And thus ends my final week of Chicago-style despair and angst (pron. ongst) This week, I will be bombing about the city with my baby brother, no longer a child but a bona fide legal adult as of Monday. I will bake him a cake and we will do fun things that do not involve going to bars. Then, a week after that, Bob and I hit the road for a road trip we have long talked about: The Freethought Trail! Did you know that progressive political and social thought began in the 1800s in upstate New York? We plan to visit the birthplace of our hero, Robert Ingersoll, in Dresden NY. Also, not really Freethought but kooky and fun, the Oneida Community Mansion is on our list of places to visit. The Oneidas, as you might recall, were a religious utopian community that held unorthodox sexual and health practices and ran a pretty successful silverware business. Their grounds are still maintained for visitors and they even have rooms for rent. My VSC pal Tony works in their office and has hooked us up with a nice room for the night. SUPER PUMPED!
And then we will make our way to Burlington, VT. I think we will take the ferry across Lake Champlain! Bob and I will spend two days together in VT and then he flies back to Chicago and I will drive on to Vermont Studio Center where I will hole up and do the novelizing that I should have done over the last month but didn't due to ONGST. Vermont will be lovely and fun in the summer and I will enjoy having the car. I can take a two day trip to Montreal and not have to worry about a ride to Bread and Puppet. I LOVE VERMONT!
Then I will spend a week in Northampton with my beloved writing mentor Elinor. Icing on the cake. I sure hope I have some great writing to show her. I can't wait to sit by the big windows at Lady Killigrew and basically die of beauty as I write. I also plan to do an informational interview with the head of the alumnae house, since I want her job.
I am very excited about these very special six weeks of my summer. Dreamland!
Then, I move back to Austin. Bob should manage to move back soon after, hopefully by the start of 2010. I have some plans for when I get back but high on the list is getting a jobby-job. Jobby. Job.