My good friends Maggie and Michelle are coming into town today and spending my birthday weekend with me, and I’m so excited!! We are going to eat cupcakes, binge-watch comfort TV, and just bask in each other’s presence all weekend.
Up until very recently (i.e., a couple of days ago), I have been operating under the assumption that I will have the energy to do everything I really want to do. I mean, I knew in my head that this was not probable. But I cling to the idea that I’m extraordinary. Well, I am. Extraordinarily sensitive to treatment in that I have had almost every one of the milder side effects of chemo so far. Apparently, that means it’s working, so I’ll take it. But still.
Could it also mean that maybe I don’t stretch myself to the very end of my energy every single day? I think so. I think that would be a good thing to stop doing. Every week, I find more and more that I usually love to do that I just don’t have the energy for, and that’s going to have to be ok for now. The things I love will still be there when I’m well.
In the meantime, here are some things I love that take relatively little bandwidth.
Oh, gosh. Ruth Reichl, Laurie Ochoa, and Nancy Silverton have a podcast together. It’s called Three Ingredients and I am obsessed (with a PODCAST?! I know, right?!).
Five ways to trick yourself into decluttering. The timer works really well for me. I can do anything for five minutes, and I can get a surprising amount of things done in that time.
Dorie Greenspan has a new book coming out, and it’s about simple cakes. I feel like I need to pre-order it, because simple cakes are my favorites. Give me anything I can throw in a bundt pan and maybe not even ice, and I’m happy.
My writing is hitting a slump, so I’m going to refresh a little next week with the Healing Through Writing Festival. It’s all online, and most of the sessions are free. You can upgrade for a pretty reasonable price to get All Access, but per my energy level, I may just need to stick to the other sessions. But if you are a creative and need a boost, too, you may want to check it out. The presenters I recognize are top-notch, so I’m excited to learn what everyone else has to say.
Finally, a very helpful product that my friend Steph introduced me to. My skin has been so sensitive – to heat, allergens, etc. More than usual, I mean. It is a mess. Enter Active Skin Repair Hydrogel. I can put it on cuts, burns, allergy rashes…anything. And it soothes and heals. It has been a godsend and if this product were a person I would marry it. Highly recommend if you are similarly afflicted.
Regardless of what this year brings, I suspect a lot of it will be fueled by coffee. Unless a doctor who thinks they’re funny tells me I have to give it up forever. And then – I may just have to die (kidding…probably).
Setting resolutions seems like a lot right now. But I do have things I’m working on and plan to continue working on, so, as is my New Year’s Day custom, I want to acknowledge that.
In addition to exploring quiet as a theme, I have three main goals. None of them are going to be a surprise; in fact, I think I’ve already alluded to all of them in the last few days or weeks.
Reading
I’m keeping the same reading goal I had in 2023 by planning to read 180 books this year. I’ve joined Storygraph and if I like it, I will likely migrate fully over to that tracking system (rather than Goodreads) by the end of the year. Expect each month’s TBR to contain what I’m reading for book clubs, reading challenges, my exploration of quiet, and whatever else I get a wild hair to pick up.
Creative Education
I learned so much in 2023 about setting challenging but attainable creative goals and improving my writing and other art. This year, I had planned to give myself three semesters for my continuing creative education. Each one is 12 weeks long with a few weeks at the end to rest and finish planning the next one, and each one includes specific elements:
Work(s) in progress
Central text
Supplemental resources
Creative community
Weekly goals/practices
The next main text I’m working through is Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. I have all 12 weeks outlined and I’m starting today.
In looking over my notes from the last time I worked through it, though, it occurs to me that it may take me longer than 12 weeks to really sink my teeth into it, especially if I want to get the most out of it and still have quiet space and make room for healing and pay any attention at all to literally any other goal.
Or, you know, do my jobs. Probably should leave some space for those, too.
In fact, I’m wondering if this may be more of a full 12-month project. I am nervous about this because that is a long-focus commitment, and that’s not typically my best setup for success. It is definitely out of my comfort zone. Will I get bored? Will I put it aside to chase something shinier? Will it feel like torture after the excited hyperfocus wears off?
Maybe. All of those things sound exactly like me.
But also – maybe if I reframe it from a 12-month project to a series of 12 3(ish)-week projects with a little break (as needed) in between them, I can…
Get more out of the deeper dive into each section
Keep from overextending (and thus overwhelming) myself
Learn how to enrich my creative life in a steady, sustainable way
Who knows? I have a stronger writing schedule now than I did the first time I went through this book, so maybe I’ll blaze right through these exercises according to the recommended timeline, and I can go on to the next course I have planned in April or May. Or maybe I’ll be really glad to have extra time to savor what each section of the book has to teach me. Either way, I’m looking forward to working through it.
Health
I had big plans for my health goals for this year, too. I’ve worked hard to maintain a pretty steady routine of cardio and strength training. This was going to be the year that I really focused on my strength, mobility, flexibility, and stamina.
Hahahahahahahahaha.
I planned to spend January-April putting myself through a sort of health boot camp (only…reasonable). I’m about at that time in life when I really see a need to take mobility, stamina, flexibility, and strength seriously [PSA – you’re never too young to take these things seriously]. I mean, I already stretch every morning before getting out of bed so that I don’t hobble with tight muscles and cramped feet on the way to the shower. I maintain my core strength because it supports literally everything else. But back in September, I slept in my recliner for two nights waiting for the mattress I ordered to unfold/expand and be ready to sleep on. I was so sore and exhausted those two days. Sometimes, I get wheezy when I go up the stairs or walk too quickly (i.e., the same speed I’ve always walked) across campus. My cholesterol is out of control. When these things happen, I’ll think it’s allergies or infection or I’ll wonder if I’m getting sick, and then my brain will remind me, “No…you’re just almost 50.” Which is rude. And accurate.
I think we all understand I am not the sort of person who will go gentle into that good night. I am only almost 50. As far as I know, I’ve got a lot of living left to do, and I intend to do it well and with sufficient energy.
So I created a 14-week exercise plan designed to help me do that. I even made a list of motivational reads, such as Intuitive Eating, The Slow AF Run Club, books on dance, etc., to help keep myself inspired and focused.
I also planned to book some sessions with a counselor to ensure I’m doing these things for healthy reasons (I have a history of disordered eating and am easily mesmerized by weight loss, and my control issues don’t get to be in charge here).
And then I started having more appointments with doctors and specialists and surgeons (oh my). So those are my plans right now.
My intended goals are important things to take seriously, and I’m sure I’ll get to them when I’m back on my regular routine assessment schedule instead of talking about diagnoses, surgeries, restrictions, and recovery. I’ve already got my plan with specific milestones laid out and ready to go, and there’s no reason that I have to stop working toward the next goal immediately.
But when it’s time to rest, it’s time to rest. And at that time, most of my well-organized plans will have to be put on hold. And then to some extent, I will have to start over.
There are a few elements that I can still do while resting, such as staying hydrated and eating what I need to eat to feel the way I want to feel (there’s a whole long, boring list that I’ll spare you). For the most part, though, my health goals are going to need to be adaptable to whatever situation I’m facing that week. And I’m still booking the counselor; we just have other things to talk about now.
So that’s it. Those are my goals for the year (which are really just a continuation of things I’m already working toward). Read 180 books, finish The Artist’s Way, and try not to die.
This year was a wild one. I’m pretty surprised I accomplished as much as I did. I met the spirit of each of my resolutions, if not the actual goals themselves.
Theme: Home
I’ve thought and read a lot this year about what home (having one, being at, making one, etc.) means. I’ve jotted down notes throughout the year and shared some of them here (click “home” link in the word salad over there —>). As I was finishing up The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik, I ran across a quote that sums up a lot of my thoughts on the theme – “Nothing about deathlessness or permanence, nothing forced; it was only a request, a cry of longing: stay here, please stay, be our shelter, be our home, be loved…”
Home is not something I construct once and have forever. It is a living, breathing thing. I find it in spaces, but I can also carry it with me, a sense of belonging that simply comes from being at home with who I am. A loving, peaceful home – or world – cannot be created from exploitation or greed. It must be cultivated with care. And care is complicated, especially when there are few systems in place to foster it.
I see this working in many of the choices I’ve made this year to put down some things that seem great but are either shiny trash or just not for me. I’ve also put my strategic/analytical strengths to good use in choosing new things to pick up.
I don’t think this a lesson that ends, but I’m glad to have explored it more thoroughly this year.
Arts/Words/Creativity
The thrill of having a week off work without having to use any PTO often goes to my head. Especially when setting goals for the upcoming year. I wouldn’t have it any other way, though. I like thinking in terms of extravagant possibilities, particularly when it comes to creative pursuits.
While I didn’t quite make the goal of reading 180 books, I don’t think it’s beyond my reach (in general – definitely beyond my reach in the next day and a half). In fact, I was ahead of schedule for most of the year, until work and health issues exploded. I don’t know how much those things will actually settle down, but I’ll keep the same goal for next year and see how it goes.
When it comes to setting reasonable creative goals, I first had to fail spectacularly to learn. Most of the year, I faithfully set weekly plans on Sunday…and then did not meet them. Minor tangent – I am delighted to report that failing isn’t half the gut punch it used to be. Perhaps I’m actually healing from my overachiever, perfectionist ways? Here’s hoping. Anyway, in the last few months, I have become better at setting realistic short-term goals, a skill I plan to take into the new year with gusto.
Health/Wellness/Energy
I still really dislike strength training. And I dropped my Pilates membership because I wasn’t going anyway so it didn’t make sense to spend money on it. But I am begrudgingly sticking to a pretty regular schedule, completing at least two upper body and two lower body sessions a week. I am happy to report that it still works even when you whine about it, and a little whining is cathartic.
My favorite wellness habit this year has been my commitment to making sure I have the downtime I need to function properly. The more I learn about how my brain works and what it needs to be at its best, the easier it is to say no to things that keep that from happening. Same thing with cutting out foods that make me feel sluggish. Actually feeling good and having sufficient energy to do things is so much better than slogging through or pushing myself until I collapse. I’m up to three regular time-outs a week. I think that’s the sweet spot where I still feel connected to people and life in general without getting overwhelmed and out of sorts.
As it turns out, these are skills I will need in the months ahead.
I have some hard things coming up, health-wise. I don’t know all the specifics yet or the extent to which I will need to reorganize the rest of my life to adapt to these changes in the upcoming months, and I don’t know how much of it I will share here. I do know, however, that I will need the space to figure it out as I go along. And the work I have done this year toward being healthier – both physically and mentally – is going to help me do that. I’m grateful for what this year has taught me in this regard.
Finances
I do not have $1000 in my cushion account. Like I said, some shit has come up. But at least I have a cushion account, and I’m leaving it alone (except for the emergencies and extra surprises for which it is intended) and replenishing it as I am able. This is still an improvement over last year.
As far as my goal of identifying one new way to save or make money every month, I have gone above and beyond. I dropped subscriptions and services that I wasn’t using enough to justify the expense. I curbed impulse spending by giving myself a 3-day waiting period before buying anything I didn’t need to make sure I actually wanted to make the purchase (this was more successful at certain times than at others). Do you know how much more satisfying it makes the purchase when you actually do decide you want it? I had no idea.
But most of all, I applied for and got a new job that increased my monthly take-home pay by about 18%. I have needed every penny of it, and I am so glad to have it.
This year has shaken me in several ways, but it has also revealed that my foundation and my support system are stronger than I thought they were. Most days, I’m more grateful than anxious, and I’m pleased about that.
Paying closer attention to my writing life reminded me that I may need business cards at some point. I’m not quite satisfied with this copy but it’s close.
For the past 12 weeks, I have been experimenting with the concept of a DIY MFA. I don’t have any career aspirations that actually require an official MFA, but I know that there’s so much that I could learn from such a program that would be beneficial to me as a writer, and I am a big fan of lifelong education. I essentially wanted to outline my own class to take each semester, leaning into the wisdom of others and all the rich resources that are out there to improve my writing. Each semester would be 12 weeks long, giving me three courses a year plus a nice break between them.
So I read a ton of the background info on the DIY MFA website (see link above), created a sort of MFA 101 syllabus (gosh, I’ve missed this part of teaching so much), and jumped right in.
There are definitely challenges with trying to teach yourself something that you don’t already know. There are also delightful discoveries.
If I give myself an honest assessment, I would have made a B in the class I created if I had taken it for real from an accredited university. I accomplished the main goal, which was to build strategies for incorporating the following four elements of a traditional MFA into every week:
Writing (putting words on the page to improve craft, creativity, and productivity)
Reading (learning both what works and what doesn’t from the examples of others)
Community (collaborating with writers/artists, connecting with an audience, and/or submitting/performing work)
Education (listening, watching, and reading things to learn how to do the previous three elements better from people who excel at them)
But I didn’t come close to finishing all the things I had outlined to do. I loaded myself up with articles to read and podcasts to listen to (the plan was to mimic a studying/lecture situation), and I made extravagant goals that, looking back, pretty much ignored the fact that I have two jobs and am not a full-time grad student.
I gave myself a ton of resources to get through and activities to complete every week. It didn’t look like that long of a list when I started, but about seven weeks in, out of curiosity, I added up the time it would take to get through the resources outlined in that week’s plan. Almost 11 hours of podcasts alone, which are not my favorite media by a long shot. Before I started this project, I might have listened to one or two podcast episodes a month. And suddenly I expected myself to dive into 11 hours of them a week? Bless my heart. No wonder I was overwhelmed.
Additionally, podcasts were but one aspect of my education that I was trying to fit in. I also listed weekly writing, reading, and community goals that, if completed in full, would have taken at least twice as many hours than the education portion. This resulted in a to-do list that would have been a heavy load even if this project was the only responsibility I had in life.
It was easy to get discouraged by looking at all I wasn’t getting done every week. Upon reflection, however, the reason this typically straight-A student is pleased with the overall outcome is that no semester in a traditional MFA would have been this packed. A 9-hour class schedule in most programs is considered full-time, because it takes into account that, to do well, you will likely need to spend 3-4 times as many hours outside class, reading and completing assignments, as you spend inside class. I went into this as if it were one (3-hour) course, but the syllabus I created was easily the equivalent of a 12-hour graduate workload. That I finished a little more than half of it means I exceeded my initial expectations.
And I loved every minute of it.
Well, most of the minutes. Gonna be more selective and seriously dial back the number of podcast episodes I listen to each week for the next round starting in January. I just…that is not the life for me.
But it forced me to be more mindful of my goals and how they balance. As a result, I’ve written more in the last 12 weeks than I have in the rest of the year combined. I also feel less stressed about decisions about my involvement with my various artsy communities (specifically, those times I want to do something but need to say no) because I now have a better overall understanding of my creative life as a whole. More of that, please.
I also think having an official textbook for each semester would be helpful because then I can choose additional resources that complement it rather than jumping topics so much. For example, the next session’s textbook is Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, which I have been through once already, but I know there’s so much more to learn there. And Cameron’s book is so detailed that the syllabus will basically write itself.
So this first session was a success, even if it didn’t always feel like it at the time.
Half the office was out sick earlier this week. It was madness. I’m so tired, and despite all the work I’ve done every single second when I’m there, I still feel behind. Also, I have ingested about a vat and a half of Emergen-C. So…come at me, germs (actually, please do not come at me. Just continue staying far away, germs. That goes for you, too, allergens. Do not want.).
But I got to go to Molten Plains on Wednesday and I get to go to cookbook club tonight in my pajamas. So the week is pretty decent overall.
Speaking of Molten Plains, the second Molten Plains Fest is going to be at Rubber Gloves on December 8-9. You can see a list of artists and sign up for updates here. It’s going to be amazing!
My friend Shadan (host of cookbook club) is writing/has mostly written a cookbook, and her publisher wants her to have a more solid social media following. Highly recommend – I’ve learned so much about food from her. Follow @shadankp on the Instagram and TikTok.
As is my custom every autumn, I am reflecting on my resolutions to see how far I’ve come and how much I have left to do (and also whether I still want to do them or if I’ve come up with an even better plan ). One thing that is helping me with my weekly creative goal-setting (and goal-meeting) is DIY MFA. The information on this site is solid, and it helps me organize and prioritize in a way that makes sense to my brain rather than just dumping everything into one big to-do list that never fully gets done.
Finally, I’m calling it. It’s officially Cozy Reading Season (™). If you love mysteries with lovable characters, ACF Bookens would be right up your alley.
I hope you’ve had a good week, but even if it’s been a mess, I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
I think I might be starting to find my rhythm in the new job. This week was always going to feel a little lighter, as the halls are officially open for the semester, so there are so many more people across campus to help put out fires with fall residents as they come up. But it also feels lighter in terms of I may…actually know what I’m…doing…now? For the most part? I say with some minor hesitation and a continual knocking on the nearest wooden object?
Here are some things I read this week that I thought you might enjoy.
The low dopamine morning debunked. After a quick googling on what constitutes a “low dopamine” morning, I didn’t even really care about the details of the science that debunked it; I’m just glad it did. Because it sounds dreadful. Like…just the very worst way to greet a new day. I have 0/10 interest in giving up whatever small pleasure I can scrounge out of waking up, even if it did have some marginal benefit. I also enjoyed the reminder that habits are meant to be flexible, not rigid. This article was very soothing overall.
The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa – I had to read this one fast because someone else put it on hold at the library, but I’m so glad I had time to do so. Anyone who’s ever loved a cat should read this. Very sweet story about family and friendship from the perspective of a persnickety and adorable cat named Nana.
Andi’s piece on how to write a book in a month (and also maybe…don’t) is just what I needed to read right now. I mean, I don’t write full books in that short a time even in easy months, but August is often a time when my creative writing gets put on hold because the full-time job is so busy (and has been especially so this year). Although that all makes logical sense and I know I’ll be back to it with a fervor in September, I always manage to feel bad about it on some level. Grateful to Andi for these words.
I don’t follow basketball at all, but I’m so glad some of my friends do. This is such a wonderful moment, and I’m glad I didn’t miss the end of Dwyane Wade’s Basketball Hall of Fame speech.
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman – Our book club discussed this one on Tuesday. This is the second time I read this book, and I loved it even more than I did the first time I read it. It’s quite charming and witty. I think what I like most about Fredrik Backman’s books is that I usually like every single character in them (or almost every character). He is very good at showing their vulnerabilities and humanity. And I’m always a little sad that they’ve ended when I finish reading them.
Friends, I hope you’ve had a good week and have a great weekend!
One of my supervisors is moving to another department on campus after being in Housing for the bulk of his career, and today is his last day. So I’m actually going to put on outside clothes on my day off and go to the team lunch. Other than that, I’m spending a luxurious few days reading and relaxing before the chaos of August starts.
Also, I have an announcement! My affiliate page on Bookshop.org has just been verified, so full disclosure – the link to the book you see below and to most of the books in future posts will direct you to my shop. If you order from that link, I get a cut, and so do some local bookshops supported by the website. I am working on curating some lists of recommendations for those who visit my page, so feel free to browse while you’re there. Of course, your local library likely has copies, too, but if you plan to buy a book anyway, I’m happy to oblige.
This weekend is the Dewey Reverse Readathon, which in my time zone runs from 7 pm tonight to 7 pm tomorrow. So after lunch, I may take a long nap and wake up just in time to have coffee and a snack before I begin. What a great day! I have been leaving the piles of each month’s unread TBR on the table in my office, so I’m mostly going to work on that stack during the readathon. That’s the plan anyway. I often go rogue during sessions, a course of action I highly recommend, especially when committing to many hours in a row. Gotta do whatever keeps me invested.
I always love reading Joy the Baker’s summer bucket list. And more sandwiches and all the summer fruits? I second that emotion.
Solito – Poet Javier Zamora tells about his experience migrating from El Salvador to the USA when he was a child. The descriptions are so vivid, making it easy to empathize with the scared little boy who leaves everything he knows to travel to where his mother and father live. I was in constant tension throughout the book. Hard topic but fantastic read.
I have been considering taking up bookbinding lately. Not really planning to make my own books (although…imagine the possibilities of making journals…), but I’m very interested in learning how to repair the bindings of old books I own or recover them (especially the ones I get from the library). I may play around with that some this weekend, too.
I have another engagement the weekend of Mountain Ash Press’s Writers’ Retreat, but you should definitely go if you can make it. At any rate, please consider contributing to their scholarship fund for writers who need a little help getting there. I hope to be able to attend future retreats!
Armed with some heavy-duty caffeination, I have used this little holiday break to give myself a writing retreat. I wrote about the overall plan last week on Substack, and it has been pretty great. I am happy to have discovered that churning out content at my copywriting job on a regular basis has made me a more efficient writer and a more decisive editor. The goals I expected to take me two days were finished yesterday.
Specifically, I wanted to get the first chapter of Fishbowl ready to submit to the Page One Prize by next Friday. I am going to read over the edits I made yesterday after this post, but I am pleased with it. I have overhauled this story a lot in the last couple of years, and while there is still work to be done, I like it even better than I did when I first started it so long ago.
My second goal was to complete Andi Cumbo’s Smash the Myths course. I always get so much out of Andi’s gentle advice, and there was a lot in that course I needed to hear. As a result, I’m revamping a few long-term goals and looking at realistic (rather than the idealistic I tend toward) steps to take to get there.
Today, I’m splitting my extra time between reading some of the things on my TBR for the month and working through some prompts from Lisa Carver’s How To Not Write, on loan from Sarah. Highly recommend if you are in a rut and need something to shake you free. What I like most about it is that the prompts can be used for any kind of creative endeavor, not just writing. One of them had me playing some ragtime on the keyboard earlier.
I want to carve out more workdays like this. I forgot how useful they are. I feel productive but also relaxed and refreshed. I’m more excited about writing than I have been in a while. I don’t typically wait around on excitement or motivation to do the work of writing, but I’m so happy when it shows up.
Welcome to July! I have a writing retreat (more on the specifics tomorrow) and a reading retreat this month, and I start my new job..soon-ish? Other than my regularly scheduled festivities, those are the things I’m looking forward to the most. I think *knocks on wood* that my schedule is easier this month outside of work (which is good, because it is absolutely nuts at work), so I should have a lot of reading time.
FTR’s choose your own adventure this month is romance, so I’m going with either The Scandalous Letters of V and J by Felicia Davin or This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (or both). The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen is described by Modern Mrs. Darcy as “part You’ve Got Mail, part Pushing Daisies, and part The Princess Bride,” so I feel like I need to read it as soon as possible, too.
Similarly, I’m also going to read Here For It: Or, How To Save Your Soul in America by R. Eric Thomas before I read his newest collection of essays, which is on the MMD challenge, when it comes out in August.
The Museum of Ordinary People by Mike Gayle – I intend to get lost in the nostalgia of the objects the main character finds right along with her.
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty – I haven’t read a good pirate tale in a while. I’m really looking forward to it.
TBR/Collection
Dewey’s Reverse Readathon is scheduled for July 21-22, so I will probably have some time to finish up a few things I’ve started in the past couple of months but have not finished.
June has been a pretty good month, all things considered. I mean, weather and legislation are gross, because Texas. And my dad had to put our dog Lola down, so I’m pretty sad about that. But despite a few storms, rainbows abound (feel free to interpret that in as many possible ways as you can).
Here is this month’s update on my home theme. Enjoy!
I enjoyed this piece by Sarah E. Westfall on The Exhaustion of Stuff – “A home is more than a place to put our things. A home shapes us. It is where we are formed in relationship and, in an ideal setting, feel safe and supported. But when the Stuff™ that surrounds us is excessive or lacks meaning or breeds chaos, those same qualities begin to manifest themselves within us.” Sometimes, I am nostalgic about belongings and keep them even when they’re cluttery because I have feelings about getting rid of them (not all of these feelings are joy. Just…feelings). However, I am currently in a “pitchy” phase – I’m cleaning out closets and being rather ruthless in what I get rid of. It feels so good. I got a take back bag from For Days, and I am having absolutely no problem filling it. I expect it will be ready to send back in about a week. Happy.
One group of items that I have a hard time getting rid of is all those shoes. I love shoes. I love having a lot of choices, even though I typically wear only the same three or four pair. I’ve bravely put some of them in the giveaway pile, but for the rest, I am looking into better storage options so that they don’t just sit in a heap in the closet floor.
The flip side, of course, is that I hope to someday capitalize a little more on what I enjoy doing the most so it can be the thing I do full-time. The older I get, the more creativity is fundamental to my core and my happiness. I’m looking forward to some intensive creative time this weekend and part of next week. Specifically, I am doing my first DIY writing retreat of the year next Monday night through Wednesday night (ish), so I’m finishing up preparations for it this weekend. I have two main goals for this session – to edit and submit the first chapter of either “Fishbowl” or “November” to the Gutsy Great Novelist Page One Prize and to finish Andi Cumbo’s Smash the Myths course.
Finally, I am happy to announce that I have been offered the position of Coordinator for Housing Services! I expect it to be a smooth transition, as I’ll be working with the same team I’m currently on, just with different responsibilities that are more in line with my strengths. Also, I will be moving into one of the offices (and thus out of the reception area yay), so I am spending a lot of free time building my dark academia Pinterest board with decorating ideas. Looking to build a cozy, welcoming space but also make it a reflection of my personal style as much as possible.
M. Suzanne Terry 