Thu - April 26, 2007

Hiddily Ho, Neighborino!

Hallelujah, we're homeowners! (Let the renovations begin...)

Isn't it beautiful?

Actually that's not it--we just think that picture is funny.

Here it is:


Before and after pictures to follow...

Posted at 11:41 PM     |

Wed - January 3, 2007

Reflections on 2006

Although the new year is a great opportunity to set your sights higher and look forward, it's also a great time to take stock of the previous year.

I firmly believe acknowledging where you've been can help you gain momentum (another reason I'm a writer of creative nonfiction), so I took a few moments to go over last year's highlights. Here's a sampling sorted by category.

Concerts Attended
Shawn Mullins (with Clay Cook)
Carbon Leaf (with Ben Lee)
Gaelic Storm
Doc Watson
No Speed Limit
Kat Mills
And loads of miscellaneous bluegrass

Other Famous People Encountered
Tracy Kidder
Jane Lynch
Maya Angelou
Charles Vess

Travel Taken
Amherst, Massachusetts
Greensboro, North Carolina
Washington, D.C. (2x)
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Russellville, Alabama (2x)
Jamestown/Rochester, New York
Corolla, North Carolina (Outer Banks)

Accomplishments
Co-founded Crimson Clover Creative
Got a promotion at work
Took a Surrealism class (got an A)
Taught a Journaling class for a women's symposium
Took six hour-long fiddle lessons
Sold handmade jewelry to a cool local store
Participated in a volunteer cleanup of Mt. View Cemetery
Featured as a subject in a Roanoke Times cover article
Published 4 articles and edited an Alaska River Guide
Took several hour-long motorcycle rides (as passenger, but still!)
Hosted an 80's theme party

Also Grateful For
Visits from my friends from NY & MD
Great people we've met at the UU Congregation
The joys and surprises of step-parenting
Still being in love after more than year of "illegal" cohabitation

Needless to say I feel extremely blessed--and somewhat humbled--reading this list. Holding that feeling in mind, I send up a prayer for 2007 and wish all my readers great fortune, as well.

Posted at 09:16 PM     |

Mon - January 1, 2007

What Are You Doing New Years?

Happy New Year from the Chase-Jackson crew!

Why hello there, friends. I know I've been terribly neglectful these past months--but the dawning of a new year brings both forgiveness and a resolution to blog more--among other things!

We've just returned from a lovely holiday trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina (am I the only one who didn't know that's what those oval OBX bumper stickers stood for?) and I'm full of hope for the new year, setting goals like a madwoman. And, of course, I look forward to sharing my successes & failures with you throughout 2007. Cheers!

Posted at 11:54 PM     |

Wed - August 16, 2006

Bellannonymous?

"You had to sneak into my room
'just' to read my diary
was it just to see all the things
you knew I'd written about you?"
~Morrissey, "Suedehead"

As promised, I've started an archive of my Women in the Workplace column in Bella Magazine. Unfortunately they didn't list my last name on this first one (or in the masthead) probably because it was originally intended to be a reader-submitted column; however, that doesn't excuse them from misspelling "annonymous" [sic] in the subheading... Still, this is the piece got their attention enough to hire me indefinitely, so I can't really complain.

Posted at 04:50 PM     |

Mon - August 7, 2006

What a Difference a Year Makes

"Will you still need me
will you still feed me
when I'm 64?"
~Beatles, "When I'm 64"

Happy Anniversary to us! My sweetie and I have officially been together for a whole year... It's even harder to believe we've been living together for 10 months of that (but don't tell anyone because it's still illegal in VA). He just graduated with his MFA yesterday and it was my graduation night in 2005 that we "connected" as it were (read: locked lips). Amusingly, the director announced our arrival on Thursday by telling everyone we were the Goucher CNF program's "first successful couple." If only we had the statistics on the hookups!

Aside from an ankle-twisting incident for me and some tummy trouble for TJ, the weekend went swimmingly. We loved seeing our fellow gophers from all over the globe, and Tim's reading from the essay, "Happy Holidays," was the comedic highlight for Thursday, followed by Simon Graham's bit on the phenomenon of Thomas Kinkade on Friday. Saturday we got to spend time with my childhood friend Heidi and her family--which included an introduction to her new grandson(!) Brandon, and Sunday was, of course, graduation.

A big highlight of the weekend was our sighting a celebrity in the hotel lobby. At first, I thought she was just a Goucher administrator because she looked so familiar. But we finally deduced (with the help of superfast blogger, Dave Copeland) that she was indeed the brilliant Jane Lynch--star of 40 Year-Old Virgin, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, countless TV appearances, and the recently opened Talladega Nights. We were too shy to approach her, but grateful just to confirm who the hell she was--no thanks to the "friendly" Sheraton staff!



In other fabulous news, my assignment at Bella Magazine turned into an offer to be full-fledged columnist! So lucky readers in Southwest Virginia can now catch my Women in the Workplace column every month--hopefully soon, I'll be posting scans for all my out-of-state fans. In the meantime, search the local news website (unfortunately, no direct links allowed) for an interview with the Editor, Joey Coakley Beck. So here's the another year of freelance success, brushes with fame, and mad, mad love...

Posted at 06:41 PM     |

Sat - July 22, 2006

Plugging Away

"I think tonight I fancy myself
I'd rather drink that toast to my own health
I think tonight I'd rather love myself"
~Beautiful South, "Tonight I Fancy Myself"

"Shameless Plug on the Tube" photo borrowed from Carol in London

I haven't been blogging much this month, but it's been a good couple of weeks for us. In addition to surviving our first trip to upstate New York so Tim and Anna could meet my family, we've also made excellent progress in our side-careers, as it were.

Tim will officially have his MFA in two weeks, and seemingly as a reward, was granted an adjunct position for fall, so he'll soon be scaring freshmen in English 101 with essays by David Sedaris. He also had his article about the Crooked Road Heritage Music Trail published in Suburu's Drive magazine, after which the people from Acura's magazine came a-calling.

Last week I was able to sell a slew of my craft show inventory to a funky recycled clothing store called Bohemian Trading Company. And just yesterday I learned that one of my essays will be published in the August issue of Bella Magazine [scroll to bottom], a Roanoke-based publication for women that launched in June. The editor showed enthusiastic interest in my writing, so hopefully this will only be the beginning. Better start updating our vitae now, huh?

Posted at 06:07 PM     |

Fri - March 24, 2006

Settling In

"Oh Virginia do you remember
When the land held your hand?"
~Tori Amos, "Virginia"

Oh happy day! After six months I finally broke down and went to the DMV to get my Virginia state license. It makes me feel like an official citizen.... The process took me about an hour. And although the new automated queuing system is credited for allowing customers to check wait times on the web before they visit the office, it gives numbers in the most confusing way possible so that when they call someone up you have absolutely no idea where you stand in terms of hearing your number next. Maybe they like to keep people in suspense so they don't complain.

Unfortunately I'm still working through the process of getting a title/registration/plates for my car, which will involve sending to New York for some replacement documentation... but at least the end is in sight. But now store owners and bouncers can stop giving me so much trouble for having the flimsy bendable New York state license they so mistrust. And hopefully I won't have to have my policeman friend Mike vouch for me next time we end up at a club.

Posted at 06:44 AM     |

Wed - March 1, 2006

The Theater of Life Marches On

"You don't want no drama.
No no drama. No no no no drama."
~Black Eyed Peas, "My Humps"

Things have been pretty exciting around here with all sorts of celebrations, crimes & controversies... Let me give you the low-down on the latest here in Southwest VA.

5. My sweet friend Theresa surprised me by picking me up a copy of a book that made me squeal in the bookstore: Saint Morrissey. It's by Mark Simpson, who evidently coined the term "metrosexual" and is known as "the skinhead Oscar Wilde," a title I'll have to determine if he deserves. Coincidentally though, praise about another book of his disses the author we basically trashed at our recent book-club: "Open Simpson's book anywhere you like as often as you like and you'll find gem-like sentences Zadie Smith would give her white teeth for," so at least he's a better writer than she is!

4. Tim's parents recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary... Congratulations Rhoda & Bill!

3. I got a promotion to Grants Information Specialist at work and will soon be helping faculty members with funding searches. Plus I get to move into my very first office!

2. Last Saturday there was a fatal shooting at our local Wal-Mart and then a seven-hour standoff took place not far from our house. Is it just me or has Radford's crime rate gone up since I've been here?

1. Tim has spent the last week fighting for his students' rights to free speech and it's been covered on the 6 o'clock news, the front page of the Roanoke Times, and then was picked up by AP and reprinted as far as India and England. You can follow the details at his blog, starting with the Feb. 25th entry...

Woo! See, I told you things had been heating up. Happy March 1st, everybody.

Posted at 07:03 AM     |

Wed - January 25, 2006

Birth-School-Work-Death

"I don't want no dead end job
I don't wanna be no number"
~The Police, "Dead End Job"

So I read this interesting article about what GenXers are looking for in their careers, and I gotta say it resonated with me. It's about empowering people and allowing them to use their creativity--and not treating them like children.

The list of FORTUNE's Best Companies to Work For was also eye-opening. (Shout out to my Rochester friends: Wegmans is #2!) Working for a University certainly has its perks, but they're nothing like these. Sure do wish that MFA in Creative Nonfiction made me more employable...

Posted at 07:05 AM     |

Wed - January 11, 2006

Fri - September 23, 2005

My Summer Vacation

"Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes.
(Turn and face the stranger)
Ch-ch-Changes
Pretty soon you're gonna get a little older
Time may change me
But I can't trace time"

~David Bowie, "Changes"

Yes, I'm fully aware that I haven't blogged in over two months--but in my defense they've been a very eventful couple of months. How eventful, you ask? Well let me tell you. Here's a Top 10 list of things I was doing instead of blogging:

10. Going wireless on my Mac with Apple's AirPort Express Base Station.

So the network card on my computer died one day and my Mac guru, Chaz--who recently revealed to me that he *does* have a secret blog, as I suspected--advised me to invest in the AirPort instead of getting the card fixed, justifying it as an investment in my next Mac... But the best part of all is AirTunes which allows me to listen to music wirelessly through my stereo speakers. He's a smart thinker, that Chaz. But he'd better share the link to that blog of his!

9. Losing 10 lbs in 8 weeks on the Apex nutrition plan through the Rochester Athletic Club.

Granted, I've probably gained some or all of the weight back, due in part to discovering a new kind of ice cream called Kentucky Pie. It's chocolate malt-flavored ice cream sprinkled with pecans and malted milk balls and caramel streams running through it. Yeah, it's heavenly. Why it's called "Kentucky Pie," though, I have yet to find out. As a sidenote, I go to the location that's supposedly for women only, but don't get me started about how they have this annoying macho guy working there...

8. Squealing over the cuteness of March of the Penguins.

I knew this documentary was going to be amazing because I cried when I saw the preview in the theater. I know that's not a selling point for a lot of people--and the content is pretty harsh and sad in places, but I thought the filmmakers were pretty sensitive to "family audiences" in the ways they filmed things. For example, when the last male penguin has to march his way to the breeding ground alone, Morgan Freeman tells us there's basically no way he can make it, and that he'll just "fade away"--meanwhile the camera lets the poor penguin walk behind a piece of glacier and they end the scene. But don't worry, at Christmas-time my step-grandma makes penguins out of black olives, cream cheese, and carrots--so we can replace him... and then eat him. Yum!



7. Mourning the end of HBO's "Six Feet Under."

After five seasons, Alan Ball decided to call it quits on my favorite show. Part of me knows it was time for it to end, as all things must--but another part of me wants to know why he didn't at least do *six* seasons. Those of us diehards will just have to play the SFU Trivia Game when we're feeling low, or stare at pictures of Justin Theroux who played Brenda's boyfriend Joe in the dreamy 4th season. (Oh my God, I just learned he's in the Director's Cut of a Muse video for "Hysteria"--have I died and gone to heaven too?!)



6. Giving piano lessons.

I took piano for 7 years or so when I was younger and really haven't played much since high school, but my friend Jane (who plays guitar by ear but doesn't read music) has been wanting to play the piano so I brought her my beginner books, put on my elementary school teacher voice, and we went to town. She's been making remarkable progress--especially since she got the metronome. Keep practicing, Jane--you'll get that girl scout badge soon!

5. Holding my friend Mindy's brand-new baby, Ava.

People who know me know that I'm not what you'd call a "baby person." For me, they don't have magnets in them like they do for most women... But Ava's different. Little Ava is the first newborn baby I've ever dared to hold in the hospital, and her heart was beating so fast next to my chest that for a minute I thought it was mine. I gave her a stuffed bunny to love that her mama named TJ, and a onesie that says NEW! inside a red "cosmetic violator." (That's what those crazy graphic starburst things are called that you see on the covers of magazines.) I thought about buying something from the Baby Hell, but wasn't sure that would go over well with Ma & Pa... Hugs and kisses to Ava!

4. Catching Coldplay live in concert at Darien Lake Six Flags.

What to do when you have two tickets to see Coldplay and your husband forgot he had class that night? Why invite your friend Taryn, that's what! My friend Angie found herself in this predicament and did exactly that. We had to endure the coop band of an opening act, Rilo Kiley, two of the drunkest--or stupidest--Canadians ever who sat in front of us (people who know me know it hurts me to refer to Canada in any disrespectful way, but wow--these boys had killed one too many a brain cell), and unbelievable traffic which made getting out of the parking lot take longer than the actual show... but Chris Martin and the boys put on an amazing show, even stopping to admire the fireworks and changing the lyrics in one song to acknowledge the "rollercoaster behind the stage." So clever, Gwyneth's husband is. Speaking of Gwyneth, did anybody see poor Jon Stewart falling all over himself during that recent interview on the Daily Show? Poor Jon. And don't worry Ange, we'll get you that poster soon so you can have CM all to yourself. Thanks again for the ticket!

3. Lucking my way into a seeing Tim Burton's Corpse Bride a week and a half before its wide release.

Yes, that's right--thanks to the powerful charms of our friend Sean, a whole gang of us were able to celebrate the birthdays of Sara, Chaz, and Jane by viewing a special sneak preview! Under normal circumstances we wouldn't have been able to see it until today, but I can assure all who plan to go tonight that it is Well Worth It! I was telling the Listology folks that it's a bit more lighthearted than Nightmare Before Christmas--more of a slapstick love story really--but it's absolutely beautiful. And how can you go wrong with the voices of Johnny Depp, Emily Watson, and Helena Bonham Carter? Highly recommend!

2. Receiving my Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Nonfiction from Goucher College.

What more is there to say? I worked with amazing mentors: Leslie Rubinkowski, Philip Gerard, Diana Hume George, and Tom French, completed an internship with Dinty Moore at Brevity, and have a 150 page memoir called "Selective Memory" to show for it. Woohoo!




1. Deciding to quit my job and move to Virginia (!)

After just over two years at George Eastman House, I'm literally moving on--and I couldn't be happier! Can't give a whole lot of detail yet (because I don't have them) but as of next Friday, I'm free at last. Footloose and fancy. The world is my oyster. You get the picture...

Needless to say there will be lots more to blog about, so stay tuned. And just like God promised never to flood the whole earth again and sent a mysterious rainbow as proof, I promise there won't be another two-month silence.

Posted at 06:25 PM     |