Sturgeon's Law

So, the wedding. For being just an usher, I think I had to do far too much work. Outside of that, the weekend was a lot of fun--saw lots of extended family, plus met some new friends, and got to visit a very lovely area of Colorado that I don't see often despite it being just two hours away.

As you can see from the picture below, the wedding ceremony was outdoors, which in Estes Park means we had to run off some elk right before I started seating people. I also got a minor sunburn on top of my head and the back of my neck because I wasn't quick enough to apply sunscreen.

The wedding reception was also outdoors, which turned out badly because it got very cold on Sunday evening, with wind coming off Lake Estes (Estes Lake?) at 40 mph+. It ended up being probably the shortest wedding reception ever, though I did manage to stuff myself with brownies.

The rehearsal dinner was actually in Rocky Mountain National Park (and some of my sunburn may have come from there). My brother and I were the champions of the rather unfortunately-named game of "cornhole" (if you don't want to click the link, think horseshoes-but-with-beanbags), but we were most popular among the twentysomething set because we brought a cooler full of beer.

There were also ticks at the barbecue site. Ugh. If I end up with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, I'll know why.

During the rehearsal itself, I had to stand in for the bride's father at one point. When the minister asked "Who gives away this woman?" I said "I assume I do."

In conclusion, it was a weekend of fun, minor misadventures (for example, driving the wrong way around the lake as my dad told my brother via cellphone that he could see us and was waving from the other side) and gross overeating (a huge steak at the rehearsal dinner, a really great pancake breakfast, a Milky Way on the drive back, etc.), and now I'm completely beat.

The wedding was quite an experience. I'll probably post more about it later this week, but for now here's the picture of the week (I'm on the left):

One of my friends needs to find a poem for an event at a nonprofit she works for--it's basically a populist liberal political awareness organization. The poem is essentially supposed to be (A) somehow connected to patriotism, politics, social issues, or the nation, (B) uplifting and not overly extreme (i.e. acceptable to a mainstream benefit audience), and (C) still a good poem (I added that last requirement). So what poem should she use?

My brother and I are heading up to Rocky Mountain National Park (or thereabouts) this weekend for my cousin's wedding. I'm an usher; my brother is a groomsman. Anyway, I may make one more post tomorrow, and then it'll be done until Monday evening or Tuesday. Have a great weekend.

I've been mentioning pirates quite a bit lately.

Okay, so Safeway has continued its never-ending quest to stop carrying all the items I buy by dropping the McCormick's Zesty Herb Grill Mates marinade I use(d) when I Foreman-grill burgers. Anyone have a marinade they particularly like for burgers? It can be a storebought marinade or an improvisation. The only two that have really done anything for me as I experiment with new ones are the Safeway Select Honey Garlic and plain old Worcestershire sauce, and neither of them really blows me away. The Safeway Select Honey Mustard and McCormick's Teriyaki weren't all that good, and the McCormick's Mesquite flat sucks.

I've returned from the Poetry West Baca retreat a day earlier than planned. It was a highly productive and worthwhile time for me--I have 10 printed drafts and two more good poem-starts that could be printed drafts soon. I'll start posting them here as I whip them into shape one by one.

I can tell I'm on the edge of another breakthrough publication. I came home to personal rejections from Puerto del Sol and Crazyhorse telling me how close my poems came--Carol Ann Davis writes that "Phoenix, Colorado" was under "serious consideration." Especially tough given how much I like Crazyhorse's look and content, but good encouragement for next time, and also nice given how responsive they were to my query after 6+ months.

This week's Photo of the Week comes from Baca--this was on the wall outside the library. I don't know what kind it is but will try to find out.

1. Mark Strand is on an elevator at a literary event. A woman boards the elevator and suggests she wants to give him a blowjob. He considers her offer for a moment and says "But what's in it for me?"

2. Mark Strand talks to college students about inspiration. He says that in the morning, he thinks of "happy Mr. Snowflake" and then starts writing. Some time later, he publishes Blizzard of One and wins the Pulitzer Prize. Later yet, at a gathering, one of the former college students mentions how cute it is that happy Mr. Snowflake became Blizzard of One. Mark Strand's attention has been wandering, but suddenly his eyes snap into focus. "Oh no, you mustn't ever tell anyone about that," he says.

3. Mark Strand is on a poetry panel. During the time he isn't speaking, he doodles on a notepad. What is he sketching? Self-portraits. No mirror is present.

4. Mark Strand is at a writing conference. A young woman is introduced to him--his eyes sparkle. The young woman gushes "Oh, Mr. Strand, I'm so happy to meet you. My mother studied with you." Mark Strand's face begins to collapse. The young woman continues: "And she says you used to look like a movie star!"

• I'll be leaving on Wednesday for the annual Poetry West retreat at Colorado College's Baca campus, and returning Sunday. I'll probably post again before I leave, but just in case, that's why no updates late in the week or on the weekend.
• One more call in case you're interested in helping with the Journal Database Project, which is now up to 60 outlets for poetry. That's not a lot, but it's a good start. If you want to help add to it, follow that link, sign up for an account, and let me know. I'll get you going.
• One of my resume writing peeves I've mentioned previously is HR people who have terrible resumes despite the fact that they read dozens in the course of their work. I'm developing a new peeve these last couple weeks: people who think I should psychically know what to add to their resume. Twice now in that time span, I've used everything relevant in a client's source material and had them say they want more content in the resume. That part is fine--it's when I ask them "Okay, since I've used all the material you sent, what content do you want to add?" that it all goes to hell. They think that me knowing a lot about finance or IT resumes means I know what they did in their job, which would be quite a feat. One guy freaked out at me because I didn't try to guess what courses he took in college--no exaggeration anywhere in that sentence. It's made even worse by the fact that these clients were both non-native English-speakers whose woeful resumes I improved greatly. Bleh.
  

Yesterday evening, I went to a party in Denver for Chris Ransick, who was recently named Poet Laureate of Denver. It was a fun event, and I look forward to finding out what word(s) Chris will use to rhyme with "Hickenlooper" (that's the mayor of Denver, for my out-of-state readers).

Some people at the party seemed interested in my blog (and I had the somewhat strange experience of finding out Chris likes it), so hello to anyone who happens to visit who was there! I hope you enjoy yourselves and don't find this narcissistic nonsense too boring.

I took my digital camera, but as usual I didn't employ it at the event (I'm rather nervous about taking pictures of people who are either uncomfortably trying to ignore me or uncomfortably trying to smile for me). However, a kind soul named Jenny (I hope that's right) did take a group picture of some of the attendees, which I'll probably post when I have a little more time.

Official confirmation today of what I already knew, that my poem "Fairytale" has been accepted by Silk Road and will appear in the June issue. Thanks, Jeannine!

In recognition of the fact that I'm not going to be eating them for a while because I'm re-improving my diet, here are some restaurant foods that I love and that have a tendency to spoil my diet for a given week. Some of them are chains, some are specific to here in town. Honorable mentions that didn't quite make it: The Thai place down south whose name I forget, the Korean restaurant a few blocks away that as far as I can tell is called Tasty Korean BBQ, Sonterra Grill, The Olive Branch, Il Vicino, the little pizza place attached to Poor Richard's Bookstore (but not Rico's, which featured the most mysteriously dickish waiter I've ever encountered), Swan Palace, The Sunbird, Gertrude's, The Wayfarer pub, Southside Johnny's, La Baguette, La Casita, Cold Stone, and McDonald's fries-and-a-shake (my only remaining fast-food vice).

13. Pasta Milano, Macaroni Grill. There's a sad dearth of good Italian food in town (at least in my price range). Luigi's is actually very good, but it's way the hell down south, so I don't go too often; Antonio's is overrated; I've never been to Fratelli. Instead, we get this near-default addition--bowtie pasta in garlic cream sauce with sundried tomatoes. While I'm recommending Italian, let me give a shout-out to Amerigo in Nashville, which I loved. Also North Beach restaurant in San Francisco, home to the best manicotti I ever had.
12. Chicken Quesadillas, Wooglin's Deli. This is a favorite stop after Poetry West meetings, as it's right across the street. It's very much a hole-in-the-wall, but I like the food plenty. Good cookies too--peanut butter especially.
11. Baby Back Ribs, Bennett's Barbecue. I'm sure Jake York can lecture me on what's wrong with them, but I'm a sucker for these.
10. Chicken Teriyaki, Elephant Bar. I think it has some stupid adjective in front of it like "spicy" or "zesty," but it's a huge helping of teriyaki chicken on a huge pile of rice, and it's all good.
9. Personal Deep Dish Pizza, Panino's. They're best known for their panini (go figure), but I prefer the small (not really small) pizza.
8. Chicken Strips & Hefeweizen, Phantom Canyon. Phantom Canyon has great house microbrews. A lot of their food is fancified and pricy, but the chicken strips walk the line well.
7. Caramel Apple Crisp, On the Border. Most of the items on this list are actual dinners, but I don't give a rat's ass about anything but the dessert here--some sort of spiced apple and caramel mixture heated and topped with ice cream.
6. Meatball Sandwich, Mollica's. It has some pseudo-Italian name like "The Dominic," but it's basically a meatball sub with cheese and marinara sauce.
5. Chicken Lo Mein, Silver Pond. My favorite type of Chinese food at my favorite Chinese restaurant in town. The sesame chicken rocks too.
4. Garlic Cheese Bread, Old Chicago. I have a lot of favorite entrees at Old Chicago, but this appetizer and horrible date food is a constant.
3. Buffalo Chicken Sandwich, Wazee Supper Club. Technically, this place is in Denver. However, the sandwich was so so good the first time I had it that I asked them for it the second time even though it wasn't on the menu. They came through.
2. Milkshake & Cheese Fries, Conway's Red Top. Red Top was the restaurant touted as a good alternative in Fast Food Nation. Also, my high school principal was mocked in the same book. When I say "cheese fries," I mean French fries covered in melted cheese, not fried mozarella sticks.
1. Nachos Supreme, Senor Manuel's. This, along with a 46-ounce margarita on the rocks, is my favorite decadent dish and the one on the list I had most recently (Saturday). There are a lot of good Mexican restaurants in town--Senor Manuel's, Pueblo Viejo, Jose Muldoon's, etc.

So what are your favorite restaurant foods?

Okay, I have a Flickr account set up. I did manage to take a few photos this week, but nothing that really stands out enough for me. Should have something for next week. For now, here's a classic Steve shot of Grizzly Creek, which flows into the Colorado River in Glenwood Canyon. Let's see if I can make Flickr work...

Of course she did.

Got some ink from Chelsea praising the "nice word music" (or possibly saying "mice weird music"--bad handwriting) but telling me they were overloaded with poems. Sigh--getting there, getting there.

One of my friends is starting a new e-zine called Unloved Mail-Order Bride. Check it out and see if you're interested in sending work.

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Since apparently everything happens at once, I also have two poems in the new issue of Avatar Review.

Should have mentioned this too: I have two poems up at three candles. Thank you to Steve and the other editors for the consideration.

Great googly moogly, woman--leave some Verse Daily for the rest of us! A few weeks ago from The Eleventh Muse, this past week from Becoming the Villainess, and now the Verse Daily newsletter for the upcoming week has your name in it again! You're kicking poetry's ass...

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I haven't been using my digital camera at all recently, so I'm going to start taking it out and giving you a Photo of the Week as a means to motivate myself. I won't be able to provide you with a lot of great, evocative images like Jordan or Gina, but it may provide a little interest, at least.