More College

For those of you who do not know, I graduate from Cardinal Stritch University next May. For those of you who don't know the level of my ambition, I'm going to graduate school for my M.F.A., preferably in creative writing and publishing and then go on and get a job at a publishing company. There are a handful of schools I have in mind and, if you're interested in browsing Poets & Writers list of top 50 graduate programs, you can go here.

Also, these schools are in no particular order. Except maybe Iowa. Which is funny because it's home to the number one writing program in the country...

Yes, Hawkeye country also houses the best creative writing program in the United States. However, locations means a lot to me and I don't know if I can stay in the Midwest, regardless of how happy that would make my mother, who is moving to Des Moines after I graduate from Stritch. But the faculty and alum are hard to ignore.

University of North Carolina-Wilmington. One of my mentors, Dr. Laura Misco, went to graduate school there, along with author Brad Land (Goat) and loved it. They also have a publishing laboratory, which as the name implies, helps the students get a better understanding of what happens when a book is good enough to hit the shelves. This school is also in the top 50 in the country and the location, for me, is ideal; East Coast enough, but southern enough to be warm and suitable for my preferences.

New York University. The above picture is of Greenwich Village, which is where the Creative Writing program bought a building for their students only. My own personal studying space in the Village? Can I get a hell yes? Although New York has horrible winters like Wisconsin and the traffic is hell, I loved New York when I visited and NYU's reputation is amazing. So many talented people have graced its halls and I would love to have the chance to be taken under the wings of amazing people.

University of Texas-Austin. Yes, Texas. Initially, I was uncertain about the number three program in the country but, after talking with one of my good friends who went to Austin for South by Southwest this past Spring, I started to reconsider Austin. It's art-friendly, fun, cultural and filled with people from all over the country and world. The university itself is home to THIRTEEN libraries. The nightlife is amazing and there seems to be no shortage of things to do.

And, of course, I have to consider the West Coast...

Mills College, located in Oakland, California. The undergraduate program is all-girls only, but the graduate program is co-ed and it is the first in the country to have a Book Art and Creative Writing program, which is what caught my eye. The program seems made for me. My fear is location; Oakland is commonly known as a dangerous place, but it's something I'd have to think about if I went there.

There is no photo of my next possibility but it's California College of the Arts, San Francisco. There is another campus, located in Oakland, but I think I'd feel right at home in San Francisco. There is so much to do. Plus, Dave Eggers writes out of San Francisco and the first 826 Valencia is housed there, too. When I saw Dave speak in Pittsburgh, I was inspired by the work he does. I would love to contribute to something like that.

That's UC-Irvine. My poetry mentor, Dr. Abby Gambrel, is an alum of this place and is also top ranked. Although it is "in the middle of nowhere," as she told me, the curriculum was great and, I can tell you from experience, Abby knows her stuff. This is one of my lower-ranked choices, but it is still one of them and I'm still considering it.

Now, let's go abroad...

National University of Ireland, Galway. I've always dreamed of going overseas to study. The ultimate way to stimulate my imagination and my writing.

University of the Arts, London. Oh, I'd just be in the heart of London. No big deal. Only a dream come true. I'm having a difficult time finding additional program information, but I have some time to browse.

That, my friends, is my list of possible places to continue my education.

tea time (long time, no post?)

For the few followers I have, I offer my most sincere apologies for not updating in quite some time. I haven't taken any photographs from my personal camera to show you what I've done since school as wrapped up. However, I do have my handy Evo camera phone, so I can show you my excursions from today that I had with my mother at Macy's.

Allow me to back track.

As of late, my mother and I have become connoisseurs of tea, so we frequent Teavana and [my mother] visits Harney & Son's online quite often. In a surprise move, my mother got rid of her beloved traditional coffee maker and replaced it with an automatic water boiler that can heat your water at three different temperatures (185, 195, 208 Fahrenheit), rotates and has a timer on it so, if you're too lazy to wait for the water to boil when you awaken, you can set it so it is boiled and ready to use when you wake up! Perfect for any tea lover's early morning, unless you are into using the over-top stove and teapot to boil your water. But the modern technology lover, this is an amazing buy. :

Anyway, connoisseurs of tea. Today we drove out to Mayfair Mall to go to Teavana because we had two empty, vacuum-locked tea canisters and were craving new tea because, apparently, Mom bought some tea she "hated." Okay, Mom. For those who haven't been to Teavana, they typically have at least 2-4 kinds of tea that they sample, usually hot but sometimes iced ones, as well. Since we are pretty open to new tastes, we got to the tea wall/counter right away and talked with one of the self-titled "teaologists." The tea wall is amazing; it is literally a shelving unit that is stocked with tea after tea, from blacks to whites to oolongs to chais and others. In order for you to get an idea of how the tea will taste, the teaologists take the huge lids and waft the teas at you. More often than not, the end result is quite pleasant. For the record, I haven't had a bad experience there yet. Today, Mom and I got four kinds of tea.:

The one on the upper left corner is a blend of four kinds of nutrient-filled teas, which if you put them together, make for an essential super tea blend. Two of the flavors tasted amazing iced, so I'm guessing with the other two, they will be amazing as well. The Youthberry is a white tea mixed with acai berry and tropical fruit, while the Blueberry Bliss has MORE superfruit (blueberries, obviously & black currants). The pineapple adds a nice, sweet and tropical flavor to the mix, while the Imperial Acai Blueberry adds, you guessed it, more superfruit.
The awesome Romanian teaologist drinks the next tea with Jasmine Pearls, but my mom opted to get it alone. It's Honeybush Vanilla and is packed with vitamins and antioxidants.
In the next photo is the coffee-esque blend, made from JavaVana Mate and Golden Monkey. Mate teas help stimulate the mind and body and boost energy, but do not leave you feeling jittery and lethargic. JavaVana is ideal for people who love coffee/want to wean off of it. The Golden Monkey is smooth and also has mocha overtones similar to the JavaVana. Yum!
Finally, we bought the Zingiber Ginger Coconut/White Ayurvedic Chai blend. The white chai is not your traditional chai; it has red and white pepper in it and is supplemented with coconut and lemongrass, which blends nice with the ginger COCONUT. The ginger coconut is a rooibos tea, which helps combat allergies, cold relief and settle the stomach, ideal for those who have acid reflux or the pain-in-the-ass upset stomach.

That, my friends, is your tea lesson.

Tune in next time for what the hell I'm reading this summer.
(It's a lot. What else do you think I'll do on a 16-hour plan ride?)
Oh, and coming later... (end of June later)
LITHUANIA.