So my second story this quarter will be workshopped on Valentines Day. I somehow wanted to make it symbolic. Or about love. Or about a cliche in a completely tricky way. Such as some story about Russian mail order brides. Or the such. But the problem is whenever I "want" to write about a specific thing it never works. I write about the completely uncontrollable.

Currently the only story I can write, or character that wants to be written, is Uncle Carl who sells bat houses (like bird houses but for bats) on the side of the highway. His troubled nephew comes to live with him for the summer. They smoke pot endlessly in the bat house work shed and travel to all the places they never can or will be able to go to.

The End.

This is where you will find me. It's the rasta village of Cahuita. All dirt roads. Reggae music fills the air. Afro-Carribean food. I can't wait. My mom is worried it's a shanty town and there will be drugs everywhere.

I found this glass house right outside of the town. $150 for a WEEK....2 bedrooms...
The Rasta are friendly.
I'm going to stay in the glass house with a hammock and make friends in shantyville.
I can't wait for Costa Rica. Seriously. I may never come home.

I am happy it is the weekend. Last week I felt a little sick. This week I feel alot sick. I think it is because I was on campus from 10-6 pretty much four days straight doing non-stop work and scholarly things such as class. I also went to a workshop about getting hired at a city college after a masters degree. It all was very helpful and city college professors make some mula. I guess after next year and teaching undergrads I will figure out if that is really the practical thing I want to do with my career life.

The creative writing dept. also is hiring a new fiction professor for this up coming fall. They chose their top three and each week one of the candidates is visiting campus. So we grad students get to have lunch with them and then go to a reading. The first one came this last week. He was pretty outstanding in my book. Set the bar high. He is a really talented writer and it seems like he would be a good teacher. I laugh at his stories and admire how they are sentimental at the same time. Plus he has this awesome novel that is coming out in a month or so that has to do with pop-culture. I am also cant wait to see the next candidates.

This weekend I am going to get better. I think I was just so go go go this past week I never gave my body time to rest. It's this terrible sickness where your back and neck ache and you feel cold all the time. The throat hurts and you can't get comfortable.

I am really busy. But I am happy. I really feel content with my classes, my work, my days that are jam packed. It is so much better than last quarter.

Oh yeah and my good buddies from the city played a little prank on me through the email. Let's just say they totally had me fulled and topped me. I was impressed. And laughed. I miss seeing those guys on a daily basis. We went to the movies and to lunch last weekend. It was fun to just go out and relax and not be busy. If only they were more than behind a computer screen in my busy days my life would be priceless.

A day to remember our presidents. A day to remember laws. I use today to complete my online traffic school for my stupid stupid ticket that was a waste of my $230.

Here is what I am learning on-line traffic school is a joke. And a waste of my time.
Here is a sample question, so you can see what I get to do for half a day:
All of the following are examples of driving courteously on the road EXCEPT:
1. somebody is trying to change lanes or pull into traffic and you make room for them
2. trying to signal to someone that there is something wrong with their car
3. trying to signal to someone that there is something wrong with them by waving your middle finger


Hmmmm....such a hard choice. Really. All the reading really pays off. Here is what the reading/text of online traffic school is like:

"You must also show that the vehicle is properly insured before leaving. The driving test will be postponed if the vehicle does not satisfy all of the above requirements. My favorite team is the Lakers. During the examination, only you and the examiner can be in the vehicle."

What do the Lakers have to do with driving?

Now that I amused everyone, including myself with this moment, I will continue learning how to follow the laws.

Last night I was one of the lucky few who was able to see Bill Clinton speak at UCD.
10,000 people turned up. They only let in about 2,000. We got there late. Right at nine. The line was 4 football fields long and they already met the capacity. I was just so happy to see so many people there. It made me feel like there was hope for the politics of this country. I decided to walk around the building and see if we could find a window or door to watch the whole speech through. I found a pretty open door that had a small crowd pushed up against it. We stood there for about ten minutes. On tiptoes trying to sneak a peak. Then came the moment. Someone from the inside opened the door. It was only for a second before security figured out and shut it again. But it was enough time to get in.
So I got to see Bill Clinton speak. Live. About 100 feet away on the ground level. It was amazing. It was better than anything I have seen. In the past I went and saw Peter Camejo speak, but this was so much better in comparison. It was like watching a really good concert and being moved by good art. You left smiling. I am so happy I got in. Clinton was so impressionable that I went and changed my political party affiliation from green to democrat. That says something about the speech. I still am a greenie at heart, but the reality of them getting enough people to switch over is small. If I want to see changes take place. Well then. I hate to say it...but sometimes mainstream is the only way. I still want to do more research about who I am going to vote for, but Hillary has a good chance in my books. Clinton is an amazing speaker...see for yourself:

I’ve had a wonderful week. Really. Now I sit in a freshman dorm room at Cal Poly with my sister. It is a nice way to end my first week when I really feel like a grad student. A way to go back in time. We ordered pizza from the dinning hall…since when could you do that? They deliver. Did I mention that? Sheesh….last time I remember you swipe your card and stuff your face…now they deliver food to you, in your dorm room. How cool is that? We’ve had a few beers, or maybe more. Gone exploring in the dark. I feel content. Happy. This was a good week. A week of completeness with a nice ending of digression. Tomorrow the beach…and I assume more exploring.

This quarter is up and running. No moments to stop and take a breath. Jump right in and you either drown or fight swimming. For the first time in my life I am going to understand the phrase "grad students live on campus." I have never ever thought I would be on campus as long as I am going to be this quarter. Three classes and 18 hours a week of working on a project pretty much takes up all of my day.
I will have my
Arab Women class monday and wednesday 10-12
Sexuality in modern literature Tuesdays 12-3
Creative Writing Workshop Thursdays 12-3

Then I just started working on this project this week: Up from the UnderStory which is a community media project
This is seriously the experience of a lifetime.
I will be working on it
Mondays 12-6
Tuesdays 3-6
Thursdays 8-11
Fridays 8-2

So I am going to be busy busy busy.....

Oh and I agreed to be the first person to submit a story in workshop tomorrow. So off to work I go :)

New Year was low key this year.

Instead of champagne we rocked in the new year with Stoli vodka. The Russian way. I am not one for new years resolutions. Pretty much all of new years eve we looked at Costa Rica stuff on the internet. We paused for the vodka and drop of the ball. I went to sleep and my first dream of the new year took place in Costa Rica. I was in some rasta influenced village in rasta pants bargaining with this shopkeeper. I woke up the next morning and knew it had to happen.

So I bought a plane ticket to Costa Rica. Yes. That's right baby...I'm going to costa rica on 8/9/2008 for 12 nights. I have 8 months to plane the trip. But I can't wait. Really. It is supposed to be one of the top 1,000 places to see in the world before you die. It is as safe as you are going to get for central america. But yes there are shady planes, lots of reptiles including 21 foot alligators, banditos that rob, and maleria. But you know what...I'm going to love this trip. Put the worries aside, visit the rasta town I vividly saw in my dream, and take in the world.

So I guess my goals/resolutions are:

Stop stressing about the future and life-relax more...

Because I'm going to COSTA RICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I bought flight tickets that are non-refundable unless "death of passenger before departure date" happens.