Choosing The Right Piece

If only figuring out my post graduation life were as simple as pie. I'm mildly obsessed with this right now. I'm applying for a slew of fellowships, which are like post-docs for those of us with MFA's. I'm sending stuff to all the biggies, including the famous Stegner, and all I can do is hope and wait. Meanwhile I need to focus on my novel - I blocked out the whole day for it but haven't worked on it much, somehow, though I did write my personal statement for the Stegner. The fellowships are Option #1 (red slice) followed by Option #2 (orange slice), which is a job-that-is-not-teaching, i.e., that will give me time to write. Museums? Grant writing? Policy? Option #3 (blue) is teaching at a community college, ideally full time (bone-crushing, much as I love teaching). Option #4 (green) is teaching at some kind of private high school, maybe. Option #5 (yellow) is applying for PhD programs, but that's another story. In the case of 2, 3, or 4, we'll probably just move to Seattle. In the case of 1, we'll be in the Bay Area, or upstate New York, or Wisconsin, or New England, or here in Houston. For a year or two. And then move to Seattle? M. says I have one more crazy move, and then, time to settle down. She has her own goals, too, maybe community development study or public health combined with clinical mental health work. It's really all cooler and more admirable than my ivory tower pursuits. She's a social worker. More useful to society, by definition. Well, I'm pretty useful in my teaching capacities, I suppose.

Other elements are up in the air. For instance, getting an agent, which is my goal for this year. That might lead to publication, which leads more easily to college teaching and more publication. It's a big goal and involves getting through another couple drafts of my novel.

Which ... oh, right. Brings me back to the present moment and my laptop and the fact that I have two hours before I'm going to a friend's birthday party. To w-r-i-t-e. Well, re-write. Go! Go! Go!

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