Lisa Batya Feld's Blog, page 17
June 10, 2011
Packing
I can't possibly have this much stuff. I trade in half the books I buy, I hate shopping for clothes, I've resisted buying cooking items I covet because I knew I'd have to pack them (I desperately need a hand mixer, a ceramic casserole dish, a pie pan, and ramekins), so how can I possibly be looking at twice as many boxes as I moved here with?
My main concern is that when I get to NC, I'm crashing with a friend who has very generously offered to let me stay with her and her family while I look for an apartment, and I'm worried about abusing her hospitality by overwhelming her with these boxes.
I should say, focusing on the positives in my life, I'm blown away by how welcoming people in North Carolina are being (and you know who you are!). Although in these three years I've found a huge number of really splendid Colorado friends I'm going to miss terribly, I came out here not knowing a soul. I haven't even set foot in NC yet, and I have a dear childhood friend, five or six rabbis, and two wonderful friends from fandom who I'm hoping to get together with when I get down there, not to mention my future coworkers and whichever synagogue community I choose. It's really incredible.
My main concern is that when I get to NC, I'm crashing with a friend who has very generously offered to let me stay with her and her family while I look for an apartment, and I'm worried about abusing her hospitality by overwhelming her with these boxes.
I should say, focusing on the positives in my life, I'm blown away by how welcoming people in North Carolina are being (and you know who you are!). Although in these three years I've found a huge number of really splendid Colorado friends I'm going to miss terribly, I came out here not knowing a soul. I haven't even set foot in NC yet, and I have a dear childhood friend, five or six rabbis, and two wonderful friends from fandom who I'm hoping to get together with when I get down there, not to mention my future coworkers and whichever synagogue community I choose. It's really incredible.
June 6, 2011
Apparently the universe doesn't want me to move
Just when I'm halfway between the mail depot and my office on campus (about three blocks in either direction), a torrential storm slams down from a clear blue sky. Soaks the cardboard box I've just gotten and whips the styrofoam packing popcorn two feet in the air within seconds. It's one of those days when I'm too tired to do anything but laugh, dry off, and try again tomorrow.
May 29, 2011
Writerly growth
Because I'm shipping my stuff through the post office instead of hiring movers, I've been trying to winnow my belongings as much as possible, especially heavy things like papers. I've throwing out a stack of paper literally two feet high, and I still have twice as many papers as I came with!
Some of the stuff I threw out was old bills, or multiple critiques of stories that I've condensed down to one master copy for easier revision. But I also threw out a huge stack of articles offering advice on writing, articles I was struggling to understand when I came here (and brought along because I thought I'd need them), that now seem both way below my skill level and in some cases painfully misguided.
What's really shocking to me is that these articles are almost entirely on plot and conflict, topics that are almost taboo in the MFA world, and yet I seem to have learned a ton on the subject while I was here. I know a lot more now about internal and external conflict, how to keep a story moving, and how to pick problems for the characters that match the tone I want for the story. I'm not saying I know it all, not by a long shot, and I'm still working on putting it all into practice, but I have a way better sense of what I'm aiming for than when I came here.
Some of the stuff I threw out was old bills, or multiple critiques of stories that I've condensed down to one master copy for easier revision. But I also threw out a huge stack of articles offering advice on writing, articles I was struggling to understand when I came here (and brought along because I thought I'd need them), that now seem both way below my skill level and in some cases painfully misguided.
What's really shocking to me is that these articles are almost entirely on plot and conflict, topics that are almost taboo in the MFA world, and yet I seem to have learned a ton on the subject while I was here. I know a lot more now about internal and external conflict, how to keep a story moving, and how to pick problems for the characters that match the tone I want for the story. I'm not saying I know it all, not by a long shot, and I'm still working on putting it all into practice, but I have a way better sense of what I'm aiming for than when I came here.
May 26, 2011
Aaaaaand we're moving at top speed!
Not half an hour after that last post, I got a solid offer from Oxford University Press, which I accepted! I'm going to be a production editor at their Cary office in North Carolina, doing air traffic control for several academic journals (assigning copyeditors, checking in with art department about cover design, etc.) I'm really thrilled (and a little terrified!) and I know it's going to be a great place for me to grow.
May 25, 2011
Just so there's movement, even in the wrong direction.
It's been three weeks with barely a single rejection letter. Understand, I don't particularly like rejection, but I can't send any new stories to any of the markets until they accept or reject the pieces I've already sent them. I haven't really sent anything out to publishers in about ten years, so this sudden logjam, just when I'm getting really excited about sending stuff out again, is leaving me a bundle of raw nerves (and it probably doesn't help that I'm in the midst of a job search AND an apartment search too).
Most of the journals are closed to submissions for the summer, which is even more frustrating because for the journals that are closed, I'm going nuts wondering why I still haven't heard from them, whether they're deliberating on my piece, trashed it when they hit the end of their reading period without notifying me, or just haven't gotten to it yet. And for the journals that are open, I'm going crazy wondering which of my pieces I should send to them next and which I should let languish until Fall, when more markets are open.
Mainly, I just want something to happen, because I need to do something with all this restless energy. Now. Please.
Most of the journals are closed to submissions for the summer, which is even more frustrating because for the journals that are closed, I'm going nuts wondering why I still haven't heard from them, whether they're deliberating on my piece, trashed it when they hit the end of their reading period without notifying me, or just haven't gotten to it yet. And for the journals that are open, I'm going crazy wondering which of my pieces I should send to them next and which I should let languish until Fall, when more markets are open.
Mainly, I just want something to happen, because I need to do something with all this restless energy. Now. Please.
May 15, 2011
Stupid, stupid rat creature...
Note to self: Yes, you can talk on your cell while you bike, as long as you're on a safe bike path away from the roads. You can put on your gloves or zip up your jacket as you bike, too.
However, biking, talking on a cell, putting on your gloves and accidentally clenching the brakes is a really dumb combination.
I managed to leap off the bike in time, so I remained standing while the bike flipped over in front of me, which was a pretty impressive sight, but the bike hit me in the stomach just to remind me not to do that again.
However, biking, talking on a cell, putting on your gloves and accidentally clenching the brakes is a really dumb combination.
I managed to leap off the bike in time, so I remained standing while the bike flipped over in front of me, which was a pretty impressive sight, but the bike hit me in the stomach just to remind me not to do that again.
May 10, 2011
Joining the 21st century...
Since I'm graduating from CSU this week, I'm suddenly realizing that there are a lot of people I care about and will miss terribly who are horrible about responding to email. So if I want to keep up with them, I have to (deep breath now) join Facebook. So whoever was last in the betting pool, you probably have enough to buy a car now. :) I probably will post there as often as I post here (which is to say, rarely), but I'll definitely be commenting on other people's posts!
I don't have a photo up just yet, and my profile's still pretty scant, but I'll try and amend all that this weekend. And I'm combing through the site for all y'all. And on that note, this is probably as good a time as any to tell you that I have a new email, something a little more professional and grown-up. It's LisaBFeld (at) yahoo (dot) com. I'll still be checking Qwakamaka, don't worry, but if you get an email from the new addy, don't be surprised.
I don't have a photo up just yet, and my profile's still pretty scant, but I'll try and amend all that this weekend. And I'm combing through the site for all y'all. And on that note, this is probably as good a time as any to tell you that I have a new email, something a little more professional and grown-up. It's LisaBFeld (at) yahoo (dot) com. I'll still be checking Qwakamaka, don't worry, but if you get an email from the new addy, don't be surprised.
May 9, 2011
Launched
My folks just flew back yesterday; it was amazing having them here and we really took full advantage of the time together. We drove up to Boulder and Cheyenne (yes, I know Boulder is south, but any time you're hauling up a sheer cliff face counts as "up" in my book!), watched Jane Eyre at the Lyric Cinema, hiked along the Poudre River, sponsored a kiddush at my shul, and oh my God, the food this week. For those of you who know Ft. Collins, the seared tuna with mango salsa at Coopersmith's and the pumpkin bread french toast with rum butter sauce at Rainbow were particular favorites. Om nom nom.
More than that, I got to introduce them to all the amazing people I've been telling them about for the past three years -- my friends inside and outside the program, the community at my shul, and the teachers who've really been mentors to me. It was so important to me that my folks get at least a taste of why I adore all of them and see who I am out here (which is very different from who I was in New York).
And, of course, they got to be there for my reading. While my program has a number of venues for students to do less formal readings earlier in the program, I really hadn't felt ready to share my work before this. Partly, I felt really vulnerable about my work and didn't want to show it to anyone unless I had to, and partly, it felt really clear earlier on that I had a lot of work to do on revising these stories; that they weren't ready to be shared any more than I was ready to share them. But I really felt by this point like the stories in my thesis had really come together in a good way, I was thrilled about them, and I wanted everyone around me to be just as excited as I was about them. So I just got up there and completely rocked it. I used every trick I ever heard my parents discuss about public speaking to keep the audience interested, and I think the fact that I was so excited and in love with the story came through and got passed to the people listening. It felt so joyful and perfect, and five minutes after I finished I wanted to go up and do it again!
More than that, I got to introduce them to all the amazing people I've been telling them about for the past three years -- my friends inside and outside the program, the community at my shul, and the teachers who've really been mentors to me. It was so important to me that my folks get at least a taste of why I adore all of them and see who I am out here (which is very different from who I was in New York).
And, of course, they got to be there for my reading. While my program has a number of venues for students to do less formal readings earlier in the program, I really hadn't felt ready to share my work before this. Partly, I felt really vulnerable about my work and didn't want to show it to anyone unless I had to, and partly, it felt really clear earlier on that I had a lot of work to do on revising these stories; that they weren't ready to be shared any more than I was ready to share them. But I really felt by this point like the stories in my thesis had really come together in a good way, I was thrilled about them, and I wanted everyone around me to be just as excited as I was about them. So I just got up there and completely rocked it. I used every trick I ever heard my parents discuss about public speaking to keep the audience interested, and I think the fact that I was so excited and in love with the story came through and got passed to the people listening. It felt so joyful and perfect, and five minutes after I finished I wanted to go up and do it again!
April 28, 2011
Vanishing for lovely reasons
My thesis reading is a week from today, and I'm really nervous and excited. It's going to be me and my advisor's two other advisees, all fiction, and it should be a blast.
And the really awesome part is that my folks are coming into town for the reading and staying for a week! So, like when I go home to visit them, I may not be getting online all that often. So if there's anything anyone needs from this Tuesday through the following Sunday, it's probably easier to phone me. And after they go, I'll definitely sweep through past LJ updates and see what y'all have been up to, but if there's a gap between when you post and when I reply, that's why.
And the really awesome part is that my folks are coming into town for the reading and staying for a week! So, like when I go home to visit them, I may not be getting online all that often. So if there's anything anyone needs from this Tuesday through the following Sunday, it's probably easier to phone me. And after they go, I'll definitely sweep through past LJ updates and see what y'all have been up to, but if there's a gap between when you post and when I reply, that's why.
March 22, 2011
Woooooooooooooot!!!!!1111one!
Passed my thesis defense! Booyeah!
Details to follow.
Details to follow.
