December??

Hard to believe it's already December. It was cold and rainy this morning and I told my class that we may get a real winter. Now it's 55 and sunny out and I'm reloading my shuffle to go for a run. Virginia winters are magical. At least compared to Ithaca winters.

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The December round of fellowship apps are in the mail (Stegner, Provincetown, Exeter, and Stadler Center at Bucknell). It's funny how these things work. You look at the apps and spend all this time scrutinizing and hoping and fantasizing about how amazing actually getting one would be, but then you remember the competition. I don't even think I have the best chance in my program at getting one of these. I also realized that no matter how "successful" one is in terms of publishing and the like, we'll never stop applying for things, whether it's fellowships, grants, residencies, writing conferences, or even those sneaky applications disguised by that word "submission."

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Lots of poems in the mail. Some friendly rejections. Still waiting for the first nibble of the new semester.

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I've realized I don't know how to go grocery shopping. I just keep buying the same ingredients to the only two things I know how to make (Parmesan Crusted Pork-Chops and Coconut Shrimp) and Pasta. So I eat one fancy meal every week along with five nights of pasta and red sauce (Alfredo if I'm feeling crazy). It's really sad.

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Listening to: Ben Folds "Rockin' the Suburbs"
Reading: Brendan Galvin's "Whirl is King" (reviewing it for the Critic)

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Best New Poets 2008 is very much out, and very much selling copies. Did a reading with 6 of the other poets in the book at the Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, VA. It was amazing to see the diversity of the voices in the collection. Really incredible to be included in the same pages as these folks. Talk about humbling.

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UNC plays Michigan State on Wednesday. Are you ready?