Continuing to catch up on submissions.

Work has been terrible this week--some student-related concerns I won't go into here, but it's taking a lot of brain space, and concentrating on anything else has been hard. I did have an appointment with my therapist yesterday, which helped. 

I did hear from one first book contest--The Jake Adam York Prize--and while I wasn't a finalist, they received almost 1000 entries this year, so it was a longer shot than I expected. I thought I'd recognize a name or two in the finalists, but I did not. 

This week, I had a FaceBook memory from three years ago that states I need to do better, spending more time on submissions and writing. It was encouraging to read that and know that I took action from that point on. I've been much more consistently dedicated to my writing over the last 2+ years. 

I sent out a few more submissions this morning, and now I'm back in that holding pattern of waiting for rejections and acceptance letters. This should give more more room to write over the next few weeks. Right now, though, I am very behind on grading, and I need to get that caught up over the weekend.

My birthday is Sunday, but I'm not sure that I'm doing anything. I've been thinking about going to Eugene to play pinball on Sunday, but I really wanted to do that today. Anyhow.

New Submissions, and Some Fresh Starts.

This month is flying by . . . I have received a few rejection letters, and I've also realized that when the rejection letters come in one at a time, I don't realize how many I've let pile up. 

I try to keep my submittable submissions to at least 48 submissions, but I had less than 35 in there today. I spend most of my day today pulling together submission packets and sending my work back out. I think I put 13-15 packets out into the world today, so that's quite an accomplishment! 

I finished up two altered books from 2021--one that's of a typical size with 20+ spreads in it, and a smaller, gift book. Those smaller ones have become my favorite books to work in, to be honest.

I have the collage work done in my first book of 2022, as well. It's a bigger dimension--probably 8" by 10", but there are only 10-12 spreads in the book. This being a holiday weekend, I plan to spend some time on found poetry in the new book, but probably not until tomorrow. 

It's President's Day weekend, and I finished last week's grading and meetings by 2:00 pm on Friday, AND I told students that I wouldn't be online tomorrow on the actual bank holiday, so it's been a nice break--a break I don't always get between Weeks 7 and 8 in the school term. 

So, I'm glad to have my submissions caught up, and I've done a little housework and laundry is caught up, so a little loafing on the sofa tonight might happen. My knee is still doing well, but it gets grouchy and sore if I sleep on it wrong or leave it in the same position for too long. 

My goals for March are already being put in place . . . I received some bloodwork that shows my cholesterol is out of control, and I am sure that I've just replaced booze with refined sugar in my diet over the last 18 months. I'm going to work really hard on getting more activity into my life and on cutting sugar and cholesterol. I joined Noom a few days ago, and I'm hoping it will also help me to get my health prioritized. Their app says that I could easily get to 175 lbs by October, so I'm really hoping I can put the effort into it this spring and summer. It's so beautiful here in the warmer months, and I need to get myself motivated to take advantage of that. I figure if I see March 1 as my start date, I can work to have better grocery choices and a new pair of hiking shoes in place by then . . . I'd like to also start walking the neighborhood a few days a week, or the campus. Giving myself until after my birthday on the 27th, and the anniversary of Turtles's death on the 26th, seems more like kindness than procrastination to me. 

I've also made a big step by cutting smoking concentrate and flower out of my life. So, I haven't smoked anything but a vape pen since mid-December. I still use it daily, but I think it's less frequently, and I'm certain it's healthier than a pipe. I feel that I've lost some brain fog--and really, it feels to me that it was a similar brain fog to what I experienced while drinking. I'm hopeful that those steps will help me foundationally as I start to tackle my diet.

What I need to also start doing is drafting more new poems, but man. That's eluding me lately. My attention span is not letting me get much done. I know it's still a pandemic, but I've got to find a way to force an hour a day, maybe? I need rules--like, for example, working on submissions doesn't count. 

I'm hoping I'll already have a good start on better eating habits by the time I leave for Philly in late March. I would love to be able to stay in a hotel without a suitcase full of junk food to pass the time. I think I made a good call by picking an old-school hotel, because there are no fridges in the rooms.

Anyhow. As usual, this entry is all over the place. : ) But--two blog posts in February! After taking a few months off, that's an improvement.

Holidays, Knee Surgery, Writing.

It's already early February, and submissions are slow AF. I have 41 submission sets out in the world, including six copies of my full-length manuscript. Everything is a waiting game. I'm going to try to send a few more things out this weekend; I try to keep my submissions around 48 or 50.

A few pieces have been picked up by smaller publications . . . but I'm going to try to start being a bit choosier about presses in 2022.

I had an arthroscopy on my left knee three weeks ago, and it's healing nicely. I feel like I am finally able to start worrying about my knee, after almost a year since I hurt it. I did have a torn meniscus, and some scar tissue from the injury, and the scar tissue was sanded out, and the tear was fixed. Within a few days of the surgery, I could already tell my knee was better. It still gives me some discomfort when I'm trying to get comfortable to sleep, but that's lessening almost daily. 

I spent two weeks over Christmas with my family in Weirton . . . it was such a pleasant visit. I spent a lot of time just hanging out with my parents, watching TV and talking. I didn't spend much time in my room, which is usually a big part of my visits, though I did get a good number of submissions sent out. No arguments, which was great, and I made minimal excursions into public, due to covid. I did get to the Warhol museum and to the Carnegie Museum of Art, but both were quick trips with no side stops. It had been nine years since I was in Weirton for Christmas, and four years since I've been to Weirton. My trip was extended by two days due to snow in Oregon, but I fortunately was able to be at my parents' house instead of stuck in a Chicago hotel, halfway home.

I haven't been doing much of anything creative. Still. I feel like except for the poems I wrote last June in workshop, I haven't really done anything spectacular in 2021. In 2020, I filled four altered books, and wrote a ton of new poems. 2021 was a lot harder. I am sure being at home is finally starting to wear on me; I was in a funk most of the year, and I watched a lot of television. I am trying now to be more conscious of getting things done, making sure each day has something that offers me a sense of accomplishment. I am putting final touches on last year's altered books--only two, and one of them is a small, thin book. Both have new found poetry in them, and I'm hoping that if I give it a few weeks, they might be springboards into new work. I am eager to begin this year's first altered book, and to spend more time writing. 

Classes for me are still all online, because of the knee surgery, and it's my three-course term, so my load is light . . . in spring term, I'll be back on campus for one class that meets four times a week while the other three will still be online. I think it will be really good . . . last term I struggled with those on-campus days, but I have grown to enjoy them. I've been going to campus on Thursdays for four or five hours, and I'm finding that I really miss being there, in my office, interacting with colleagues.