I'm just so honored to be nominated....

It's bullshit. I want to win. I'm tired of being nominated. Yeah, I said I didn't really care, that I was so honored to get invited in for an interview.... that I totally would understand if they had the single, non-soccer mom, non-property-owner, no tax deductions, north county coastal liberal perspective covered.

But I lied.

I lied to myself. I care. It sucks that I was rejected. Again.

I really wanted to be a part of the Citizen Voices project.

So sure, it was an honor to make it to Round 2, to be asked to submit additional writing samples. It was an honor to be asked to come in for an interview... to drive an hour out of my bubble to get stuck in traffic on the way home... to meet a bunch of really cool people and have a great conversation that we called an interview. But dammit, I'm disappointed.

So why not me?

My new friend Aaryn sent me a link to this:
http://elizabethgilbert.com/writing.htm

My sister said, "I know just how you feel, Jenn. When I was a dancer I was rejected all the time for lots of reasons which had nothing to do with my talent: not tall enough, not thin enough, not fat enough, not blonde... " reminding me that being in any creative endeavor, you need to have a tough skin.

Not sure I have a tough skin, but I do have a lot of awesome people cheering me on from the sidelines.
--

You're Invited

If you're in the San Diego area, you're a fan of spoken word art, you know me, you want to meet me, you want to meet great writers in San Diego, you already know me and haven't seen me in a while, or you have nothing else to do on the First Friday of December 2007..... then come to the San Diego Writers Ink First Friday Third Anniversary / CD Release Party!
DATE: Friday, December 7, 2007

The evening starts at 6 pm. Come early to get a good seat, mingle with fabulous writers and nosh on literary delicacies (that's good food with a fancy name).

Readings start at 7 pm.

If you'd like... bring three minutes of prose to share.

Giveaways --including a Sony Reader-- will be dispersed throughout the evening.

COST: Tickets only $5 at the door!

WHERE?

Swedenborgian Hall
4144 Campus Ave. San Diego

AND... to get you up to speed on the performances from the past year, order your BEST OF CD "First Friday: The CD of Year 3" supporting San Diego Writers, Ink.
--yeah, a little shameless plug there, I'm one of the best of....
-

Poetry or prose?

Notes of Rhapsody
in blue-green flow around me
lucid, fluid sharps and flats clarified by perfect Cs
round like pebbles
laying in the shadows
of leafy trees
along the waters edge.

KPBS Citizen Voices Project. Round 2

Yeah me! I made it through to Round 2, and the producer has asked for more writing samples.

Let me preface the next commentary with saying that 1. I love KPBS and 2. I welcome the opportunity to apply for the Citizen Voices project and 3. I have no idea how I would choose blogger/writers...

HOWEVER.

The email request has been weighing heavy on my brain for the last four days:

We've finished reviewing applicants and have narrowed it down to a very small group. You're in that group and we're requesting a bit more information to better understand everyone's political leanings. In no more than one sentence for each issue, let us know where you stand:


War in Iraq:

Immigration:

Health care:

Education:

Taxation:

Gun control:

Same-sex marriage:

Abortion:

Separation of Church/State:


In addition, we'd like to see more of your writing. Please respond (in 300 words or less) to this question:

If the presidential election were tomorrow, who would you vote for and why?

eeeeegads! The last assignment-- to sum up who you are, and your "unique perspective" in 500 words-- all of the sudden seems easy!

Issues like those listed above are far more complex than one sentence. I admit I stretched some of those answers as far as I could while still maintaining one, creatively long sentence. Hopefully that kind of creativity will count in my favor.

Anyway when I know more, I'll share.

On another note... through my blog, and my application for the Citizen Voices project I "met" Aaryn, writer of RubySoho blog. We compared notes via email, read each others submissions, commiserated over the fact that we were "going for it" even though it was scary, and wondered what other San Diego bloggers had applied... She didn't get into the narrowed down group. I'm bummed, as I'm sure she is as well. Do stop by her blog. Give her a read. She really is a good writer, and her posts and pics about her daughter are particularly fabulous.

I'm Better Out Loud!

My entry, Letters From Heaven, was selected for San Diego Writers, Ink Audio Anthology : Year 3.

Whew. After all the rejection I was feeling like maybe I am not a writer. But maybe, just maybe I am better out loud than on the page.

The coolest part is that we get to re-record our submission at the KPBS (public radio) station.

If you want a sneak peek, check out the September Stories over at the First Friday Prose website. If you want to hear me live and in person, come to the Third Anniversary Party for First Fridays on December 7th.

Needle Ninny

Been meaning to post this for a while.... my sister, like me, is not especially fond of needles. Unfortunately, since she has breast cancer, she's been forced to deal with a lot of needles. And she has gone one step further even, doing acupuncture, voluntarily even. I'll let her tell you in her own words:

http://video.nbcsandiego.com/player/?id=162500

sorry I couldn't find a way to embed the video here, but go ahead and click if you are 1. curious about my sister 2. interested in acupuncture and how it could help breast cancer survivors.