The wonderful people at Octopus Books are going to put out my first book. Look out in fall 2010 for the book, probably called Where We Think It Should Go. It's raining in Oakland. It's practically winter. It's practically the end of the decade. Welcome new decade! Love you already.

PALIN
PA IN
PAIN
pain

Selfishly working to improve oneself.

"Some Americans identify themselves as Irish, whereas others say they are Americans."
-found in textbook

This summer I went camping for my summer

I'm back to work now as are many of you probably. It's kind of sad to have time go quickly, be back to work, feel the gulf from Saturday to Saturday. Because so much happened—you moved your body to and from a place so many times, but a little piece of garbage sat waiting to be thrown away, and it didn't get thrown away. And a whole week went by. And a sweater sat soaking to get a stain out. It sat for two weeks in the water, not disintegrating perceptibly.

It's exciting too, and maybe even though the job seems harder you're doing it a little better because one thing you learned to do last year comes easier. I'm sad and excited which manifests in exhaustion at the end of every day. My goals from last new year's are met (moving to city, riding bike), so the next four months I can use to file and mail things and update this blog when I'm not working. And drink less, be less social, reverse my previous new year's resolutions.

I've been on vacation for a while. I'll be back soon. I miss you.

Don't forget to vote if you can today. In San Francisco, crazy things to vote for (like ending rent control (statewide) and punishing moral turpitude). Vote unless you think I'm an idiot for wanting us to vote. I'm probably missing something. Your ideology is probably more developed than mine.

On the back of the Voter Information Pamphlet, it says my polling place is wheelchair accessible. Then it is stamped: "5% slope." So much about life here is determined by hills. I often regret living even on the edge of one. They made my polling place uphill.

They made the Regional Transit Discount ID card office in a place it could take hours to get to, with an entrance in the middle of a rocky, disintegrating parking lot with no sidewalks and hazardous tunnels entrances nearby. Right next to it is a polling place.

He reminds me of Carlos Weider, but in a good way. Tao Lin Store

About

Tomorrow I go back to work.

Photo highlight from my trip: the cute hammer you're supposed to use to break the bus window in case of emergency.

Second hypothetical photo highlight: a collection of empty water bottles taped together and taped onto a wall, a selection of what water you could buy from an ice cream stand in Guadalajara, with a huge "No Tocar" ("Don't Touch") sign written in black marker, taped to it. When I went back to take a picture of it, it was gone. I guess it had fallen down.

post your favorite memory from the simpsons at the new york times . before poetry, when i was younger, the simpsons was probably my most significant interest. now it's a distant favorite memory.

but really i think these nytimes comments are getting out of control.

I think my first blog poem is finished. Should I add a word? End punctuation? Feel free to comment, and I will read your comment, and maybe I'll change my mind or maybe I won't.

I think it was a good exercise, although I had to cheat a couple of times and write three words. Also I stole your words when we were talking on the phone so you might call it collaborative, but I probably wouldn't.

I like this post from Richard Lopez's blog about publishing, putting poems on blogs, and more. He says "i'm the type of reader who wants to read yr grocery lists." Often I don't want to publish, but his post is one of those things that makes me want to.

And also sometime this fall you'll get to read my poem "Moat," which I really like and which contains some of those concerns and which ends "And I begin my twenty-sixth year. / My breasts and I are supposed to like it here." (to put some of my own poetic writing on this blog) in the print issue of Tarpaulin Sky.

Obscenity

LLB takes issue with my adverb placement of "anymore" in the sentence, "Anymore I don't know anyone who lives in this neighborhood except some neighbors, whom I don't know."

I say that's totally allowed! Allowed and awesome! Please respond.

Claire: do you want to say anything?
LLB: No! you just said what I said? I said what I said. You said what i said. it's on there! .... you just want a partner in crime on this blog. i know what's going on here.

Okay, I will not delete this blog. Yet.

Off to play tennis (for half an hour).

P.S. word of the day c0-written by LLB.

This blog is not about poetry. This poetry's about a blog.

Well you have many places to find out about poetry things. I missed a day on the sidebar poem. Is Miranda July really a scientologist? As long as she's not living for the afterlife, I guess I don't care. It's cold and cloudy, windy. That's amazing for a July day. I'm reacquainting myself with my neighborhood. Walked around, saw the old bosses, saw the renovations, saw the same lake. It's nice to be in a neighborhood for three years although I've mostly been in my house. I've mostly been inside computers or other neighborhoods. Anymore I don't know anyone who lives in this neighborhood except some neighbors, whom I don't know.

my new students 2

Turns out I will have new students next year, a new class. I wanted to record the sounds of the world and make more auditory books. But I look forward to the unknown. And we'll be doing some poetry.

Oakland Art Murmur Friday 7-10.

Here is the aforementioned white piece of fur. Actually this is LLB's shirt which she bought at the exact moment of my dream. By the way, I think I could reform mean fur if anyone needs help. And I did not mean offense to any cats. I don't think cats should be eaten by fur.

Les Bonnes Femmes

Les Bonnes Femmes at the Walter Reade Theatre. Claude Chabrol. 1960. Awesome. Great scene in an indoor pool in Paris. Also coats, strip clubs, confetti, braids, woods, zoo, boyfriend, stalker, and an electronics shop. Beautiful, funny, world screwed up.

my new students

I had a dream that a small white piece of fur was going to be in my class. They said it had eaten two cats. It bit me or scratched me, and I had a large gash. Beside it, someone was playing with tiny animals, one purple, one green. They had wings and tails and smiles. They were also going to be in my class.

Books, books, books. Unnameable Books (formerly Adam's Books). Dripping with books. Lie down, wait to become one. On a walk to Red Hook saw the other Adams Books. Got Lydia Davis, Break it Down. Broke it down. No I didn't.

That thing in the corner is a poem.

I saw an amazing deer sticker. My friends have the most amazing deer stickers, full of emotion.