Author: bripike

The Poet & Technology

There are many ways that technology makes the life of a poet better and more interesting. Such as:

  • Writing blogs & reading blogs about poetry
  • Poetry websites
  • Instant access to inspiration whether it is art, music or other writers
  • Instant sharing of positive poetry news (a friend gets published, a new book comes out or someone wins a prize)
  • Drafting poems is often helped by word processing
  • Loosing work is less likely as long long as you remember to back up said work on a variety of devices
  • Electronic submission managers cut down on the cost of postage and the response time is faster
  • It is easier to read a sampling of journals online because of the archive system
  • More new journals are coming onboard using the internet as their platform
  • More poetry gets out to a broader audience via the internet
  • It’s easier to collaborate with other writers
  • Procuring an MFA is easier than it used to be in terms of scheduling because of low residency programs with an online component

I’m sure there are other benefits that I have not listed, but I think these hit on most of the main points. So three cheers for technology, right?

Well…

I think the downfall of all this great technology for the poet is that I constantly feel like I’m not doing enough. I’m a slow writer to start with and I also teach five classes a semester. This is not a dig at people who do not work, or who have a 3/4 load, or whatever your situation might be but this is my reality and I find my reality frustrating in terms of the writing life. This is especially the case when it comes to bullet point #4.

I revel in other poet’s success because it’s not only good for them, it’s good for poetry in general. Whenever someone wins a prize or a grant or gets a poem published or finishes a book, that means that there is an audience out there reading, thinking and supporting poetry. I find this very encouraging. On the flip side, sometimes it can be discouraging when you are sending out work constantly and not getting a response. This probably sounds whiny, and it isn’t meant to be but I think it is probably how the majority of writers feel most of the time. I won’t lie and say that this rant wasn’t prompted by a recent round of submissions I sent out. I received some of the fastest rejections I’ve ever gotten and that always kind of sucks. This is another downfall of technology, the submission process it much more streamlined than it used to be so sometimes you can send a few poems out and three days later there is an email in your inbox wishing you better luck next time.

None of this information is anything new. Submitting is frustrating and that’s just how it is. Why keep doing it? Well, I believe I’ve written some good poems and I’d like people to read them because I think they could get something out of them. How does that make me different than every other poet on the planet? It doesn’t but I’m going to keep trying.

Observations from the Gym

As part of my goals for 2012, I’ve been hitting the gym five days a week. It has taken some effort but I am feeling better and it’s gotten me to be more creative with my workouts, which is always a good thing. Working out more means that I’ve started to pay more attention to the general “goings on” around the gym. It may also be important to note, that when I say gym, I’m talking about the Y. Here are some observations in no particular order:

1. People should not stare at other people while they are working out. Personally, I’m not very self conscious at the gym. This doesn’t have anything to do with my physical condition. I just don’t really care. We are all sweaty and red faced and if you’re not, well that’s cool but you’re probably not there to work out anyway, so whatever. However, you should not stare at people who are busting their butts on the treadmill. It’s rude.

2. If you are a dude, you should not creep around the glass door to the aerobics room during the women’s step class. Seriously? I mean there are a few guys who glance through the door on their way to the weight room, but today while I was getting ready to run I observed three grown man gawking at the women’s cardio blast class through the glass door. Creepers, go work out.

3. There is no need to throw the free weights. Some people may think I’m picking on the dudes, but I’m not. Women do this too. The long and short of it is, you don’t need to throw your weights down so hard that the floor shakes. You’re strong. We get it.

4. I don’t get the concept of “reading and highlighting a textbook” while on the treadmill or elliptical machine. If you are one of these people, I mean no disrespect but I honestly don’t get it. I mean, when I’m on either of these machines I’m sweating like there is no tomorrow. I am certainly in no fit condition to read anything, let alone highlight something.

5. If you can talk on your cell phone while doing cardio, you’re not going fast enough. I don’t mind people taking a quick call, but if I can hear you telling your best friend about the guy that you hooked up with and how you are pissed he didn’t call you back through Nikki Minaj, well, there’s a problem.

6. Proper workout attire is important. Enough said.

Thrifting

This past Saturday I went “thrifting” with some girlfriends. It was awesome. We started out by having breakfast at a local east side favorite:

Diners, Drive Ins & Dives visited awhile ago. It is delicious. 

Then we started making our way through some east side thrift stores. We all found some treasures and we all spent under $10. In fact, we all spent more on breakfast than we spent shopping (and breakfast was not expensive).

This is my haul from a day of thrifting.

Materials for a future crafting project.

Awww…

Vintage children’s books.

Why “thrifting” is awesome:

1. I spent $8.50
2. I bought five vintage children’s books for $1
3. I found three tea cups for a future craft project
4. I found a Charter Club Jacket for $5
5. I found a ceramic bunny and squirrel
6. I had a lot of fun with my girlfriends
7. I got to run around the east side

I will definitely be “thrifting” again and you should all go too.

A Few Of My Favorite Things

Delicious & hearty.

I love these crackers with cheese, meat, peanut butter, apples and the list goes on. They are so delicious and reasonably healthy and filling. You should go out and buy some right now.

Vena

Babette

Shoes. I love shoes. These are two pairs I recently purchased on sale. I think the Vena is arriving today. Good times.

Letters!

Receiving and sending letters is wonderful. I love arriving home to find a letter waiting for me and I love being able to sit down at the end of a long day and write to someone.

Good books.

 Right now I am reading this collection of short stories by Joyce Carol Oates and I’m really enjoying it. Look for a future blog post once I’ve finished the book.

Best show ever.

If you have not seen this show, you need to watch it. It is on PBS Masterpiece Classic Sundays @ 9:00 PM. It is amazing and as my husband says after every episode, “this is the best show on T.V.!”

Warrior Pose.

I started yoga last week and I love it. I take my yoga class once a week at the Y and I always feel 100% better after I complete the class. Try yoga. You’ll like it.

Poetry is good for the brain.

I’ve gotten back to writing after the winter break and I love it. I’ve been waking up with ideas for poems lately and I hope it is a trend that continues.

Five Reasons I Love My Finches

We’ve had our finches, Calliope & Humphrey for several weeks now and they are fun, busy little birds.

Reasons why Calliope & Humphrey are awesome:

1. They like to nest together. We have these two thatched houses that we bought at Pet Smart because the “pet specialist” informed us that finches like to nest. For awhile, our finches didn’t seem too interested in the nests, but then we moved them for better access, and the other night they were both peeking out of the nest. They were adorable.

2. They like to groom each other. Our finches definitely have a morning routine.  I come down and uncover their cage and they begin to chirp and bounce around the cage. After a few minutes of flying about, they settle on a perch and begin to clean each others feathers.

3. They love to play with hay. We have a hay ball, another suggestion from the “pet specialist” and the birds love to pull all the hay out of the ball and they carefully pick specific stalks and use it to pad their nests.

4. They eat together.

5. When they get tired, they sit very close to one another on a perch and snuggle. Love.

Guest Blog: A Letter To My Community College

I’m a guest blogger over at A Librarian’s Lists and Letters. Here’s an excerpt from my post. To read the rest, check out Shannon’s blog.

To My Community College:

If you had asked me ten years ago as a graduating senior from a private liberal arts college what I knew about community colleges, I would have said absolutely nothing. However, this would not have been a true answer because I knew one thing about community colleges: I knew they were looked down upon. How did I know this? Because occasionally when I would tell people unfamiliar with Allegheny College where I went to school they would pause and then say, “Oh,” you go to CCAC.” CCAC stands for Community College of Allegheny County. The first few times this happened, I corrected the questioner but didn’t think much of it. I didn’t know anything about CCAC and I’m not a native of Pennsylvania, so whatever. They were confusing one school for another. Who cares, right? I was quickly set straight when the same mistake was made in the presence of a friend of mine from Pittsburgh. “No, no, no,” she interjected quickly, “we go to Allegheny College not CCAC. That’s a community college.” Then she laughed and made a face, and I started to get the picture.

Read the rest here.

A New Office for the New Year

Over the winter break my community college packed up the Liberal Arts & Sciences department and moved us over to our new building, currently named Illinois/Fall Creek (these are the two streets it sits on). When I arrived Tuesday, things were a bit chaotic. There is still a lot of construction going on, so there was plenty of dust and power tools and men with hard hats. Our offices were in a state of disarray with extra furniture and cube walls that were not in the right spots. Luckily, by Wednesday the extra furniture was gone, our computers were up and online, our spiffy new phones worked and the cubes were all the correct size.

My cozy cube.

My new window! I brought two plants in immediately.

This view from my window shows the front of the new building. If you look off to the right you can see downtown.

I’m very pleased with my new office space. I currently share it with two other professors and they are awesome. There is a lot of natural light and the air quality is much better than where we were before. The building as a whole is gorgeous and will be even more so once it is completely finished. They are letting students in on Monday. Let the spring semester begin.