Writers Babble

This morning I woke up to the news anchor saying there was a dunkin donuts on Power Inn road in Sacramento. I have been waiting for this ever since last August. I was planning in my mind how I would make the drive out to buy my bakers dozen. Sadly, I went on line to check this out...since it sounded to good to be true. And the news anchor was wrong. The dunkin donuts in Sacramento closed down. The nearest one to me is Arizona.

I told Lisa this morning perhaps I should open a California franchise. Use my graduate education wisely.

Yesterday I found out there is a good thing about getting this graduate education at a school that is fully funded. The department is giving each of us $700 to pay for any writing conference we want to attend in the summer. I am very excited about this. After researching I was even more excited to find there is a writers conference held in Mendocino that I never knew about. I believe this is the one I hope to get accepted too. Of course my first choice: Amy Tan and Anne Lamott teaching workshops in Tahoe...but it is offered when we are in Costa Rica.

So I'll have to stick with another one.
The other ones I am considering are in Portland and Napa. I may apply to both and see which one I get into. The only cool thing about the Mendocino one is that $700 would cover my whole trip: food, gas, registration, and hotel. I think if I went to Portland or Napa I would go over my budget and have to pay out of pocket.

I also found out yesterday that the english dept. hired their new creative writing faculty. It is going to be Yiyun Li. We stole her from Mills College. People are convinced she is going to be HUGE: the next Jumpa Lahiri. I am excited to take a workshop from her next fall. She really is a talented writer. I recommend reading her stories. My favorite one is " Death is not a Bad Joke if Told the Right Way"

Everyone should go read up on her.