this is not a poem//

response to Anne E. Wood.
Prompt: Write a creative piece in the form of a list of statements reflecting your own views on writing/ society and the self. Remember that you are writers and it is your task to reflect on this time and place in a creative way.

This is not a Poem//


//We all are absorbed with the Oscars/ With the dresses and tuxes/ And I guess we aren’t ignoring/ What’s happening overseas/ It’s subtlety mentioned in their acceptance// Environmentally they are making an effort/ An Inconvenient Truth/ An attempt to be green/ Even Biota bottles made from corn/ At least they are trying// But it’s still all glitz and glamour/ Who wore what designer/ Why is Judge Reinhold even there?/ Ellen is hosting/ But they are the most diverse// I guess we can ignore homelessness/ Ignore poverty/ Ignore the debt of our country/ Ignore the failure of our system/ Right under our noses// It’s more fun to focus on shiny/ focus on gold/ focus on film/ focus on reel life/ focus on what might be//
2.25.07

augh, poetry!

Stamping Around

Playwriting
PROMPT: character has an object of desire, solicits from another character. Use the template
-more bare bones... i don't know if i like this one as much. it was me venting mostly, i missed a deadline that week.

Stamping Around
(NEIL is seen rummaging around a desk, while holding an envelope. He is talking to himself)

NEIL
Oh, come on. There has to be one here somewhere…

(TAD enters)

TAD
Why are you rummaging around my desk?

NEIL
Thank god you’re here! I need a stamp. Right now.

TAD
I’m so glad you asked politely

NEIL
Please help me find a stamp! This was supposed to be postmarked yesterday and if I don’t mail it I’m going to miss out on that apprenticeship. The fate of my career is on the line here. All I am asking you is to help me find a god-damn stamp!

TAD
I don’t think I have any.

NEIL
Who goes around not having any stamps?

TAD
Us apparently. Plus, if you missed the deadline already, what’s the point? There’s always next year.

NEIL
NO! There is not always next year! I’ve missed this three years running. I’ll be damned if I miss it again. So if you could stop talking and help me locate a stamp?

TAD
You need to calm down. Why didn’t you just go to the post office and have them put postage on it? Wouldn’t that have been better?

NEIL
I tried that already! I don’t have any cash on me and the card machine was broken so I came back there thinking it would be easier to find a stamp and take it… do not look at me like I’m stupid.

TAD
You are. You couldn’t have gone to the ATM, gotten some money and saved yourself the trouble? Were you thinking at all?

NEIL
Do you ever think? I don’t have any money in my account right now. I can’t very well take money out that isn’t there. This is useless. I am wasting time arguing with you. The post office is going to close and I have to get all the way there and I still don’t have a stamp!

TAD
And you are going through every single thing I’ve left on my desk. Invading my space for a freaking stamp that you could have bought with change you found in the couch

NEIL
AH! The couch!

(LOUIS enters, holding up a sheet of stamps)

LOUIS
Who was yelling about a stamp?

NEIL
STAMPS!
TAD
I guess they weren’t that hard to find, were they?

LOUIS
Why do you need a stamp so bad anyway?

NEIL
I have this application that was supposed to be postmarked by yes…what?

LOUIS
The post office is closed.

NEIL
WHAT?!

LOUIS
It’s six o’clock already.

NEIL
No, no, its only five, I have an hour, see?

LOUIS
Did you set your watch after the time change?

TAD
HAH! You’ve been going around an hour behind everyone else! That doesn’t surprise me in the least….

Don't Test Time

Playwriting:
Prompt: scene secret wants vs. known wants or something.
-this one needs more work. i like it as a base, but it needs to be fleshed out, sam needs more of a purpose.

Don’t Test Time
(SAM and TIME are in a white room. Time tinkers with a watch while standing behind SAM. SAM is sitting in a chair, sleeping. He wakes, and doesn’t see TIME.)

SAM
What the? Oh my god did I die? I died of boredom!
TIME
Of course not
(SAM shrieks)
What a silly thought.
SAM
Oh my g…
Are you God? Have I taken your name in vain!?
TIME
HAH! No. I’m Time.
SAM
Like Father Time?
TIME
If that’s what you choose. I take on any form your little mind thinks up. Don’t go changing my form mid-visit though. That gets annoying.
SAM
…Do most people see you as an old bearded dude?
TIME
You don’t apparently.
SAM
Too true.
Where are we?
TIME
Not sure, I was hoping you could tell me.
SAM
Me? How would I know?
TIME
We’re in your dream sequence.
SAM
Oh. Why?
TIME
Because you cursed me. You’ve been cursing me a lot lately, Sam.
SAM
You can hear that?
TIME
Not exactly. But I’m not going to explain it to you. We are here to discuss your Time Problems.
SAM
Hah. There’s not enough of it. I swear you fast-forward the little amounts of sleep I get at night. Don’t you?
TIME
Haha! I’ll admit, I’ve done that before. But believe me, I made your day that much better. I’m sure you know the day I’m talking about. Think about it.
SAM
I don’t think…oh, yes, yes I do. That day Yeah.
(Smiles to self, pauses, reflects on that lovely day)
So, wait. If you slow down time, you have to fast forward it too?
TIME
Of course. It has to even out in the end. I’m sure there is some law of physics that explains it.
SAM
How come you never speed it up when I want you to?
TIME
I can’t cater to everyone’s needs, Sam. There are a lot of people in the world. I can’t please you all!
SAM
Okay, okay. I guess not. Can’t you just make more or something? I could really use some extra time for laundry, sleep, grocery shopping…
TIME
What do you think I am? More importantly, what do you think time is made of? Unicorn tears and fairy dust? I can’t just make time. There is only so much of it. A finite number. It’ll eventually run out for you and everyone else. But once someone’s time runs out, it’s transferred to someone else. Sort of recycled. I’m not getting into this with you.
SAM
Well what good are you?
TIME
I help manage time. Allotting it to people, seeding up, slowing down, sharing… it’s a bit like driving on the highway actually.
SAM
I still don’t know why you are even here.
TIME
You keep yelling at me Sam, and it’s really starting to piss me off.
So, stop it. Or I will slow down time every morning you get up at 6 to go to work. And I’ll make it even slower for the first two hours of work. And, as for sleep, well, don’t even get me started; just remember, every time I slow down, somewhere needs to be sped up. I won’t even mention what might happen to your weekends.
SAM
You wouldn’t!
TIME
I would.
So knock it off.
SAM
Okay, okay! I’ve just been so busy.
(Sits on chair, slumps)
TIME
Get yourself a planner. Or an assistant. Or an assistant with a planner. I don’t care. Just stop blaming it on me all the time and not your procrastination.
SAM
Sorry Time. I’ll try not to curse you anymore.
TIME
Good. Thank you. Oh, you might want to wake up now, your boss is coming.
(TIME kicks chair. Sam jumps up as the lights change as BOSS walks onstage. SAM looks at BOSS blankly, as lights fade to black.)

Why am I on a Ladder?

Response 3:
Write about an obsession... if you can remember a dream, especially one that you've had more than once, write about it.

Why Am I on a Ladder?

It’s a fantastic view. It always is. Once it was a gigantic lush green plain, full of tall flowing grasses. I could see for miles and miles. And all of a sudden, I could see a storm rolling in. I counted the time between lightning and thunderclaps; it was about six miles away. I just watch the clouds tumble closer, rolling on over the grass, on their way towards me. When its three miles away I notice that the cloud is a dark purple color, intermixed with wisps of gray. It’s not all that odd, the sky turns strange colors in the presence of hard rain. I continue watching the clouds, getting closer and closer. I can smell the rain now, feel the thunder rumbling. Not once do I find it strange that I am standing on a ladder that is probably about sixteen feet high, standing straight up from the ground with nothing to hold it up. That is, until I start to totter. I look down for the first time and realize how high up I am. In a moment of sheer panic, I realize I don’t know how to get down, or how I got there in the first place. Then, in slow motion, I feel myself falling forward, the ground gets closer, and closer. I can see each blade of grass coming into sharp focus, the smell of rain and damp ground getting closer. And the split second before I make contact, BAM. I’m awake. I’ve been having falling dreams since I was a kid. They usually follow that same pattern. Amazing landscape, enjoying the view, notice the ladder, fall, wake. One particularly interesting one took place in the middle of huge body of water. I can tell I’m high up this time, but I don’t really mind it. I am attempting to understand the sheer vastness of the body of water around me. There is a slight, warm breeze blowing the hair out of my face. The sun is shining, but it’s not blinding. The water is a brilliant cerulean blue with small ripply waves. In a jolt, I realize I am not on a boat. I am standing on a ladder in the middle of a huge body of water. It’s a simple wooden ladder that no one has used in years, and it goes straight into the water, and I can’t see the bottom. The ladder starts to lean backwards, and in attempt to fix it, I lean too far forward and start to fall face first towards that shining water. Each rung hits the water and makes a sloush sound, and small bubbles start to rise from the water. Sloush, sloush, sloush, shloush. I can see my reflection in the water, my face wrinkled on the waves. Closer, and closer I get to my turquoise reflection, and right before my toes touch, I wake. I never let go of the ladder. I don’t recall a falling dream where I do let go. As if that small wooden structure will save me from flattening into the earth, or water, or whatever medium I am exposed to in that dream. I wonder if I will ever sleep long enough to hit the ground. Maybe I have to let go to find out.

14 February 2007

The House that Jack Built

response 4:
Fictitious 'job history' for yourself or a character. Follow Proulx's model (aka no dialogue)
-this was the first time i didn't use dialogue or first person. it was hard. I like how it turned out, and i'm going to use it as my final project and revise it into a full short story.

The Home that Jack Built
Jack Healy is born in the quite town of Aurora, Illinois on January 26th of 1948. Two days later a huge blizzard blankets the town and causes Jack and his mother to stay in the hospital an extra three days. His older sister and father can’t get to the hospital at all. In six years, Jack is the older brother to four more boys. The boys all look alike; sandy brown hair, heavy brows and crooked smiles. Jack’s green eyes make him stand out. His brothers like to tease and say the mailman must be his daddy.
The joke is no longer tolerated the summer after Jack turns 16 and their dad skips town. Jack takes a cashier/ stocking job at the local hardware store to help out. Aurora gets a record 16 inches of rain in 24 hours and most of the town is shut down due to flooding. The owner of the hardware store takes a liking to Jack and teaches him how to pick lumber for houses and gets him construction jobs in the summers.
In 1966, Jack graduates from high school. His grades are decent enough for him to get into the local college. He attends classes at Aurora College for three semesters before he gets too restless and goes back to construction. Jack meets Jaime in 1970 and they are married in two years. Jack adopts Jaime' s three-year-old daughter, Ginny, and is sure he is capable of being a father. A year later, they have another daughter, Emma. Jack is working at the hardware store again, but as a manager. He and Jaime decided to purchase a plot on the shore of Lake Holiday. Jack builds the house himself, breaking a wrist and spraining an ankle when he is blown off the roof during the onset of a tornado. When the yearlong project is almost finished, Jaime accuses him of being distant and a bad father. She takes the girls and moves them to Kansas and divorces Jack long distance. Jack sells the house his family should have shared and quit the hardware store.
He lives in Seattle for a year before the death of his stepfather brings him back to Aurora. He takes a job selling lumber to contractors. 1n 1977, while at a bar with some friends, Jack meets Alice. She is 23 and a teller at a bank downtown. In two years they are married and living in a small town house. Jack is doing well at the lumber company and Alice celebrates six years at the bank. After much deliberation, Jack decides he is ready to be a dad again. In 1983, Jack and Alice have a daughter, Kate. Alice’s parents spoil her and Jack spends a lot of weekends at home. Jaime still refuses to let Jack see the girls, but his child support payments are always on time. Sixteen months later, Jack and Alice welcome another baby girl, Lulu. That Easter, there is a freak ice storm and the family spends the holiday without power in their new house.
Jack celebrates 10 years at the lumber company and Alice is promoted to Senior Teller at the bank. In 1987, Jaime lets the girls visit their father in Illinois. Jack assures his daughter Emma that he refuses to leave Alice alone, even if he is unhappy. Ginny and Emma like Illinois enough and Jaime allows them to stay with the new Healys every summer. The girls grow up and closer together. Jack keeps his promise to Emma and stays with Alice and at his job at the lumber company. All four girls graduate from high school and go to college.
In 2005, instead of a thirty-year anniversary at the lumber company, Jack is fired so the company can hire younger, cheaper workers. Alice is still the Senior Teller at the bank. The girls all move to different states, and Jack only needs to search for a week before a competing lumber company hires him. He has the same job, but only half the pay. That summer, there is a drought and all water usage is carefully monitored. Two years later, Alice informs him that her father is getting old and she wants him to move into the house. He takes on this challenge, and builds a room onto the back of the house. It takes two years to complete, Jack is moving a lot slower than he used to. Alice’s father moves into the room, Lulu moves home and Alice celebrates thirty-five years at the bank. Two towns away a tornado flattens all of downtown. The Healys feel lucky.
A week before Christmas that year, the lumber company decides there is not enough business and fires Jack. After a month of searching, Jack takes a job at the newly built Home Depot and sells lumber to customers who don’t listen to his advice. Alice is still at the bank, her father is still in the back room, and Lulu works in the city and commutes every day. Temperatures dip to a negative 20 wind chill, but everyone goes to work anyway. Skipping work is not an option.

21 February 2007

response 6:
Use 3 points of view to describe a situation.
situation is: a woman doing her first free-style climb

I.
I can do this. This is what I’ve been training to do. This is what I told Mom I would do. I can totally do this. Maybe if I shift this way I can…reach…it….Nope. Still not close enough. Jumping really doesn’t strike me as the best option. What if I miss? I would fall and that’s a long way to fall. No, it’ll be fine. It’s not like I’m going to go back at this point. The only way to go is up. All I have to do is trust my body. Just leap. What’s that saying…? “Leap and the net shall appear.” Who said that anyway?
“I’m fine, just planning” “I will”
I don’t think anyone said it. Just some saying. A net will appear. Trusting. Hear that, muscles? It’s all you. Here I go.

II.
You can do it, kiddo. I know you can. All your hard work, all that practice. I know you can do this. Slowly, just take your time. No rushing. You’re not on the clock. Find your footholds, there you go. Find a good handhold, good girl. I remember the first time I brought you out here and your Mom was climbing free-style. You looked at me and said, ‘Daddy, I’m going to do that just like Mommy.’ And now you are. She would be so proud of you. Hmm, you stuck? Think it through. Plan your move.
“You alright?” “Be careful!”
You’re almost there. You are so close. You’re going to leap aren’t you? There you go!

III.
Looks like a good climbing day. Look at ‘em down there. A nice handful. They sort of look like the first ants finding an abandoned chunk of Twizzler. Scurrying around and all. I love flying above them, seeing them climb up, defying gravity like I am. Except they are relying on their muscles alone. Amazing what the human body can do. And the spectators. I would hate to watch a loved one up there on the rock. Must be nerve wracking. Thinking about all of the what-ifs, feeling utterly helpless. No thank you, Bob. Much too stressful for me. Oh, look at that girl, she’s stuck in the spot that climber was in last year. He fell. She’s going to jump for it too, isn’t she? She’s preparing, you can see all her muscles tense. Yup, she’s letting go.

6 March 2007

a bit of a note...

i don't really like poetry. i'm sure i've said that before.
HOWEVER

i've had to write so many poems this semester... i don't know.

i'm not a poet.

so i apologize.

i'm going to update an asston now. wOOt.