Well, I messed up on this item, preparing for my first residency in Ireland with Carlow University's Low Residency MFA program. What happened? What did I do?
I found out who my fiction mentor was about three-four weeks before I left. Most writing mentors are published writers. Evelyn Conlon was selected as mine and later I learned that Ellie Wymard, Carlow University’s Program Director chose her because she was a political writer and thought that we had that in common. I immediately bought three of her fiction books to get a sense of her style and interests.
About two weeks before I left to Dublin, Ireland, I received the schedule of events which featured a huge list of authors published in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. So, again, I immediate went to Amazon.com and ordered books by these writers so that I could match their advice to their accomplishments.
That was a no-no. I guess I show my introverted side—always forgetting people’s names and having to ask for them and not having enough guts to go get the autographs. It’s true that the autographs add to the value of the books, but I guess hearing their voice, seeing their words in print has always been my focus. I eventually managed to meet most of the students and instructors although a few said, I’m fourth semester, you don’t need to meet me since I won’t be back. And I thought I was introverted.
Well, live and learn and better style next time—but I have to admit, I’m not in a stage of life where the books are overflowing the shelves and I prefer e-books because I can read them either on my phone or my PC.
I found out who my fiction mentor was about three-four weeks before I left. Most writing mentors are published writers. Evelyn Conlon was selected as mine and later I learned that Ellie Wymard, Carlow University’s Program Director chose her because she was a political writer and thought that we had that in common. I immediately bought three of her fiction books to get a sense of her style and interests.
About two weeks before I left to Dublin, Ireland, I received the schedule of events which featured a huge list of authors published in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. So, again, I immediate went to Amazon.com and ordered books by these writers so that I could match their advice to their accomplishments.
That was a no-no. I guess I show my introverted side—always forgetting people’s names and having to ask for them and not having enough guts to go get the autographs. It’s true that the autographs add to the value of the books, but I guess hearing their voice, seeing their words in print has always been my focus. I eventually managed to meet most of the students and instructors although a few said, I’m fourth semester, you don’t need to meet me since I won’t be back. And I thought I was introverted.
Well, live and learn and better style next time—but I have to admit, I’m not in a stage of life where the books are overflowing the shelves and I prefer e-books because I can read them either on my phone or my PC.
What are some of the other oddball preparations I needed?
Registering my trip at the state department to eliminate delays at: Travel.state.gov
Obtaining a new copy of my passport by mailing the old in with a new set of photographs to: US Passport Service Guide
Finding the power converter for our last trip to the European world—we got a five socket power strip with a built in surge protector and a small travel adapter.
Getting my husband set up on Facebook for video chats! What a life saver!
Finding my flash drive.
Getting out the last remnant of Euros from our last trip.
Buying a calendar, address book (oops, not used enough!)
Making sure I had enough warm clothes despite summer time weather. Did I need them? Coat, jacket, umbrella, slacks, all used at least once, sometimes more. Did I use the summer sandals and skirts? You bet. Sometimes the rooms were overly warm to the point they put you to sleep. Kudos to the management since they always managed to get us out of them to somewhere fresher.
Registering my trip at the state department to eliminate delays at: Travel.state.gov
Obtaining a new copy of my passport by mailing the old in with a new set of photographs to: US Passport Service Guide
Finding the power converter for our last trip to the European world—we got a five socket power strip with a built in surge protector and a small travel adapter.
Getting my husband set up on Facebook for video chats! What a life saver!
Finding my flash drive.
Getting out the last remnant of Euros from our last trip.
Buying a calendar, address book (oops, not used enough!)
Making sure I had enough warm clothes despite summer time weather. Did I need them? Coat, jacket, umbrella, slacks, all used at least once, sometimes more. Did I use the summer sandals and skirts? You bet. Sometimes the rooms were overly warm to the point they put you to sleep. Kudos to the management since they always managed to get us out of them to somewhere fresher.
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