Tuesday, June 27, 2006

We leave for our honeymoon road trip tomorrow! Kentucky, Asheville, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Dunkirk!

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Wrote another poem tonight. That makes nine. My goal, formulated while walking to the Keystone for brunch with Liz and Mitch, is to have fifty poems written by December. And a finished draft of the YA novel, of course -- can't shuck my fiction duties off. Oh, and I also need to revise my zombie love story by December. Maybe write a new story?

Writing feels good. I'm full of anxiety, though -- the time waiting between poems excruciating. Unless I'm vomiting or drunk, I can usually pound out a few pages of my novel whenever I want. But poems need more coaxing.

Immersed in Anne Sexton right now. Simultaneously reading her collected poems, biography (read once before when I was a college freshman) and A Self-Portrait in Letters. I have the desire to write stranger poetry, but there is no John Ashberry in this apartment!

Demetrios, the Greek restaurant we brunched at, was very blue and showcased a giant fake Marlin, instruments, ships, and a fishing net attached to the ceiling. It was the best thing about the restaurant. Their scordalia was weak -- not enough garlic, not nearly enough. Liz was disappointed with her scallops, and Jason has had better spanikopita.

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Oh, my first felted bag is almost finished too. Just have to knit the strap, and then throw in the washing machine and watch (maybe? hopefully?) magic happen. Maybe magic. Maybe the bag will just fall apart in the spin cycle, as I'm not the best at stitching my knitting projects.

Three more poems in two days! One a prose poem, one a poem about a strange old man my brother and I encountered in the subway, and one about manufactured girlfriends. Jason has been helping me with line breaks and encouraging me to read Frank O'Hara.

Lately I haven't been able to sleep -- I'm too involved in revising and writing poems. It feels kind of ... manic. I know the creative crash will come soon, but hopefully not until we're only the road and properly distracted with apartment searching and sightseeing. Anyway, traveling helps me with writer's block.

We have lunch plans with Jee Leong and Winston tomorrow. Sushi has been promised.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Wrote another five pages of my YA novel and a poem last night. I felt so industrious I decided to research more fellowships and residencies, and found a six-month residency for Jason to apply to, which he did. I gave him a long pep talk about how he should be submitting every single poem in Watering the Dead and The Direction of Light, instead of just the dozen or so (I think I used the analogy of the lottery) he circulates around. Then I realized I was being a terrible hypocrite, because only one of my stories have been submitted anywhere recently. So today I woke up and after much trepidation, submitted two more stories to journals. We'll see what happens.

Starting to get excited about our road trip. Talked to Nina last night, and she made Pittsburgh sound fun. I could use some fun! It's nice to know that Kathleen might move to Asheville, also. I like the idea of moving to place where we know at least one other person.

Still have to go to the goddamn grocery store. I hate the grocery store. It makes me lazy about writing, which, I know, sounds really lame. But it's true. I'm supposed to write at least five more pages of my YA book, but I know that once I'm back from the store I'll only want to laze around, read Anne Sexton, and watch the Ellen, Season 2 DVD I netflixed.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Submitted poems to Stirring today. It's easier somehow to submit poetry than fiction -- it's not my genre, if they don't publish me, I don't feel all bruised up inside (or at least that's how I assume I will feel -- I just started submitting poetry the other day).

All morning spent researching literary journals. I need someplace to send my fiction before the end of the month. "What She Doesn't Know" has already been sent to Cimarron, but the rest are in limbo. I need to revise my zombie story too. And write a few more pages of the novel. And buy groceries -- out of paper towels, kleenex, almost out of toilet paper. Out of cat food and dog food and pasta!

Monday, June 19, 2006

Running out of smurf blue yarn for my loopy pillow project. Need to go to the yarn store on Ditmar's sometime to see if they have any more.

Also working on my first felted project -- a green and white striped bag.

I hate how hot New York summers are. Last year I climbed the stairs to the subway in the mornings and felt consistently like vomiting because of the humidity. Jason and I would crank up our broken air conditioner and sleep on damp bath towels.

This year we have a cute new air conditioner that works, but works slowly. It takes forever to get our studio apartment down four or five degrees. So it's hot in here. Eighty degrees hot. I'm surprised the pets aren't panting right now.

Sunday, June 18, 2006

There is sake and Dave and researching mail order brides. Another Saturday night in Astoria.

Friday, June 16, 2006

Finally finished A Paradigm of the Earth! Yay! In sheer gladness I stayed up half the night, zipping through Alice Sebold's gripping memoir, Lucky. I finished it when I got up this morning (well, it was closer to this afternoon), and am now reading Ann Patchett's memoir of her friendship with Lucy Grealy, Truth and Beauty.

I'm jealous of knitting blogs, especially the blogs that showcase 25+ completed projects every year. And not projects in the form of piddly scarves or hats, either. Sexy lacy shawls. Complicated cable sweaters. I'm frustrated at my knitting plateau. I don't want to knit fucking hats and scarves for the rest of my life. I want to go beyond the stockinette stitch!

My current project is a shaggy knitted pillow cover (from Stitch and Bitch Nation), which is a change. Then I think I might try my hand at felting a bag.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

I am suffering through Canda Jane Dorsey's Paradigm of Earth, one abstract, ill-worded snippet at a time. This is sad, because the book has been on my Amazon wishlist for years now. I read some really enthusiastic reviews and felt certain it would be a great gender-issue, political, character-driven SF, perhaps in the mode of Octavia Butler or Connie Willis. What's also sad is the fact that I'm halfway through, and so therefore just can't stop reading and go on to something else, something new and better. Really I should be reading classics. I've never read any Faulkner. Or Hemingway. I still have to finish Anna Karenina. What a great thing to tell people - that I spent my summer reading classics.

But the sad, sad truth is this: classics, especially those written before the early 20th Century, almost never hold my attention. My eyes get jittery when they encounter long descriptive passages. I start thinking about potato chips, and kittens. I have the sudden urge to do the laundry.

Very sad. Very true.

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and frozen pizza on a Sunday night.

Saturday, June 10, 2006

The dinner party was fun, though no one got drunk. I was really, really hoping someone would get drunk. But there was some lively conversations about Catholicism and whether incest was morally, genetically or culturally/socially wrong. And I think people liked my tomato basil soup.

Today is reserved for slacking. Jason and I slept until 11:30, and probably would've slept indefinitely if not for someone calling on my phone for a "Tony." Later we'll watch a movie (maybe Grizzly Man, which I haven't seen yet) and drink wine!

Possible blossoming romance between a friend of Jason's and my mother! More updates later.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Armed with so many new dishes, pots, pans and veggie cookbooks (Jason has threatened to smash anymore new dishes that might appear to us in the mail), I've decided to try my hand at cooking beyond the Betty Crocker hamburger casseroles and chili. Last night I triumphed with doughnut muffins, though I didn't apply enough butter to the bottom of the muffin pans. That's right -- muffins by scratch. No box muffins for me!!!!!!!!!!

Unfortunately, the muffins turned me into a bit of a food Nazi.

(Yesterday evening)
Me: Don't forget to eat the homemade muffins for breakfast.
Jason: Okay.
(Today, around noon)
Me: Did you eat the muffins I made by scratch yet?
Jason: I ate one and a half.
Me: Arghhh!
Jason: I'll eat the other half this afternoon. I promise!
(Afternoon)
Me: Did you eat the half a muffin yet?

Tomorrow we're hosting a dinner party. Mitch is a food fussy, so we're sticking to pasta. Two sauces -- a butter one for Mitch, and a veggie marinara. Plus tomato basil soup, and the pound cake (w/ strawberries and whipped cream) baking in the oven right now. Liz and Mitch, Jonathan, and Nina will all be there. I think that'll make for a lively time.

I'm excited about showing off our new square plates and bowls. I know that makes me sound like a housekeepin' geek. Also equally exciting is going to Jason's office for lunch tomorrow.

No writing as of late. Can't concentrate. Too much seltzer water, too much of Sims 2 and Wiccan YA books. Also still sad and missing brother and mom.

Monday, June 05, 2006


More pics.

Jason stayed home from work today, and the three of us went to see the new X-men movie, which is never a very good idea. I'm not an X-men fan, but even I was offended when they killed most of the main characters off by the middle of the movie. Also, the movie theatre parking lot was ridiculously hard to find.

My brother leaves for Kentucky tomorrow morning. The two week visit went by so quickly. Also -- I never thought I'd say this, but I miss my mom.

Sunday, June 04, 2006


oh yeah -- and the biggest news.



jason and i are hitched! the wedding was fun ... at least, after the unity candle incident(jason dropped his candle, and for a moment we thought he might accidentally burn the chapel down). lots of food, good friends, a beautiful reception hall, and live music from a few of the said good friends. and despite the heavy-handed comments about christianity, baptism (i'm not baptized) and marriage being between "one man and one woman," we were glad irv officiated the marriage. he's been like a second father to jason for at least twenty years.

it's still hard to think of myself as being married. not that our lives are much different than it has been for the past year. but mrs. wendi lee? that's just too bizarre. i don't feel old enough yet to be a mrs.

Saturday, June 03, 2006

Just came back from a daytrip to Connecticut. We visited Dave at his WCSU studio and admired the paintings completed this school year (I wish I were as prolific with my writing). Reg bought a pretty oil landscape for $85. Then, after a pit stop to Dunkin' Doughnuts and the local Goodwill, back to Astoria. We're planning on meeting up with Suzanne and Ero, who are playing an open mike Bob Dylan gig at O'Hanlons.
Dave just suggested Chinese take-out, which sounds good.
In other news, I miss Dan Jackson. I wish he'd update his angryandsloppy soon.