Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
(Robert Frost)

So here I sit, the rain is coming down in steady streams and I am on "vacation." This is a vacation from work--(paid, for the next week)--as I have plenty of "school" work to complete in order to end this semester successfully.

To Do:
*study for Editing
*study for American Gothic (comprehensive! writing-intensive!)
*study for Modern Brit Lit
*revise a B+ 1,800 word paper (because torturing myself is fun)
(poetry writing & fiction workshop is complete)

And the grand new announcement--the crazy realization I am ready to share with the world: I want to continue being a student for as long as possible...id est, I want to go to graduate school!!

I've had this notion in the back of my mind all semester. I first said it aloud to my Fiction Workshop professor during a scheduled conference. She was very receptive and complimentary, offering to do whatever she can to help me.

One Reason for this Epiphany:

*I love school (plain and simple)*

Being on campus over the last two semesters has been an absolute pleasure. I feel alive and complete as soon as I begin interacting with classmates and professors.

My mid-morning Patterson Lobby Crew on Tuesdays & Thursdays...priceless.

Anything involving literature this semester has been fulfilling. Inspiration struck and I am ready to start working on my own "Gothic" genre piece.

I learned the first 14-lines of a poem taught in one class for recitation in another class.

The very idea of being in front of a college classroom--teaching writing or literature or composition makes my brain explode. I LOVE being around creative and intelligent people & they are all over the place!

Memphis? George Mason? Florida? LSU? Alabama?
Oh, the Places I want to Go!

But first there is the business of my BA (English--Creative Writing/Journalism minor)...December 2009 seems to be the month...but then again, I have four days until my first Final Exam...priorities, priorities.

~~J

Poem in your Pocket (day):

A woman who writes feels too much,
...
She thinks she can warn the stars.
A writer is essentially a spy.
Dear love, I am that girl.

(Anne Sexton)

~~J

Tiger Shark:

(natalie dee)

It's even better with sound effects. Go ahead, you know you want to...SEE! I can't stop laughing. Genius.

~~J

Josh Pastner: Wunderkind!

Pronunciation: \ˈvu̇n-dər-ˌkint\

Definition: one who succeeds in a competitive or highly difficult field or profession at an early age

***
Prima! Wunderbar!

I'm stop throwing around my "fancy" German and get on with the show!

The University of Memphis has a very special announcement, and it's a boy!

Not only is he a multi-tasker (as evidence from Val Canez/Tucson Citizen shows), but unlike the one who shall remain nameless (think: Lord Voldemort) he actually turned down Kentucky last year.

Students and professors on campus this morning seemed excited. Maybe it was in part because now we can finally stop the speculation madness. But I heard a lot of great comments:

Finally! They didn't have to go far to find him.
One of the Youngest? Good! He'll have fresh new ideas!

Then there were the comments by complete strangers I heard OFF CAMPUS:

Really, he did all the recruiting, ya know?
The players can related to him better, he's young!

Open arms! And it's not lost on me that one year ago tonight...well, you remember what happened. You were watching, mouth agape with tear-stained faces too!

1996: Arrives at Arizona as a walk-on guard from Kingwood, Texas

1997: Part of UA's NCAA championship team

1998: Receives bachelor's in family studies after only 2.5 years

1999: finished master's in teacher education

2000-01: Lute Olson names him UA graduate assistant coach

April 2002: Is named UA assistant

2005: Rivals.com calls him one of nation's top 25 recruiters

2007: Turns down Kentucky assistant's job*

2008: Accepts Memphis assistant's job

Today: It becomes official at Noon!

Yes, he is 31 years old. Yes, I refer to him as "the HOT ONE, right there on the bench..." (a bit schoolgirl, I know). YES, we have a new head coach...new era of Tiger basketball starting.....very soon!

~~J

Dead to Me(mphis):

It is the Independent Student Newspaper of The University of Memphis--

(the only newspaper on campus)

And I was more than pleased when I saw the front page.

The first words to leave my mouth? EXACTLY!

And being the consummate "pack rat," I took at least five copies home with me.

What can I say? It's a wonderful front page. Very "modular" as they say in the journalism world. Not too much gray space. There is an obvious focus. I like the use of fonts. It's simple and straightforward.

Kudos!

~~J