Now that I've been in Lawrence for two months, I thought I would update everyone on my life.
I am still working at The Dusty Bookshelf...only in Lawrence now. I started out working the register (something I hadn't done since Alco!), but after nearly a month and a half, everything got set up so I could go back to my job of listing books online. Now I sit in a little room in the back (that used to be a bathroom) at a computer and look through books. I do miss the Manhattan store because there was always so much going on (and I had more responsibility), but I am having a lot of fun here. I work 9-1 Monday through Friday, and since I'm the first one there I get to feed our lovely bookstore cat, Alice, every morning. I love being greeted with love and warmth (and of course persistent meowing for the sake of hunger)! Shannon, the manager, works the front during that time, and we have a lot of laughs.
Well, the reason I moved to Lawrence, of course, was for graduate school at KU. It was scary at first because I had heard about all of the differences between KU and K-State. Plus, I felt nervous about entering the MFA program because I thought everyone would be so much more experienced than me. But, from my first class (Poetry Writing III), I fell in love. I didn’t feel out of place at all on campus or in my class. I felt the same about my two other classes, American Poetry of the 20th Century and Studies in Semiotics, though I don’t love them like I love my Poetry class. American Poetry is allowing me to read poets I have not had the opportunity to read before, such as Gertrude Stein and Amy Lowell, as well as William Carlos Williams, whom I have admired from reading selections in former classes but never to this extent. Semiotics is very interesting but very confusing. For those of you who have never heard of semiotics before (like me before this class), it is the study of how meaning is created. It’s invading my mind. It seems like I can find a connection to some semiotic theory in every poet I read. Fascinating stuff.
I walk to and from class every day from my apartment, which is just a block north of campus. It takes me fifteen to twenty minutes to walk past the stadium, the pond, up the grassy hill, past the bell tower, and up to Wescoe Hall…I love it. It’s gorgeous at night. Standing at the bell tower, overlooking the stadium and north Lawrence, it makes me realize just how much I love being where I am right now. Watson Library, too, has a view of south Lawrence and everything beyond. From the fourth floor where I spend quite a bit of time, I can see out and over to the little towns on the horizon, with their single water towers like golf tees. It’s made me appreciate Kansas more. It really is a beautiful state—especially when you have a Mount Oread view.
On my walk between home and campus, I have encountered more wildlife than I ever have before in my life. One night while I was walking home from my night class at ten o’clock, a fox crossed my path on the stadium parking lot. He sat and watched me until I passed, and then he got up and followed alongside me (fifty feet away). It was amazing…but scary. I was completely alone. And despite the fact that I had pepper spray ready in my hand just in case, I didn’t want to take any chances with him getting any closer, so I went around in another direction where he couldn’t see me. It’s been two weeks now, and I haven’t seem him again…part of me really wants to…though I still don’t know how domesticated this campus-dwelling fox would be. So, that’s pretty exotic for the middle of a city, right? Well, that wasn’t enough, it seems. I was climbing some stone steps up a little hill behind the apartment complex last week. I skipped one of the steps because it was uneven and jumped up to the top step. Partially looking down, I noticed something move right by my foot when I landed. SNAKE!! I ran about ten feet then suddenly panicked, thinking I had actually carried the snake on my foot with me when I leapt. But, thank goodness, that was not the case. I looked back, and it was slithering over the top step and underneath the sidewalk. Okay, this snake touched my sandal. It went past me—not away from me. I could have stepped on it had I landed slightly more to the left! Holy cow. It freaked me out.
Something less wild but equally exciting…I am now a poetry reader for the school’s literary journal, Cottonwood. I get to read submissions from people all over the country (and some outside) and give their poems a yea or nay. I’ve only just begun, but this is my entry-level position for what I really want to do—edit. I originally wanted to be a copy editor, and that desire is still there, but I could easily see myself as a literary editor for a publisher or journal. Hopefully I can find myself an internship in the publishing field in the next few years.
As for home life, I love my apartment. I’m on the second floor, and I have a good-sized patio (which I desperately want a bistro set for). The living/dining room combination is small but cozy. There definitely isn’t room for anything more than what is here right now, though! My favorite room is probably my kitchen—not because I cook (I don’t have time) but because it has a little opening to the living room over the stove; it’s perfect for my height, ironically. And I have a window over my sink. (I’m pleased by simple things) I do miss all of the natural light of my last apartment, but I’m so glad to be ridded of that huge sliding glass front door. I have had a minor spider problem (as with everywhere I’ve lived), but I’ve learned I just have to kill them and be done with it. No beetles or water bugs this time, though!
I am now exactly thirty minutes from Jedsen via I-70—it’s so easy! Despite the closeness, we still don’t see each other any more than we ever have; our weeks are too busy. We got to make a little outing toward the end of August to his hometown of Carl Junction, Missouri. We walked around his neighborhood and schools and several of the places he worked at. It was a lovely, short trip. I’m glad to finally be able to visualize the places he mentions in his childhood stories. We talk on the phone every day, and lately we have been having long, deep conversations about poetic theory and the works of certain poets. We’re not nerdy. No, this is our craft. I like it.
I will be giving my first ever public poetry reading of entirely my own work on December 2nd in downtown Lawrence. I’m excited, but I had better have some good poems and/or stories prepared by then! I’ve never read into a microphone or for people outside of class. This is the big time now.
Okay, that’s about all there is for now. As you can see, my life revolves around school and work with a pinch of Jedsen on the weekends. And that’s how it’s going to be for the next three years of graduate school. This is where I want to be, and I’m so happy with the decision I made to take the chance and make the move to Lawrence.
I am still working at The Dusty Bookshelf...only in Lawrence now. I started out working the register (something I hadn't done since Alco!), but after nearly a month and a half, everything got set up so I could go back to my job of listing books online. Now I sit in a little room in the back (that used to be a bathroom) at a computer and look through books. I do miss the Manhattan store because there was always so much going on (and I had more responsibility), but I am having a lot of fun here. I work 9-1 Monday through Friday, and since I'm the first one there I get to feed our lovely bookstore cat, Alice, every morning. I love being greeted with love and warmth (and of course persistent meowing for the sake of hunger)! Shannon, the manager, works the front during that time, and we have a lot of laughs.
Well, the reason I moved to Lawrence, of course, was for graduate school at KU. It was scary at first because I had heard about all of the differences between KU and K-State. Plus, I felt nervous about entering the MFA program because I thought everyone would be so much more experienced than me. But, from my first class (Poetry Writing III), I fell in love. I didn’t feel out of place at all on campus or in my class. I felt the same about my two other classes, American Poetry of the 20th Century and Studies in Semiotics, though I don’t love them like I love my Poetry class. American Poetry is allowing me to read poets I have not had the opportunity to read before, such as Gertrude Stein and Amy Lowell, as well as William Carlos Williams, whom I have admired from reading selections in former classes but never to this extent. Semiotics is very interesting but very confusing. For those of you who have never heard of semiotics before (like me before this class), it is the study of how meaning is created. It’s invading my mind. It seems like I can find a connection to some semiotic theory in every poet I read. Fascinating stuff.
I walk to and from class every day from my apartment, which is just a block north of campus. It takes me fifteen to twenty minutes to walk past the stadium, the pond, up the grassy hill, past the bell tower, and up to Wescoe Hall…I love it. It’s gorgeous at night. Standing at the bell tower, overlooking the stadium and north Lawrence, it makes me realize just how much I love being where I am right now. Watson Library, too, has a view of south Lawrence and everything beyond. From the fourth floor where I spend quite a bit of time, I can see out and over to the little towns on the horizon, with their single water towers like golf tees. It’s made me appreciate Kansas more. It really is a beautiful state—especially when you have a Mount Oread view.
On my walk between home and campus, I have encountered more wildlife than I ever have before in my life. One night while I was walking home from my night class at ten o’clock, a fox crossed my path on the stadium parking lot. He sat and watched me until I passed, and then he got up and followed alongside me (fifty feet away). It was amazing…but scary. I was completely alone. And despite the fact that I had pepper spray ready in my hand just in case, I didn’t want to take any chances with him getting any closer, so I went around in another direction where he couldn’t see me. It’s been two weeks now, and I haven’t seem him again…part of me really wants to…though I still don’t know how domesticated this campus-dwelling fox would be. So, that’s pretty exotic for the middle of a city, right? Well, that wasn’t enough, it seems. I was climbing some stone steps up a little hill behind the apartment complex last week. I skipped one of the steps because it was uneven and jumped up to the top step. Partially looking down, I noticed something move right by my foot when I landed. SNAKE!! I ran about ten feet then suddenly panicked, thinking I had actually carried the snake on my foot with me when I leapt. But, thank goodness, that was not the case. I looked back, and it was slithering over the top step and underneath the sidewalk. Okay, this snake touched my sandal. It went past me—not away from me. I could have stepped on it had I landed slightly more to the left! Holy cow. It freaked me out.
Something less wild but equally exciting…I am now a poetry reader for the school’s literary journal, Cottonwood. I get to read submissions from people all over the country (and some outside) and give their poems a yea or nay. I’ve only just begun, but this is my entry-level position for what I really want to do—edit. I originally wanted to be a copy editor, and that desire is still there, but I could easily see myself as a literary editor for a publisher or journal. Hopefully I can find myself an internship in the publishing field in the next few years.
As for home life, I love my apartment. I’m on the second floor, and I have a good-sized patio (which I desperately want a bistro set for). The living/dining room combination is small but cozy. There definitely isn’t room for anything more than what is here right now, though! My favorite room is probably my kitchen—not because I cook (I don’t have time) but because it has a little opening to the living room over the stove; it’s perfect for my height, ironically. And I have a window over my sink. (I’m pleased by simple things) I do miss all of the natural light of my last apartment, but I’m so glad to be ridded of that huge sliding glass front door. I have had a minor spider problem (as with everywhere I’ve lived), but I’ve learned I just have to kill them and be done with it. No beetles or water bugs this time, though!
I am now exactly thirty minutes from Jedsen via I-70—it’s so easy! Despite the closeness, we still don’t see each other any more than we ever have; our weeks are too busy. We got to make a little outing toward the end of August to his hometown of Carl Junction, Missouri. We walked around his neighborhood and schools and several of the places he worked at. It was a lovely, short trip. I’m glad to finally be able to visualize the places he mentions in his childhood stories. We talk on the phone every day, and lately we have been having long, deep conversations about poetic theory and the works of certain poets. We’re not nerdy. No, this is our craft. I like it.
I will be giving my first ever public poetry reading of entirely my own work on December 2nd in downtown Lawrence. I’m excited, but I had better have some good poems and/or stories prepared by then! I’ve never read into a microphone or for people outside of class. This is the big time now.
Okay, that’s about all there is for now. As you can see, my life revolves around school and work with a pinch of Jedsen on the weekends. And that’s how it’s going to be for the next three years of graduate school. This is where I want to be, and I’m so happy with the decision I made to take the chance and make the move to Lawrence.
Great work.
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