Editing Blunders

Sorry I haven't posted for awhile friends. School got the better of me.

My roommate came home one night with this fortune: "Your love of the life will be happy and harmonious."

I hope I'm not the only one with a painfully puzzled look on my face. What is this supposed to mean? Will my roommate's dream guy be happy and harmonious? Will her life simply be happy and harmonious? I'm not even sure what to do with blunder because the meaning itself isn't clear.

My poor roommate got jipped. If anybody's interested, I'll find out which restaurant this fortune came from and let you all know so you don't get jipped too.

I hope you've all learned today's lesson: Never trust fortune cookies. And laugh when people make silly mistakes in English.

Book Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Book Review: The Book Thief

Author: Markus Zusak

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

Release Date: 2006

I picked up this book because it's about someone who steals books and thus starts a love affair with words. How could I not read it?

The year is 1939, in Nazi Germany. Liesel Meminger becomes the book thief at the same time that she joins a foster family, both of which change her life. When her foster family decides to harbor a Jew in the basement, Liesel's world is both opened up and closed down by the power of words. Death himself narrates Liesel's story, about her journeys learning to read and to make sense of the world and the war around her.

There are two major techniques present that make me absolutely love this book. The first is Death's role as narrator. How does a writer get any more creative than that? Because of his role, Death becomes as much of a character as any human in the story. Death most often talks to readers in the usual paragraph form, but sometimes he uses something like an aside in a play to interrupt himself or the story to provide another point of view or pertinent fact, a lot like this example from the prologue.

****HERE IS A SMALL FACT****

You are going to die.

If you ask Death, he'll tell you he does that to distract himself. Distraction is his vacation from collecting the dead, since he's the only one who can do his job. Because of his role, Death becomes as much of a character as any human in the story. In the prologue and his introduction he says, "I most definitely can be cheerful. I can be amiable. Agreeable. Affable. And that's only the A's. Just don't ask me to be nice." By using Death as the narrator, Zusak also makes great use of foreshadowing, since Death is looking back on the story as he tells it and because he knows what ultimately happens to every person in the story.

The other technique in this book that I love actually isn't a technique at all. It's a matter of style. Zusak phrases things in the most interesting and provocative way I think I've ever read. He often combines verbs and objects to be affected by the verbs in unusual ways. For example, Death tells us in the prologue that a formal introduction isn't necessary, because we'll all meet him eventually, when he'll be standing over us ("as genially as possible") to collect our dying souls. "At that moment," he says, "you will be caked in your own body. There might be a discovery; a scream will dribble down the air." I've never thought of my soul as being caked inside my body, or of a scream as something that dribbles. Zusak's syntax style extends throughout the book and to other parts of speech, such as when Liesel's foster parents decide to harbor a Jew in the basement and the weather outside reflects the misery inside: "Outside, a mountain of cold November air was waiting at the front door each time Liesel left the house. Drizzle came down in spades. Dead leaves were slumped on the road." I doubt I've ever seen leaves slump, and I hope I never run into a mountain of cold air.

The beginnig is a bit slow, and towards the end of the book it gets sad. I admit I cried. Even Death is appalled at what's happening in Germany in 1944. The words Liesel loves and hates so much can only save her, not the other things she loves when her town in bombed. But the very end, the epilogue, has a good ending. Something else she loves survives the war, and Death talks to her face to face, wondering how mankind "could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant." It's a universal uncomprehending.

The Book Thief is a great read to see another side of the Nazi Germany story, about normal Germans living ordinary lives and helping their Jewish friends. The book also received several starred reviews and many, many awards, including the New York Times #1 Bestseller, the National Jewish Book Award, the Publisher's Weekly Best Book of the Year, and the Booklist Best Book of the Year, among many others. As a starred review from The Horn Book Magazine put it, this book is "a tour de force that to be not just read but inhabited." Plus, it just feels good to hold it in your hands.

Book Review: Made From Scratch by Jenna Woginrich

Book Review: Made From Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life

Author: Jenna Woginrich

Publisher: Storey Publishing

Release Date: 2008

I asked for this book for my birthday because I read Jenna's blog fairly regularly and enjoy her opinions and turn of phrase. Made From Scratch is part autobiography, part introduction to basic homesteading skills, and part DIY homesteading projects and ideas.

When Jenna first began considering a vegetarian diet, she researched how the food she ate got to her plate, and the truth of it disgusted her, as well as increased her respect for small farmers and her desire to live a more self-sufficient life. Her only skills at the beginning of her journey were basic knitting and soap-making, which she did for fun; with the help of friends and more research, the list of homesteading skills she developed grew to include gardening, raising chickens, beekeeping, training work (and sled) dogs, shearing angora rabbits, collecting antiques (especially hand-powered kitchen appliances), sewing clothing, and making her own entertainment by learning to play the fiddle. In each chapter devoted to one of these skills, Jenna tells her story, then directs us how to get started. At the end of the book in something like a bibliography or reading list, Jenna points the way even further with the books and websites she used to research these skills.

I really enjoyed this book and I recommend it for anyone who misses summer now that we're in January or who likes the ideas of controlling how necessary items get to them, learning basic self-sufficient skills, or living closer to the land. Jenna's humor and honesty draw you in and really make you part of the community she herself has joined, while the story of her mistakes and successes and growth encourage you to do something productive, something real and authentic. As MaryJane Buttars (to whom Jenna refers multiple times) said, "Jenna walks you to the door of your fantasy and points the way towards a more self-sufficient and authentic lifestyle."

To get a taste of the book before you buy (or borrow from me), check out Jenna's blog. And as always, I'd love to hear what you think.

Book Review: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Book Review: The Lightning Thief, book one of Percy Jackson and the Olympians series
Author: Rick Riordan
Publisher: Miramax Hyperion Books
Release Year: 2005

I chose to read this book because it's the favorite series of a good friend of mine (and then I saw the trailer for the movie). All I can say is...Wow. I read this book in about six hours. It was the first time I have stayed up so late it was early to finish a book since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out. As a starred review from Kirkus Reviews put it, "Look no further for the next Harry Potter; meet Percy Jackson, as legions of fans already have." I simply could not put this book down. I have since read three of the four remaining books in the series, all in a similar timeframe. I'm hooked.


Weird things always happen around Percy Jackson. He's been kicked out of a new boarding school every year and it's about to happen again in the sixth grade, but that's the least of his problems. Greek mythological monsters and gods keep appearing in his life. Zeus's master lightning bolt--the one from which all other bolts are copied and the most powerful weapon in the universe--has been stolen, and Percy is the number one suspect. Now Percy and his friends have just 10 days to find the bolt and return it to Zeus before all-out war starts on Mount Olympus. But in order to find the thief and the stolen property, Percy must come to terms with the father who abandoned him, solve the riddle of the Oracle, and unravel a powerful treachery.

The first thing I love about this book is the chapter titles. They're creative, provactive, and usually hilarious, and they are consistently so throughout the series, with titles like "I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher," "Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death," and "I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom." You just can't help being sucked in with titles like these.

The clues about Percy's parentage, the quest he undertakes to find the lightning bolt, the treachery he discovers as he attempts to prove himself innocent of theft, and the gods themselves are well spaced and delivered so the reader can see just a bit further ahead than Percy. The battle scenes are believable and intense, and as are the abilities and powers of gods, monsters, and certain individuals. I am highly impressed with how clean this book is. There is absolutely no inappropriate language or behavior. The battle scenes are the only violence, but they are never gruesome or bloody; some people die and some get hurt, but these battles are always ultimately an issue of good versus evil.

I may not have studied Greek history and mythology for several years, but I still think the Greeks are a huge part of our collective cultural history. I think students in whatever grade learns about Greek civilization should read this book at the beginning of the unit as an introduction to and creative application of the subject. This is a very, very good read. I read this book and then almost immediately bought the whole series because after the first book, I knew I would love them all. That is a rare gift. I highly recommend this book and it's series.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Book One: The Lightning Thief is a New York Times Notable Book of 2005, a Child Magazine Best Book of the Year, and a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. As the New York Times Review put it, this book is "Perfectly paced, with electrifying moments chasing each other like heartbeats."

The new movie Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief comes to theaters February 12, 2010.

As always, I welcome your comments. Let me know what you think.

Movie Review: The Princess and the Frog

If this blog is supposed to be a collection of "thoughts on books, movies, and more" then I thought it ought to contain reviews of those media. Hopefully I can write reviews and post them here regularly with my busy spring semester schedule at Utah State University. Here's to my first review!



Movie Review: The Princess and the Frog
Release Date: December 11 2009
Company: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Rated: G


I was really excited to see this movie when my two little sisters, my sister-in-law and I went to see it last week, but unfortunately, the movie didn't live up to the standards I expected from either the commercials for the movie or other Disney princess movies.

The Princess and the Frog takes place in Jazz Age New Orleans. Tiana is a hardworking young woman who wants nothing more than to fulfill her late father's dream of opening a restaurant, while Prince Naveen comes to the Big Easy looking for a good time and a rich bride, since his parents have cut him off from the family funds. Both their plans are disrupted by the sinister plots of the Shadow Man, and they must work together and make unusual friends to resume their rightful forms and normal lives.

The film reminds me of movies like Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and The Little Mermaid (1989), which is likely because two of the film's three directors, Ron Clement and John Musker, also wrote and/or directed the last two movies in that list. Their involvement and leadership affects many aspects of the movie: the 2D animation is superb, the music fantastic (I'm considering buying the soundtrack), the voices and accents spot-on, the characters developed and believable, and the setting real. The story, however, feels a bit weak, with too many loose ends. Why does the Shadow Man target Prince Naveen? What are the reasons behind the actions of Prince Naveen's butler? What happened to Tiana's dad? Why does Prince Naveen choose New Orleans if he has no money? Why are the Shadow Man's "friends on the other side" working with him? They don't seem to like him. What do they want? Questions like these are unsettling, especially in a G-rated, kid-targeted movie.

Speaking of the rating, this movie contains scary images that I think deserve a PG rating. I find the Shadow Man's manipulation of his own shadow interesting, but when he uses other shadows--the creepy kind--to do his bidding, I'm concerned that young children will get scared easily and even have nightmares.

The Princess and the Frog has been nominated for the 2010 Golden Globe Best Animated Feature Film award, as well as 15 other awards in categories such as Best Original Song, Voice Acting, and Character Animation.

All in all, The Princess and the Frog was worth my time and money. I'm glad I took the opportunity with my sisters to go see it, but I won't be seeing it again. I probably won't buy the DVD anytime soon.



As always, please feel free to comment on this post. I want to hear what you think about my reviews and what books, movies, or music you think I should review. Happy Holidays everyone!

"Burn Down the House" by SHeDAISY

I love this song. I especially love listening to it while driving. I admit it: I get road rage. But the thing that makes this song great is the poetry of it. The lyrics are full of strong images and beautiful sounds that make it easy to sing along. I realize that country-ish music isn't for everyone, but listen to the words: see the images that build this song and taste the sounds that make it fun to sing along with.

You can listen to the song on YouTube.com here. (I'd rather import the video for your audio-visual enjoyment but I can't figure out how.)

And here are the lyrics, to aid you in seeing imagery and tasting sounds:

Today I promise I'll never love you again
I swear I'll care as little as I can
'Cause I've become accustomed to wearin' nothin'
But pink nail polish on my left hand
So many valuable lessons I learned from you
Like forgiveness and breakin' hearts too
Now that you're a goner in your honor
More of the silence is the least I can do

Cut the lines
Blow up a few bridges
Trim the fat
Trim the grass
Clean out the fridge
Then sweep up the mess
Put on my Sunday best
And burn down the house
Burn down the house
Toss an easy stride into this dance I call life
And Burrrn, yeah

I never did like your fantasy football friends
I'll never have to watch Caddyshack again
I finally started cookin' and if you're lookin'
I'm walkin' my new dog in front of my new house
Got a new job and the money's come in
See you need a new man and a world and a new life
Nothing's quite as right as a girl on the mend

Cut the lines
Blow up a few bridges
Trim the fat
Trim the grass
Clean out the fridge
Then sweep up the mess
Put on my Sunday best
And burn down the house
Burn down the house
Toss an easy stride into this dance I call life
And BurnYeah, yeah
Oh, whoa, whoa

Tearin' down old walls
Puttin' up new ones
Have a little fun it's wreckin' ball night
Gotta little itchin' to get down in the kitchen
With my tall drink of water and some dynamite

Cut the lines
Blow up a few bridges
Trim the fat
Trim the grass
Clean out the fridge
Then sweep up the mess
Put on my Sunday best
And burn down the house
Burn down the house
Toss an easy stride into this dance I call life
And burn, burn, burn
Baby, burn
Ah, burn it up, yeah
Don't know burn, burn
Burn it, burn it, burn it up

School is back

Sorry it's been awhile since I posted, folks. That second internship at the USU Press kept me really busy up until school started. Some good news and some bad news following the first week back on campus: I was lucky enough to make it into Dr. Sinor's Creative Nonfiction Writing class, which I am very excited for! Plus, the focus of my Prose Studies class is autobiography, so the two classes will reflect off each other and I will learn more than I could taking each class singly. The bad news is that I did not make it into Dr. McCuskey's British Writers class all about Jane Austen, and I don't think I can audit the class. I might talk with him tomorrow and see if we can work something out so I can learn to read Jane Austen critically without actually being in the class. Other than that, I'm good to go! Lots of reading and writing to do already, but that's why I'm an English major.

I have a correction to make for my previous posts. I am not entering the May Swenson Poetry contest even though that would be a great opportunity for me to grow as a writer. I decided I should probably start studying for the GRE and write poetry when the creative urge hits me. Poetry never sounds or feels good when you try to force it.

Since I am no longer entering the contest, I thought I'd share with you my "midnight poetry" from the last post. Let me know what you think.

Today I ate a grapefruit

and now Orange describes everything

as I sit in the sun:

the glow through my eyelids

the radiation of heat from my center

the calm energy of this yoga pose

the sour citrus taste on my tongue

even the cricket-song of sunset

puncuated by the crunch of dry grass.

Yay for writing

I couldn't fall asleep last night, so I wrote some "midnight poetry" at 2 am. The desire and inspiration to write is such a good feeling! The problem is that now I want to post it here; I hadn't realized how much sharing my writing on the internet contributes to my attitude about writing. Let me know if you want to read it, or if you think I wouldn't be disqualified from the May Swenson Poetry Award by posting it here.

I'm also thinking about advertising myself on campus as a freelance editor. I'm thinking with two internships at the Press, my job as a Rhetoric Associate, and currently being trained as a copyeditor that I have experience to do scholarly/research papers; I also think that with my experience in creative writing and the fact that I'm a senior in that major I could also freelance creative work. Let me know what you think.

The May Swenson Poetry Award

...is my new deadline. I've already posted how strange it feels to have a large percentage of my no-assignment, no-deadline writing take the form of poetry, and now I'm doing something even stranger: trying to write even more of the genre I've never previously had feelings for, and get it peer-reviewed and edited and as perfect as possible, and submitted to (my favorite place) the USU Press for the May Swenson Poetry Award BY SEPTEMBER 30. Am I crazy?

So this means lots of work. The submissions must be unpublished, so only first drafts have the potential of making it onto the blog, and then probably not many. Mostly I will probably keep you updated about the process and what I'm learning, maybe a few troublesome lines or deep questions I'm pondering. If you want to help me out and peer review some of the poems (50 to 100 pages, one poem per page--AAH!), let me know and I will find a way to get some to you! I need all the help I can get!

How many poems a week do you think it's reasonable to expect myself to produce? Remember I have to have time to edit and get them peer-reviewed, too. Ten weeks between now and then, subtract a two-week cushion, equals eight weeks to write. Aim for 75 poems (middle of 50 and 100), divided by 8 weeks...basically I'd have to write (at least) one poem every day. That's a lot more writing than I've ever done.

Tell me what you think of this idea: Shanan Ballam was my Poetry Writing teacher this spring, and since she writes a lot, she's been published, she has her MFA, and she was my teacher of poetry, I'm thinking about emailing her and seeing if we can establish some sort of mentor relationship. Meeting with her once or twice a week would be very helpful for my writing because not only would I be discussing my poetry with someone who knows what she's talking about, but I would have more and closer deadlines and the writing would feel more like an assignment, the two things that I lack over the summer. The only thing is that it's still summer break, so the beginning of this relationship might be mostly email-based, which is okay. Even if I don't earn the May Swenson Poetry Award, Shanan would know of other publishing venues, like journals (or databases of them), and be able to help me either write for a journal's guidelines or find some that are likely to accept my style. Of course, the real goal here (besides an improvement in writing, a bigger portfolio, and a better chance of getting published) is to get another letter of recommendation for grad school. That way I'd have one for my creative work, one for my academic work (Dr. McCuskey, hopefully), and one for my publishing experience (John from the USU Press).

And they tell you who the judge is on the guidelines website (http://www.usu.edu/usupress/poetry_award/), so now I'm nervous. Grace Schulman sounds incredible. Should I read some of her poetry collections? Some poetry in general probably, just to sort of immerse myself in the situation and the genre, but should I read hers specifically? How much?

This is a lot to do and think about, on top of grad school research and materials, GRE studying, working at Walmart as much as possible to afford tuition, my internship at the Press, reading (hopefully) Atlas Shrugged for a scholarship essay (conveniently due in the middle of September...), and any other kind of writing.

If anybody sees me wasting time, such as watching TV, will you please smile and remind me that I have writing to do so you can see a published book of my poetry? Thanks.

Question 5:

Someone whose opinion I value greatly read that poem yesterday and commented that the switch from comical to serious seemed a bit harsh for her. This led me to think: how would the poem change if it ended with the comical "What thunderous snores..." line? Is the realization of how loud his snores must be enough of a twist at the end for the poem to feel done? Can the poem function as simply a funny take-off of a nursery rhyme?

And Question 6: Any ideas for a title? It'd be great if the title made readers think about the poem differently or see something new in it the second time around.

Hallelujah!

I started writing again today! Woot! I'm not sure if I'm going to write that memoir about Megan; maybe, but I'd have to do it all from scratch, and that's hard when you've already started the project in a different form (like, say, a badly written version of the memoir from when you were 16...). Today I wrote a poem. Actually, I expanded on an idea I had for a poem in January, but that I couldn't find a direction for in my Poetry Writing class. Hopefully this means I have successfully psyched myself into writing something every day; the more seriously I consider grad school, the more things I have to do yesterday to make myself a competitive applicant (the acceptance rate for the school I really want to go to is about 50 seats to 150 applicants--yikes). Sometime this week I need to go to Testing Services and figure out how to register for the September GRE, then go to Hastings and buy the book my brother told me to study from. I need to write something every day, so that a) my writing improves, b) I'll have a bigger portfolio, and c) I might get scholarships, published, and/or go to conference(s). I need to read every day to expand my knowledge base (to be a good writer you have to read, you know), and I really need to start reading Atlas Shrugged so I can write a killer essay and get a scholarship in September. Never mind all the good stuff I'd like to do anyway, like practice French, learn the piano, and crochet my afghan. It really doesn't help that my otherwise totally awesome roommate Christina got me hooked on a Japanese anime, "Bleach." There's not enough time for everything! AAH!

Anyway, now you all know my stress. Below is the poem I wrote today, because I know you've all been dying to read it from the first line of this post:

It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old man is snoring—
Wait—
Why is there an old man?
Why not a young man? Or a woman? Or a child?
That line is so restrictive.

Breathe. I’m over it.

It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old man is snoring—
Wait—
Why does he snore when it rains?
Why doesn’t he sit by the fire, holding his white-haired wife’s hand?
Or finish his homework to Nature’s background music?
The least she can do is watch through the kitchen window as greens grow brighter, reds burn longer, and all colors blend into an ephemeral arbor over her roses.
Surely the little one learns the pleasure of puddle-jumping and the cold eerie surprise of water in one’s boots.

Or maybe it’s raining and pouring because the old man is snoring. Hmm.

What thunderous snores he must make, to be heard above the rain’s roof-tapping.

What manner of Man he must be, to call forth the tears of heaven.

What so many sorrows He must have endured, to know how to wash away the faded green of dying flowers, the bright crimson stain on pure white clothes, and give them new life.

It's hard to see some of the formatting this way but that's okay. I love comments on everything, but if you could, I'd like my readers to respond to a couple questions.
Q 1: Does the switch from comical to serious work? Why or why not? How can I make it better? Did you see this poem going in a different direction? Why?
Q 2: Is there enough imagery and sensory detail in this poem? Why or why not? Any ideas?
Q 3: Any help with poetic techniques in general would be great, specifically internal music.
Q 4: There are a couple of lines that I'm not so sure about right now. If a line doesn't seem to fit, or confuses you, PLEASE tell me. Any ideas for these are especially helpful.

Any other comments are always welcome! Keep your fingers crossed for me that I'll be able to write something again tomorrow!

In Memoriam, F.M. Megan

My horse Megan had to be put down today. She developed a strange form of colic, probably within the last 24 hours, that completely backed up her digestive system. The vet said we would have found her dead this afternoon if we hadn't seen her laying sprawled on the ground in pain and made an emergency visit this morning. She's been my one of my best friends since I was 12, about 8 years. I cried in sympathy a week or two ago when my roommate and her family had to put down her Golden Retriever that they'd had seemingly forever, but you just don't understand it until you've felt it for yourself. My emotions have been close to the top all day. As part of my grieving process I want to share some pictures of her with you.

This was taken soon after we first bought her, when we were both 13. I'm holding her and my brother Rick is sitting on her.

This is actually my riding instructor, RaNae, riding Megan in a Western Pleasure show before we met. Isn't she just beautiful?

This is a photo I took two weeks ago to put with Megan's ad on KSL.com (which is no longer online). For a 20-year-old horse she still had pretty good form. My sister Katie is holding her.

I also think instead of a USU Press memoir (although it's a good idea, and I might come back to it), I'm going to revisit a memoir I wrote as a high school sophomore in my first Creative Writing class. It's about when I first met Megan and our riding lessons together. Since I wrote it when I was 16, it needs work. It's 8 pages long but it's all summary, and it only covers our riding lessons before we bought her, which is one summer out of 8 years. I think there's some room to play with there. My idea is to revise each paragraph or section for detail, description, dialogue, imagery, stories that highlight the ideas or detail, etc, and then I'd like to post some of them here for your enjoyment and critique. Let me know what you think.

How about a memoir of interning at the USU Press?

Does that sound like a good idea to anyone? I interned at the USU Press over spring 2009 semester and I just started another three-credit internship there, which will hopefully end before school starts. I've been thinking a lot about my last post's plea for help in writing inspiration (and I got several comments--thanks!), and I remembered today that one of the example Masters projects on the Emerson College website was a memoir of life in London's publishing houses, and I thought, I could write a memoir of life in a publishing house. I love the USU Press! Since I'm always saying that, why not? The thing is, I'm not sure how valuable such a memoir would be or how many people would be interested in reading it. It probably wouldn't be book-length, but I don't know anything about the market for short memoir/short nonfiction. I know short fiction is usually published in anthologies, either of the author's work or of several authors' work, but I don't think they do that for short nonfiction. Would it be something I could publish in a magazine?

And what things should I include? Of course my first impressions of the place and people, my original goals for each internship, maybe part or all of my five-page essay that I wrote at the end of the first internship to get the credit, talking with John about grad school and increasing my editorial skills. Maybe some things about the culture of the press, like talking endlessly with Sandy (the secretary) about religion, school politics, allergies; the day Michael (the director) came out to my desk, which is on the other side of the small building from the offices that he, Dan (designer), and John (editor) work in, to inform me that I'm supposed to say hello when I come in because otherwise he only hears the door close and thinks there's someone waiting out there. The main thing I suppose would be about the stuff I worked on and the things I learned, but at this point I can't directly quote anything (and wouldn't want to if it's from a book) and I can't really remember any stories to tell from my spring internship. The one about Michael happened on Friday, which is why I remember it.

If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

It's been awhile...I feel sheepish

Sorry everyone that I haven't blogged regularly for some time. I haven't blogged at all for awhile! Summer is just a weird time warp for me: I never know exactly what day it is because I'm not in school; it seems like no time passes and there's never any deadlines, so I simply don't do the things that the regularity of school facilitates, like blogging and writing and reading.

Anyway.

Quick update: I have a job!!!! I'm a cashier at the new South Logan Walmart. I kind of feel like I was brainwashed instead of informed at my orientation and training, but it's better now. Not too bad a job to have actually.

I have also started reading a book I borrowed from my mom, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith during my breaks at work. Love it. It takes place in Botswana Africa and has calm, soothing, almost folklore-ish feeling to it, a lot like Chinua Achebe's writing.

Good news: I've started another internship at the USU Press! I love the press. If it were possible I would stay in Logan and work there for a long time. Alas, it's unpaid. But it's okay because John (my supervisor and the executive editor of the press) is going to train me to be a professional proofreader and copyeditor, so I can advertise myself on-campus as a freelance editor, and maybe even advertise elsewhere. Yay for good editing experience!

And the biggest (and scariest) news of all is that I'm thinking about grad school and getting my Masters in Publishing. Right now I'm researching two schools, Portland State University in Oregon (where my brother lives) and Emerson College in Boston Massachusetts. Big cities, expensive schools, far away from home--I'm terrified. Since my brother lives in Portland, I'm less scared of PSU, but lately I've been leaning toward Boston, where I know no one and nothing! So if anybody knows anything about Boston or Emerson College, I'd love to hear it!

Another plea for help: summer is a time warp for me, which means there are no deadlines like there are in school, which means I never write anything except random comments on Facebook. I really need to write! at least something every week. I need to practice for school, for grad school application essays, and for grad school resumes. To get into publishing, I really should be published, and do that I need to write. Anything: poetry, fiction, nonfiction (memoir, travelogue, etc). If anybody has any writing prompts (other than my two books, In the Palm of Your Hand for poetry and The Pocket Muse for a bit everything), or even better, a motivation technique to take the place of deadlines, I NEED TO HEAR IT!!!! Please feel free to help me out!

Also, quick poll: should I write my stuff (assuming I write) and then find magazines or other venues in which I would like to publish my stuff? or should I find the mags/venues first, and then write for the kind of publication they are?

FINALS ARE OVER!!!!

Thought I'd let you know how happy I am. :)

The Victorian Literature test wasn't very bad, actually. The only problem is that I always run out of time! This happens to me on every test in McCuskey's classes! There were 40 quotations from Middlemarch, 20 of them spoken by and 20 of them describing one of 20 listed characters, and we had to match the character to either the two things they said, the two things describing them, or one of each. Piece of cake. Then we had to choose three of four essay questions, which were all based on the major themes of Victorian culture that we discussed in the first half of the class: Industry and Class, Victorian Ladies, Victorian Gentlemen, and Science and Religion. I answered the last three, and my essay on Victorian Ladies was pretty well-done for a thirty-minute essay if I do say so myself (actually it took 45 minutes, which is why I didn't finish the Science and Religion question...oops).

Now that school is officially over the only problem is that I have nothing to do, except crochet and read and watch movies and be lazy in general. And water and mow the lawn, prep and plant the garden, weed the landscaping, etc but I had a massive headache so can you really blame me for not doing anything? I didn't think so. I suppose this will give me time to work on some of my goals that school kind of prevented, like practicing the piano more regularly and practicing my French, because I really don't want to lose that skill, but I need a job! *insert sound of frustration* This weekend I'm going to do some serious yard work, help my friend Christina move into our apartment, and visit my parents' house in Kaysville. If I don't have a job by Monday, I guess I'll just have to apply at grocery stores and bug the theatres to get a job.

So Christina moves into my apartment tomorrow, which is AWESOME because not only is she super cool, but my other roommate Ellie is going to Orlando (among other places) for a WEEK AND A HALF!!! If Christina wasn't going to be here with me, I. Would. Go. Nuts. I like the idea of living alone, but I don't think I could handle it right now, and my not having a job yet would make it exponentially worse. Christina moved about half of her stuff into our house today, including her DVDs, which I helped her put on the shelves in the box window. I saw that she has Becoming Jane, which I have wanted to see again for awhile, so I said, "Christina, I love you." A little while later I saw she had an Avatar: The Last Airbender DVD and I told her how excited I was that she likes Avatar too. She said she only had the one DVD, so I told her that I have them all, and she said, "Christina, I love you." :) Ah the joys of roommates.

My movies take up three of the four shelves on the right. Christina's are on the top two shelves on the left. Ellie has two DVD's still in their cases and the rest in CD cases on the second shelf up on the left. In the middle is our lovely picture window, which is closed because it faces the setting sun and I didn't want to blind you.

P.S. Thanks to everyone who wished my luck on my exam this morning! Let me know what you think about my plans, what your plans are, life in general, anything and everything. I want this blog to be a way of letting others know how I'm doing and of facilitating communication between us about the things we have in common, so please, comment away!

Silver White Winters That Melt Into Spring...

No, unfortunately, I have not watched The Sound of Music recently, because I don't own it. But the song "Favorite Things" popped into my head today and that line stuck. I'm so happy that spring is finally in Logan!

A few days ago I found a patch of tulips growing in our front yard!

And today they looked like this! I'm so excited! I love flowers.

Now, as everyone knows, it's finals week. For our "final" in my Poetry Writing class, we just met during our scheduled examination time as if it were class and discussed submission tips and read aloud some of our poetry before turning in our final portfolios. It was a fabulous experience. As a writer in a writing class, I'm aware of others' writing because we workshop, but I don't really think about them much because I'm concerned with what I'm writing. I never realized how many brilliant poets surrounded me in that class. One girl read a poem all about the letter X: how it only says its own sound above a door in an "exit" sign, how you can see it in the body of a cheerleader, how it replaces a cartoon figure's eyes to signify death, and how it changes a person by putting itself in front of their title (ie, ex-boyfriend), among other examples. I never would have thought to write a poem about a letter! Another girl, K.J., shared a poem about Joseph Smith, Jr.'s First Vision of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ from the point of view of the tree he knelt next to. It was amazing. I realized that religious themes crop up in my ficion writing--in fact, religion has been a major theme in my two most recent stories--but for whatever reason they never seem to show up in my poetry. Any guesses why? I have no clue.

As far as Fiction Writing goes, our "final" was a major revision of one of the two stories that we wrote this semester, which I started and finished all yesterday afternoon before turning it in early this morning. I got a lot of useful feedback for my second story, "Crisis of Faith" (see that religious theme? it's even in the title!), which was about an LDS girl's attempt to reconcile religion with a dating issue and which I didn't really like once I'd finished writing it, but even though I think better of it now because of a great workshop, I decided to revise my first story. "Unexpected" was about a girl in an American tour of Italy and how God and art history work in her life in one day and it needed a lot of work, which got crammed into one afternoon and evening. Hopefully it turned out all right and I can pull off an acceptable grade in that class.

And tomorrow is my final in Dr. McCuskey's Victorian Literature class (for which I have not studied...!), after the roommate tradition of IHOP during finals week! It really shouldn't be that difficult of a test; he said it was mainly to prove that we'd read Middlemarch and could relate it with the other stuff we read in the first half of the semester. Well, wish me luck!

Additions to my Bookshelf

Before I get to my summer reading list, I have some other books to tell you about. First is the Sigma Tau Delta Rectangle, the journal of creative writing for the International English Honor Society (the only Greek organization to which I belong). I haven't actually started reading it yet, but I'm way excited to read it, and hopefully I can begin next week as a break from finals. This yearly publication has a good smattering of poetry, short fiction, and creative non-fiction, and one award every year for each.

Next is the Sigma Tau Delta Review, the journal of critical writing, which I'm also very excited to start reading. I find it strange thought that the Review is smaller in thickness than the Rectangle, as if the judges value creativity over criticism...? Maybe that's just me. The goal this year was to incorporate some modern criticism of Middlemarch into the essay I gave to Dr. McCuskey and submit it for publication to the Review but the deadline is April 30, and I have finals and revisions and portfolios to work on, so...I might not make it into the 2010 journals. Hopefully I can write and revise some really good critical and creative work in the next year and submit next April. That will be my last chance to submit because the journals only accept work by enrolled students.

So this is my plug for Sigma Tau Delta. There are tons of English majors at USU but our chapter is so small! Please join! Come to the activities! Network! Make friends! Have fun! Get scholarships! Beef up your resume! Submit your writing and maybe get published! A one-time fee gets you lifetime membership, and a subscription to the journals as long as you're an enrolled student. We have lots of great ideas for activities and things to help each other in our various disciplines this year, so come see what it's all about! If you're interested in finding out more, visit the website at www.english.org/sigmatd.

The other addition to my bookshelf is Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage. I've decided to do my best to study the good word in the morning and at night, so it will feel like it's a greater priority in my life than it might be if I only read before bed. Last night I read chapter 4, which proves the antemortal existence of Christ by the significance of his names; for example, "Jehovah" (and the related Hebrew word for "I Am") means "Self-Existent One" or "The Eternal." Remember when Jesus tells the Jews in John 8 that "Before Abraham was, I Am"? Talmage tells us that "The true significance of this saying would be more plainly expressed were the sentence punctuated...as follows: '...Before Abraham, was I Am'; which means the same as had He said--Before Abraham, was I, Jehovah." I thought it was so interesting to prove the premortal divinity of Christ by using scriptural evidence of his names and titles. I highly recommend this book, and I haven't even finished it yet.

A little bit of everything

Thanks to Dr. McCuskey, my summer reading list now also includes John Fowles' (sp?) The French Lieutenant's Woman, which is a (short) Victorian novel written in 1969...how does that work? Anyway, he said it was really great so I think I'll try to give it a shot.

So my internship at the USU Press is officially over...*sigh* This weekend I will write an essay about my experiences there in order to get credit for the internship. Before today, I thought that I would be changing my emphasis to Literary Studies (which doesn't require elective credits like Creative Writing), and getting a 40+ hours per week job over the summer, and therefore volunteering at the Press like I have been except without the official title of internship, just to learn more about publishing and copyediting, but then, my fellow English Creative Writing major Curtis (I think that's his name...) and I were talking today about Creative Writing when Dr. McCuskey's class got out early. It would honestly just be easier for me to finish school in Creative Writing. For Literary Studies to work, the stars would have to align perfectly, and they're not likely to do that. And I've heard good things about the classes I have left to take. But I've already signed up for Lit Studies classes, and now Access is down so I can't see or change what I'm registered for...!

Anyway...(can you tell ellipses are my new favorite form of punctuation?) My Middlemarch essay was due today so I took the evening off from doing any work, since yesterday was stressful enough. I was up till 3 am writing it! But it's okay. I'm done. I'm watching A&E's Pride and Prejudice, one 50-minute video cassette a night, which means that my crocheting is coming along nicely. I'm so excited to make this afghan! Many thanks again to Sarah for teaching me this useful art.

The finished pattern will be 100 or so of these hexagons stitched together like this.

This is one of the hexagons. The colors from the inside out are green, pink, yellow, and green This one actually has 6 corners! (some of them have only had 5, unfortunately)

Summer Reading

Any ideas? So far my list includes Inkheart, thanks to the movie; Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, because there's an essay scholarship based on that book in September; all of Jane Austen's novels, because I still have my fingers crossed that I'll be able to get into Dr. McCuskey's British Writers class this fall (which is all about Miss Austen); oh and I still have to finish Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. Maybe I'll even read God Grew Tired of Us, since I didn't read it when it was the Aggie Readers Book Club book of the month. Another book I saw in the bookstore that caught my attention was The Book Thief, which sounded extremely interesting.

I can read boring stuff too. To further my hopeful career as a freelance editor of scholarly writing, maybe even graduate theses, next fall, I'm hoping to get and should probably read The Chicago Manual of Style, maybe even books about the other top two academic styles, CBE and APA.

And just to be totally random, I want to read Made from Scratch by Jenna W., the author of Cold Antler Farm blog. I've decided I really like the idea of being green and doing some of the things that she's done, especially the "back to the land" idea. Being a semi-city girl I probably don't realize what I'm saying, but you never know til you try, right?

I love comments! If you have a good book you think I should read, please let me know!

Hiking, Dresses, and a Jester

Remember the problem with my camera? Old batteries. Thanks to Sarah for giving me new ones so I could take some pictures on our hike on Saturday! Sarah and Andrew invited me to go with them on a hike to the Wind Caves, which was awesome (and totally wonderful of them to include me). This was my first time hiking in Logan Canyon. Enjoy the pics!

The view across the highway.

Me inside the Wind Caves. It was a lovely cool respite from the warm sun (I actually did get some minor sunburns). I could hear and feel the wind really well. No wonder various Native American groups thought the wind was a spirit.

Sarah and Andrew eating lunch on the very ledge of the cave. Crazy kids.

Besides hiking, I watched two movies this week that I haven't seen before. The first was "27 Dresses" which I had never wanted to see before, but my friend Kellie brought it with her for the weekend while she was visiting and talked me into it. My first thought after the movie was over was that the cover of the DVD really didn't do Katherine Heigl justice. And having only seen James Marsden in "X-Men" as Cyclops and in "Enchanted" as Prince Edward, the role of city slicker-newspaper writer was a very refreshing one to see him play. For those of you who don't know, Heigl plays a woman who has been a bridesmaid 27 times, and has issues with planning her sister's wedding to the man Heigl's character loves. As far as plot, it seemed like th only thing the movie had to fall back on was that Jane mothered everyone; the movie hit home the point the first time really well, so the second time felt weird. I wish there could have been two problems with Jane, or two different versions of the same problem that were more obviously two different versions. Her tendency to mother her sister and to always say yes to her friends didn't feel as unrelated as I wanted them to be. The movie did do a good job of setting up suspense and major plot points, though. Within the first five minutes I knew who the love interest would be, and when the car hydroplaned down the hill I knew exactly what was coming next. It was a nice kind of predictability. I would recommend this movie to chick flick lovers, the kind of people who love the kind of chick flick that has no other plot besides falling in love.

I also saw an older movie today called "The Court Jester", which was hilarious. If you like musicals, or old-fashioned movies, or medieval England and Robin Hood-ish tales, this is a movie you must see. Danny Kaye plays a carnival entertainer who joins the forest band of the Black Fox (the Robin Hood-ish figure) to help overthrow an unlawful king, and ends up going undercover as the court jester. This movie had more twists and turns than most modern movies; probably the closest a recent movie (that I've seen) has come to that many plot turns is "The Dark Knight", and that one only because it was three hours long. Or felt like it. Anyway, hilariously funny movie, especially if you like tongue-twisters. Highly recommended to everyone.