And the Changes Keep on Keeping On

So I graduated. The ceremony was held in the Chicago Lyric Opera and the setting was beautiful. And, as befitting an art school, I saw exactly one graduate in a cap and gown. Everyone else was in a nice outfit, a costume, or something very casual (like jeans, t-shirt, and flip-flops). When I say costumes, one guy was dressed as either a chicken or a turkey (I couldn't tell), non-basted, and he had to take his diploma in his mouth. One of the faculty members sitting onstage wore a black and hot pink Mardis Gras mask. There were others, including one guy dressed in a red soldier-type jacket with epaulets and a hat.

My parents, sister, and nephew were all here and we had fun showing them around Chicago and introducing them to deep-dish pizza and Chicago-style hot dogs. Later this afternoon, Nate's mother and her husband will arrive. The great thing about Chicago is that we can take them to entirely different places. My family went to: the Lincoln Park Zoo, Chinatown, the Field Museum, Wrigley Field, the Chicago Lyric Oprera, a couple of other places. It'll be interesting to see where we go with Nate's family.

And ... did I mention we're moving to Dallas?

I don't think I've actually said that here. At first, it was an option we were considering. Then a decision we needed to make. We've made it. We should be there by July 1. We're still working out many of the details. I must admit, it's never been my dream to live in Dallas, and I've been very worried that we would live in a boring house in a generic subdivision. But I've been doing some research on this neighborhood and getting excited by stories like this and this.

Not to say we'll live there. Who knows where we might end up? But it's nice to know there are some non-generic options. Luckily, we get to live in a currently vacant house for three months while we ponder our next move. We are staying at Nate's aunt's house until we figure some of these things out, which we greatly appreciate.

So, all I can say in the midst of all this change is: Onward.

Changes

On Friday, I have my final class and final meeting with my advisor. Not only the last class of the semester, but the last class of my MFA career. I can't reflect on it yet, because not only is it not quite over, my mind needs a little time to adjust.

As an undergrad, I took my most demanding semester last--kinda silly, now that I think about it, but it's the way things worked out. I took 15 hours of classes, all of which involved heavy writing and editing. One class alone took an average of 20 hours per week, if that gives you a sense of how busy I was. Also, I had two part-time jobs. I got through the semester unscathed, actually had a blast, although I was really tired. And then, there were all my final projects. I did them all, except for the last one. I had to write a long paper on 14th and 15th century Spanish plays and novels. All the reading and writing assignments were in Spanish (I had a double major: English and Spanish literature). I really enjoyed the class, but I was just so tired I couldn't write the paper. Mentally tired. I kept telling myself, "This is the last one. Just this ... last one." But I couldn't do it. I had to ask for an extension and as a result of that, got a B in the class, even though I'd had an A all semester.

I'm not quite as tired now. I have only one job (full time, but at least it's only one) and I've finished all my major assignments already. But there is so much change and potential change in the air that I just can't think about things too much. My mind can't really deal with it yet. So I'm reading a lot and watching really bad TV. (Example: last night I watched American Idol and then the reunion show of America's Next Top Model. But then we watched 21 Grams, so maybe I redeemed myself a little bit.)

I think I need a little mental vacation before I start tackling the novel full force in June. Next week, my family will be here for my graduation. The week after that, Nate's mother is coming for a visit. So we will have almost two weeks of family which, though I'm sure will be fun, will not be good for the writing. But maybe I need the time off anyway to adjust mentally to some things that are just starting to show themselves over the horizon.

One of those looming things is that I got accepted here. Another involves a possible relocation. I will divulge more as information becomes available. The wind is about to change.

An Op-ed Piece

A few excerpts from "A War for Us, Fought by Them"
By WILLIAM BROYLES Jr.

"There are no immediate family members of any of the prime civilian planners of this war serving in it — beginning with President Bush and extending deep into the Defense Department. Only one of the 535 members of Congress, Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota, has a child in the war — and only half a dozen others have sons and daughters in the military.

It was not always so. In other wars, the men and women in charge made sure their family members led the way. Since 9/11, the war on terrorism has often been compared to the generational challenge of Pearl Harbor; but Franklin D. Roosevelt's sons all enlisted soon after that attack. Both of Lyndon B. Johnson's sons-in-law served in Vietnam.

If this war is truly worth fighting, then the burdens of doing so should fall on all Americans. If you support this war, but assume that Pat Tillman and Other People's Children should fight it, then you are worse than a hypocrite. If it's not worth your family fighting it, then it's not worth it, period. The draft is the truest test of public support for the administration's handling of the war, which is perhaps why the administration is so dead set against bringing it back."