These are the thoughts of a Texas transplant in West Michigan who makes his living as a newspaper reporter by evening, and a struggling novelist by day.

Saturday, September 05, 2009

three-year anniversary

unbeknown to me, it was the three-year anniversary of our friendship with mig and d. it was during the tulipanes fshow at centennial park during labor day weekend that we first met up as a foursome -- though it would be five months before we'd see mig again and party with him.

it was funny because i'd inerviewed d. before a coule of times and thought she was cool. i enjoyed talking to her. then it was surprising to find out dawnie worked with her. i told her i knew d. through interviews. when we met at the park, she knew not who i was b/c i'd never seen her in person. she was just as spunky in person as on the phone.

i didn't see her until feb. but there was always talk of getting together. we finally did it for mig's b-day. it was a fun time. it was all new to me and dawnie and we had no idea what we were getting into when we paired up with those two.

from then we've been in separable, from going to b.b. king and chicago to the migrantworkers event and going up north.

it's felt like we've known them all our lives instead of only three. we've squeezed in a lot of life and fun into these three years. it's been a blast.

and how did we spend tonite? well after a trip to grand haven for some dinner, we erturned back to d.'s house where we got on youtube (started with me playing gordon lightfoot's "sundown."). it quickly progressed to other songs, d. got on her keyboard, mig on his guitar, dawnie choosing stuff on the puter and checking out music trivia and me, well, i was handed a microphone and attempted to sing eagles songs and other good stuff. it was us being us. good times, good friends, good conversation.

sometimes you just can't beat a good friend. they become part of your life and you know they're there for you. love you guys!!! de todo corazon.

Thursday, September 03, 2009

ne, trina and papa

as the night slide along and only the sound of crickets accompanied us, trina and i decided to sit and watch a documentary on hemingway. i sat on my stool and she sat patiently, or should i say impatiently, by my side. (though, i think she only sat there because she wanted to lick the popsicle stick after i'd eaten the ice cream.)

it was conforting. it's the time of the day where all is quiet. most are alseep and i feel special, as if i'm alone at times. sometimes i go out on the porch and listen with a drink. it's peaceful. i like that. even though it's city, life's relatively quiet.

but there was no outdoors tonight. we sat and watched papa on the screen. i get a kick out of watching and listening to a show on him. while i do not envy his personality or lifestyle, i do envy his sense of adventure, his sense of accomplishment and sense of dong. he saw a lot in his time.

there was europe - italy, france, spain, switzerland. there was florida, cuba, wyoming, the UP, travels in africa and asia. he met people and screwed over people. he hung out with artists, painters and writers. saw bullfights, was shot in a war, went big game hunting, fished in the gulf, hunted in wyoming. so much life he crammed into his 60 plus years. that's good.

and as i watched, my little feline wrapped herself around my legs, playing. i petted her on the back near the tail where she likes it. she purred until she left.

and now it's time to sleep. i must teach this morning. i feel good. very good.

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

first day of class

so i had/taught my first day of eng. 101. it was exciting. no nerves or anything. i felt good and even slept well last night. i know what i want from this class and if i keep focusing on it, all things will go the way i want them.

i am unsure of the number of students, since i had about six gone today. however, there were two new add ons.

i introduced them to hemingway a bit, even though there will be no discussion on class of his novels or work. but he is a good example to use. i've already got them thinking about a quote from him. we shall see.

i instructed them to write an in-class paper,very quick, to see how they write and their writing styles. i've read through a few and i'm noticing there ae some good writes. they have good ideas and some have supporting thoughts and details. in this process, i'm getting to learn a lot about the students, too. i like this. i want to know who they are. that will help me understand them as writers if i know where they've been and what they've done.

here's looking to a good semester.