Finished... at least for now

11 stories - 204 pages

Something about completion feels so good.
Sending copies off to my committee on Monday... it's so strange to be nearly done.

Zooooooooooom

So, I am official. Well... I'm official for a month, but I have all of the documentation I need to get registration stickers on my car. I'm going to wait though--I paid $20 for a temporary sticker that I didn't even need (was told it was needed in order to get an inspection, but the guy didn't even bat an eyelash or ask for it... grrr). I'm going to use this temporary sticker! I'll tell you what, it really helped taking care of some of the paperwork while I was still in New Hampshire--I've been here only a week and after one failed DMV trip, I have Maryland plates on my car after 1.5 hour wait. So, the above image is not my actual plate number, but it is what the plate itself looks like. This is the new Maryland design and I actually think it's kinda ugly. Sorry to all native MDers out there... I'd love to know what that building is supposed to be. I really did want the old plate (middle) though; I think it looks "governmental" not to mention classy. Thoughts?

Oh well, it's "just a plate that no one looks at" according to my sister and she's completely right about that. But the thing is that I've had Texas plates for over 4 years now--the same plate. The same simple plate. I feel like it's got a simple design--I think I like it when none of the letters/numbers are obstructed with nonsense. I lived in New Hampshire for two years and didn't even register it there! But that was for financial reasons and sheer stubborn behavior (I didn't want to pay over $300 for plates, but low and behold, I'm paying exactly that now). I also wonder if the NH plate design had something to do with it too. The "live free or die" part was nice--I do like that motto. I don't know... this all feels like a bigger deal that what it really is, so lets move on.

Thesis Update: I am working on the final story revision! It's a story that I did last semester so this is the first big edit on it. It's actually a little too fresh still. I do most of my editing 6 months after the first draft is finished and workshopped. After I finish this revision I'm going to look at my table of contents closely again, try to get it all laid out (how the heck do you do that with an unlinked short story collection anyway?!), and then take it to Staples for one big print out. I want to do one more edit (hopefully line edit stuff) before I mail it to my thesis advisers on Sept. 1. I hope to fly up to NH to meet with them sometime in October (or late September), get their comments, make revisions/edits and then turn in a final draft sometime in November. I'll defend in December and read at the same time. BLAH. I'm not looking forward to public reading--the program probably should have arranged for practice opportunities for their students. Some people got to read (like at perspective student day) but those were likely the favorites. What about me, Bob? What about the little people still struggling to figure out structure and story? Are we not good enough? Haha... sigh.

I'm just glad to have a car again... to be able to drive around and see my new neighborhood and scout out potential job prospects. Jobs... that's a subject for another post entirely.

Hello Maryland

So, I made it to Maryland in one piece and nothing flew off my car and smashed into the car behind me. Overall, it was a good trip. I felt bad for my cat trapped in his carrier for so many hours; so, in solidarity I didn't eat meals in front of him and felt guilty for sneaking pretzel bits from time to time. My cat is still adjusting, but it's so nice to be in a place where I'm not trapped in one room (too bad Tri is for the meantime). Trust me, the last two years have been pretty confining.

Anyway... the drive was nice. New Jersey sucks the cash right out of your wallet though. I spent about $15 dollars on that state's toll roads. It was ridiculous. My favorite place to drive through was New York City. There's so much to look at there, and there's something romantic about that city, I think. I drove across the George Washington Bridge and that was pretty exciting. So, next step is to finish my thesis and find a job out here. I'm looking forward to getting things started again.