Metra-Inspired Poetry

I'm currently taking a class called "Teaching Literature" and we're doing a unit on teaching poetry. This both fills me with dread and makes me very happy because I do not "get" poetry, and so I don't want to read it or study it, but I also know that I will someday have to teach poetry, and so I should learn to love it. Or at least gain a basic understanding so that I can teach it without making a fool of myself or teaching children incorrectly. Nothing worse than a bunch of teenagers who don't know how to write a proper haiku.

So, for this class, we're reading a book that is the faux journal of a faux poetry teacher. One of my assignments is to try out his assignments. So I did.

The assignment: Write a poem based on "Exercise in the Cemetery" by Jane Gentry

At dusk I walk up and down

among the rows of the dead.

What do the thoughts I think

have to do with another living being?

In the eastern sky, blue-green as a bird's egg,

a cloud with a neck like a goose

swims achingly toward the zenith.

First sentence should place you somewhere, the second sentence should ask a question and the third sentence should describe in images whatever you notice.

The only other time I've ever written poetry was during a particularly angst-y moment in my history. I think I was about thirteen and the resulting "poetry" is so humiliating, just thinking about it makes me want to run away and hide. However, I'm older and more mature now. I shouldn't ask students to do something that I wouldn't do. And, honestly, what is a blog for if not to completely humiliate yourself? And so... my poem. Written this morning and not yet revised.

Be kind.

Just as the sun gets going,

I read and ride the train towards Chicago

and my office.

Why is everyone else going?

The rhythm of the tracks

shift and shake the words.

They rattle on the page

like an old tea set on a platter

carried gingerly, careful not to spill.

Oh god. I think I'm dying. The shame. Seriously.

Some Tips for Winter Weather

It is really f'ing cold out. So cold, in fact, that as soon as you walk outside, you can feel the little hairs in your nose freeze. That's cold.

My mornings start with Hank. I drag my butt out of bed and take Hank for a walk. These days, the walks are very short. Hank doesn't own any clothing (I tried to buy him a sweater and it didn't fit. It didn't seem right to have my dog try on clothes in the middle of Petsmart, but apparently, that is what people do). So, with no extra protection, I don't take Hank outside for very long. When I'm all bundled up in seventeen layers, one of which is a long down coat, and I'm freezing, I figure he shouldn't be out there in his doggy nakedness.

This morning was really cold, and my poor little nose felt like it was freezing. Since I took the train today, I decided that this was a situation that needed attending to. So, I took an extra scarf and wrapped it around my head like Randy in A Christmas Story. I thought I was so smart as I walked to the train. I was cold, but my nose was ok. And, since I'd left my mouth uncovered, it looked like I would get away without all that gross condesation that usually happens when you put a scarf over your face.

Not so much. I got to the train and I noticed something in my line of vision - like a stray hair or lint or something. I took off my mitten and tried to remove it. It was not lint. It was water. Not only had my nose been creating some lovely moisture, but my eyes, in an attempt to save themselves from freezing in their sockets, had started to tear. So, My eyes were not just glassy but totally wet. My mascara? Now all over my hand and, I presumed, my eyes. So, I got on the train, took off the second scarf and grabbed a little mirror that I have in my purse. Yep, raccoon eyes.

So, I try to wipe them clear. It's not really happening. Of course, I have no tissue in my bag, so I'm stuck with my hands.

Except.

Well, here's the thing. When Aunt Flo comes to visit, I generally keep pad wrappers for use in disposal of used ones. I recently got a coupon for Kotex, and so I bought some. I think I shall use them exclusively now. Kotex wrappers are different - they're sort of clothy instead of plastic. I happened to have one in my purse. Since it was all clothy and soft, I used it to clean up my eyes. I'm not ashamed to say. Well, ok I'm a little ashamed, but not too much. I even used it to blow my nose once the eyes were taken care of.

So, here are my winter weather tips:

1. Use waterproof mascara in really cold weather to prevent a problem like mine.
2. Carry tissues in your purse.
3. If you don't carry tissues, then switch to Kotex and keep a wrapper in your purse.

Happy Day

Foiled again! I tried to get my Monday post in under the wire, but apparently my computer clock is slightly slower than Blogger's. Oh well, I guess I'm out of the running anyway.

I did bowl pretty good tonight. Which is always nice. I'm in a Monday night Mixed League over at Irving Park Lanes. If you're ever tempted to join a bowling league, I highly recommend you do so. It is a nice way to meet some interesting people. For the most part, the people in my league are a lot of fun, though they're also almost all at least 20 years older than us. We're the obnoxious kids in matching shirts with a killer handicap.

Today was a really good day. Things were insanely busy at work (they usually are at the end of the year but this year there are two more major projects that we're not usually handling). But the good part came after work. I took the train home. Mr drove me to work this morning because it was on the way, but I walked over to Olgilvie after work and got on the train. As it turns out, the Metra station is really close to my house - closer than the Red Line was to my old apartment and I used to walk there every day. So, I took the train home, which was lovely, and I finished the last reading for my final project which was awesome, because it is due tomorrow - technically today, since it's already Tuesday. I also wrote most of the summary of that article. The best part, however, was the walk home. Like I said, the train is close, so it doesn't take long, and I just like my neighborhood so much.

We moved this weekend and I'm just so happy to be in my house. It's weird how happy I am. It's still a big old mess, but it's my big old mess. As I was walking home I was admiring all the other cute houses in my neighborhood - all the yards are well-maintained and cars are in driveways. It just looks neater and nicer and .... it just felt like home. I walked almost the whole way with a big goofy grin on my face.

I almost wish that I wasn't going back to my parent's house this week. I mean, I love them and miss them and I'm really looking forward to seeing my nephew and going to look at wedding dresses with my mom. But I could also really use five days in my house to get things in order.

My boss has offered me two extra days off since work is so crazy. She's good like that. The problem is that I want those days NOW and since work is crazy due to the time-sensitive nature of the stuff we're working on, I can't really take time now. So, the house will have to stay in disrepair for a little bit. It will get there eventually.

Death of NaBloPoMo

Sadly, I was unable to post for the last two days. Which means I'm out of the running for the cool prizes offered by Fussy and friends for NaBloPoMo. It was unavoidable. AT&T was strangely on the ball with things and disconnected my internet connection on Thursday night, so I wasn't able to post on Friday. I tried to get Mavis to post for me, but she didn't do it. Turns out, AT&T didn't need to foil my plans since moving took all frickin' day and I never got a chance to write anything. Literally sun-up to the wee hours of the 'morn, we were packing, watching the movers haul our stuff out and then in, and then unpacking and then cleaning the old place and then more unpacking and then sleeping. There's no way I could have posted.

If I've learned anything from this experience, it is this: hire movers. Seriously, it was the best money Mr has ever spent (he paid them and, since I'm not yet Mrs, it was really his money). Those guys were fast and efficient and there's no way we could have done what they did, even if we had several days. And we totally would have broken or damaged things whereas Golan's got everything where it needed to be, safe and sound. They didn't scratch any doors or walls, either.

I know you're worried that now that I'm out of the running for prizes, I'll stop posting, but that's just not true. I promise to keep posting, though I may slack again at Thanksgiving.

Stuff is still overwhelming for me at the moment, but great progress has been made. My house is a mess, but I'm in it. No more going between the condo that I had grown to hate and the house that seemed really far away. And I cannot even begin to express the joy I felt on moving in. Even through the sore feet and back and extreme tiredness, I'm just so happy to be in my house. It's mine. I can do whatever I want. That's awesome. So, it's a mess with boxes everywhere - I have no idea when we got so much stuff. And it won't get put together for a while because we have bowling on Monday and we're leaving for Georgia on Wednesday, but it will eventually get put together.

My paper is almost done. I have one article left to review (two if I'm feeling ambitious tomorrow on the train) and I have to write my overview - which isn't going to be too hard, since I'll have written all my summaries and can review them. Then I turn that in on Tuesday after work and head home to pack for vacation. I really wish I were just staying home so I could get settled, but I want to see my parents and nephew, so that will be nice.

Tomorrow I start my train commute, which is exciting. Sadly, my stop is one of the ones that is skipped when trains are express, so I HAVE to catch my train, at 7:06am or I will definitely be late to work. I also have to catch my train home or it sets me back a while... but it will all work out. I'm sort of concerned about parking, but I think it will be ok. I hope it will, anyway.