Shiny Things

I am already a good way into Day 2, so I think it is high time to stop and get my head together about Day 1, as though that is even possible. I am sitting on the lower level of the hidden annex side of the conference center, where I just found some interesting glass sculpture and friendly school teacher from Pheonix, who grew up in North Canton. Yesterday, I went to more things than I even realized until I looked at my notes just now. A brief rundown: - Raven Chronicles reading - Here is the lovely serendipity for the day. I came to this panel purely for the name. Donnelle and Seven - two friends from grad school - we're already there, and I discovered a lovely journal - a multicultural journal with themed issues published here in Seattle and featuring, from the panel's evidence some really smart and interesting writers. The title to this post is drawn from a poem by Carletta Carrington Wilson, who spoke. - Hanging out with my friend Paula, who lives in Cleveland but we don'

Evidence The time change is really affecting me. I can't remember ever being so confused by crossing time zones. I can't figure out when to sleep or eat. Also, when alone and not responsible for other people's forward motion, decision making is confusing. I am slow and a little stupid out here. And yet, I got to explore Pike Street Market, took a long walk out to the Olympic Sculpture Park, sat for a while by a tiny "pocket beach" right on the sound and watched the waterfowl and the mountains and the freighters, encountered a hipster in an overcoat sitting on a park bench reading an ipad and smoking a meerschaum pipe (honestly, I witnessed this), drank lots of latte, and reconnected with an old coworker. Today the conference begins in earnest, and my head will crushed. Reading: Trying desperately to finish Looking for Alaska . Writing: Note taking Lunch & Dinner: Lunch, which was also a very late breakfast, because I couldn't figure out sleeping and eatin

Dawn from my window. I arrived in Seattle yesterday. I've never been to this part of the country before. I'm going to AWP later this week, which if you don't know is a huge writing/teaching writing conference (The schedule alone is 500 pages long. I exaggerate. But, please, never ever use the word "praxis" in a panel title, even if you are in graduate school. More on AWP later.)  This trip has been in the works for a couple months now, but like  most things in my life recently, if it isn't immediately in front of me I don't have time to consider its reality. It was about half way through the flight from Chicago that I realized I was actually going to end up in the Pacific Northwest. Then a little later as the plane started to descend, I opened my window shade and saw this: Well, I didn't see this  precisely , because this image is from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mount_Rainier But I saw a view like this, only there was a cloud streaming off the t