What are you doing Thursday?

I am reading at Visible Voice bookstore on this Thursday at 8:30. I will be reading with some of my favorite poets on the entire planet: my brilliant girl Amy Sparks and rock star Jay Venner, along with Karen Schubert and Virginia Konchan. Come check it out. I will be reading all of the poems I can't read in front of my family at the Saturday graduation reading.

Baby Ducks are Hatched

Much of today I have spent sitting on my patio, watching the baby ducks in my creek/sewer. They are the sweetest little things.

I feel like today's the day

It's a sweet Sunday afternoon. My defense went better than I ever could have fathomed. Thanks to the dream team: Maggie Anderson, Mary Biddinger, and Craig Paulenich. I feel much better having turned in my thesis. I just have to finish my internship and attend two more Dumanis classes.

Right now I am listening to Amanda by Boston. Until today, I had never really thought about this song. It's on a CD somebody made me, but I usually skip it. But today, I think I am going to listen to it a few times. I don't know anyone named Amanda. Maybe my next dog will be named Amanda. Then I can sing the song to her. Or, perhaps I will name her Cecelia. There is no song called Telemachus so I just generally change the words to songs when I sing to him. Telemachus pretty much prefers reggae. I am not sure why, but I must support him in his interests. I added Marley to one of his middle names. His full name is Telemachus Goteborg Neruda Marley Herlihy Sullivan.

Check out a very new poem of mine on Arsenic Lobster Poetry Journal. It's a really hip journal and I am excited to have a poem there.

Well, I have to meet Jay soon so we can work on our real vs. imagined presentation for Tuesday.

April Madness

This week is poetry crazy. Tonight I had the amazing opportunity to listen to A. Van Jordan talk shop and read a few poems. Tomorrow I will travel to Cleveland to hear Claudia Rankine. And Friday...........I defend my thesis. I'm really going to miss my NEOMFA friends. It's all too much for me. I'm exhausted, but in that good kinda way. And I got a really personalized rejection letter today. I love those.

One More Irish Summer

I ordered my new passport since my original was MIA. My two week plane ticket has now been extended a few more weeks.
It is confirmed. One more Irish summer. How blessed I am.
This will be my backyard. My MFA will be in my back pocket, my Telemachus snuggled safely with my mom or Sara. I will be most happy. Thanks to everyone who is making this possible. And if anybody else wants to volunteer to help out with a chubby little pug, please let me know.

It's a Jeep thing

The Jeep (pictured above from years ago…license plate is different now) has broken down for the first time ever. I bought her brand new in 2001 and I have been most lucky. At this moment, there are so many things wrong with her and it is going to be $900 to fix her. That is a lot of money, money that was supposed to be spent in Ireland. Don’t worry; I’m still going to Ireland. I already have the plane ticket. Guess I will have to hitchhike a bit more (just kidding, mom).

The mechanic said there are two schools of thought and that neither one is right. One school believes in maintenance: tune-ups, transmission flushes, etc. The other school believes “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” Obviously, I belong to the second school. I have been a negligent Jeep parent.

The mechanic hinted that now at close to eight years old, over 100,000 miles…I may need to start thinking about trading in the Jeep. The problem with this is that I love her. She is the only thing that I have ever really owned. And she’s just so damn tough. She has managed to pull me out of the muddiest of situations. That awful blizzard we had recently, you know, the one where no one was allowed to be on the road, well, the Jeep performed amazing feats. She didn’t hesitate once.

I despise the idea of someone else driving her. No one could possibly love her like I do. But then again, my love never translated into basic maintenance. Next time I will be better. I will be more mature. I will mark oil changes on my calendar. I will get a garage.

You see, I can’t see my life without a Wrangler in it. When I’m having a bad day, I crave that little Jeep wave. I have to know I can drive over curbs and through ditches. I need to have a winter vehicle that transforms into a summer convertible dream.

The Neighbors Must Be Stopped

My neighbors are driving me nuts. I've tried to be proactive about things. I talked with them. I banged on the wall. I talked with the landlord. And after all of that, I even called the cops. The thing is, I hate being a snitch, but ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

Nothing has helped. They, two college boys who really need to get girlfriends, play video games at least 12 hours a day. I can somewhat handle the Guitar Hero since I have a secret adoration for hair bands, but the war video games must stop.

I am trying to work on a manuscript here and every three minutes the entire complex shakes and I'm ready to hit the floor. Those calm days of gazing outside to see the charming little creek/sewer are over. Instead of peering out my window to admire baby ducks I am expecting to see a chopper. Instead of comfy pug printed PJ's, I'm sporting camouflage.

And so the war begins.

I have stooped to their level and it feels good. This morning, while they were still asleep from their Friday night Halo 3 marathon, I rediscovered my love for Chicago drum-n-bass DJ Danny the Wildchild.

Tomorrow when I wake up at 7 am or so, I just may pull out the Irish tin whistle CD. And, I may just get my tin whistle out and play along.

You just don't mess with someone trying to finish an MFA.