It's official.
LaurenMathews.com is up and running. See you over there!
7.28.2008
7.25.2008
Okay, so I'm a terribly blogger. But I have a good excuse. I've been creating a new personalized website.
It's nothing fancy so far, but head over and check it out. As soon as I can get it to work, it'll be LaurenMathews.com, but until then, it's this.
So go check it out!
It's nothing fancy so far, but head over and check it out. As soon as I can get it to work, it'll be LaurenMathews.com, but until then, it's this.
So go check it out!
5.27.2008
26 years old and no idea what I'm doing
This is the first time in my life that I have had to apply for a loan. And I'm scared to death.
I filled out a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and got more than enough to cover my Mason tuition for the next year. The problem is the Publishing Institute. Because of the brevity of the program, it isn't eligible for federal funds. So, I have to come up with $5,510 to pay for it. I've already paid $2,360 in deposits (thanks to my dad and my credit card). But I have to find $3,150 to pay my bill by next Friday, as well as pay back my dad and my credit card. So, this morning I searched the Wachovia website to find a direct-to-consumer loan. The only thing helpful I could find was a customer service phone number. Except that it wasn't a customer service number, it was a number to a bank where I could apply for a loan. I explained my situation to the guy on the other end (that I have grad school covered, but needed $$ to pay for Denver), and he told me what I needed to apply for was a Continuing Education Loan. Who woulda thunk it?
So, I applied right there over the phone. I'm supposed to know whether or not I am approved within 24 hours, so we'll see what happens tomorrow. I didn't put down anyone's information to use as a co-sign, and I have absolutely no idea what kind of credit score I have, so I have no idea what to expect, as far as interest rates go.
Basically, though, I am stressed. And nervous. And scared. This is new territory for me and I just have no idea what I'm doing...
Am I just totally overreacting? Or was this your thought process when you applied for your first loan?
I filled out a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and got more than enough to cover my Mason tuition for the next year. The problem is the Publishing Institute. Because of the brevity of the program, it isn't eligible for federal funds. So, I have to come up with $5,510 to pay for it. I've already paid $2,360 in deposits (thanks to my dad and my credit card). But I have to find $3,150 to pay my bill by next Friday, as well as pay back my dad and my credit card. So, this morning I searched the Wachovia website to find a direct-to-consumer loan. The only thing helpful I could find was a customer service phone number. Except that it wasn't a customer service number, it was a number to a bank where I could apply for a loan. I explained my situation to the guy on the other end (that I have grad school covered, but needed $$ to pay for Denver), and he told me what I needed to apply for was a Continuing Education Loan. Who woulda thunk it?
So, I applied right there over the phone. I'm supposed to know whether or not I am approved within 24 hours, so we'll see what happens tomorrow. I didn't put down anyone's information to use as a co-sign, and I have absolutely no idea what kind of credit score I have, so I have no idea what to expect, as far as interest rates go.
Basically, though, I am stressed. And nervous. And scared. This is new territory for me and I just have no idea what I'm doing...
Am I just totally overreacting? Or was this your thought process when you applied for your first loan?
5.22.2008
Could I at least start the semester before the stress sets in?
I'm three months away from my first class and I have already had three different schedules.
When I applied to the program at Mason, it was called Professional Writing and Editing. However, when I received my acceptance letter, I had been accepted in to the Professional Writing and Rhetoric program. Interesting... I immediately wrote to my newly assigned advisor and asked, "What's up, yo?" He explained that since editing is such a small part of the program, the name didn't adequately represent. So, since Rhetoric is much more broad, that's what they went with. Didn't seem to matter too much, since the requirements remained the same. So, I registered for my classes and sat back, content.
That is until I received an email from the professor of the Wednesday class. He had mistakenly opened registration to all of the English grad students, when, in actuality, it was only supposed to be available to MFA (Creative Writing) students. So, I was automatically dropped from the class, told that I would be able to take it in the spring. Fine, no big deal. Except for the fact that registration had been open for a week, and classes were filling up. So, I scrambled around, checked my requirements, asked advice from my advisor (cause hey, that name had better count for something!), and found the perfect class: ENGL 513 - Advanced Special Topics in English: Recent Non-fiction. Sounded like a dream. You know of my recent obsession with Non-Fiction, so this couldn't have been better. Except, when was it offered? Tuesday nights, same time as my intro to program, a required first-semester course. So, that was out. Frustration settling in, I found another great class: ENGL 701 - Research in English Studies. Sounded good enough, I'd love to learn how to do research properly. Oh wait! The class is full. Frustration turning to anger, I added myself to the wait list for the class and went off in search of another perfect course. Except this time I didn't find one.
There were plenty of classes that I liked or was interested in, but either they didn't fit into my schedule, or I didn't have the prerequisite it required. So, reluctantly, I signed up for ENGL 611 - Studies in Rhetoric: Political Rhetoric in an
age of Media Spectacle. Bores-ville! Studies in rhetoric didn't sound so bad, maybe even interesting, but politics in the age of media spectacle? I didn't think I would be able to stand it. But, nevertheless, I registered and decided to buck up.
For the next week, I grumbled about having to take this awful political rhetoric class and perused the course catalog. It was then that I found ENGL 522 - Modern English Grammar. Um... hello! Has there ever been a more perfect class? I've been dying to study more grammar (especially since this happened (#1)). So, I wrote quickly to my advisor, told him I had found my dream class, and asked why in the world this wasn't listed on my available class list. Would you like to know what he told me? That the list I had was wrong! Wrong?! Why do I have an incorrect list? Hello! I'm trying to plan the next two years of my life, plans that are supposed to lead to the perfect job, and you're giving me the wrong list?! Come on people - you're supposed to have your doctorates - don't send me the wrong list!
So, while I waited for someone to send me the right list, my advisor told me that the class I wanted to drop is (on the new list) a required course. And it's okay if I drop it now, but I'll eventually have to take it. Also, ENGL 522, which in actuality, is a LINGUISTICS class, and its prerequisite, would both fulfil requirements for my degree. Gee! What a great thing to know! So, I happily dropped ENGL 611 and signed up for LING 520 (Descriptive Linguistics - the prerequisite for the grammar class). Now, I have the perfect schedule, and apparently, I'm on a Linguistics track within my concentration. Who knew! (The word linguistics scares me, but the more I learn about it, the more intrigued I am!)
I finally got the updated course list today. I was very happy to see that my advisor was wrong (at least according to this list, which, who knows if it's right!), and I am not required to take ENGL 611! I might take it anyway, if the subject changes to something better than politics. We'll see. But for now, I'm happy.
When I applied to the program at Mason, it was called Professional Writing and Editing. However, when I received my acceptance letter, I had been accepted in to the Professional Writing and Rhetoric program. Interesting... I immediately wrote to my newly assigned advisor and asked, "What's up, yo?" He explained that since editing is such a small part of the program, the name didn't adequately represent. So, since Rhetoric is much more broad, that's what they went with. Didn't seem to matter too much, since the requirements remained the same. So, I registered for my classes and sat back, content.
That is until I received an email from the professor of the Wednesday class. He had mistakenly opened registration to all of the English grad students, when, in actuality, it was only supposed to be available to MFA (Creative Writing) students. So, I was automatically dropped from the class, told that I would be able to take it in the spring. Fine, no big deal. Except for the fact that registration had been open for a week, and classes were filling up. So, I scrambled around, checked my requirements, asked advice from my advisor (cause hey, that name had better count for something!), and found the perfect class: ENGL 513 - Advanced Special Topics in English: Recent Non-fiction. Sounded like a dream. You know of my recent obsession with Non-Fiction, so this couldn't have been better. Except, when was it offered? Tuesday nights, same time as my intro to program, a required first-semester course. So, that was out. Frustration settling in, I found another great class: ENGL 701 - Research in English Studies. Sounded good enough, I'd love to learn how to do research properly. Oh wait! The class is full. Frustration turning to anger, I added myself to the wait list for the class and went off in search of another perfect course. Except this time I didn't find one.
There were plenty of classes that I liked or was interested in, but either they didn't fit into my schedule, or I didn't have the prerequisite it required. So, reluctantly, I signed up for ENGL 611 - Studies in Rhetoric: Political Rhetoric in an
age of Media Spectacle. Bores-ville! Studies in rhetoric didn't sound so bad, maybe even interesting, but politics in the age of media spectacle? I didn't think I would be able to stand it. But, nevertheless, I registered and decided to buck up.
For the next week, I grumbled about having to take this awful political rhetoric class and perused the course catalog. It was then that I found ENGL 522 - Modern English Grammar. Um... hello! Has there ever been a more perfect class? I've been dying to study more grammar (especially since this happened (#1)). So, I wrote quickly to my advisor, told him I had found my dream class, and asked why in the world this wasn't listed on my available class list. Would you like to know what he told me? That the list I had was wrong! Wrong?! Why do I have an incorrect list? Hello! I'm trying to plan the next two years of my life, plans that are supposed to lead to the perfect job, and you're giving me the wrong list?! Come on people - you're supposed to have your doctorates - don't send me the wrong list!
So, while I waited for someone to send me the right list, my advisor told me that the class I wanted to drop is (on the new list) a required course. And it's okay if I drop it now, but I'll eventually have to take it. Also, ENGL 522, which in actuality, is a LINGUISTICS class, and its prerequisite, would both fulfil requirements for my degree. Gee! What a great thing to know! So, I happily dropped ENGL 611 and signed up for LING 520 (Descriptive Linguistics - the prerequisite for the grammar class). Now, I have the perfect schedule, and apparently, I'm on a Linguistics track within my concentration. Who knew! (The word linguistics scares me, but the more I learn about it, the more intrigued I am!)
I finally got the updated course list today. I was very happy to see that my advisor was wrong (at least according to this list, which, who knows if it's right!), and I am not required to take ENGL 611! I might take it anyway, if the subject changes to something better than politics. We'll see. But for now, I'm happy.
5.14.2008
This post has nothing to do with publishing.
However much I vowed to myself that I would restrain from the everyday mish-mash of my life on this blog, and focus on publishing related topics, so as to narrow my focus, today, I can't help myself.
A year ago, I came to America after spending a year in Budapest, Hungary. I was working with Campus Crusade for Christ and an AIDS awareness program. It was both one of the hardest and greatest years of my life. The best part were the friends I made. I met/worked with/hung out with a lot of high school students while I was there, and normally, for a 25 year-old, that would be sad. But it was rquired of my job, and actually, I loved it. One of the girls that I got the closest with is named Hanna. She and I have kept in touch since I left and last week she sent me an amazing letter.
Included with the letter was a four-point tract. She told me that she had her personal testimony printed inside. I couldn't believe it! I went through a long process with Hanna. She wasn't a Christian when I met her, but was interested. For six months, we met every week, while her interest in the Lord grew and grew, until one day, she accepted Christ. The four months after that, I watched her grow in her faith and really become a strong Christian. It was amazing to be a part of this huge thing in her life.
When I got the letter and the tract, I immediately wrote to a friend in Hungary and asked him to translate it for me. He sent it to me today and I was almost in tears when I read it. I was so overjoyed to read it from her point it view. Please enjoy and let it warm your heart like it did mine:
I grew up in a Christian family. I have known of God since my youth, and I knew many Bible stories, thanks to my parents. Yet I still wasn’t a Christian myself. How is that possible? I simply didn’t have a personal relationship with God. I didn’t know Him.
When I became a high school student a new world opened up to me. New people. New relationships. I decided to change. I no longer wanted to be a quiet student. I wanted to be the center of attention. Within a month I knew the entire school and everyone came to me if they wanted to know someone’s name. I enjoyed this position…for awhile.
There was only one problem. I didn’t have friends. What I mean is, I didn’t have real friends. I was a very surface-y person and didn’t try to get to know anyone. Anyone I called a friend was really just an acquaintance. I didn’t have a true friend to whom I could tell anything. From whom I could ask for advice. I didn’t think of Christianity as a solution until the summer of 2006.
At the end of my freshman year I attended a Christian English camp. There something changed within me: I began to inquire after God. Because this was a Christian camp they talked a lot about Jesus and faith. Yet the biggest impact was the positive, radiating, easy attitude of my the camp leaders. I could see that they really loved one another and they loved the campers too.
I was sure that this kind of love only came from above and I wanted to experience it. I decided that I wanted to be a Christian. I wanted to belong to God’s family. I still didn’t actually trust Christ in the camp, however. How is this possible? Why did I hesitate? The main reason was that I somehow didn’t feel that it was the right timing…I didn’t feel anything unique yet.
I began to meet from the fall onward with a Christian girl who I met at the camp. I began to talk about much with her regarding a relationship with Jesus and Christianity began to become more clear to me. Yet I still waited. I didn’t know why. I was waiting for something unique to happen to prove to me what should happen.
On a February afternoon we sat down to talk and I learned something that was an important goal in my life: there is no particular unique sign to look for when making this decision. It’s not an emotional reaction. I needn’t experience any unique feeling to accept Christ. I just needed to believe. Therefore, as all of my doubts had been erased, on that Saturday afternoon I prayed a prayer to God and He came into my life. I didn’t feel different, but I knew that that decision was the biggest and best of my life.
Since then I have much changed and many have noticed. I notice ever more frequently God’s change in my life, as he is changing me. Thanks to his endless love and grace that surrounds me, I am capable of deep, sincere love. I am no longer so surface-y.
Of course there are many things to still change, but what Jesus has already done…to that I can only say: I am truly grateful and I can’t wait to get to know Him more.
Hanna
Me and Hanna at the "Tropicarium" in Budapest
(I justify this post because the booklet she sent me is, technically, a publication. So there.)
A year ago, I came to America after spending a year in Budapest, Hungary. I was working with Campus Crusade for Christ and an AIDS awareness program. It was both one of the hardest and greatest years of my life. The best part were the friends I made. I met/worked with/hung out with a lot of high school students while I was there, and normally, for a 25 year-old, that would be sad. But it was rquired of my job, and actually, I loved it. One of the girls that I got the closest with is named Hanna. She and I have kept in touch since I left and last week she sent me an amazing letter.
Included with the letter was a four-point tract. She told me that she had her personal testimony printed inside. I couldn't believe it! I went through a long process with Hanna. She wasn't a Christian when I met her, but was interested. For six months, we met every week, while her interest in the Lord grew and grew, until one day, she accepted Christ. The four months after that, I watched her grow in her faith and really become a strong Christian. It was amazing to be a part of this huge thing in her life.
When I got the letter and the tract, I immediately wrote to a friend in Hungary and asked him to translate it for me. He sent it to me today and I was almost in tears when I read it. I was so overjoyed to read it from her point it view. Please enjoy and let it warm your heart like it did mine:
I grew up in a Christian family. I have known of God since my youth, and I knew many Bible stories, thanks to my parents. Yet I still wasn’t a Christian myself. How is that possible? I simply didn’t have a personal relationship with God. I didn’t know Him.
When I became a high school student a new world opened up to me. New people. New relationships. I decided to change. I no longer wanted to be a quiet student. I wanted to be the center of attention. Within a month I knew the entire school and everyone came to me if they wanted to know someone’s name. I enjoyed this position…for awhile.
There was only one problem. I didn’t have friends. What I mean is, I didn’t have real friends. I was a very surface-y person and didn’t try to get to know anyone. Anyone I called a friend was really just an acquaintance. I didn’t have a true friend to whom I could tell anything. From whom I could ask for advice. I didn’t think of Christianity as a solution until the summer of 2006.
At the end of my freshman year I attended a Christian English camp. There something changed within me: I began to inquire after God. Because this was a Christian camp they talked a lot about Jesus and faith. Yet the biggest impact was the positive, radiating, easy attitude of my the camp leaders. I could see that they really loved one another and they loved the campers too.
I was sure that this kind of love only came from above and I wanted to experience it. I decided that I wanted to be a Christian. I wanted to belong to God’s family. I still didn’t actually trust Christ in the camp, however. How is this possible? Why did I hesitate? The main reason was that I somehow didn’t feel that it was the right timing…I didn’t feel anything unique yet.
I began to meet from the fall onward with a Christian girl who I met at the camp. I began to talk about much with her regarding a relationship with Jesus and Christianity began to become more clear to me. Yet I still waited. I didn’t know why. I was waiting for something unique to happen to prove to me what should happen.
On a February afternoon we sat down to talk and I learned something that was an important goal in my life: there is no particular unique sign to look for when making this decision. It’s not an emotional reaction. I needn’t experience any unique feeling to accept Christ. I just needed to believe. Therefore, as all of my doubts had been erased, on that Saturday afternoon I prayed a prayer to God and He came into my life. I didn’t feel different, but I knew that that decision was the biggest and best of my life.
Since then I have much changed and many have noticed. I notice ever more frequently God’s change in my life, as he is changing me. Thanks to his endless love and grace that surrounds me, I am capable of deep, sincere love. I am no longer so surface-y.
Of course there are many things to still change, but what Jesus has already done…to that I can only say: I am truly grateful and I can’t wait to get to know Him more.
Hanna
Me and Hanna at the "Tropicarium" in Budapest
(I justify this post because the booklet she sent me is, technically, a publication. So there.)
4.22.2008
Six unimportant things about me...
I have been tagged by Tracey from Make Room for... to post this meme on my blog. Since I'm trying to focus this blog on publishing/reading/writing/grad school/editing, I'll try to focus my unimportant things on them...
Okay, here we go:
Six Unimportant Things About Me:
1. I'm obsessed with grammar and long to earn my living as an editor, but I got a C in my grammar class in college. I blame my neurotic professor and his insanely impossible sentence-diagramming exams.
2. I often correct my friends/family/co-workers/strangers on their grammar. This, in turn, has made me very unlikable.
3. In my freshman dorm, I was the unofficial editor for all term papers. People I hardly knew would bring me papers to read. I bought red pens. I loved it.
4. I got a B.S. in English. I did this to avoid having to take language classes at Liberty. The head of the English department (the neurotic grammar professor) told me that if I ever wanted to go to grad school, I was going to need that language. I said to him, "I don't ever want to go to grad school. I don't need the language." And where am I now? About to start grad school, where I will have to spend an extra semester and an extra $3,000 taking language classes, because, oh yes, my degree requires it.
5. I get excited when I see typos in books I'm reading. Each one makes me a little less scared of missing one tiny thing while I'm editing.
6. The first (and only) book I've officially edited will come to a bookstore near you this year. You must buy it. I need the money.
~LLB~
Okay, here we go:
Six Unimportant Things About Me:
1. I'm obsessed with grammar and long to earn my living as an editor, but I got a C in my grammar class in college. I blame my neurotic professor and his insanely impossible sentence-diagramming exams.
2. I often correct my friends/family/co-workers/strangers on their grammar. This, in turn, has made me very unlikable.
3. In my freshman dorm, I was the unofficial editor for all term papers. People I hardly knew would bring me papers to read. I bought red pens. I loved it.
4. I got a B.S. in English. I did this to avoid having to take language classes at Liberty. The head of the English department (the neurotic grammar professor) told me that if I ever wanted to go to grad school, I was going to need that language. I said to him, "I don't ever want to go to grad school. I don't need the language." And where am I now? About to start grad school, where I will have to spend an extra semester and an extra $3,000 taking language classes, because, oh yes, my degree requires it.
5. I get excited when I see typos in books I'm reading. Each one makes me a little less scared of missing one tiny thing while I'm editing.
6. The first (and only) book I've officially edited will come to a bookstore near you this year. You must buy it. I need the money.
~LLB~
4.16.2008
From Writer to Reader and all the things in between
I just finished reading an amazing book.
There's nothing I love more than honesty, and this book's got it coming out every which way - through its letters, its pages, its spine.
From the back cover:
Rockabye is Rebecca Woolf's heartfelt and often hilarious account of what happens when an irrepressible young city girl gets pregnant by accident and decides to keep the baby and marry the boyfriend. Forced to come of age almost overnight, Woolf charts her transformation from odd-job doing, commitment-phobic, chain-smoking party girl to wife and mother, trying to adapt to and at the same time rebel against the stereotypes and responsibilities of modern motherhood. Woolf never relinquishes the qualities of her free-spirited, pre-baby self as she challenges herself to grow up without outgrowing her dreams while embracing motherhood in a style wholly her own.
I bought the book Sunday afternoon in the midst of a much needed wandering around the local bookstore. I love the bookstore all by itself, but I love leaving it the most, because that means that (most of the time) I have a new, crisp, and enticing collection of pages, putting its weight into the bag dangling from my hand, just waiting for me to crack its spine. I love the smell of books, the way the fresh pages feel against my fingers, and the way this new book feels so personal to me, even before I read it. No one has ever owned this exact book before - or read this exact copy. It's like a secret between me and the author. No one can know exactly what she was thinking when she wrote it, and no one will feel exactly as I will when I read it - and that's our connection. She has it with each of her readers, but I just have it with her. It's ours.
Three days after buying the book, it doesn't lay flat anymore, the spine is twice cracked, and exactly six of the 289 pages are dog-eared (the first of which doesn't occur until page 134). I literally couldn't stop reading this book. I had to at times - when my eyelids were too heavy to stay open hours past the time I usually am fast asleep, at work, or when American Idol came back from commercial breaks (Yes, I know, we've already covered this - I am a fantastic loser and watch American Idol. But, hey! At least I'm reading a book on its commercials!).
I've been reading Rebecca's blog for a few months now and am addicted to her writing. She's fantastic. I'm not a mother, and am no where ready to be one, but I find easy comfort in everything Rebecca says. She makes the idea of being a parent a little less scary and a lot more fun.
I love how vulnerable Rebecca makes herself and how open she is to every one of us who is looking to get something from her. This completely honest and sometimes shocking memoir touched me. So well written and full of love, hate, anger, sadness, complete bliss, vulgarity, and pure, raw emotion, that I feel both at ease and sad now that it's over.
Well done, Rebecca. I'll continue to look for a new blog entry every day, and I can't wait to read what you write for baby number two ;)
***********
This book comes at an especially good time. A few months ago, I read The Year of Living Biblically. It was strangely insightful and ironically funny. Then The Know-it-All. Full of odd ball information as well as humor that I never saw coming. Then Someday My Prince Will Come - a little prideful, but wonderfully dream-like and girly. I've fallen in love with non-fiction. So much so that I think it has turned me off to fiction. I tried reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Couldn't get into it. This Much I Know is True - so full of disturbing scenes that I had to stop midway to protect my brain from further images. Then I picked up Franny and Zooey, which I have tried to read about five times, but have never been able to finish because it just doesn't compare to The Catcher in the Rye. But I was less than halfway through it when I bought Rockabye and have happily set it aside for the past three days. Now that I've finished this book surprisingly fast (I'm kind of a slow reader, most of the time), I'll finish F&Z, because this time, I'm determined. The next thing I need to read is the book that I am editing and have completely neglected for the past two weeks. Hopefully, I'll be finished with it soon an can finally push away the guilt that comes every time I read something that I'm not required to.
~LLB~
There's nothing I love more than honesty, and this book's got it coming out every which way - through its letters, its pages, its spine.From the back cover:
Rockabye is Rebecca Woolf's heartfelt and often hilarious account of what happens when an irrepressible young city girl gets pregnant by accident and decides to keep the baby and marry the boyfriend. Forced to come of age almost overnight, Woolf charts her transformation from odd-job doing, commitment-phobic, chain-smoking party girl to wife and mother, trying to adapt to and at the same time rebel against the stereotypes and responsibilities of modern motherhood. Woolf never relinquishes the qualities of her free-spirited, pre-baby self as she challenges herself to grow up without outgrowing her dreams while embracing motherhood in a style wholly her own.
I bought the book Sunday afternoon in the midst of a much needed wandering around the local bookstore. I love the bookstore all by itself, but I love leaving it the most, because that means that (most of the time) I have a new, crisp, and enticing collection of pages, putting its weight into the bag dangling from my hand, just waiting for me to crack its spine. I love the smell of books, the way the fresh pages feel against my fingers, and the way this new book feels so personal to me, even before I read it. No one has ever owned this exact book before - or read this exact copy. It's like a secret between me and the author. No one can know exactly what she was thinking when she wrote it, and no one will feel exactly as I will when I read it - and that's our connection. She has it with each of her readers, but I just have it with her. It's ours.
Three days after buying the book, it doesn't lay flat anymore, the spine is twice cracked, and exactly six of the 289 pages are dog-eared (the first of which doesn't occur until page 134). I literally couldn't stop reading this book. I had to at times - when my eyelids were too heavy to stay open hours past the time I usually am fast asleep, at work, or when American Idol came back from commercial breaks (Yes, I know, we've already covered this - I am a fantastic loser and watch American Idol. But, hey! At least I'm reading a book on its commercials!).
I've been reading Rebecca's blog for a few months now and am addicted to her writing. She's fantastic. I'm not a mother, and am no where ready to be one, but I find easy comfort in everything Rebecca says. She makes the idea of being a parent a little less scary and a lot more fun.
I love how vulnerable Rebecca makes herself and how open she is to every one of us who is looking to get something from her. This completely honest and sometimes shocking memoir touched me. So well written and full of love, hate, anger, sadness, complete bliss, vulgarity, and pure, raw emotion, that I feel both at ease and sad now that it's over.
Well done, Rebecca. I'll continue to look for a new blog entry every day, and I can't wait to read what you write for baby number two ;)
***********
This book comes at an especially good time. A few months ago, I read The Year of Living Biblically. It was strangely insightful and ironically funny. Then The Know-it-All. Full of odd ball information as well as humor that I never saw coming. Then Someday My Prince Will Come - a little prideful, but wonderfully dream-like and girly. I've fallen in love with non-fiction. So much so that I think it has turned me off to fiction. I tried reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Couldn't get into it. This Much I Know is True - so full of disturbing scenes that I had to stop midway to protect my brain from further images. Then I picked up Franny and Zooey, which I have tried to read about five times, but have never been able to finish because it just doesn't compare to The Catcher in the Rye. But I was less than halfway through it when I bought Rockabye and have happily set it aside for the past three days. Now that I've finished this book surprisingly fast (I'm kind of a slow reader, most of the time), I'll finish F&Z, because this time, I'm determined. The next thing I need to read is the book that I am editing and have completely neglected for the past two weeks. Hopefully, I'll be finished with it soon an can finally push away the guilt that comes every time I read something that I'm not required to.
~LLB~
4.15.2008
It's official! I'm a grad student! My classes for the fall have been selected (Introduction to Professional Writing and Rhetoric, Theory and Practice of Editing (!!!), and Forms of Non-Fiction) and in four months and ten days, I'll be in the midst of my first graduate level class! I can't wait!
BTW, I got my acceptance letter to VCU yesterday. 3 out of 4. Not bad. Not bad at all...
~LLB~
4.11.2008
I didn't have a vision or anything, but...
Well, Tuesday was about the coolest day ever and I have to share it with you.
I got my acceptance letter Monday night, got excited, blogged, and had some celebratory ice cream. Tuesday, I was wrestling with what to do. Should I go to Mason? Or should I go to Rosemont? I really didn't want to say yes to Rosemont. It just wasn't the one for me. So, all morning long at work, I prayed and I prayed and I prayed. God, I'm excited about Mason - is that where I should go? I went home at lunch to work on my Bible Study and as I was wrapping it up, I read a verse that said, "...the answer... it has always been yes." Now, I know - that sounds a little too convenient, right?. But, let me tell you, it just felt right. I can't explain it - I just got chills. So, I called my mom and we talked about it for 30 minutes - what to do, what to do, what to do.
At the end of our conversation, as I was walking back into work, I voiced that my only concern was that since Rosemont had publishing specific classes, I might feel like I was missing out on something by going to Mason. But that if I got into the Publishing Institute in Denver, I could do that, and Mason, and not miss out on anything! So, I decided that I would wait until I heard back from Denver before I made any decisions about Mason.
I hung up the phone just as I got back to my desk. A quick check of the e-mail... and what was there?! My acceptance letter from Denver! Can you believe it?! It was my burning bush - exactly the answer I was looking and hoping for. So, I decided! Right then and there! I'm going to Denver! Then I'm going to Mason!
So just three more months of impatience before I can get started on the new phase of my life! Umm... are you as excited as I am?!
~LLB~
I got my acceptance letter Monday night, got excited, blogged, and had some celebratory ice cream. Tuesday, I was wrestling with what to do. Should I go to Mason? Or should I go to Rosemont? I really didn't want to say yes to Rosemont. It just wasn't the one for me. So, all morning long at work, I prayed and I prayed and I prayed. God, I'm excited about Mason - is that where I should go? I went home at lunch to work on my Bible Study and as I was wrapping it up, I read a verse that said, "...the answer... it has always been yes." Now, I know - that sounds a little too convenient, right?. But, let me tell you, it just felt right. I can't explain it - I just got chills. So, I called my mom and we talked about it for 30 minutes - what to do, what to do, what to do.
At the end of our conversation, as I was walking back into work, I voiced that my only concern was that since Rosemont had publishing specific classes, I might feel like I was missing out on something by going to Mason. But that if I got into the Publishing Institute in Denver, I could do that, and Mason, and not miss out on anything! So, I decided that I would wait until I heard back from Denver before I made any decisions about Mason.
I hung up the phone just as I got back to my desk. A quick check of the e-mail... and what was there?! My acceptance letter from Denver! Can you believe it?! It was my burning bush - exactly the answer I was looking and hoping for. So, I decided! Right then and there! I'm going to Denver! Then I'm going to Mason!
So just three more months of impatience before I can get started on the new phase of my life! Umm... are you as excited as I am?!
~LLB~
4.07.2008
2 for 4
Well, today is a huge day!! I just got my acceptance letter into the English Graduate Program at George Mason University with a concentration in Professional Writing and Rhetoric (when I applied, it was called Professional Writing and Editing, but more on that later...)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I cannot believe I got accepted! I applied to the same program last year but didn't get in, so I thought for sure the same thing would happen again. But I did get in! So, since my acceptance into VCU doesn't really matter to me anymore (and come on VCU, give me an answer already; it's been 6 weeks!), I have a big decision to make between Mason and Rosemont (or neither).
Here's the thing. I visited Rosemont in February. I attended a two-day workshop with Jan-Erik Guerth, the owner of BlueBridge, an independent publishing company focusing on books about spirituality. Mr. Guerth was great. Very informative, helpful, and insightful. I definitely learned a lot from him. While I was there, I obviously got to check out the school and the program itself (English & Publishing). The school was beautiful. Here's proof:
The town of Bryn Mawr is cute, definitely doable, but not the city that I crave. And the professors were nice, but I just didn't get a great feel out of the whole thing. I met two of the professors I would be working with, both of whom are published authors, but it just didn't click, you know? I knew it was a firm contender, but I wasn't blown away. Even just registering for the seminar was painful. The school or the program and/or the people who run it just seemed to be very unorganized. And the people I met at the seminar that were students of the program, didn't really inspire me. I was just kind of "meh" about the whole thing. My acceptance was great; I was very happy. But you should have seen the way I screamed and jumped around this afternoon when I saw that thick envelope from Mason. (Ask my roommate Sarah; she can attest.) I think in a way, I also feel validated because I really want this, I didn't get it last year, but I got more experience, took the GREs, wrote new writing samples and showed my persistence by applying again. And I got in! (I still can't believe it - can you tell? That's like the 3rd time I've said, "I got in!" Ok, 4.) See proof:
(It appears I am incapable of taking both a picture of my face and a picture of me jumping at the same time. It took about 20 shots just for me to stop jumping to early or too late and by the time I finally got an airborn shot, my ankles were starting to hurt. So, no jumping face - sorry. Also please excuse my appearance. I just got home from the gym.)
So, now I have a big decision to make. While the program at Rosemont is more specific, George Mason seems to just be a better school. And I really think God is just directing me toward staying near friends and family. I know how hard change is for me; I always have a hard time going to a new place. All that aside, I just have a peace about Mason that I don't for Rosemont. It seems like the right choice. I'm going to think and pray about it for a few days. But I need to make a quick decision as registration for the fall semester has already started (seriously?! Maybe you should time your application dates a little, huh, Mason?).
In the meantime, thanks for your votes - but it looks like I might not take your advice ;) Sorry! Gotta go with my gut, ya know?
~LLB~
I cannot believe I got accepted! I applied to the same program last year but didn't get in, so I thought for sure the same thing would happen again. But I did get in! So, since my acceptance into VCU doesn't really matter to me anymore (and come on VCU, give me an answer already; it's been 6 weeks!), I have a big decision to make between Mason and Rosemont (or neither).
Here's the thing. I visited Rosemont in February. I attended a two-day workshop with Jan-Erik Guerth, the owner of BlueBridge, an independent publishing company focusing on books about spirituality. Mr. Guerth was great. Very informative, helpful, and insightful. I definitely learned a lot from him. While I was there, I obviously got to check out the school and the program itself (English & Publishing). The school was beautiful. Here's proof:
The town of Bryn Mawr is cute, definitely doable, but not the city that I crave. And the professors were nice, but I just didn't get a great feel out of the whole thing. I met two of the professors I would be working with, both of whom are published authors, but it just didn't click, you know? I knew it was a firm contender, but I wasn't blown away. Even just registering for the seminar was painful. The school or the program and/or the people who run it just seemed to be very unorganized. And the people I met at the seminar that were students of the program, didn't really inspire me. I was just kind of "meh" about the whole thing. My acceptance was great; I was very happy. But you should have seen the way I screamed and jumped around this afternoon when I saw that thick envelope from Mason. (Ask my roommate Sarah; she can attest.) I think in a way, I also feel validated because I really want this, I didn't get it last year, but I got more experience, took the GREs, wrote new writing samples and showed my persistence by applying again. And I got in! (I still can't believe it - can you tell? That's like the 3rd time I've said, "I got in!" Ok, 4.) See proof:
(It appears I am incapable of taking both a picture of my face and a picture of me jumping at the same time. It took about 20 shots just for me to stop jumping to early or too late and by the time I finally got an airborn shot, my ankles were starting to hurt. So, no jumping face - sorry. Also please excuse my appearance. I just got home from the gym.)
So, now I have a big decision to make. While the program at Rosemont is more specific, George Mason seems to just be a better school. And I really think God is just directing me toward staying near friends and family. I know how hard change is for me; I always have a hard time going to a new place. All that aside, I just have a peace about Mason that I don't for Rosemont. It seems like the right choice. I'm going to think and pray about it for a few days. But I need to make a quick decision as registration for the fall semester has already started (seriously?! Maybe you should time your application dates a little, huh, Mason?).
In the meantime, thanks for your votes - but it looks like I might not take your advice ;) Sorry! Gotta go with my gut, ya know?
~LLB~
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