Dental Emergencies, Laughter, and Other Disruptions

The cliche says that if you want to make God laugh, make plans. Well, I had a ton of plans for this week, which have all been postponed thanks to a small-filling-gone-awry which has left me scrambling to find an endodontist to do some emergency surgery and the left side of my face swelled up, like I’ve been in a boxing match, and the left side of my face in excruciating pain. At 41, I am facing my first ever root canal, and I can’t say I’m excited about that. For the last couple of days, my brain, often an organ I rely upon to get me through hard times, has been literally scrambled by pain. I can’t take many pain medications except Tylenol due to allergies (for the big dogs of dental work pain – Vicodin, Codeine, and morphine) and the bleeding disorder (which nixes NSAIDS and aspirin.) I have an exposed nerve/root and I have to say it is not at all comfortable.

So I’ve been making my apologies to everyone, drinking soup and eating jello, watching throwback movies (Ladyhawke, anyone? Still a fun conceit, but I was distracted by an absolutely terrible synth-driven score) and trying not to think how this is going to make me late on some of my writing projects. Because life is full of surprise disruptions. Trying to handle them with grace is part of the journey.

In bigger, non-personal news, today the news reports a terrorist attack on a French humor newspaper, because there’s nothing, apparently, that intolerant people hate more than humor. (Think North Korea and the Interview, which falls under this category as well.) These are disruptions of a larger sort. How do we survive in a world that seems sometimes poised to destroy us? Well, we have to continue to be brave enough to laugh.

On that note, watching MST3K late last night (sleeping is not possible lately, so this is a good way to pass the small hours of the morning) I noticed a game-show skit with a call out to the cold war and a shout-out to the subject of my upcoming book, Oak Ridge. The darkest joke, which I think I’ll make a little poem out of, involves one of the answers to the question “What are the two biggest lies about nuclear war?” “We can win a nuclear war” and “The survivors are the lucky ones.” (Bonus depressing fact from this skit: the most radioactive and deadly movie set? Look up “cancer controversy and John Wayne’s The Conquerors.”) On that note, I’m off to ice my face and groan some more! Enjoy the clip!

http://youtu.be/AdIb6SbIhQk

2015 is a Year of Trying New Things

Hello and Happy 2015!

I woke up in 2015 and decided it was time for me to be more daring, more participatory. The last few years I feel like I’ve been sort of sick, tired, hibernating, waiting for a signal to go back out and get into life fully again. But I think the signal is maybe just feeling ready to try again. I’ve signed up to learn Tai Chi as part of my physical therapy for the neural lesion motor skill problems, I’m starting an internship in a new field (yes, at 41, I’m interning, thank you very much, don’t make fun!) I’m ready to go out and work and socialize and (dare I say it?) try to make this next book of poetry, my fourth and the closest to my heart, really make an impact, if I can. Step out of the comfort zone, seize the day, all those kinds of platitudes. Most mostly, try to engage in life as actively as possible.

So, with the background music of The Mountain Goats (melancholy yet addictive!) yesterday I sent out two poetry packets, a book query for a completely different kind of book than I’d ever imagined writing that combines my love of poetry with my background in technical and marketing writing, wrote and sent out two magazine queries, wrote a new poem, and practiced writing pitch letters (which I still do not feel confident about – this is part of what I want to learn how to do!) I even got on my little exercise bike and rode farther than I’d ever been able to ride in the last few years. Today, to make up for yesterday’s manic productivity, I spent two hours getting an eye exam (nothing major found, yay!) and then four more hours not able to focus my eyes or read because of those darned dilation drops. On the plus side, I’ll be getting a very snazzy pair of “progressive readers” which are, you know, a sign of my progression…into middle age. But you know what? I feel pretty happy about where I am, who I’m with and where I’m going these days. Maybe I’m being unreasonably optimistic, but I hope not.

So, in the spirit of daring and new years and everything, I wanted to let you know about two new things – a new poem “Introduction to Junk Science or, Everything You Learned About Science Was a Lie” in the second ever issue of Tahoma Review (which is very fun readings) and an upcoming art and poetry collaboration show with Sherman Alexia, Daemond Arrindell, Carol Milne, Maura Donegan, Lia Hall and Cedar Mannan in association with the METHOD art gallery in Pioneer Square. It’s January 29th at 6 PM at the Seattle Central Library with a reception at the METHOD gallery afterwards, and I’d love to see you there for such a unique event! I’ve always loved working with visual artists and kudos to Mary Coss of METHOD for putting us all together.

Happy 2015 and Some Thanks

So, Happy New Year! Here’s wishing us both a warmer, brighter, healthier, happier, more peaceful and prosperous 2015!

A few thoughts and thank-you’s before the year’s end…

Thanks to IthacaLit for publishing my little essay in their Winter issue on “Lights in the Darkness and Literary Fits.”

http://ithacalit.com/jeannine-hall-gailey1.html

Thanks to Donna Miscolta for listing my newest book The Robot Scientist’s Daughter in her “Books to Read in 2015!” (Also some other great books on her list, so check it out!)

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for a better year. See you later, 2014! I’m cleaning out closets (an end-of-the-year ritual for us, much easier than making resolutions) and took a box of shoes and clothing to the donation center. I boxed up another box to take to a consignment store (good-bye, high heels! Sigh! Wobbly balance and bad ankles = no high heels.) I’m ready with my vision board and calender (see previous post.) I’m ready to be a better version of myself in 2015, and I’m hoping the year will bring better health, better energy, and more writing luck for all of us!

Poem for the End of the World – I mean, Year – and Contemplating 2015

I think this poem, the very last one in my current apocalyptic book manuscript, applies equally to the end of the world and the end of the year. Poem first appeared in Redactions.

Epilogue – Or, A Story for After

I want to tell you a story about how we survived the end of the world. Crouched around a dying fire, I illustrate with shadow puppets the old, beat-up van, the velocity of water and sky, the unnamable odds against us. What really sells it? The way the ending goes on forever, moon ebbing closer to the mysterious dark, its craggy face calling out, the skies scattered with falling stars. The way objects are nearer than they appear. You next to me, and I remind you – here is where we used to be, here is where we are. I draw a line in the dirt with a fork and draw a picture – a house made of a square and a triangle, a single daisy in the yard, and two smiling stick figures. This is what we dreamed of, the day we awaited has arrived. There are no more shotguns or dusty trails lined with diseased corpses. A ship arrives on top of a mountain, heralded by doves; an airplane lands on another planet, seatmates dazed by the lack of gravity. We might teach the dragons to dance, learn the alchemy of soil again, rebuild libraries with tales of fantastic voyage. All I need right now is you, the simple weight of your hand, the warmth of your breath, and this last cup of coffee to tell me – we are miraculous.

I am feeling mildly optimistic about 2015. 2014 had some struggles – a broken bone, another case of pneumonia, a bit of a discouragement bender and a lot of bad news on the television – but it was better than the year before it, I think, in terms of life lived and health. In the tradition of the “vision board,” the sort of tradition I don’t really mentally hold to but enjoy due to my child-like entertainment levels with arts and crafts, here’s my 2015 Vision. (Hint: it’s happier! And has more business in it!) I have a new book to launch next year, a new business, and I’m starting next year out with some new practical steps towards a new kind of career (to be revealed later.) To that end, I just ordered a 2015 wall calender to schedule readings, events, work, and fun! Anyway, here’s to a better, happier, and healthier 2015 to us all! Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays (and Hobbit Watching!)

Ah, the holidays. Now we have all the holiday gifts shipped off, all Christmas parties attended, only two minor disasters (fridge death two weeks ago and this week, a credit card fraud – all hastily taken care of with little major damage) I am feeling ready to get back to being a “real person” – aka a writer again – and spending some downtime with Glenn doing the Christmas stuff I love – stupid stuff that makes me happy, like watching the new Hobbit movie, going to see Christmas lights at the botanical garden or local zoos, making gluten-free Christmas cookies for friends. I haven’t done any of that stuff yet! Reading new books by Haruki Murakami and Margaret Atwood, maybe some magazines, finishing up a manuscript project…

Anyway, to all of you out there, Merry Holidays and a Very Happy New Year if I don’t get to check in before then. Make sure you get plenty of good hot chocolate in the meantime!