we don't get the best of either but instead some watered down mashup. It's still nice that once I get sick of the weather its changing.
I'm not sure I've ever had reason to have Cleveland come up in conversation before, so it was new to me! it's the city that has the burning river, right?
Haha, yes, all of this is true - We were also recently honored by the title of Most Misterable City by Forbes magazine. I don't even think it's that bad here! I mean, really. Detroit has to be worse.... right?
I've got a pet peeve from students: "Can we have a free day?" Uh, no!!!
Some teachers do give free days where I work. I don't. It irks me when they expect I won't make them work just because some of the other teachers are lazy.
I like Cleveland. Melt is good, the bouncers at Peabody's are schmucks but good bands come through. Two cheap hockey teams within driving distance (the Monster and the Erie Otters). I dig it there.
Here's my list, which I thought might interest some people on here due to overlap:
Alabama (assumed rejection) UT Austin (hard, cold rejection) Hunter (complicated. They called me on the phone, they want me to come visit, not officially accepted) Montana (accepted) Iowa Sarah Lawrence Irvine UNC Greensboro (nothing, except the well documented fake-out email) Virginia Florida
Good luck to everyone on here! This is really an edge-of-your-seat situation. I was feeling down in the dumps, then got an acceptance. There is hope, and so many schools that have yet to make their decisions. Hang in there.
Oh man, I got kicked out of Peabody's so many times when I was underage. During the one year when I lived on campus I lived literally next door and happened to be 18/19. They are assholes there. They've also beat guys up before, including one guy who wasn't even underaged but still had a sideways driver's license. M
Memphis has a lot of abandoned spaces/buildings right now, violent crime has always been extremely widespread there, etc.
I mean, one only has to walk a few blocks from Beale St. (the popular main drag/tourist avenue) to find empty blocks and rough neighborhoods.
That said, for a city that has a lot of culture, reasonably good weather, and some serious history/architecture, the cost of living in Memphis is phenomenal, so I also have a hard time seeing it as a miserable place.
I don't know Memphis' history; it just surprised us to see it on the list, because none of us had thought of it as blighted before. In the way, say, Pittsburgh, Dayton, Cleveland, Detroit, Flint, etc all are. yet not all those were on the list.
But on abandoned buildings: here's the weird thing: there are a growing number in Austin as well. I'd assuemd it's just the economy, but honestly, Austin doesn't seem hit by the recession other than some abandoned buildings, so who knows what's going on ... or are you saying that Memphis is deserted, like Detroit?
Memphis is worse off than Austin, but you're definitely right to be surprised to see it on a list with cities like Dayton, etc.
Pittsburgh, on the other hand, is a city that people mistakenly include on those lists. Pittsburgh is an extremely vital and wealthy city. It's the poster child for a successful conversion of a former center of industry into an influential hub in the service economy. Pittsburgh is doing great, as much as that might surprise some people.
@ ashley thanks. no offense taken. i bet a lot of folks think twice about living in fairbanks. i live in tucson now, so the climatic difference is extreme, but i'm a climate extremist, so...
@ koru the story about your friend's friends is frightening. i can only imagine the effect zero sunlight can have on a person over extended periods. especially those who are sun-loving/prone to SAD.
I lived in the Queen Charlotte islands through a winter, and its pretty tough to describe how depressing it can be not to see the sun come up 'til 11AM and go down at 2:30. Even if you're a pretty well-adjusted person.
I'm not sure if Hunter has officially accepted anyone, although they very well may have. I doubt they are finished with that. I got the call two days ago. Good luck!
I am all about March. Honestly, February BLEW. Far too much snow. Crazy ice all the time as it melted and refroze. Lots of bad news re: MFA.
Here's hoping March goes in like a lion and OUT LIKE AN AWESOME LION.
@Dreux: Thanks for the Pittsburgh defense. It's honestly one of the best places you could ever live, and I'll miss it so when I leave. (And I'll come back if it will have me!)
@tough places to live - i knew as soon as that conversation started that it wouldn't be too long before someone said "dayton." ahh, the land of my people. tragic. and, btw, where i will end up in another month if i am not going to school. hear that, schools? dayton. dayton. people say "warsh" there.
I got on the fiction waiting list for Alabama earlier this afternoon - notified via email. WHOO-HOO!!!!!!! I'm not sure if it's ranked or what number I am but ELATED even if I end up not making it into the final cut!!! :D
Pencore, Yeah lady, I love fru(n)'n too. I say it all the time, and stress the end (Fru'eeeeiiiin!) Grammar - sigh. I'm over it. People make mistakes: always have; always will. And grammar isn't a priority for everyone (nor, quite frankly, does it need to be). But yeah, whatev. Again, at Pencore - I went through a three year dry spell - *3*! I was a working journalist at the time, working from 7am to midnight sometimes. I was so consumed that I forgot what it was like to socialize (like, how do I talk to you without a pre-arranged set of questions?). Anytime someone flirted with me - and I realized I was actually being flirted with - I'd "eep" in my head and scurry away. I haven't even begun to analyze that one yet. Anyway, when the economy crashed and I lost my job: I got hammered; went to a club; had a one-nighter and showered three times a day for weeks afterward. Then I decided to apply to MFAs. Failed. Tried again this year - while in a nice relationship and holding an OK job - and, yeah, :) Though now I realize a break-up is inevitable. Can't do the long distance thing, and I'm most productive/creative during induced misery and loneliness. I haven't even told him yet. Ah well. So yeah, that's my story which I chose to divulge uninvited. Cheers.
@Woon (and just a general spiel about MFA timing),
I've found that horrible, life altering experiences are very helpful in revealing the brutal truth about EVERYTHING, especially the questions, "Who am I, what do I want from life, and what should I do to get it?" I didn't just wake up one morning and say, "GEE my life sucks. Maybe I'll be a writer and get an MFA. That'll solve everything!" Like everyone else here, I've always been a writer. I attended an arts school in high school, I majored in creative writing as an undergrad. And throughout my entire life, particularly in these past two difficult years, the only thing I've been certain about is my writing. The desperation to move away is making me feel an additional level of stress, but it is NOT why I applied in the first place.
I can't be idle. Postponing my ambitions will not help me "straighten out" my life. Maybe I sounded hysterical or something in my last post, but I'm not so tormented that I would be unable to perform well in graduate school. If anything (like Laura), I thrive in academic settings.
Sorry if I sound defensive. It's because I am. :P
Oh, and on the topic of the mispronunciation of words: My friend used to say "flustrated." Oddly enough, that word perfectly describes how I feel 99% of the time.
Because I was a bit freaked about my status (at michener, I'm fiction) still saying "recieved all the documents we need" I called this morning, and they haven't even sent my manuscript to the mfa department. And here I was thinking, hoping, pretending I had a shot. Grand delusions pretending that the reason I hadn't been rejected was because they saw something in my manuscript and not because they haven't even recieved it yet. GAAAAhhhh. Delusions thus crushed.
"umm, you're packed and you're stacked, 'specially in the back brother wanna thank ya mother for a butt like that. can i get some fries with that shake shake booty? if looks could kill you would be an uzi. you're a shotgun, bang! what's up with that thang? i wanna know how does it hang? straight up, wait up, hold up mr love. like prince said you're a sexy mutha. well i like real wild, b-boy style by the mile, smooth black skin with a smile. bright as the sun, i wanna have some fun. come and give me some of that yum yum chocolate chip, honey dipped, can i get a scoop? baby take a ride in my coupe, you make me wanna"
@mpe, so does 60s/70s/80s cheesey tunes! the strung-out decades have left a great legacy in boppy tunes that make a person want to dance and think everything might just be all right, somehow!
Seth (the Abramson, assuming you're reading this at some point):
I was thinking about how frustrating it is that I didn't find out (mainly because it's not listed on the actual sites for the MFA programs most of the time or on the Grad. school site) that most of my recommendation letters could be done online. In fact, I think my last 5 were online (out of 11), but I had already gotten hard copies from my recommenders, who do not live near me, thus making it more of a hassle for every letter I needed to physically have. Ignoring the obvious problems such as the fact that every year some things about the process per school could change, is there any way it would be possible to create a list of schools who use the online recommendation system? I think all of us who applied could help with this and compile something I think would be VERY useful to everyone involved in this tedious process in years to come. Just an idea.
I just wish I could still pretend my status has something to do with my talent, and not the laziness of the graduate school. At least I will be more prepared when the denied finally comes.
this might be a partial answer ... i was involved in a transatlantic move, as was one of my recommenders this fall. so that meant i started all my online apps AGES early, in order to find out which ones needed letters sent, and which needed online submissions.
all but one of the schools allowed you to send the letter prompts to recommenders while still starting the app (before sumbission).
as for the ones that could be done by sending in a paper copy, i just used interfolio.
But yeah ... i just sat at my computer one day, started each app, and compiled a list for the recommenders "you'll be asked for online recs from these 8 schools: blah blah blah" ... and then i had a list of the ones i could send them from interfolio.
and i'm working on a playlist of silly boppy feel-good cheese and wine songs for y'all ... i just have to check the DRM for some songs, convert them to non-DRM, before posting it. probably the weekend.
@koru "maybe it's a reference to NJ's beaches most likely being toxic, and a suggestion to head down to MD or better yet VA? lol!'
har har. you are off my Christmas card list for that! And I'll happily be down the shore despite those Bennies from 'Boken or shoebies from Philly who invade our home.
(The Jersey Shore is my favorite place in the world--please don't judge it by the TV show or dumb toxic waste jokes.)
the little poet who could, I think Seth is already overloaded with work and doesn't need to be compiling new lists. I definitely agree that the list would be helpful, though, so if there are any volunteers to make one I say go for it.
Hilary, I find this very interesting. When I'm happy (which means I have my dearest friends around and such and such), I get distracted and tend not to focus as much. When I went through that three year thing - I was killing it at work: coming up with killer ideas; traveling across the country; turning in stories like crazy . . . things just kept happening. It was the same in college too, when my best friend went away and I was on my own that last year . . . I was inside my head so much, that these ideas kept coming, which produced my best writing in college - period (also, the stories for my writing sample this app season came pre-niceboyfriend). I'm so caught in the misery process, that I earnestly can't feel how people can work when "happy". I can understand it on a human level, I guess . . . I just can't feel it as such.
And OMG what is with people hating the word "moist" ??? My sister hates three words: moist, panties, rag. Sometimes just to piss her off I work them all in to a single sentence :)
I personally can not stand "irregardless."
Also, I live in Cleveland -- born and raised here (minus the 10 years I spent in Baltimore after college. I moved BACK, people. Need my head examined.) Anyway I really could not agree more with Forbes. One of my favorite phrases is this: "WHY does ANYBODY LIVE HERE!?" Horrible weather, urban blight, corrupt government officials, perpetually awful sports teams, unemployment, etc., etc. Lord, get me out of here.
Lastly: Congratulations to those who heard good news today :)
...Aaaaand I have good news of my own. I heard today from the University of Central Florida that I've been offered a teaching assistantship :)
One funded acceptance was all I needed out of this stressful process, and I got it. So I am really really happy :) I don't know what to do with myself, actually. It feels sorta surreal, even if it's not a "top" school. I don't care -- I'm really excited :)
This is totally belated, I had a lot of crap to do today, but to all my teaching brethren, thanks for the stories ("what's a comp book" haha). I've made up some pretty good responses for the "what are we doing today" question, but after a point, my eye starts twitching. Good to hear I'm not the only one!
And much more important than being at a 'top' school (in my opinion), is being at a place you WANT to be at and where you're open to the experience of learning from the writing comunity .... so congrats!
Awesome Lauren!! Seriously, that's absolutely fantastic. I think that program is going to be a good fit for you all around. I'm still crossing my fingers for Florida for you though :)
Congrats, Lauren! I'm happy for you. And it doesn't matter if it's the University of Bodalunk (I think that's how Woon worded it), this is an incredible achievement. And it's not where you go, but what you make with the opportunity you've been given. Trite, but whatev - I really believe that. Anyway, that previous sentiment is moot cuz UCF is a great programme. So, yeah, deal with it.
Lauren, congrats on the funding! That is SO AWESOME! Yay I am SO EXCITED for you!
Ok: Cleveland has the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (I used to work there, it is fantastic), a world class Art Museum, a big five Orchestra, great local theater, Coventry, Little Italy, a low cost of living, Lake Erie, Slavic Village, the Metroparks... I can go on and on. This place isn't for everyone, but I think that Cleveland gets a really unfair reputation. There is a LOT to offer here, you just have to be willing to get involved.
for anyone who's written off george mason - i got an acceptance e-mail from them this afternoon (in poetry). my guess is they'll be notifying people for a while yet.
i'm watching American Idol and having an eerie sense of it being like the MFA app process ... they just kicked one chick off the show, and she sang her goodbye song ... pretty damned good! sad that such a telented singer's off the show, just soo much talent on the stage ... just like the MFA app process & not getting in because soo many talented applicants.
Sometimes I convince myself that Cleveland's okay. I actually love Lake Erie and I am one of the only people I know who spends a LOT of time at Mentor Headlands beach enjoying one of our awesome natural resources. I also love Coventry and Cleveland Heights. I love Phoenix Coffee (I hang out at a couple different ones). I am a for-real fan of the Browns and the Indians.
It's just...in the winter especially...And with more than half the people I know out of work, and my own bookstore just closed, etc., etc. -- it's hard to be a cheerleader for Cleveland.
weighswithwords: Everyone except Wisconsin. Of course, I've assumed rejections from Cornell, Michigan, Vanderbilt, k.t.l. I'm especially anxious to hear from my New York schools, which should start notifying next week.
@leslie - that is AWESOME. not sure how i've lived here this long and never heard it before. when i get a walk on role on Jersey Shore that's gonna be my nickname.
@Riah and others, my personal advice would be to assume rejection for Iowa. If you get a wait list notification, the joyful surprise will be a fun little experience, but I've put Iowa in big fat red on my excel spreadsheet. It helps to move on :)
PS - that has no bearing on you writing sample, I just think it's not worth it to stress about the unknown, better to start moving on :P
Cratty, I see what you mean - we both experience distraction as the problem, but it comes from a different place. When I'm having a terrible day (or eighteen months), all I can write about is how, well, miserable I am because when I'm upset I tend to worry/obsess - it gives me tunnel vision. When I'm happy, it's much easier to let my mind wander and occasionally snag on good things to make into poems.
Or, to put it differently, I am less productive (because there are people I care about around) but what I produce is of better quality. I wish I could be simultaneously prolific and awesome - but when I'm unhappy/lonely, I may write a ton but none of it's good.
Hmmm . . . well, one theory: Maybe poetry peeps need to be happy to prevent themselves from taking their works too literally. I'm bad at poetry - bad! But Ive recently taken an interest in reading. I started with good ol' T.S. Elliot. Good heavens. Are all poets' work this gloomy? Or do I need to read more of his stuff?
Cratty, it's so funny to hear that because Eliot's one of my favorites! In college, I used to bring my copy of his collected works home during holidays with me in case I suddenly needed to read it (oh God, some AdCom person is going to read that and think I'm crazy).
A lot of it is gloomy, yes - "Four Quartets" is actually full of hope, though, as is the end of "The Waste Land" - it's about rebirth and the possibility of living a good life, among the million other things that "The Waste Land" is about which I would never presume to try to comprehensively explain. But yes, "Prufrock" and "The Hollow Men"... them's rough stuff.
There's always "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats," though!
@Cratty, @hilary, another Eliot lover here! and one who picks him up regularly to dip back into his works.
though he's someone who requires a fair bit of research/notes/explanation ... so an interesting pick to 'dip into' for someone just turning to poetry! there are far more accessible poets out there!
GAH! Now I'm not too happy that I missed this mailbag until now...two reported acceptances from George Mason? Now I'm not going to be able to focus at work tomorrow.
So Chrissy, it wasn't you in the other mailbag, it was a different Chrissy? The one with the GNE? Because I was really excited that you had gotten a GNE, but I guess it was the other Chrissy -- not that I'm not happy that that Chrissy got a GNE. It's confusing! That's why I started posting under my first name & last initial, after the four other Lauras came on the blog!
Oh, f*** it, I don't have to talk, either, man! See how you like it. Just total f***in' silence. Two can play at that game, smart guy. We'll just see how you like it. Total silence.
i just have such, such admiration for rochette getting out on the ice and skating the other day; and when it was so obvious she wasn't even able to keep her face composed for the entirety of her skate. just, wow. the concentration & dedication.
though the korean and japanese in first and second now are just so amazing to watch!
(for those of you not keeping up with olympic news, her mum died in the olympic village this week of a sudden heart attack).
I love eliot too. I used to have Prufrock memorized. Probably still do. Love the wasteland too. I studies so many of the references in the poem, especially thunder in Hinduism and Indian culture.
Perhaps they are depressing. I've just never viewed art that way. If something stirs me, I always find it beautiful regardless of its tone or message.
Congrats to everyone who heard today! I've been at a choir conference all day so not keeping up to well. I also managed to fall on ice and pull a muscle in my leg?? Only a clumsiness as beautiful as mine could pull that off at a choral con!
Also, I react to the word "undulate" the way some people react to the word "moist". It is the most disgusting word in the entire english language.
i also am a rather clumsy character. my mum bought my yaktrax years ago ... it's the only thing that gets me through snow/ice at all! i have no balance on the stuff!
I have to be up early again tomorrow for more singing so I am currently pretending that my leg isn't being a shithead. I'm hoping it will feel better tomorrow!
@frankish augh you are right ungulate is bad but I do not think it matches the horror that is undulate. Glottal is pretty awful too!
Here's to good news tomorrow/this weekend! What I wouldn't give to get some sort of good news these next few days... the silence has become overwhelming. I need my sanity/self-esteem back, dammit. I'm trying to stay optimistic and semi-calm, and failing miserably. Please, my schools, please love me. I'm at your mercy!
Congrats Woon, Dry Leaves, Lauren, Frogs and everyone else. @Daryl the Iowa website says March..so I duno what to make but I shall sit tight waiting...
@ositacolleen: congratulations on the WVU acceptance. I'm also CNF there. You mind saying how you were notified and if anything was mentioned about where they're at? Thanks.
Hi guys I don't want to take away hope from anyone but this is the reply I got from Iowa -
Our admission decisions will be mailed out on the first week in March.
Sincerely, Deb West
My email to her was - I'm an International applicant from India for the Iowa Writers Workshop, I just wanted to know if the workshop is done notifying all the accepted candidates. It would let me know about the status of my application.
I would really appreciate a reply from your end.
So now my gut feel says it's over she said 'mailed out' not call - I dunno what do you guys think??
I've been desperately wanting to 'jump in' to the interesting, nervous 'dialogue' that continues to transpire in these 'mailbags' (and I do love this blog -- very very helpful throughout the MFA process; Thank You!), but I had to consult my psychoanalyst first. I've received the 'go ahead', so here are my schools that I've applied to:
Wisconsin-Madison -- Rejected UT Austin (Michener) -- Rejected OTIS College - Accepted Oregon State - Brown U. - Alabama - Michigan - Florida - Purdue - Notre Dame - Iowa - Virginia - Arizona State -
And that concludes the list. My psychoanalyst and I wish everybody the best during these stressful times.
Also, about Iowa @nefrettiti, I hold out hope until I have the letter. For everyone else, I would give up quickly, but they have over 20 poets to notify, and that shit takes time.
Thanks, everyone, for the congrats. It's the first I have heard from so I'm pretty psyched. It is also one of my top two choices.
@ JimfifeOH They left a phone message and emailed with details of the TAship, etc. Said to take as long as I need to decide, but let them know as soon as I do. I didn't actually speak with anyone so I don't know what their process is.
Hey guys- don't give up on Iowa. I remember years past that some applicants found out about their acceptances through a thin little letter. And it is getting close to midterm season- schools are busy.
@Lucas - Today is the end of the two weeks Wisconsin had said it might take. My online status hasn't changed yet. I'm trying not to worry too much about the possibility of notifications going out today.
2,502 comments:
1 – 200 of 2502 Newer› Newest»One of my student pet peeves is that they apparently think suicide is a verb: "R. Budd Dwyer suicided on TV rather than resigning."
yay new mailbag. merci beaucoup!
i feel like this mailbag will be the most insane as we approach the "month of mayhem".
march madness, indeed.
@amanda
One day it will be a verb.
For now,
subscribing.
Suiciding!
suicide is an adjective, as in "suicide soda" oh yeah!
that makes me think of cigarette juice.
@mpe,
except we were kids when we drank suicide soda .... i'd forgotten about it until i saw some kids doing it recently! lol!
That reminds me of that one song:
"I'm suicided! And I just can't hide it. I'm about to use a troll, and I think I- I won't chew- I won't chew."
Dammit, it's in my head now.
... ohhhh malapropisms.
I remember suicide soda, except it was just called Jolt.
Also, "how come?" also makes me feel very stabby. And it's quite common in Texas, my home state.
It's not a pet peeve, but a few of my friends abuse the slang "mo" to death. It usually replaces the word "will", for some odd reason. As in,
"I 'mo eat some burgers today."
"I 'mo get some sleep."
Some of the more "lazy" speakers contract "I think" into "I'ink" as in,
"I'ink my credit card is in my wallet."
"I'ink Lost is a great show."
Grrrr....
Oh yes - teacher pet peeve talk.
My answer to the "what are we doing today" question is the same each time: "Twiddling our thumbs and dancing a jig." However, despite that consistency, please see a far too typical conversation below.
Student - "So, like, what are we doing today?"
Me - "Twiddling our thumbs and dancing a jig."
Student - "Awwwwwwwwww come on, you say the same weird thing every time!"
Me - "And yet you continue to ask."
Student - "What?"
P.S. kaybay - I post my weekly lesson plans on Edline too.
P.P.S. I am afraid to mention this and open a can of worms of another sort, but are there any other transplants out there who are mystified by the fact that, no matter where you are in the state of New Jersey, you are always going "down the shore" to get to the beach??
@burlaper, maybe it's a reference to NJ's beaches most likely being toxic, and a suggestion to head down to MD or better yet VA? lol!
subscribing
Sorry, suicide *is* a verb. The oxford english dictionary has examples going back to 1841.
to wit:
1. intr. and refl. To commit suicide.
1841 LEVER O'Malley xxxii. 171 Here was I enacting Romeo for three mortal dayssoliloquizing, half-suiciding. 1847 MRS. CARLYLE Lett. & Mem. (1883) II. 18 The expediency..of suiciding myself is no longer a question with me. 1881 Philad. Rec. No. 3443. 1 Isaiah McNeal, aged 60, suicided at Conyngham on Wednesday. a1890 SIR R. BURTON in Lady Burton Life (1893) I. 45 There is hardly a place in Italy..where some Englishman has not suicided himself. 1893 Athenæum 24 June 794/2 The principal character, after behaving like a cad, suicides ‘beautifully’. 1898 ‘R. BOLDREWOOD’ Rom. Canvass Town 133, I don't wonder that they suicide now and then.
@kaybay and other teachers re:What are we doing today?
I have a similar experience at the restaurant I manage. The question there is: "Do you think we'll be busy today?"
Mind you we do fairly consistent business and have for years. Tuesdays are, shockingly, just like 94% of other Tuesdays, etc. Without fail I will get this question over and over. Sometimes I drag all the staff over and award a dollar to the last person that asks me this question but mostly I do a lot of lying.
Various answers:
"Actually, I don't. Let's lock up right now and go see a movie (to be used when they've asked an hour or two into the restaurant being open).
"Are you kidding me? Jupiter is in the third moon tonight! You know that means lots of large walk-in parties."
"I hope not, cause I'm pretty hammered."
"It's going to be crazy busy. That's why I cut all the other servers. You're going to make so much money tonight!"
@ animalistic: eh. but not in regular use in the U.S. and therefore not something my students should be learning to use in English papers here.
Addendum re. "mo" from my previous post.
"mo" may have been derived from Michael McDonald's hit song "Yah Mo Be There."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yah_Mo_B_There
@ A. Astur A.
You are my new favorite human. Or escape goat.
Pet peeve words:
This neighbor lady uses the word "boughten." As in, "I've boughten a new washing machine." Grrrrrrr. She is mocked on a fairly regular basis. (Yes, my family and I are bitches.)
Also, a friend of the family says "natrocious" instead of "atrocious," except it's never even the right context for atrocious. Like, "I couldn't believe that football game, it was just natrocious." Luckily, she is awesome in every other way.
Hi all,
Long time lurker here, posting my list.
Iowa
Virginia
Montana
Johns Hopkins
New Hampshire
eeehhhh yeahhh. I have heard nothing.
@Everybody
Question/nugget of hope to throw in the mix: Did we ever hear of any Iowa fiction waitlisters? I could have sworn I never read any.
@HoboBobo -- I hear ya. Who else are you waiting on?
@Anna -- I suspect, and maybe I'm wrong, that Iowa's not done notifying yet.
I'mo eat some late lunch.
I love when students are absent and ask, "Did I miss anything important?" No, we all sat around mourning your absence and had a staring contest. That's my go-to answer.
Also, not kidding, I have a student that prefaces everything he says with, "Real talk, Miss." As opposed to fake talk.
& also reeeaaalll taaaaaalkkkk
ready for mfa march madness
I'm in:
I have a friend who always says "whenever" when he just means "when." He'll say things like "Remember that night whenever we were at the bar?" And I don't say anything but AHH.
For my next one, I must admit to sometimes watching American Idol. On the show Randy likes to sometimes say "good looking out" to contestants to say that they are singing well. It makes me SO MAD every time because he is not using that phrase correctly AT ALL. It's like what you say when your friend is looking out of you, not how you compliment someone's talents. AHHHH this one is the worst.
I also hate the "Call Jane or I" thing. Some English teach in middle school pushed the "'Jane and me' is wrong" thing down their throats they really think it is ALWAYS "and I."
meow.
i think i'm just going to speak like a cat now. y'all have scared me, that i might make a verbal mis-step and get laughed at!
my cats never speak ungrammatically. they just meow.
meow.
Damn. Now, I can't get the song "Yah Mo Be There" out of my head. Damn you, Michael McDonald.
re: The opposite of language pet peeves
I LOVE saying, "I ain't even fru(n)'n"
(the (n) is kind of silent... like "frontin')
You know, as if to say, "I am taking this very seriously" of "I have no delusions about this situation."
Good news on this front:
Acceptance to Alaska-Fairbanks CNF program! (email, 2/25/10) Any one else apply there besides me?
Alaska acceptances are pissing me off. I'm so mad I didn't apply there. I can't remember why I didn't (funding? dry cabins?).
But Dry Leaves, Congratulations!!!! There was another Fairbanks acceptance toward the end of the last mailbag on the second to last page, I think. Fiarbanks is beauuuuutttiifffull!
Clarification: That came off rude. I'm pissed at myself - not at you crazy snow bunnies who applied. I'm really excited for you, actually!!!
i feel you ashley.
i've been watching the olympics thinking, why the hell did i not even think to look into University of Victoria (BC)?!
um because i suck.
the end.
Congrats Dry Leaves!
@AB, seasonal depression's a real thing. that's why i didn't apply to alaska. one of my friends is from anchorage, and says every winter she lost a few friends to suicide. a few. every year.
i'm not sure i'm strong enough to contend with that.
Miss Private Eye,
I did two years at UVic's BFA before transferring out. The BFA shares all its faculty/physical space with the MFA (which is brand new), and I still have lots of friends there. If you or anyone else wants to know anything about it, I'm happy to share.
@burlaper - as a midwesterner currently living in hoboken, i proudly refuse to go down shore. it's the beach or nothing for me.
unrelatedly, (i know),
@digapony - at least your neighbor has not boughten a wa"r"shing machine. that's mine - letters inserted into words where they have no business.
subscribing. clearly. haha
@Dreux
thanks!
depending on how things go, i may take you up on that offer. :)
Koru,
That's depressing to hear. I think I could handle it pretty well (I've spent time in Reykjavik, I love things like freezing in the snow and watching the northern lights), but if it got that bad for people around me... I'm not sure. Mood is pretty contagious! I also don't know what it would be like to endure the entire winter several years in a row. It would be an experience, that's for sure. They're still a definite on my list for next year if I need to reapply.
miss private eye,
So much remorse! I haven't actually looked at the University of Victoria much either... is there funding there?
@AB, yeah, no doubt some can take it ... i need sun. and kudzu. which is why i'm so depressed none of my southern schools has contacted me yet.
snow has a way of making me miserable.and grey skies too! so alaska's not do-able for poor tropical koru!
@ jessicaestone
That's exactly how my grandpa talks. But, he's 80, so it's acceptable. He also says "Yello" when answering the phone, and calls me punkin. But, grandparents are probably exempt from all of these rules. :)
Koru,
Haha, I also love summers, warm weather, and beaches. This is one of the good things about the midwest, but I feel like we don't get the best of either but instead some watered down mashup. It's still nice that once I get sick of the weather its changing.
Subscribing...
Congrats to Dry Leaves!
@AB, lol, someone yesterday referred to Cleveland yesterday as 'the mistake by the lake' ...
something tells me that's not a midwestern tourism slogan! lol!
Koru,
That name for Cleveland is old news, but it never loses its charm.
@Dreux,
I'm not sure I've ever had reason to have Cleveland come up in conversation before, so it was new to me! it's the city that has the burning river, right?
Yeah. And the Grilled Cheese restaurant.
Haha, yes, all of this is true - We were also recently honored by the title of Most Misterable City by Forbes magazine. I don't even think it's that bad here! I mean, really. Detroit has to be worse.... right?
@Dreux ... zOMG i just googled the grilled cheese restaurant.
they have a grilled cheese sarnie with pierogies in it. oh wow.
I've got a pet peeve from students: "Can we have a free day?" Uh, no!!!
Some teachers do give free days where I work. I don't. It irks me when they expect I won't make them work just because some of the other teachers are lazy.
Yes, we have MELT.
I like Cleveland. Melt is good, the bouncers at Peabody's are schmucks but good bands come through. Two cheap hockey teams within driving distance (the Monster and the Erie Otters). I dig it there.
@AB, yeah it was the Forbes story that prompted the convo at work!
We were surprised by a few of the choices, like Memphis. miserable? really?
Here's my list, which I thought might interest some people on here due to overlap:
Alabama (assumed rejection)
UT Austin (hard, cold rejection)
Hunter (complicated. They called me on the phone, they want me to come visit, not officially accepted)
Montana (accepted)
Iowa
Sarah Lawrence
Irvine
UNC Greensboro (nothing, except the well documented fake-out email)
Virginia
Florida
Good luck to everyone on here! This is really an edge-of-your-seat situation. I was feeling down in the dumps, then got an acceptance. There is hope, and so many schools that have yet to make their decisions. Hang in there.
Oh man, I got kicked out of Peabody's so many times when I was underage. During the one year when I lived on campus I lived literally next door and happened to be 18/19. They are assholes there. They've also beat guys up before, including one guy who wasn't even underaged but still had a sideways driver's license. M
Koru,
Memphis has a lot of abandoned spaces/buildings right now, violent crime has always been extremely widespread there, etc.
I mean, one only has to walk a few blocks from Beale St. (the popular main drag/tourist avenue) to find empty blocks and rough neighborhoods.
That said, for a city that has a lot of culture, reasonably good weather, and some serious history/architecture, the cost of living in Memphis is phenomenal, so I also have a hard time seeing it as a miserable place.
I'm fiction by the way.
@Emma
When Hunter called, did they mention whether or not they were done calling or etc?
Also, when did they call?
Thanks!
@ Dreux,
I don't know Memphis' history; it just surprised us to see it on the list, because none of us had thought of it as blighted before. In the way, say, Pittsburgh, Dayton, Cleveland, Detroit, Flint, etc all are. yet not all those were on the list.
But on abandoned buildings: here's the weird thing: there are a growing number in Austin as well. I'd assuemd it's just the economy, but honestly, Austin doesn't seem hit by the recession other than some abandoned buildings, so who knows what's going on ... or are you saying that Memphis is deserted, like Detroit?
Memphis is worse off than Austin, but you're definitely right to be surprised to see it on a list with cities like Dayton, etc.
Pittsburgh, on the other hand, is a city that people mistakenly include on those lists. Pittsburgh is an extremely vital and wealthy city. It's the poster child for a successful conversion of a former center of industry into an influential hub in the service economy. Pittsburgh is doing great, as much as that might surprise some people.
@ ashley
thanks. no offense taken. i bet a lot of folks think twice about living in fairbanks. i live in tucson now, so the climatic difference is extreme, but i'm a climate extremist, so...
@ koru
the story about your friend's friends is frightening. i can only imagine the effect zero sunlight can have on a person over extended periods. especially those who are sun-loving/prone to SAD.
I lived in the Queen Charlotte islands through a winter, and its pretty tough to describe how depressing it can be not to see the sun come up 'til 11AM and go down at 2:30. Even if you're a pretty well-adjusted person.
@miss private eye
I'm not sure if Hunter has officially accepted anyone, although they very well may have. I doubt they are finished with that. I got the call two days ago. Good luck!
I am all about March. Honestly, February BLEW. Far too much snow. Crazy ice all the time as it melted and refroze. Lots of bad news re: MFA.
Here's hoping March goes in like a lion and OUT LIKE AN AWESOME LION.
@Dreux: Thanks for the Pittsburgh defense. It's honestly one of the best places you could ever live, and I'll miss it so when I leave. (And I'll come back if it will have me!)
In like a lion, out like a neon tiger.
or out like a liger.
in like a lion, out like an effin honeybadger.
that's how i want march to be.
@tough places to live - i knew as soon as that conversation started that it wouldn't be too long before someone said "dayton." ahh, the land of my people. tragic. and, btw, where i will end up in another month if i am not going to school. hear that, schools? dayton. dayton. people say "warsh" there.
I got on the fiction waiting list for Alabama earlier this afternoon - notified via email. WHOO-HOO!!!!!!!
I'm not sure if it's ranked or what number I am but ELATED even if I end up not making it into the final cut!!! :D
Congrats to Woon (CSU) and HappyGoNowhere (UAF)! And to those lucky Montana acceptees!
@ Frogs-- congrats!!! That's an amazing program. Cheers!
And to Frogs for Alabama! et al!
Subscribing.
@koru: FOR REAL.
I will let her know you said that :)
Good goin, Frogs!
Pencore,
Yeah lady, I love fru(n)'n too. I say it all the time, and stress the end (Fru'eeeeiiiin!)
Grammar - sigh. I'm over it. People make mistakes: always have; always will. And grammar isn't a priority for everyone (nor, quite frankly, does it need to be). But yeah, whatev.
Again, at Pencore - I went through a three year dry spell - *3*! I was a working journalist at the time, working from 7am to midnight sometimes. I was so consumed that I forgot what it was like to socialize (like, how do I talk to you without a pre-arranged set of questions?). Anytime someone flirted with me - and I realized I was actually being flirted with - I'd "eep" in my head and scurry away. I haven't even begun to analyze that one yet.
Anyway, when the economy crashed and I lost my job: I got hammered; went to a club; had a one-nighter and showered three times a day for weeks afterward. Then I decided to apply to MFAs. Failed. Tried again this year - while in a nice relationship and holding an OK job - and, yeah, :)
Though now I realize a break-up is inevitable. Can't do the long distance thing, and I'm most productive/creative during induced misery and loneliness. I haven't even told him yet. Ah well. So yeah, that's my story which I chose to divulge uninvited. Cheers.
@miss_private_eye, Rose, and Laura,
Thank you for the words of encouragement.
@Woon (and just a general spiel about MFA timing),
I've found that horrible, life altering experiences are very helpful in revealing the brutal truth about EVERYTHING, especially the questions, "Who am I, what do I want from life, and what should I do to get it?" I didn't just wake up one morning and say, "GEE my life sucks. Maybe I'll be a writer and get an MFA. That'll solve everything!" Like everyone else here, I've always been a writer. I attended an arts school in high school, I majored in creative writing as an undergrad. And throughout my entire life, particularly in these past two difficult years, the only thing I've been certain about is my writing. The desperation to move away is making me feel an additional level of stress, but it is NOT why I applied in the first place.
I can't be idle. Postponing my ambitions will not help me "straighten out" my life. Maybe I sounded hysterical or something in my last post, but I'm not so tormented that I would be unable to perform well in graduate school. If anything (like Laura), I thrive in academic settings.
Sorry if I sound defensive. It's because I am. :P
Oh, and on the topic of the mispronunciation of words: My friend used to say "flustrated." Oddly enough, that word perfectly describes how I feel 99% of the time.
Because I was a bit freaked about my status (at michener, I'm fiction) still saying "recieved all the documents we need" I called this morning, and they haven't even sent my manuscript to the mfa department. And here I was thinking, hoping, pretending I had a shot. Grand delusions pretending that the reason I hadn't been rejected was because they saw something in my manuscript and not because they haven't even recieved it yet. GAAAAhhhh. Delusions thus crushed.
re: life sucking, and getting an MFA.
if you have the talent to be accepted, and your recommenders think you've got what it takes to complete a programme, why not do it?
if everyone waited around til they got their shit together before doing mfa's ... well, there would be a lot of empty MFA programmes.
what gets me through the KILLER waiting:
"umm, you're packed and you're stacked, 'specially in the back
brother wanna thank ya mother for a butt like that. can i get some fries with that shake shake booty? if looks could kill you would be an uzi. you're a shotgun, bang! what's up with that thang? i wanna know how does it hang? straight up, wait up, hold up mr love. like prince said you're a sexy mutha. well i like real wild, b-boy style by the mile, smooth black skin with a smile. bright as the sun, i wanna have some fun. come and give me some of that yum yum chocolate chip, honey dipped, can i get a scoop? baby take a ride in my coupe, you make me wanna"
early 90s hip hop soothes all.
LA Falcon,
But the bright side is you haven't received the dreaded denied status yet, and they can still read your sample and admit you! You still have a chance!
I'll admit, I too harbored similar delusions until Monday when my status changed to in committee to denied in less than 30 minutes.
@mpe, so does 60s/70s/80s cheesey tunes! the strung-out decades have left a great legacy in boppy tunes that make a person want to dance and think everything might just be all right, somehow!
Seth (the Abramson, assuming you're reading this at some point):
I was thinking about how frustrating it is that I didn't find out (mainly because it's not listed on the actual sites for the MFA programs most of the time or on the Grad. school site) that most of my recommendation letters could be done online. In fact, I think my last 5 were online (out of 11), but I had already gotten hard copies from my recommenders, who do not live near me, thus making it more of a hassle for every letter I needed to physically have. Ignoring the obvious problems such as the fact that every year some things about the process per school could change, is there any way it would be possible to create a list of schools who use the online recommendation system? I think all of us who applied could help with this and compile something I think would be VERY useful to everyone involved in this tedious process in years to come. Just an idea.
I just wish I could still pretend my status has something to do with my talent, and not the laziness of the graduate school. At least I will be more prepared when the denied finally comes.
@koru
we're like the patients in the psych wards that are constantly humming themselves into happiness.
scoreee.
lol
@little poet ...
this might be a partial answer ... i was involved in a transatlantic move, as was one of my recommenders this fall. so that meant i started all my online apps AGES early, in order to find out which ones needed letters sent, and which needed online submissions.
all but one of the schools allowed you to send the letter prompts to recommenders while still starting the app (before sumbission).
as for the ones that could be done by sending in a paper copy, i just used interfolio.
But yeah ... i just sat at my computer one day, started each app, and compiled a list for the recommenders "you'll be asked for online recs from these 8 schools: blah blah blah" ... and then i had a list of the ones i could send them from interfolio.
hope that helps?
Every time I see someone mention "low res" school, I think of low resolution. Ack!
@mpe, score indeed!
and i'm working on a playlist of silly boppy feel-good cheese and wine songs for y'all ... i just have to check the DRM for some songs, convert them to non-DRM, before posting it. probably the weekend.
@koru
"maybe it's a reference to NJ's beaches most likely being toxic, and a suggestion to head down to MD or better yet VA? lol!'
har har. you are off my Christmas card list for that! And I'll happily be down the shore despite those Bennies from 'Boken or shoebies from Philly who invade our home.
(The Jersey Shore is my favorite place in the world--please don't judge it by the TV show or dumb toxic waste jokes.)
Subscribing. Though I'm not sure it's the healthy thing to do...
the little poet who could,
I think Seth is already overloaded with work and doesn't need to be compiling new lists. I definitely agree that the list would be helpful, though, so if there are any volunteers to make one I say go for it.
Hilary,
I find this very interesting. When I'm happy (which means I have my dearest friends around and such and such), I get distracted and tend not to focus as much. When I went through that three year thing - I was killing it at work: coming up with killer ideas; traveling across the country; turning in stories like crazy . . . things just kept happening. It was the same in college too, when my best friend went away and I was on my own that last year . . . I was inside my head so much, that these ideas kept coming, which produced my best writing in college - period (also, the stories for my writing sample this app season came pre-niceboyfriend).
I'm so caught in the misery process, that I earnestly can't feel how people can work when "happy". I can understand it on a human level, I guess . . . I just can't feel it as such.
Thanks Emma, Dry Leaves, Adam!
I appreciate your support. Waiting is tough business, but thrilled to belong to this community of awesome writers. :]
Suiciding -- er, I mean, subscribing :)
And OMG what is with people hating the word "moist" ??? My sister hates three words: moist, panties, rag. Sometimes just to piss her off I work them all in to a single sentence :)
I personally can not stand "irregardless."
Also, I live in Cleveland -- born and raised here (minus the 10 years I spent in Baltimore after college. I moved BACK, people. Need my head examined.) Anyway I really could not agree more with Forbes. One of my favorite phrases is this: "WHY does ANYBODY LIVE HERE!?" Horrible weather, urban blight, corrupt government officials, perpetually awful sports teams, unemployment, etc., etc. Lord, get me out of here.
Lastly: Congratulations to those who heard good news today :)
@Lauren
at least you guys have Lebron
...Aaaaand I have good news of my own. I heard today from the University of Central Florida that I've been offered a teaching assistantship :)
One funded acceptance was all I needed out of this stressful process, and I got it. So I am really really happy :) I don't know what to do with myself, actually. It feels sorta surreal, even if it's not a "top" school. I don't care -- I'm really excited :)
This is totally belated, I had a lot of crap to do today, but to all my teaching brethren, thanks for the stories ("what's a comp book" haha). I've made up some pretty good responses for the "what are we doing today" question, but after a point, my eye starts twitching. Good to hear I'm not the only one!
@Lauren, congrats!
And much more important than being at a 'top' school (in my opinion), is being at a place you WANT to be at and where you're open to the experience of learning from the writing comunity .... so congrats!
yayyy Lauren! congrats!
Awesome Lauren!! Seriously, that's absolutely fantastic. I think that program is going to be a good fit for you all around. I'm still crossing my fingers for Florida for you though :)
Congrats, Lauren! I'm happy for you. And it doesn't matter if it's the University of Bodalunk (I think that's how Woon worded it), this is an incredible achievement. And it's not where you go, but what you make with the opportunity you've been given. Trite, but whatev - I really believe that.
Anyway, that previous sentiment is moot cuz UCF is a great programme. So, yeah, deal with it.
Congrats, Lauren! I'm happy for you.
Lauren, congrats on the funding! That is SO AWESOME! Yay I am SO EXCITED for you!
Ok:
Cleveland has the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (I used to work there, it is fantastic), a world class Art Museum, a big five Orchestra, great local theater, Coventry, Little Italy, a low cost of living, Lake Erie, Slavic Village, the Metroparks... I can go on and on. This place isn't for everyone, but I think that Cleveland gets a really unfair reputation. There is a LOT to offer here, you just have to be willing to get involved.
@YARebels,
You still around? Any news?
hey kids -
for anyone who's written off george mason - i got an acceptance e-mail from them this afternoon (in poetry). my guess is they'll be notifying people for a while yet.
@leslie - did you just call me a bennie?! i don't know what that means, exactly, but it makes me want to come pee in your ocean. ;)
i'm watching American Idol and having an eerie sense of it being like the MFA app process ... they just kicked one chick off the show, and she sang her goodbye song ... pretty damned good! sad that such a telented singer's off the show, just soo much talent on the stage ... just like the MFA app process & not getting in because soo many talented applicants.
Dreux- the hockey is key. I chose my undergrad largely due to such factors.
@Ashley --
Sometimes I convince myself that Cleveland's okay. I actually love Lake Erie and I am one of the only people I know who spends a LOT of time at Mentor Headlands beach enjoying one of our awesome natural resources. I also love Coventry and Cleveland Heights. I love Phoenix Coffee (I hang out at a couple different ones). I am a for-real fan of the Browns and the Indians.
It's just...in the winter especially...And with more than half the people I know out of work, and my own bookstore just closed, etc., etc. -- it's hard to be a cheerleader for Cleveland.
how far away from Cleveland is Columbus? you all have me really curious about Cleveland now ...
Jessicastone--uh, yeah. I did. Benny stands for, usually, Bayonne/Elizabeth/Newark/New York, but Hoboken counts too.
Pee's fine--it's natural.:)
Koru,
It's about a two hour drive from Columbus to Cleveland.
Lauren, if you're online still, do mind saying how much your teaching stipend was? I'm just curious to see how much they offer :)
But, full disclosure, jenniferstone---I have lived much of my adult life in North Jersey, so I could be labeled a Benny, too, by now.
weighswithwords: Everyone except Wisconsin. Of course, I've assumed rejections from Cornell, Michigan, Vanderbilt, k.t.l. I'm especially anxious to hear from my New York schools, which should start notifying next week.
@leslie - that is AWESOME. not sure how i've lived here this long and never heard it before. when i get a walk on role on Jersey Shore that's gonna be my nickname.
Congrats Woon, Dry Leaves, Lauren, Frogs and everyone else.
It seems Iowa has been quiet this week on the acceptance front. Did I miss something?
@Riah and others, my personal advice would be to assume rejection for Iowa. If you get a wait list notification, the joyful surprise will be a fun little experience, but I've put Iowa in big fat red on my excel spreadsheet. It helps to move on :)
PS - that has no bearing on you writing sample, I just think it's not worth it to stress about the unknown, better to start moving on :P
Congrats to DryLeaves, Lauren, Frogs, et al!
Cratty, I see what you mean - we both experience distraction as the problem, but it comes from a different place. When I'm having a terrible day (or eighteen months), all I can write about is how, well, miserable I am because when I'm upset I tend to worry/obsess - it gives me tunnel vision. When I'm happy, it's much easier to let my mind wander and occasionally snag on good things to make into poems.
Or, to put it differently, I am less productive (because there are people I care about around) but what I produce is of better quality. I wish I could be simultaneously prolific and awesome - but when I'm unhappy/lonely, I may write a ton but none of it's good.
Hmmm . . . well, one theory:
Maybe poetry peeps need to be happy to prevent themselves from taking their works too literally. I'm bad at poetry - bad! But Ive recently taken an interest in reading. I started with good ol' T.S. Elliot. Good heavens. Are all poets' work this gloomy? Or do I need to read more of his stuff?
@Jessa -- Instead of saying "I'm gonna Yah Mo burn this place to the ground," you can just say "Yah Mo burn this place to the ground."
"I'm gonna" and "Yah Mo" are redundant. You're welcome.
@Lydia
I went to UCSD for my undergraduate studies.
If you have any questions, you can email me at rachel dot n dot bovee at gmail dot com
OK, so ice dancing alluded me, but aerial skiing is sick nasty! That would make me poop my pants...
ummm, eluded me. oops :)
Cratty, it's so funny to hear that because Eliot's one of my favorites! In college, I used to bring my copy of his collected works home during holidays with me in case I suddenly needed to read it (oh God, some AdCom person is going to read that and think I'm crazy).
A lot of it is gloomy, yes - "Four Quartets" is actually full of hope, though, as is the end of "The Waste Land" - it's about rebirth and the possibility of living a good life, among the million other things that "The Waste Land" is about which I would never presume to try to comprehensively explain. But yes, "Prufrock" and "The Hollow Men"... them's rough stuff.
There's always "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats," though!
@ Woon
Jessa was quoting "40 Year Old Virgin." You're welcome. :)
Thanks Riah, hilary!
I'll keep everyone posted through the upcoming weeks; still have five more schools to go.
Congratulations to Woon and Lauren. :]
I posted my list at the "official" WAITING in HELL blog, but I want to add it here too:
(MFA/Fiction)
acceptance:
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY!
official rejections:
Memphis (and I just graduated from there, knife in the back!)
Wash U. STL
still waiting:
Arkansas
Florida
GCSU
Houston
Virginia
(assumed rejections):
Alabama
Vanderbilt
~~J
I just realized why I wasn't hearing anything from you all...Gah! New mailbag!! Seriously, one full day at work, and everything goes topsy turvy.
Congrats Janet! Great program. Congrats all acceptances today. Wish there were more!
@Cratty, @hilary, another Eliot lover here! and one who picks him up regularly to dip back into his works.
though he's someone who requires a fair bit of research/notes/explanation ... so an interesting pick to 'dip into' for someone just turning to poetry! there are far more accessible poets out there!
@ Jessa,
Thanks, I'll send you an email! If I apply to City Year, it'll definitely be in Boston.
GAH! Now I'm not too happy that I missed this mailbag until now...two reported acceptances from George Mason? Now I'm not going to be able to focus at work tomorrow.
Anyone heard from George Mason in CNF?
Congrats, Janet!
So Chrissy, it wasn't you in the other mailbag, it was a different Chrissy? The one with the GNE? Because I was really excited that you had gotten a GNE, but I guess it was the other Chrissy -- not that I'm not happy that that Chrissy got a GNE. It's confusing! That's why I started posting under my first name & last initial, after the four other Lauras came on the blog!
I'm the original Chrissy, and I didn't get a GNE. Sadly sadly sadly. I wish I were that Chrissy. But I'm not.
Gah! If only my sister (who, at a year old, couldn't say Christine when I was born) hadn't nicknamed me, there wouldn't be confusion.
Although, if my brother had his choice, I'd be Christopher Robin...I much prefer Chrissy.
(And Laura T, thanks for your well wishes. They mean a lot. I often feel invisible on here!)
Does Iowa continue notifying people into the first week of March?
Regardless, the first two weeks of March will be big.
@ kaybay
@ abbie
Thanks a bunch!
~~J
Another week and nothing but silence.
Oh, f*** it, I don't have to talk, either, man! See how you like it. Just total f***in' silence. Two can play at that game, smart guy. We'll just see how you like it. Total silence.
I adore Eliot.
Regarding linguistic pet-peeves: "whole nother..." as in, "Don't get me started! That's a whole nother can of worms.."
@Jessa, @DigAPony -- The 40 Year Old Virgin. Caramba!
ahhhh ... women's figure skating coming back on the telly!
@Woon
I'm excited!!!!
@Chrissy -- Excited about what?
Shoot, that was meant to be @koru! I scrolled to fast. Haste = not my friend.
aha Chrissy!
i really, really just hope the canadian gets a medal & skates her best!
anyhoo, i'm confused with all the double and triple names on this blog now!
@koru, should I change my name? I just feel like I was the first Chrissy on here! Can't I keep my name? Haha.
nah Chrissy, don't change your name ... we'll live! (in confusion, but countries wont fall into the seas!)
we need some mystery in life!
@koru haha. Okay then.
Back to the Olympics: I'm sort of rooting for Rachel Flatt, although, I also loved Joannie. She skated so beautifully the other night.
i just have such, such admiration for rochette getting out on the ice and skating the other day; and when it was so obvious she wasn't even able to keep her face composed for the entirety of her skate. just, wow. the concentration & dedication.
though the korean and japanese in first and second now are just so amazing to watch!
(for those of you not keeping up with olympic news, her mum died in the olympic village this week of a sudden heart attack).
ok. sort of wish i hadn't found this blog. lurking etc etc.
list for fiction:
iowa
UT (rejection)
mississippi
brooklyn
uva
uncg
uncw
vanderbilt (acceptance)
@ hilary (& cratty)
I love eliot too. I used to have Prufrock memorized. Probably still do. Love the wasteland too. I studies so many of the references in the poem, especially thunder in Hinduism and Indian culture.
Perhaps they are depressing. I've just never viewed art that way. If something stirs me, I always find it beautiful regardless of its tone or message.
...Somehow failed to ACTUALLY subscribe before. Was wondering why my inbox was so empty. Let's try this again.
oh man. that was way too quiet a week. hopefully we'll hear something tomorrow before the big scary silent weekend.
Accepted to WVU in CNF!
Accepted at WVU in CNF!
congrats ositacolleen!
@ Ositacolleen,
Congratulations!
Congrats to everyone who heard today! I've been at a choir conference all day so not keeping up to well. I also managed to fall on ice and pull a muscle in my leg?? Only a clumsiness as beautiful as mine could pull that off at a choral con!
Also, I react to the word "undulate" the way some people react to the word "moist". It is the most disgusting word in the entire english language.
Congratulations ositacolleen!
oh coughdrop!
i hope you can soak in a salt bath or something!
i also am a rather clumsy character. my mum bought my yaktrax years ago ... it's the only thing that gets me through snow/ice at all! i have no balance on the stuff!
@coughdrop - I have the same reaction ungulate, for some reason (but not undulate) Also have issues with the word glottal.
Cheers!
@koru
I have to be up early again tomorrow for more singing so I am currently pretending that my leg isn't being a shithead. I'm hoping it will feel better tomorrow!
@frankish
augh you are right ungulate is bad but I do not think it matches the horror that is undulate. Glottal is pretty awful too!
all these words whose sounds produce horror are being written down to try to work into poems sometime in the future! :-D
Here's to good news tomorrow/this weekend! What I wouldn't give to get some sort of good news these next few days... the silence has become overwhelming. I need my sanity/self-esteem back, dammit. I'm trying to stay optimistic and semi-calm, and failing miserably. Please, my schools, please love me. I'm at your mercy!
My heart is with everyone these next few weeks.
koru, excellent idea!!
We'll all show up to our first MFA workshops with poems about moist undulation.
Ew. *cringe*
the moist undulation of the epiglottis ...
yeah. it'll be an erotic poem.
or maybe not.
right. i have meetings in the morning :-( so i better go to bed now that the figure skating's over with!
Here's hoping for good news tomorrow. Just don't go too crazy while I'm at work, MFA Blog. Haha.
Congrats ositacolleen, and others!
@ Ashley, Abbie, Mila et al
Thank you for your congratulations. It is a relief to get in somewhere.
Congrats Woon, Dry Leaves, Lauren, Frogs and everyone else.
@Daryl the Iowa website says March..so I duno what to make but I shall sit tight waiting...
@ositacolleen: congratulations on the WVU acceptance. I'm also CNF there. You mind saying how you were notified and if anything was mentioned about where they're at? Thanks.
Hi guys I don't want to take away hope from anyone but this is the reply I got from Iowa -
Our admission decisions will be mailed out on the first week in March.
Sincerely,
Deb West
My email to her was -
I'm an International applicant from India for the Iowa Writers Workshop, I just wanted to know if the workshop is done notifying all the accepted candidates. It would let me know about the status of my application.
I would really appreciate a reply from your end.
So now my gut feel says it's over she said 'mailed out' not call - I dunno what do you guys think??
I've been desperately wanting to 'jump in' to the interesting, nervous 'dialogue' that continues to transpire in these 'mailbags' (and I do love this blog -- very very helpful throughout the MFA process; Thank You!), but I had to consult my psychoanalyst first. I've received the 'go ahead', so here are my schools that I've applied to:
Wisconsin-Madison -- Rejected
UT Austin (Michener) -- Rejected
OTIS College - Accepted
Oregon State -
Brown U. -
Alabama -
Michigan -
Florida -
Purdue -
Notre Dame -
Iowa -
Virginia -
Arizona State -
And that concludes the list. My psychoanalyst and I wish everybody the best during these stressful times.
As well, my therapist wishes everyone good luck!!
And so do I.
(might as well post my list, for poetry)
Michigan
UMass
UCSD
Iowa
Brown
NYU
Virginia
U of Washington
U of Oregon
San Diego State
UC Irvine
Rejected from the first three, nothing from the rest.
Subscribing
Also, about Iowa @nefrettiti, I hold out hope until I have the letter. For everyone else, I would give up quickly, but they have over 20 poets to notify, and that shit takes time.
RIGHT???
@Morgan
Yeah, I just notified a poet today, and let me tell you, it took hours.
I notified a poet, and now it hurts when I pee. :P
Thanks, everyone, for the congrats. It's the first I have heard from so I'm pretty psyched. It is also one of my top two choices.
@ JimfifeOH They left a phone message and emailed with details of the TAship, etc. Said to take as long as I need to decide, but let them know as soon as I do. I didn't actually speak with anyone so I don't know what their process is.
@ frankish
I love your posts. Also, Fargo rules.
Congrats to today's acceptances that I have yet to catch up on! Come on Friday, bring us all some good news...
Apple pie from crust..is my recipe of the day
Hey all! Hope it's a very happy Friday for all of us! :)
Hey guys- don't give up on Iowa. I remember years past that some applicants found out about their acceptances through a thin little letter. And it is getting close to midterm season- schools are busy.
subscribing. happy two-more-days-til-march!
Isn't Wisconsin doing its final round today?
@Lucas - Today is the end of the two weeks Wisconsin had said it might take. My online status hasn't changed yet. I'm trying not to worry too much about the possibility of notifications going out today.
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