Getting Published

I know it's been a month or two since I last wrote. I have two reasons:

1. It's summertime and I've been out and about doing stuff.
2. I'm on Facebook now so that sort of kills two birds with one stone. I can post pics and stuff there a lot easier than here. So, I'll still write some updated stuff now and then but I'm going to primarily use Facebook. I know, I know ... I thought I could avoid the bandwagon. But once I got a good look at it I had to jump on.

As for the latest news ... there's only one thing to say — I'm getting published!!! That's right, one of my books (The Trouble With Emily Dickinson) is hitting the shelves just in time for Christmas. And the publisher is even interested in The Crabapple Tree.

I'm bursting with fruit flavor!

I'll update you more as we move along in the process.

Birthday, Wedding and Vacation

Wow, it's been more than a month since I've written last. OK — a few things have happened since my trip to Atlanta. First, I turned 30 on May 9th. I'm not upset or anything. Everyone kept asking me how I felt and, quite honestly, I don't feel any different than I did when I was 21. I may be a bit older and wiser (and a bit more self aware, thank God) but other than that I still feel young and full of life. I think age is what you make of it. If you think you're old, then you'll feel old. But if you hold on to the feeling of being young and free, then you'll feel that way no matter how old you are. I learned this from my grandmother, who is going to be 96 this September and is still so full of life.

My 30th birthday was the first big event of May 2008. The second was Jill and Paul's wedding. I had so much fun. Jill and Paul asked me to do a reading and I was incredibly nervous but I apparently hid it well because everyone said that they couldn't tell. I read a passage from the bible about love being patient and kind. It was a beautiful passage. And no, despite what Tray may have thought, I didn't burn up at the podium.
Here's the link to view the pictures from the wedding: http://picasaweb.google.com/melmc79/JillPaulSWeddingMay08

The last big event was our trip to London and Scotland. It was incredible. We saw so many things, including Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, the London Bridge, the Thames, Tate Modern Art Museum, St. Paul's Cathedral, Avenue Q at the London Theatre, Indiana Jones at a huge Omniplex movie theatre, St. James Palace, Hyde Park, Edinburgh Castle, Glascow, Scottish Parliament, Holyrood Palace, Arthur's Seat, the William Wallace Monument, the Royal Mile, Stirling, Stirling Castle, St. Andrews and St. Andrews Golf Course, and more. My favorite day was when Melissa and I rented a Mini Cooper (Thank God she can drive stick on the left side of the road!) and drove along the Scottish countryside through Stirling, Falkirk, Perth and St. Andrews. It was a beautiful sunny day and the scenery was breathtaking. This trip was amazing and it made me want to travel other places as well. I loved Scotland, but I can honestly say that being over there made me appreciate the life I have here in America. As much as we enjoyed our trip, we were just as happy to get back home. Here's the link to the pictures from London/Scotland (and a few from NYC the day before we flew out to London):
http://picasaweb.google.com/melmc79/LondonScotlandTrip

Atlanta

So, the weekend before I was in Boston. Last weekend Melissa and I were in Atlanta. Her mother came as well, so it was a family trip. Melissa had been planning to run the ING Marathon with Jo (my sister-in-law) so her mother came along for support. It was interesting to see her mother interact with my family because she is so quiet and my family can be a bit overwhelming. But everyone got along really well. It was good to see my parents as well as my niece and nephew. I have some updated pictures of them. We went to one of Lilly's soccer games. Ty ran around with the soccer ball while I chased him. Lilly ran around with the other kids on her team around the field. It was funny because they all moved in one single blob all over the field after the ball. If one of them didn't feel like playing, they'd sit down on the field and pick grass or run off the field to sit with their parents. It was hilarious. All the pics below are from the soccer game.

As for the marathon. Well, that was an experience in itself.

Picture this. I’m standing at the finish line with Melissa's mother. I see Jo run by and I think that Melissa should be coming by any second now. An hour later and I knew something was wrong. Then my phone rang and it was an attendant from one of the medical tents along the route telling me they had taken my “friend” to the hospital. The hospital was six blocks away and I was in downtown Atlanta without a clue of how to get there. Thankfully, a nice young EMS guy gave her mother and I a ride to the hospital.

I felt two things when I saw Melissa laying in the emergency room. Panic and relief. I panicked once I saw her and I was relieved once they told me she was going to be fine. They loaded her up with fluids and blankets. I did my part by going to get her some ice cream from the cafeteria (hey, it’s what she asked for). Then she cried in disappointment and it broke my heart. Who could blame her? She made it 23 miles … 23. She only had three more to go. But still, it was quite the feat. Not many people can run a marathon, let alone 23 miles. Once she realized that, she felt better.

The best part for me was when they came into the room to complete the paperwork before she could be released. I guess when she came in she was so disoriented, she couldn’t do more than mutter her own name. They began to ask her the regular questions — her name, her address, her insurance carrier, blah, blah, blah. Then they asked her if she was single or married.

That’s when she lit up, grinned at the woman and said, “I’m engaged.”

She looked over at me and I smiled back. I knew then she was going to be just fine.

Boston

I wish I had brought my camera with me, but alas ... I didn't. So I don't have any pictures to post of my drunken escapade to Boston, MA to sip a bevy of frosty beverages and
bond with my two brothers over basketball.

I spent most of Friday driving. The entire trip takes about six hours and I've done it so often I could probably do it blind folded. Friday night we tried what we thought was a fancy restaurant for Boston's Restaurant Week, but it turned out to be far less than fancy. No biggie. I was eager to head back to Bryan's apartment and check my brackets.

On Saturday we toured the Sam Adams brewery. This wasn't that interesting to me but Jason and Bryan were all about it so I thought I'd tag along. The most exciting part was the beer tasting, and at 2 p.m. the beer tasted surprisingly refreshing. And hey — I even got to keep my tasting glass as a souvenir. You can't beat that! We spent the rest of the day bar hopping near Fanueil (sp?) Hall so Jason could check out some of the city. I met up with my buddy Steph who I hadn't seen in a year or two (she still looks the same and I mean that in a good way), and I finally got to meet her girlfriend. At about 9 (at least I think it was 9) we headed back to Southie to meet up with Bryan's girlfriend (and my friend) Erika and went to a bar around the corner of his house. Fast forward to 2 a.m. and I've spent way too much money, drank way too many beers and watched countless first and second round games of the 2008 NCAA tournament.

On Sunday, I woke up far too early but I was eager to get on the road. I had a six hour drive to attend to. Despite being incredibly tired from the whirlwind of traveling in such a short period of time, it was a lot of fun. I think we might even make it a tradition.

This weekend I head to Atlanta with Melissa for her full marathon race. I'm excited for her because this is a huge accomplishment and she's put her all into her training. I will not forget to bring my camera this time. That's a promise.

March Column

Hello all, the March column for Outcome is up and you can view it here.

This is just a quick note to say, "hello."

I've got a few trips coming up and some other things planned, so I'll be updating soon. Take care!

February Column

Hey all, this is just a quick note to let you know that the February column for Outcome is up on the Poetry & Columns page.

Also, I've got some things happening with The Crabapple Tree. Stay tuned for exciting news regarding this novel!

New Hampshire

Well, I'm back from my trip. I got back last Sunday actually, but this week was just waaaay to busy for me to find time to update this blog. New Hampshire was awesome! The weather warmed up just enough for us that week that it was very enjoyable. There was enough snow on the ground already so when the temps warmed up it didn't all melt away. Melissa and drove up on Tuesday night. It took about 9 hours to get from Buffalo, NY to Bartlett, NH. I don't mind road trips, but I have to admit that even I was getting a bit antsy after awhile. We stayed in a "ski in, ski out" condo at a ski resort called Attitash. On Thursday (Wednesday we just sort of tooled around), Melissa, Paul, Jill and I went skiing. We put on our skis right outside of the condo door, jumped on the hill and skied down to the ski lift. It was awesome. The mountains in NH (or any ski resort on the east coast really) make the mountains at Holliday Valley (ski resort in Buffalo, NY) look like hills. The scenery was breathtaking. We skied for almost four hours in almost 50 degree, sunny weather. The conditions were almost perfect. (I say almost because it was a little icy in spots). After we were done skiing, we went out to a nice dinner and home to relax. Friday we walked all around town and in and out of the little shops in the area. Saturday we watched football and hung around, and on Sunday we drove home. It was so relaxing. Melissa and I were in need of a vacation.





Something else happened as well. On Thursday, during our ski adventure, I "proposed" to Melissa on top of a mountain. I had planned on doing this for awhile now and the opportunity presented itself so I took it. I didn't give her a ring because we had talked about not doing engagement rings. I did, however, give her a candy heart that said "Marry me" on it. I had given her the heart last year at a Christmas party as a joke. Well, she kept it all this time in her jewelry box. So I gave it to her this time "for real" in a ring box. I swiped it from her jewelry box before we left on the trip. I was so nervous the entire day we went skiing but things just fell into place. She said yes and we will probably have a very small and intimate ceremony of some kind. Right now it's planned for Fall of 2009. We hope to do it either in Vermont or New Hampshire - either way I'll keep you posted.


Below are some pics from the trips. The frozen waterfall on the ski hill that you see is the spot where I asked Melissa to marry me. I know, I'm smooth!