Ramona's Got a New Bag

and I have to share it with her---the birthday card from my dad and stepmom read: to Carly and Ramona...luckily since she's my alter-ego, we can both use it at the same time. No girl fights getting ready in the morning!!!

It was worth being woken up for after a night of the hottest Burlesque action ever!

It Wasn't Really Sold Out...

On Friday Sandra and I managed to get tickets to the sold out David Lehman reading at the writer's center. David read a phenomenal new poem, Yeshiva Boys, a poem in mutiple sections (it took at least 20 minutes to read I think) and I was amazed at how much ground this poem covered---from Europe to his childhood---the humor and seriousness. I know I'm not doing this the honor here, but the poem made me really think about memoir---how much of our history is a part of our identity. I think for me this was the first time I even thought of Lehman as a Jewish poet even though I knew he was. The poem made me take him more seriously as I often think of David and punning and fun more often. And also someone who writes shorter, less challenging poems. I was really glad for it. I think that line that has been in my head---how we become ghosts of ourselves--will be part of a longer poem.

It was a see and be seen event in DC poetry and I was glad that David gave me a shout out in his introduction. He was mentioning all the trustees and presidents and then my name. I saw a few people turn around trying to figure out who I was. I spent most of the night talking with his wife and some colleagues from GW and I was giddy from some news from the grapevine and a folder full of my students first poems. Afterwards to Biddy's for some good poetry discourse with Sandra and of course the late night slice. Actually two slices.

The Good and The Bad News

The Good:

Had a great reading in Philly last night and wrote two new Ramona poems on the train home! I'm really excited about this summer at the Havurah Institute---I'm teaching with some great people so check it out and maybe you can be there too!

The Bad:

I will not be the Jenny Moore Visiting Writer or teaching at Oberlin next year. But I think it's all for the better. I've got enough cooking in DC and plenty to keep me busy.

Thus Spake Ramona

It's funny that I'm working on a poem about the merits of online shopping and now you can find Ramona online here. I was just recording her in NYC last weekend and here she is, in the voice!

I'm feeling very energized today. I have some amazing students this semester---I am always surprised by their honesty when they do their introductions and can't wait to see their writing. I know that sounds like crap-o teacher talk, but really, I do believe it. We all have so much inside us and it takes guts to come to the page. And for me, I go straight from the page to the yoga mat. And it's funny because the yoga teachers say the same thing---honor the fact that you came to the mat. So I'm going to tell that to my students. I'm honored that they came to the page today.

This morning while drying my hair these lines came to me: the way we become our own ghosts. I'm not sure where it will go or what poem is brewing, and speaking of steam, SPD asked for 40 more copies!

HOT!!!

Last night I made a spicer version of chicken soup. The recipe was called Asian Hot Pot which I found in Real Simple. It's become my new favorite magazine. The soup uses a soy ginger broth which you can create from chicken or vegetable stock by adding you guessed it, ginger and soy, or you can but a ginger and soy stock---yeah, Trader's Joes! Then you cook down mushrooms, chicken, bok choy, and carrots in ginger and garlic and hot pepper (I used dried chilli peppers) and then add that all to the broth slowly simmering and add some rice noodles and viola---Kung Oy!

I ate it for lunch and dinner today (as well as last night and most likely the rest of the week) and did hot yoga tonight for the first time. This new semester is going to be HOT!!!

It's NYC, go ahead, pee anywhere

Perfect NYC day---recorded Ramona in a friend of Paulette's apartment and I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship between Alimentum and Ramona!!! Walked around the Village, had Two Boots (Earth Mother, of course) and drank jasmine tea from the indoor garden of La Lantana and beers at the Slaughtered Lamb before meeting Jonathan for dinner at Le Zie and then Avenue Q. It always seems like whenever I see a show, it becomes my new favorite. After all, who doesn't like to hear puppets say Fuck You. And that's mild. You know this show is rocking when the line for the ladies room is too long and so we gals hijacked the mens at five minutes before show time. That Ramona, she's a wild one---I mean, if she can roll squash around, and protest canned vegetables, why not bogart the men's room? There were stalls in there not being used!

The Chi in DC

Off to NYC to do some recording for Alimentum---Ramona will be online soon. You'll be able to hear her sing the praises of squash and the like! Also reading at Zinc Bar at 7 p.m. on Sunday!

There's been some crazy chi here in DC so I'll be glad to get out of town for a bit. My last table last night---the man's name was Jonathan Sachs. Luckily I didn't find that out until after he left, because if I had known that while I was serving drinks, I probably would have made some off handed cousin remark.

Me-OW!

Last night I was walzing around barefoot on a hardwood floor and got a splinter in my foot. I guess I should be more demure and keep my socks on next time. Everyone in yoga had some advice, but after the epsom salts and much digging around, there's still that sliver up in there near my toes.

So bring your tweezers and splinter remedies to The Black Cat tonight if you come out for the reading.

The Way We Are

Lisa just sent me this photo of all of us girls and I got Melissa's holiday card in the mail the other day. I love how she makes these great newsletter things. For those of you who get them, you know why they're so awesome, and for those who don't, I don't think I can sum it all up here...but I want to thank her so much for reminding me of the power of dreams and especially for number 1 (though I'll keep most of you in the dark about what #1 is, after all, number 8 instructs us to let some things be mysterious). But what I really love is number 6---Remember that everyone is a afraid of something, loves something, and has lost something.

Today was brunch a la couzinas a la chez Albemarle. Family. Food. Food. Food. Food. Gym. Veggie Lasagne. Yes, that's been my day, a whole lot of eating and hanging out.

Black Cats

Your vote matters! Beacause I still want to say that I work at one of the hippest bars in the city :)

And speaking of bars, I'll be reading at the Black Cat in DC on Wednesday Jan. 10th at 9 p.m. and at the Zinc Bar in NYC on Sunday Jan. 14th at 7 p.m.

Work-wise, I've been touching up the syllabus and getting ready for the semester. For the first time, I have two classes where I have many more guys than girls. This is the opposite of what it usually is. Perhaps too many students were reading the ratings on RatemyProfessor.com. Hmmmm....

Also working on the deep cleveland anthology and trying to sequence and score last minute permissions. This week I'm meeting with an artist for the cover design.

The most difficult challenge is getting a cat. I know, it sounds silly but to find a declawed cat in the city is proving to be very frustrating. I'm turning in my application with Four Paws today so here's hoping!

My First Review

arrived today! And it's good! Piotr tells me the book is selling well on SPD. All of this after I told Jonathan I want my life to be more uneventful. Today my accomplishments included making pumpkin pancakes, going to yoga, whole foods, and making pasta with homemade sauce, spinach, and ground turkey. Then hanging out with GG (the cat, not mine). The cousins came to yoga and Leslie said she'd be a catsitter when I travel so looks like there will be a cat as long as the DC shelter doesn't judge me an unfit cat mom.