Current Perspectives.

My current bible.

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The current state of my desk.

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Currently, what keeps me up at night.
(That actually goes for both the kitten and the Diet Dr. Pepper.)

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Dan, my boyfriend, sharing a piece of pizza with me at the Hidden Glen Arts Festival. Mmmmmmmm.... cheesy.

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My boys! That's Puck on the top tier and Rags on the lower tier. Dan is that arm and face, just barely in the picture on the right. It's actually pretty representative of the human-feline household hierarchy.

The GRE approacheth.

Three days.

In just three days, I will battle that epic, standardized demon: The Graduate Record Exam. I've been studying my ass off for it, but there's really only so much that can be done. I definitely have confidence going into it, but you know... that never makes you stop being nervous. Being nervous, feeling that mix of excitement and anxiety, is just an inherent part of anything worthwhile and important.

In my practice exams, on the Verbal side, I've scored as low as 580 and as high as 770. And on the math side... well... my highest was 540, and my lowest was... really low. Anyone who knows me, knows that I'd rather dip my hand in a bucket of acid then do math. My goal, for the real test, is 650 on Verbal, 500 on Math, and score between 5-6 on the Essay section. Worst case scenario, if I bomb it... I can take it again next month. I reeeally don't want to do that, since the thing costs $140.00 and I'm stressed out as it is, but if I need to, I can. It's always good to have a backup. ;-)

Provided my scores don't totally suck, I'll post em as soon as I know.

MFA or authentic sake?

I'm currently in my last year at the University of Kansas and, as many seniors do, I'm looking ahead to the future. As of right now, I'm working on two separate paths: Applying to MFA programs in playwriting, and applying to JET programme.

Both have pros and cons, of course. And both are very different. But the truth is... I'd be extraordinarily happy doing either. So, my method is that of the wide-thrown net. I'll apply to... well, a LOT of places... and we'll see what works. I'm trying to stay loose, stay open, and stay sane!

Below is a list of the Playwriting MFA Programs that I'm thinking of applying to. While I know that several of these are long, long, LOOONG shots... my philosophy is, "If you don't apply, you're signing your own rejection letter."


Playwriting MFA's under consideration, in no particular order:

-- University of Iowa.
-- University of Texas at Austin, Michener Center.
-- New York University, Tisch.
-- University of California, San Diego.
-- Yale University.
-- Brown University.
-- Rutgers University.
-- University of Hawaii at Manoa.
-- Carnegie Mellon University.
-- University of Nevada, Las Vegas.


Goals of the JET Programme, from their website:

"The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme aims to promote grass roots internationalisation at the local level by inviting young overseas graduates to assist in international exchange and foreign language education in local governments, boards of education and elementary, junior and senior high schools throughout Japan. It seeks to foster ties between Japanese citizens (mainly youth) and JET participants at the person-to-person level."


As the process moves forward, I'll try to keep posting. Cross your fingers for me!

Testing... testing...? Is this thing on?

This whole blogging world is very new and frightening to me.

For years, I thought that "good" blogging was only for the "super-interesting" (or those who think of themselves as such), and "bad" blogging was nothing more than a gushing, cherry chapstick flavored torrent of Britney Spears inspired nonsense. But, BUT! I have seen the light! I've discovered, through my own enjoyment and nearly obsessive weekly reading of others' blogs, what blogging is really about. It is not an online diary. It's not a stream of self-righteous, ego driven drivel, either. It's half of a good conversation: my on-going answer to the question, "So, what have you been up to?" To me, that is what blogging is about. Keeping in touch with the people I love, and putting something out into the world that might make a difference. Even if that's only to make someone smile.

Ok. That last line was a little Hallmark moment, but hey. I have to start somewhere. And with that, my new life as a blogger has begun! Enjoy!