a longer limbo

Seeing as we're at the end of March, I felt I owed y'all an update on how I'm faring this MFA application season. Here's where I currently stand:

University of Wisconsin-Madison: Rejected. 
Vanderbilt University: Rejected
University of Oregon: Rejected

And... drumroll please...

University of North Carolina-Greensboro: ACCEPTED! 

Here's how it happened: SFA's spring break started on March 13th. On the 17th, we flew to Oregon to visit Kealy. UNCG said they would be notifying starting on the 15th. The 15th came... and went. The 16th came... and went. The 17th did the same. The whole time, I was obsessively checking my phone and email and the MFA blog, hoping to hear something. Then, on the 18th, someone posted to the MFA blog that the Director of the program at UNCG had called to tell them they were accepted. My heart sank. Over the next few days, more people reported acceptances. I still had nothing. I decided to stop obsessing and enjoy the rest of my time in Oregon - especially my time in the cabin, where I was totally disconnected from telephones, the Internet and electricity. For the first time since I mailed in my applications, I felt at peace with the whole damned process.

We flew home and on March 25th, I went back to work. It was then that I noticed a red light blinking on my office phone, indicating that I had a voice mail. I punched in the appropriate string of numbers and listened to my messages while scrolling through Twitter.

As you've probably guessed by now, it was the Director of the creative writing program at UNCG, calling to let me know I was in. The message was from seven days earlier - March 18th. Luckily, the thrill of an actual acceptance outweighed disbelief that I had suffered through a whole extra week of not knowing for nothing. It didn't matter. I was accepted! They liked me! I'm gonna be famous!

Not so fast. The acceptance came with a caveat - funding. The Director kindly informed me that the money situation is dismal and they currently have nothing to offer anybody. I am to email them this week and ask for an update - that's my plan for tomorrow. While I want desperately to attend an MFA program as soon as possible, and while North Carolina is a ridiculously good (not to mention competitive - ahem) program, I am not sure I am willing/able to pay my own way.

Here's the thing: this is my first year applying to schools. I didn't really put a ton of thought into this whole process and realized - sometime in January - that I was up against thousands of people who had put a lot of thought, time, money and energy into MFA applications. People with resumes, publications, stories that had been extensively critiqued, letters of recommendations from well known writers. I had none of that, not really. And I still got in. I'm not trying to be a braggart here - I'm trying to honestly weight my options. If UNCG comes back and says they can't offer me a cent, then maybe I should take this year to work hard at my writing, get a few more publications under my belt, maybe take a summer workshop somewhere (preferably exotic) and come back even stronger next season. Maybe I can snag more than one offer, with funding. Maybe my options will be better, and maybe my choices will improve. I just have to keep reminding myself that a year isn't that long, that the MFA is not a time sensitive degree, and that there are so many things in Nacogdoches worth sticking around for - namely great friends, lots of babies, free yoga, a decent paying job, and a good writing community.

But first I need to hear from UNCG and see what they can offer me. Once that is settled, the rest will fall into place.

weekend recap - cookbooks and tulips

Tulips blooming on campus! 

Spring is definitely here, and not a moment too soon! I had an amazing weekend, as usual. Here are the highlights: 

One of my Goals for 2010 was to cook my way through almost all the recipes in Veganomicon, my favorite cookbook. While I have been quiet on this front, it's only because I've been busy! Forcing yourself to cook everything from one (huge) cookbook is a really great experiment. I've moved out of my comfort zone and tackled recipes I normally wouldn't look twice at, either because the ingredient list is too long or because it asks me to use both a food processor AND a blender. Last night's dinner was one such recipe - Mole Skillet Pie with Greens. It took about an hour and a half to put together, but 30 of those minutes were spent in the oven, and the end product was definitely worth the amount of dishes it produced. The secret to this recipe? Chili chocolate mole sauce. I'm serious. Make it as soon as possible and you will not be disappointed!

Saturday was fairly busy, but in a pleasant way. It involved a 9am yoga class, a trip to the Farmers' Market where we purchased the tulips pictured above, apartment cleaning and grocery shopping, a sunny backyard visit with the MRTs to drop off Thank-You-For-Watching-Seamus-Over-Spring-Break-Cookies, and an evening eating pizza and watching movies with friends.

On Sunday, I accomplished two very important things. The first was a ten mile run with Amy. I had not run since before Spring Break and I was already sore from yoga, but we have a half marathon in two weeks and I really want a new PR! So off we went. It was a gorgeous day for a run and we finished in 1 hour and 37 minutes, which was slightly faster than I had planned. Excellent! After showering and eating, I settled down on the couch with a cup of coffee and my number one pup, and spent a solid two hours working on my writing. I made progress on a new short story, researched some journals that accept flash fiction, and picked out a near finished short short to edit and polish in the morning. In the morning, I woke up at 5:30am, made coffee and did a killer core workout (the Ab Pyramid - thanks, Phoenix!), edited, polished and sent my piece off to three journals. This, I believe, will be my new Sunday/Monday routine. Writing on Sundays is easy to do (I can get all my other responsibilities out of the way on Saturday) and making a plan for Monday morning pretty much guarantees I won't hit the snooze button twelve times. I feel like I'm really making progress and growing as a writer right now, and I don't want to lose that momentum! 

So that was my weekend. How was yours?

the oregon tale

Powell's bookstore in Portland, Oregon. Very famous. Very cool. 

For Spring Break 2010, Nathan and I flew to Oregon. Our goals were thus: 1. Spend time with Kealy, her daughter Phoenix, and as many West coast friends as possible, 2. Visit the University of Oregon in case of the slim chance that they might accept me as an MFA student, and 3. Eat as much delicious vegan food as humanly possible. On all accounts, we succeeded. We had possibly the Best Time Ever on our trip, and instead of regaling you with every detail I'm going to let the photos speak for themselves. The full experience can be found on my Flickr account: the abridged version is below. Enjoy!

When we flew into Portland, we were picked up by our old friend Lee, who allowed us to drag him all over the city, visiting places I had heard and read about, such as Powell's Used Books and Voodoo Doughnuts. Voodoo Doughnuts is another famous spot in Portland, known for it's unique bawdy treats (cock and balls donut, anyone?) as well as it's many vegan choices. The above photo features their voodoo doll doughnut, which is filled with jelly and has a pretzel sticking out of it's chest. The doughnut is usually black, but as it was St. Patrick's day, they were serving voodoo leprechauns. Delish! 

After a day and a half in Portland, where we enjoyed the company of Lee, Christy and their adorable two year old, Zack, we were picked up by Kelly (another friend from Nacogdoches) and driven to Eugene, home to Kealy and her daughter Phoenix, who just happened to be ourmain reason for visiting. We spent the next four and a half days receiving a first class tour of Eugene, which included biking, hiking, used book stores, the best Goodwill in the world, outdoor sports stores, and of course tons and tons of food. Culinary tourism never tasted so good!

On our second day, we hiked up to the top of Spencer's Butte. It was a beautiful day and the view was breathtaking. We posed for many silly photos, which included yoga poses, pretending to push one another off the cliff, and a staged recreation of a photo that Kealy took of her and Phoenix a while back (that would be the last photo of Nathan and I - adorable!). 

Perhaps the best meal we had on our trip was at Morning Glory Cafe (no relation to my favorite yoga studio!). Kealy had talked up the vegan biscuits and gravy, and with good reason. I could have eaten that meal three times a day for the rest of my life. We all cleaned our plates and it was then that I realized heaven does, in fact, exist, and it is, in fact, edible. 

And speaking of food, we might as well get this out of the way. 

More donuts, divine cupcakes, Sweet Life Bakery, the Pizza Research Institute, lentil Dahl, and the afore-devoured biscuits and gravy. Now I know why people in Eugene hike, bike and walk everywhere. Because everywhere they go, the best food in the world is there to greet them. Nom. 

At the end of our trip, we decided to travel to Kealy's father's cabin. This was not any ordinary cabin. It was a five hour drive through the mountains of East Oregon, and then a mile and a half hike up the snow covered Dixie mountain, which was probably the funniest hike I've ever been on. (Picture four adults hiking in three feet of snow and falling down every two feet.) By the time we made it to the cabin, we were tired, wet and our abs ached from laughing so hard. Kealy and Nathan made a fire in the wood burning stove and we surveyed the tiny cabin. 

No electricity, no running water, no cell phone service, no heat. The cabin was built by miners during the gold rush and hadn't changed much since then. We spent the next two days cooking on the wood burning stove, playing card games by candle light, and drinking wine and beer that we kept cold in the snow outside. I can't tell you how amazing and special the cabin was, and how the disconnect from Civilized Life was the perfect way to end a perfect vacation. 

Thank you to everyone who helped make our vacation the best ever, especially Kealy and Phoenix. I'm so lucky to have friends as kind, caring and generous as yourselves! 

recipe: apple pie

Let me begin this post by letting y'all know that I'm about to take a mini-break from blogging. Nothing serious, but it's spring break and I need to spend some time away from the Internet. Never fear - I'll be back in full force before you even have time to miss me! In the meantime, might I recommend distracting yourself from my absence by baking a delicious apple pie?

A pi pie!

This past Sunday was Pi Day, which is celebrated each year on March 14th. Pi, in case you didn't know, is the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle - a never ending number which is usually rounded off to 3.14. Hence, when the date is March 14th (3-14), we are required by law to celebrate by eating pie. That's my understanding, anyway.

As I cannot let a food related holiday slip by without participating, I baked an apple pie. I served up warm slices covered in vanilla vegan ice-cream to Nathan, Amy and David, and we devoured it while watching three back-to-back episodes of Lost (we are now officially caught up!). I adapted the recipe from All Recipes, and it was mightly delicious.

Vegan Apple Pi 

1 recipe for a 9 inch double crust pie (I used this recipe)
1/2 cup Earth Balance
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
6 apples, peeled and cored (I used a mix of red, green and yellow apples) 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.

2. Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the apples, making sure to distribute evenly. Leave about 2 Tbsp in the pan.

3. Cover pie with second crust. Cut a fancy design into the dough (such as the symbol for pi). Brush the crust with the remaining butter/sugar mixture.
4. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350F. Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

That should hold y'all over for a week or two. Until next time!
xoxo

march madness

Dear MFA Programs,

I know that you are very busy, and that you received a record number of applicants this year. I can't blame people for applying to your programs in droves - you see, I am one of those hopeful people who is growing more and more despondent as each day passes. Of the four schools I applied to, one has already rejected me. Another has notified acceptees and I heard through the grapevine that there is even a waitlist. While I have not been officially rejected, I can only assume that it is a matter of time.

That leaves two schools. Both of these schools accept less than 2% of applicants. Both are very prestigious, located in beautiful parts of the country. Both boast a small community of writers, a supportive and creative environment, and excellent faculty. I would be thrilled - thrilled! - to attend either of these programs. And until I hear from both of them, I will constantly swing from hopeful optimism to utter despair.

Both these schools will begin notifying on March 15th, which is this Monday. I say "begin," because there will be a first round of acceptances. Those who were lucky enough to be accepted to mulitple programs will then weight their options and make their decisions, and as spots open up, those on the waitlist will get their shot. If the programs cycle through the waitlists, there is another, unofficial waitlist, full of those people who are in the worst kind of limbo, having - until that long shot moment - heard nothing at all. By the time the dust is settled and the final roster of students complete, it could be April. April! I do not know if I will make to April. I don't even know if I'll make it to Monday!

In conclusion, Dear MFA Programs, please call me on Monday with good news and full funding. I promise not to scream in your ear too loudly.

Yours truly,
Chrissy

recipe: israeli couscous with pine nuts and parsley

 Last night's dinner: Baked tofu from Veganomicon, roasted brussel sprouts with olive oil, salt and pepper, and Israeli couscous with pine nuts and parsley. Delish!

When I got back from Colorado, I was greeted by a large package, compliments of my lovely friend Bobbie. In addition to containing a kick ass laptop bag (useful AND stylish), she also sent me various delicious vegan goodies, such as red quinoa and Israeli couscous.

These might seem like weird things to send to someone, but the fact of the matter is that being a vegan in East Texas is not the (vegan)cakewalk you might imagine. While things have gotten better since we were upgraded to a Fancy New Kroger (which, let's be honest, is no longer "new" and was never really that "fancy" to begin with) things have improved, but only slightly. So when I get a package filled with grains that I can't find in town, I'm downright thrilled.

Enter Israeli couscous. Because I am obsessed with food blogs, I knew that Israeli couscous was a grain, more like pasta than rice. But what did it taste like? How did one prepare it? Where, oh where, could I find it? Bobbie to the rescue!

Below is the recipe from the back of the box, which seemed simple and looked delicious. I was not disappointed. Now I'll have to find a regular supplier before I start having withdrawals.

Israeli Couscous with Pine Nuts and Parsley

3 Tbsp vegan butter, divided (I like Earth Balance)
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup shallots, finely chopped
1 1/2 cup Israeli couscous
1/2 large cinnamon stick (I subbed a few dashes of ground cinnamon)
1 fresh or dried bay leaf (I was out, and thus omitted)
1 3/4 cup vegetable broth
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup parsley, minced
zest of 1/2 lemon
black pepper, to taste

Melt 1 Tbsp butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add pine nuts and stir until golden brown. Transfer to a small bowl.

Melt remaining Tbsp butter in the same pan over medium heat. Add shallots and saute until golden. Add couscous, cinnamon, and bay leaf and stir often until couscous browns slightly. Add broth and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed and couscous is tender (about 12 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in parsley, pine nuts and lemon zest. Season with black pepper to taste and serve!

altitude, ahoy!

My WebWise adventure in Colorado ended on Saturday, when Rachel and I found ourselves traveling all day to make a triumphant return to Nacogdoches. A cab ride, flight, airport shuttle, and car ride later, we were back home in our native humidity and relative warmth. My skin was very thankful. I brought my camera to Denver but ended up using my iPhone to take photos. It's just so small and easy to carry around, and while the picture quality isn't the absolute best, it's still pretty damn good. Here are a few snaps from my trip (there aren't a ton, as 75% of my time was spent in the conference, and conferences do not make for awesome photos).

 

The first thing we did, after exiting our flight and high-tailing it to Boulder with Rachel's friend Erin and Erin's super nice colleague Peggy, was have lunch at the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse. The ceiling - pictured above - was beautiful. The food was pretty amazing, too. I had an acorn squash stuffed with cous-cous, chickpeas, and veggies, topped with a lime vinaigrette. So good. 

Once we had eaten our fill and I was slightly buzzed from my first high altitude beer, we walked up and down the Pearl Street Mall, which was lined with stores and shops and offered lots of locally produced items. I bought a new wallet and posed for a photo under a Kara Goucher sign. See the mountains in the background? Aren't they gorgeous?

The next three days were all about the WebWise conference. This conference is basically the coolest conference for the geekiest people. Everyone works in either a museum or a library, everyone has a MacBook or an iPhone (most people had both), and the official Twitter hastag (#webwise) was prominently displayed everywhere. I attended a fantastic pre-conference on Digital Repository Management (thrilling, I know!) and learned about so many cool and innovative projects in my field. WebWise never fails to re-inspire the librarian in me, and inspiration couldn't have come at a better time. 

 

Vegan chocolate cream pie at Water Course Foods

Other highlights of Denver included: Ink, a great coffee shop where I ordered my daily soy latte (a travel extravagence);  Water Course Foods, a vegetarian restaurant where I dined twice, the first time by myself (I'd never gone to a restaurant and asked for a table for one before, and it was a cool little experience - plus the food was amazing); my first ever massage (at the hotel on our last night - I enjoyed it, and not least of all for the lotion that the masseuse rubbed into my dry, itchy skin); and walking up and down the 16th Street Mall, where automobiles were not allowed but free streetcars whizzed up and down the road and the trees lit up at night with little white lights. 

 

All in all, an excellent trip, a great conference, and delicious food. Colorado, you're okay by me! 

hello, colorado!

 

We arrived safe and sound in Colorado yesterday afternoon. Our conference is in Denver, but we got to spend the afternoon in lovely Boulder. This was because Rachel, my colleague, has a librarian friend, also attending the conference, who lives in Denver, and who took us out lunch and to do some sightseeing in the general area. 

We had an awesome lunch at an Indian Teahouse, where I learned that one of my favorite beers is actually a local brew! (My preferred bottle is Ellie's Brown Ale.) I gawked at the city - the food! The shops! The dogs! - until I felt like a country bumpkin, and then I gawked some more. 

Here is my new plan B: if I don't get into an MFA program this time around, I am adding the University of Colorado - Boulder to my list. 

This morning Rachel and I got up early and used the hotel's fitness room. We did 30 minutes of cardio (I ran three miles and holy altitude! They were hard) and then used the weight machines for another 30. Rachel went to a morning pre-conference, but mine does not start until 1:30pm, so I walked to a coffee shop, had a giant soy latte, and read a book for a few hours. Yeah. Traveling is awesome, and Denver is even better!

weekend recap - read, run, repeat

How do I love the weekend? Let me count the ways.

One! A Saturday morning run with Amy (4.22 miles at a nine minute pace!) followed by shared errands as we prepared for the evening's literary reading at the yoga studio. After treating ourselves to post-run soy lattes, we picked up 60 rental chairs and shopped for refreshments before parting ways. I went home, showered, had lunch, and then spent the rest of the afternoon working on a short story, which I was planning to read at the event. I'd been working on this particular story on and off for months, and had a breakthrough at the last possible moment. I switched the narrative from first person to third, and it made all the difference! The story is not perfect, but I've found you can get away with more when reading something out loud. The story still has a way to go before it can join the slush pile.

 The public begins to arrive.

Two! The Bi-Monthly Literary Reading at the Yoga Studio. This was our fourth event, and it does not appear to be losing an ounce of steam. We had eight readers this time around, which is the perfect number, and filled every seat in the house and then some. We also collected donations for both the Red Cross and the Animal Shelter and raised a fair amount of cash. I wasn't planning to read this time around but since someone had to back out a week ago, I figured it was only fair.

Chrissy in action! (Thanks to Amy for both the above photos!)

The reading series is getting so popular that by the end of the night, I had been approached by about 20 people (no joke) who wanted to sign up to read at the April event. Insane! I hate to turn people away, but 20 is really too many. I plan to give first dibs to anyone who has not read before, and then doing a first come, first serve kind of thing. As this is a good problem to have, I am definitely not complaining! 

The morning after the reading, I checked Facebook and saw that a bunch of people had written good things about the event, which made my heart swell. My favorite quote came from one of the readers:

Had one of the most amazing nights of my life. Good writing, good people, good times. I've never felt as good about my writing as I do right now. :)

That right there is why I love organizing these readings, and why I'm glad they've been such a success.

Three! In addition to warm fuzzies via Facebook, Sunday was also awesome because it was 65 degrees and sunny! Team Pink Whiskey (Nathan, Amy and I) celebrated the good weather by going for a 7 mile run. Yes, that is two runs in two days, and it felt awesome. My current running goal is SPEED, and running with people faster than me is the way to accomplish that goal. Our 7 miles was completed in an overall pace of 9:21 minute miles, which pleased me. To run a sub 2 hour half marathon, I will have to run at a 9:05 minute pace. I am on track!

After our run, Nathan and I headed to Lufkin. I needed a racing swimsuit and was glad to find one at Academy. It is appropriately sporty.

Unfortunately, I have to wait a whole week to break it in, because - very fortunately - I am leaving tomorrow for the WebWise conference in Denver. I'm super excited about the trip - WebWise is an amazing conference, this will be my first time visiting Colorado, and a week out of the office, learning and being motivated, is always exciting. Look forward to lots of foodie posts when I get back, and a few sporadic updates while I'm away. And, most of all, have a great week!