The Good, the Great, & the Frustrating.

I washed my sheets, my pillows, my clothes, the carpet, the bed, the couch, the ottoman, the rugs, everything. Twice. Plastic-wrapped my bed and box springs. I haven't seen another bug since. So I'm lead to believe it was a lone hitchhiker. I started washing my backpack, bags, everything. I still haven't seen another bug, so I'm hoping this is the end of the bed bug paranoia. I may just wash my sheets again next week. Just to be safe.

In terms of academia, a lot has been going on. Reading books, analyzing them, doing small imitation exercises, working on a mini conference paper presentation; constructing syllabi and lesson plans; working on my "thesis." I use quotations because I still have no idea what I'm doing, just two good ideas that I may or may not follow through to completion. I get the first workshopped next week; the next is Visual Storytelling, so I'm getting started now so drawing it doesn't take over my life later. I'm very excited about my classes and everything I'm learning. I am absolutely loving this.

As for work, you could hardly call it that. The main thing is remembering to grade on time, otherwise it piles up and gets forgotten. As the weeks progress I've become a harsher and harsher grader; my students don't necessarily appreciate that, but by the fourth week of class, if the assignment says 100-200 words and you give me 24, that's not going to fly. Simple as that. My interns are all doing great; the Winter 2010 issue of The Florida Review is finally out (huzzah!) and Summer 2011 should be out soon, too. :] I also got word that I may be able to interview a certain poet-memoirist with a movie adaptation coming out next year... very exciting! Work on the Reading Series I'm helping put together is going slow and steady; just trying to send out the Press Release and get readers for the event!

I've been trying to work on stuff on the side for submissions... There are so many places to submit, and I have nothing finished to sumbit! I'm really regretting not using the summer to really work on more writing. :/ But it's okay, I will recover. I even got invited to do a reading in December, but more on that as it approaches.

It's not all sunshine and happiness and rainbows, though.

Immersing myself in the MFA program has been great for personal and professional development, but it is putting a bit of strain on some, most, of my relationships. (I wrote a big long paragraph here, and then cut it because it ended up just being a rant.)

And a random note about ZAT: I've been at it again, slowly. Something to keep me sane. I'm missing Aikido really badly, though. I'm not sure how much longer I can go without it.

All Grown Up. Almost.

So last Thursday I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, Concentration being Creative Writing (Fiction), and my minor as Physics!

Graduation day was interesting. The first time both my mom and my dad have been within 8 feet of each other. They were civil, and I am grateful.


Boyfriend and I just following the ceremony!
I don't feel any different. It's nice that that chapter of my life is now complete, and I can move on. But I'm still going to miss the school, and my friends here.

But I'm ready to move on. Unfortunately, I'm still stressed out. I forgot to turn in my immunization form to my new graduate school, so now there is a hold on my account and I can't sign up for my classes. I'm having to cut my long mother's day weekend at home short in order to get that taken care of ASAP.

On Tuesday I have orientation for my new job. Thursday is my first day of training. I still need to get solid white sneakers for work. It's going to be interesting, to say the least. I hope they give me enough hours to cover my rent.

So far I have read one book for fun. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I got it as a Christmas gift two years ago, and I finally had time to read it. Read it in a day. It was awesome. :] Now I just need to slowly devour the unread books on my shelf before I can start reading new books on my Kindle.

I also need to start with my Zombie Apocalypse Training again, and going to Aikido. In these last two semesters I've put on more pounds than I'm happy admitting, and I need to fix that. :/

On the bright side, the Florida weather is being awesome. Yes, hot as usual, but I'm enjoying the sunshine. :) Hopefully this summer ends up being awesome, and leads to better things to come!