Friday Fragments

It's been a tiring week:  lots of meetings, new student orientation, the last minute hustle to find more students, the first crush of my heavy/condensed July online class schedule making itself known, and finishing my motorcycle class.  Because I don't have energy and time for a thoughtful post written in paragraphs, let me just post some fragments here:

--My eyes are only just feeling normal again after spending Wed. night having sunscreen dripping into them during motorcycle class.  I've been thinking I was allergic to something that bloomed periodically.  But maybe it's sunscreen that's upsetting my eyes. 

--I will be interested to see if I feel more confident on the motorcycle now that I've passed the test.  I am astonished at how quickly my inner critic leapt into full onslaught.  Will my inner critic go away now?

--Speaking of vanquishing negative voices, I love this piece by Sandy Longhorn.  She's just gotten a job at a 4 year school after a decade of working in a community college.  I need this reminder that we're allowed to reinvent ourselves.  I need this reminder that even though we might feel stuck/place bound, that change can happen.

--I rarely enter contests with individual poems.  But this one that Rattle offers sounds good.  The entry fee is actually a one year subscription to the journal, and there are 10 finalist prizes in addition to the grand prize.  I need to enter this week-end, as July 15 is the deadline.

--Last Sunday, I bought some furniture for poolside.  It didn't need assembly, and it's all folding chairs and tables.  It was on sale (and cheap to begin with), shipping was free on most items, and they were delivered to my house.  The drawback?  It's going to take more room than I thought, and we don't really have storage space for the furniture when we're not using it.  First world problems, I know.

--The Confederate flag will be removed from the South Carolina State House grounds today.  I never thought this day would come.  I am glad that the Charleston shootings have had some redemptive power.

--In a week of many meetings, I don't get much work done--or I do, but each day feels hectic as I try to get the regular work done in between all the meetings.

--I'm looking forward to getting back to a regular schedule.  I've written some fragmentary poems, but I haven't had the time to sit and weave various threads together.

--Let me make a short list of what I want to accomplish in terms of writing during July:  I want to write a short story, I want to enter the Rattle contest,  I want to query 3 more agents, and I want to write 2 poems a week.  Back on schedule!