2005 Highlights, Po- and Not So Po

In roughly chronological order:

January: Visited Nick and Robyn in Chicago. Met fine poet and human person, Andy Carter. Survived the cold. Stayed next door to Wrigley Field. Bought a lot of beer and drank almost none. Saw Nick and Robyn read in St. Louis, met Dr. Mayhew and Julie Dill. Re-met Stefene and Thom (and received a gift of a Jeb Bush effigy). Slept on Aaron Belz's floor.

February: Dry winter in Eugene. Made a really good Valentine's Day dinner for me and the then-sweetie. First and best occurrence of Rustic Apple Tarts with Cajeta and Berry Salsa.

March: Not much.

April: AWP in Vancouver. Met nice people, especially: Charlie Jensen, Alison Stine, Laurel Snyder, and (ever so briefly) Shanna Compton. Also briefly, Peter Pereira. Drank wine in hotel bar with Robert L. Walked downtown Vancouver and Chinatown. Ate scrumptious Afghan food. Then, it was on to NYC and Philly. Read for _The Canary_. Hung out with Josh for the first time in over a year. Met the following nice people: Gina Myers, Erica Kaufman, Eddie Berrigan. Met a couple un-nice people too. Spent a glorious day in downtown Philly with Amir Kenan (genius poet-musician), the highlight of which was sampling warring cheesesteaks from Pat's and Geno's. Almost won a modest pile of cash from some art students. I was high on Steel Reserve (purchased by Josh's pilot pal, Mike, shortly before he passed out/became incoherent) and put on a good poker face for a long session of Texas Hold 'Em.

May: Reeling from breakup with now ex-gf. Find solace in music. Misfats at John Henry's in Eugene and Sasquatch Festival on the Columbia Gorge with Hannah and her sister and pal Brady. Saw Pixies for the fourth time in a year (Jenaya, if you're reading this, be sure to tell Ryan), Wilco, Arcade Fire, Kanye West (who was terrible), and some other bands. Got sunburnt, for me a near-impossible feat. Gave a longwinded treatise on the expanse of real-estate between the wedge formed by my legs, spread out at an approximately forty-five degree angle, and the boundary of grass just beyond my feet. It somehow made sense at the time. Got harrassed by hippies playing Eagles songs at 3 a.m. Ate the most delicious hamburger ever in Ellensburg. Slept for 20 hours straight in Hannah's folks' basement guest room.

June: After much cajoling, finally agree to go out with L. That was a good idea. Mountain Goats two days in a row--Portland, Eugene. Portland show was amazing. Eugene, good, but much shorter. Darnielle was drinking beer in PDX, but only water in Eugene. Maybe that had something to do with it.

July: Andy Mister sleeps on my couch for a week. Our chapbook is pretty much finished--we spend a few good days, including the 4th, writing and revising rapidly. We're happy with it. Andy moves to NY.

August: Not dissertating. Continuing to blog on the New Sincerity. Minor skirmishes with Lorna Dee C. Not poeming either. Second manuscript, however, is finished and revised. Ready to go. I feel now, though, that I won't write poems for a long while.

September: Met Jenaya. Had lots of drinks at the Bier Stein. Still not dissertating. Continue to cook for my sweetie. Lots of Indian food and simple "Mom" Mexican dishes.
Fresh lychees. An uninspiring Son Volt show at the Crystal Ballroom in PDX.

October: Forced to move into new small apartment. Got rid of a lot of junk. School starts--teaching is uninspiring. Depression returns. Darkness. More cooking--a lot of bacon. And potatoes. Fun Halloween--dressed as Steve Zissou.

November: The cold hits Eugene early. Running again. Dissertating, but not enough. Beginning to seriously reconsider my career path. Began sending "Wintered" out to contests.

December: Holiday Party at Kathy's. San Francisco trip for Lolly and myself. Lots of eating and walking. Met C. Dale Young and Jacob, who were both charming. Met Jasper Bernes, down in Andy's old Mission hood. Watched a lot of cable television. Read a John Irving novel, a biography of Mohammad, lots of magazines, started another Irving book.