Odd, I know...

but this post actually has something to do with poetry!

I have new work up at keep going, a super-sweet on-line mag. Many, many thanks to the editors.


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In other news, the apartment search might be over. I applied for a cute little studio in Buena Park today. That neighborhood was not on my list, but it looked safe, and the apartmentpeople swore it was just like Lakeview. I wish I could post pictures, but my new phone and I are having issues with email.

Let me tell you, all my fears about living in the city & relying on public transportation are completely valid!!! I think I've got twice as much gray hair as I did yesterday, and my nerves are shot. When I move, I'm going to learn the route from my front door to UIC and then I'm going to be a recluse for the rest of the time. Here's just one example of my ineptness: It took me 45 minutes to get from Union Station to the Wells/Washington el stop. They're four blocks apart. Note to self: don't ask coffee girl at Union Station for directions. She don't know any more than you do.

Cook-Off Candids

Dear Readers, here are some snapshots from life on the road.

First, the day I got electrocuted. Someone should have reminded me that metal + water + power lines is not a good combination. Winston-Salem, NC:
Next, Valeria, our Russian front counter girl. She's 19, very smart and not lacking in attitude either. We share a hotel room on the road, where every morning she forces me to listen to Avril Levigne. Ugh. She taught me how to say bitch in Russian. It's suka. That's phonetic spelling, by the way.

Last time I did the BBQ thing, I met Al Gore. This time, JoDee Messina. I was actually pretty psyched. She said her necklace smelled like pennies. Then she kicked ass on stage. I know country music isn't really cool these days, but this chick can sing.
My hotel room in Kansas City was on the 26th floor. This is the view from my room.

Also in Kansas City: Tami dances circles around Brisket Bob during the Los Lonely Boys concert. Tami is my favorite.
And the legendary Brisket Bob. He's been flipping ribs (and formerly Brisket, obviously) for 20-some years.

Do you miss me, Blogland?

I'm in Kansas City today, killing time before the cook-off opens. It's unusal that I have a day where I don't have to be at work by 9:30, so I'm enjoying the downtime. In a minute, I'm going to go sit by the pool and work on my ms. Right now, I'm on the public computer at the hotel bc I got tired of lugging my laptop around and only having five minutes to check email a day. Nobody told me that the cook-off opens at 4 here. I would have brought it if I'd know.

The pics over at Mary's (too lazy for links, you all know Mary) of the BOR Poetry Editors' meeting are making me want to cry. I'm so sick of missing all the good stuff.

So...I'm probably going to hell for this, but I may be the only person in the world who is happy about the flooding in Cedar Rapids. Don't get me wrong--my heart goes out to those who are impacted by this disaster--but it means I get a very badly needed week off. During that week off, I'll be hanging out with the family, working on poetry, and posting some pics of my crazy summer. Hopefully I'll remember to snap some of the flooding Missori river on the way home. Pretty crazy.

A Post with Substance

Here's the situation, folks. I'm sitting in a hotel room in Jamestown, NY, with two guys who are watching the game/Southpark and giggling like a couple of 12 year olds, and I'm trying to listen to Eva Cassidy on my headphones, but Southpark is louder, and if I turn up the headphones anymore, my eardrums will explode. It's not a bad situation, really, but I'd rather be home. (Oh, and I'm the only girl on this trip except the manager, so I'm rooming with a boy. Oy.)

Today, we hit 71 at 7am, pulled in around 11, and were finished setting up by 2. That means I got my regular daily pay for about 3 hours of work. That's a good thing. The bad thing is I get paid the same regardless of how much I work, and a lot of days, it's 9am to 12am. Sometimes only 10 to 10. I knew what I was getting into, don't get me wrong, but 27 is a lot older than 18 and I sure don't have the energy I did back then.

So this is set up: we put up a tent which is about 10x15, then add 20' worth of overhead signs and 2 six foot wings. We unload the box truck--4 gallon boxes of BBQ sauce, boxes of baked beans that weigh about 20 pounds each, etc. Last week, we had to load the freezer trailer first, which involved taking 80 cases of ribs out of one freezer and putting them into another. What I'm trying to get at here is that this is not the desk jobs I'm used to. I'm whipped. And my legs are covered in bruises. Today I walked into the trailer hitch and have a knot about the size of a softball just above my knee. Tomorrow, it's supposed to be almost 90, and if the humidity today was any indication, I'll probably be melting around 3 p.m. Yay.

So, sometimes a girl just needs to whine, right? I guess I do a lot of that. I'm a little frustrated because everything is happening so quickly and I don't have time to process or deal with most of it. There are little bits of sanity, too, though. Like making dinner last night on the grill and sitting on the porch after. Like finding time while I'm on the road to work on my chapbook and take some notes for reordering the full length ms. Reading a Stephen King novel when I don't want to think. And the people I work with, although not anything like the people in the other parts of my life, are good people. Kind, hardworking people who like to have a good time. I'm trying hard to appreciate what I'm going through--as my mother likes to tell me, it's all about attitude--but I do miss the kind of summer I've gotten used to since starting grad school: three or four hours of reading every morning, afternoons writing, evenings going to class or hanging out with friends. I suppose, in a sense, I'm paying for that now, since the loan money is gone. (Which reminds me, I need to do my FAFSA for the fall!) At any rate, I'm in this thing until labor day weekend, so I guess I better buck up and get used to it.

Where I'll Be

Karen, this is for you:

Jamestown Rib Fest

Back on the road tomorrow at 6 am. Better finish packing.

BOR Updates

Hey folks, lots of good stuff going on in the Owl's nest. Check it out:

• Contributor Interview # 3, with Bernadette Geyer, is up and running.
• The Masthead is growing. Welcome Adam, Tobin, John and Emily!
• And most importantly, we are now accepting submissions for BOR #2. See full guidelines here.

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In other news, I'm home for 3 whole days! I'll probably find some time during those days to write something a little more substantial.

On the Road Update

Oh, how I miss my normal life! I'm in Erie, PA this week and I gotta say, this is a strange little city. Sorry to anyone who lives here, but people are odd!

Anyhow, there's really not much to tell, and although I've had my camera with me, I haven't taken any pictures yet. Mostly, I just stand behind the counter and sell food, or sit behind the trailer and smoke. Booorrrring.

On the upside, I've been reading John Ashbery's A Worldly Country on my breaks. It's the first poetry I've had time to read in a while, so my brain is going a little crazy with it. I haven't read a lot of Ashbery before, just the anthologized stuff, and I didn't realize how difficult it would be. I'm enjoying the thinking, though. Thinking is good.

Looking forward to being home for a little bit this coming week. I'm 6 days into 9 days straight of working 10-10 (except Tuesday, I only had to work 12-5) and ready for a break.

BTW, friends, you should give me a call when you're bored. I have lots of time to talk!