20 Something and Sublime

Welcome back to Day 2 of the Colorful Colorado Conference! Today was a pretty relaxed day. I interrupted my beauty sleep at 8:30 AM and got ready for the day by donning my favorite pretentious sweater and slacks. I even added a fake collar underneath the sweater to look even more scholarly. I complimented the look with some black and gold hoop earrings Griffen bought for me and some chunky gold rings (which I promptly removed—I forget I hate the feeling of chunky rings on my fingers).  After all that work, I climbed back into bed to read a book; if you know me, this should not be surprising. I finished Brenda Peynado’s book, The Rock Eaters. After that, I recorded my presentation for my slot in presenting at the University of Idaho EGA Conference, which will be held in person and on Zoom. Since I am in Colorado presenting this week, I am unable to attend this conference synchronously, but the event coordinators graciously allowed me to record my presentation and provide an email fo...

Hello, again! Today was the day that I flew out to Denver, Colorado to spend about five days engaged in a conference. The theme of this year's conference is "Colorful Colorado," which hinges on the idea of Colorado being a colorful and vibrant state inherent in inspiring writing. Additionally, the conference is working to highlight writers of color, namely, Toni Morrison. Brenda Peynado, author of The Rock Eaters,  will also be present to deliver the Keynote Address. Peynado's novel of short stories bend genres of magical realism, fantasy, and science fiction together to explore questions of what it is like to be an "other" in different scenarios, and how we can strive to love in a world set on building walls. Ultimately, it bares the complexity of humanity and human nature as being both harsh but also marvelous and beautiful. The convention theme is one that has really interested me, and I was given the honor of being accepted to present my original work as...

Hello again! I am back with tales of more adventures. Currently, I am sitting in my hotel room in Denver, CO, as I am here for a conference that starts tomorrow. But, more on that later. For now, I want to talk about an excursion to Boise this weekend that involved myself, Griffen, Megan, her boyfriend, Brendon, and of course, Clem.  Friday was the start of our adventure, and Griffen and I left town at about 10:00 PM after he got back to Lewiston from a track meet. I picked up some caffeinated iced tea and a dirty chai for the both of us, and we were off. Griffen, being the lovable person he is (and being hyped up on two shots of espresso), drove the whole way from Lewiston to Nampa. My bar was set a lot lower: we were both surprised I never fell asleep. We had a fun drive talking about Griffen's races, and it's exciting for him to be back on the track for the start of the outdoor season after some bumps in the road. We listened to lots of 2000s hits and had ourselves a lil...

 The last couple days of the AWP 2023 Conference were a success! I attended about 12-13 in-person sessions, and plan on watching some of the prerecorded sessions during the remainder of this month while I still have access. I learned lots, and came away from the conference with MANY books (but lots of them were free!) and over 40 pages of handwritten notes. It was an amazing experience to be able to attend this conference in a city not too far from home and gather inspiration from some of the best writers, educators, and innovators in the business.  Outside of conferencing opportunities, we were able to do some fun stuff around Seattle. On Friday, we spent some time in the Starbucks Reserve Roastery so Dakota could log onto a meeting and I could take some time to myself to read and decompress from all the social contact I had experienced in the last two days (said the introvert). The interior was very grandiose, and had a bread counter as well as a bar in addition to the expec...

Hello, all! Dakota and I have been busy learning lots at the 2023 AWP Conference in Seattle. It has been a much needed trip and short break from teaching (it's nice to play student again once in a while, too). We arrived here yesterday afternoon and checked into our room at the hotel before going to check in at the conference center. The AWP Conference is being held in the Seattle Convention Center, so we trekked up to the center, stopping at Nana's Green Tea for some matcha ice cream and parfaits. After checking in, we wandered around Seattle and spent some time exploring the shops and bookstores around Pike Place and the pier. We got some clam chowder from Ivar's for dinner and then made our way back to the hotel once it got dark. I managed to make it away from our first day without purchasing any books, but have at least 20 photos of all the ones I would have liked to walk away with. Oh, to be a hoarder of books with little money. Back at the hotel, I made an attempt at ...