S'all gravy, baby

> I finally have a job interview. I know nothing about the company. The ad on craigslist just said "a local firm." Normally I stay away from vague ads that say "a local company needs help. Send your resume." But it seems legit. When the guy called he said the name of the company and it sounded like another one I applied for, but later I got an email from THAT company saying they didn't want to pursue me. Imagine my confusion. So I googled the address and it's either an engineering firm or a legal firm.

Anyway, it's a full-time telecommuting proofreading job that would support me very well while staying flexible with school. The guy said that one of their proofreaders is working toward his doctorate in architecture. I feel like I pretty much have it since he said that based on my resume/cover letter I'm what they're looking for and they could be a good fit for me. I also feel that this could be another Vertical Screen experience, minus the cubicle; but I don't care at this point. Just need income.

So...it seems 14-15 applications is what it takes before I get a call back about anything.

> I'm starting today as a volunteer poetry reader for Ploughshares--Emerson's nationally recognized lit journal. (Emerson has a lot of literary outlets, which I LOVE. Temple had...one.) Each genre has it's own batch of volunteer readers that serve as a first-tier screening process for the tens of thousands of submissions they get during their 6 month reading period. (I think poetry alone gets 12,000 submissions.)

Writers that I know/read/admire work on this thing as guest editors. It's amazing. I'm very happy to be somehow apart of it. I'm also happy that I'm finally updating my resume with relevant experience.

> Boston Book Fest is this Saturday. I volunteered to help, then retracted my offer because I didn't feel comfortable(?) doing it for some reason anymore. The intern in charge of the volunteers tried to talk me back into it, but I never got back to her. Figured it was done and I'd just go enjoy the festival as a non-volunteer. A few weeks later I get my volunteer assignment. I guess I was never removed. I took it as a sign from the universe that I need to be involved/get out of the house/network/make friends/whatever else. So I had a pre-fest shift yesterday that was supposed to be from 9-1, but ended up being 9-10:30. We folded shirts. Saturday I'm 9-1 as a line counter. Oooh.

There's a justice lecture I want to see at 3. I think there are 4 speakers, but I'm only interested in seeing Michael Sandel, a Harvard professor that gives the very popular and recently televised justice lectures. I watched a few of them when I lived in PA. Though The Social Network gave me a new level of aversion toward the Ivy League, I'm not above taking what I can get for free.



Then from 4-5 I'm in a free poetry workshop called Poem Generator. Hope it helps. I'm not exactly prolific.

> The Social Network was really good. I hate Harvard, but it was really good. I want to assure the general public that not everyone who goes to Harvard is as good looking as the people in the film. I know, I was disappointed to. But there is no IQ:Hotness ratio. (Though, I believe there is an algorithm for it in the movie.)

> Justin and I went to Salem over the weekend. That was a joke. I feel better about missing this Mardi Gras-esque Halloween bash now, as I highly doubt it will be even remotely that good.



For anyone who has never been, Salem consists of 1 old house, a dozen "museums" that are the size of the average living room and which do not contain actual artifacts, 3 restaurants (the beer selection: Coors Lite, Miller Lite, Bud Lite, Heineken, Sam Adams), no bars, and 1 extremely hazardous bookstore. If interested in experiencing a museum from home, say, the Lizzie Borden "40 Whacks" Museum, search wikipedia for Lizzie Borden. Print it out, tape it on the walls around your living room, and set up a dozen or so antiques that could pass for being hers but that which have nothing to do with her. Also, give yourself $11 for it, $9 if you have your student ID. Presto.

For people who are actually interested in historical accuracy, go to the library instead. Little in Salem has anything to do with the witch trials or Puritan lifestyle. Everything looks like it was bought in the Halloween Outlet. Somehow Salem became the mecca for Wiccans, Warlocks, and people with pointy hat fetishes.



> Thank goodness for Honk Fest saving the day.



> Casey has been waking me up in the middle of the night lately. She flops around on my head and licks my face for an uncomfortable amount of time. I think it verges on (reverse?) bestiality. Apparently I shut her in the closet earlier and neither of us noticed because she fell asleep in there. I'm a bad mom. Anyway, now I need to get up the motivation to go into the city and do some research. I'd rather nap.

> P.S - I didn't take any of these pictures.