Goings On

The post below this one has been in the works for about a month. It was supposed to be much more in depth, but writing it has been slow going. Part two will, hopefully, not be so hard to get off the ground.

The results on the paternity test came back a few weeks ago; according to the lab, I am the father. Bwa ha ha ha! Er—anyway, Loren doesn't quite believe it; there's currently some confirmation testing underway (to show that the sample didn't get mixed up). I'm now moving forward on the assumption that I will be staying with Masami in the house that we bought.

I'm going in for my interview at the Postal REC site today. I'm going to need a second job to bring in enough money to make our mortgage payments. I went down there to interview yesterday, but just missed the person who could do it. When I went to the pre-employment meeting (or whatever they called it) they said it wasn't necessary to have an appointment and I took them at their word. Luckily, I've spoken to Merinda (the interviewer) on the phone today and now have an appointment to come in after I get off work at the library.

Back to the subject of the previous post: I think part of my problem with the writing is that I'd taken to the idea of writing about the complete history of my relationship with Masami as something to help me get through the breakup that with each passing day looked more and more inevitable. Now that things seem to be going a different way, I'm not sure I want to approach this project the same way. It's not the same to write about something that's still going on as to write about something that is over.

Creative Writing, part one

Smiling Heart

cute little smiling heart
feet facing out
arms outstretched
walking toward
outstretched arms

discarded toy
lifeless lump
red plastic
somewhere
in the dark

somewhere
smiling
somewhere
arms
reach out to
someone else

cute little plastic heart
walking forward
smiling

The emphasis in Alma McKertich's creative writing classes was on the process of revision. She favored the three draft approach championed by Piers Anthony in the author's notes at the end of each of his novels. The class formed a peer review group and with their reactions duly noted, one could rework a piece of material with the aim of bringing the intended reaction in line with that of actual readers. I started the first of three such classes that I would attend—the later two focused specifically on a type of writing, one on fiction and one on poetry—in January 2006.

Trasi Tadehara had a red Grease lunchbox instead of a purse. That may or may not have been what I noticed about her first. I remember I liked the skirt she had on—it was a really cool crinkly fabric and it was purple. She looked pretty cool. She was very friendly and gregarious, enough that even I could feel like she was a friend after knowing her only for a day or two. She gave Valentine's cards to everyone on Valentine's Day. I was thrilled to get mine—it was my twentieth birthday.