Chatham GRADUATE Student Blog

The snow is melting, melting, melting, finally!  And though the sun has taken a temporary break after seven straight days of sunny weather, spring is definitely in the air.  I’m loving the 60 degree temperatures because I’m finally able to wear my flip flops.  One thing is for certain, you can take the girl out of Texas, but you can’t take the Texas out of the girl. 

Today is the official last day of spring break; however, it hasn’t been much of a break for me.  I’ve been busy with school work all this week, but I did manage to take in some of the beautiful weather as I walked around Shadyside.  I think this weekend will be a total wash because of the rain, and supposedly some areas of the city are expecting flooding thanks to all of the snow we’ve had this winter.  I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that.  As a native of Louisiana who has experienced a fair share of flooding, I wouldn’t wish those conditions on my worst enemy. 

But I won’t dwell on the negative.  It looks like winter is finally behind us and only six more weeks of school before summer break.  And, it looks like the sun is peaking out.  It just may be a beautiful day after all.  Viva la spring!!!

Spring Break is a day away, and it looks like the weather’s going to give us a break as well.  After three solid weeks of snow, sleet, freezing rain, snow and snow, Pittsburgh is enjoying a welcome sunny day.  The bulbs outside of the Admissions building have sprouted and pushed through the soil, crimson cardinals are flitting through the trees, and students are smiling with the knowledge that they’ll get a chance to enjoy these late-winter anomalies very soon.

We’re all excited to take a break from routine, and many of us who moved to Pittsburgh from other regions are looking forward to exploring areas outside of The Burgh.  I moved to Pittsburgh from Arizona just last fall, and this week will be my first opportunity to really explore the East.  In fact, the East End Co-op, right here in Pittsburgh, is the farthest east I’ve ever been!  I’ll be taking a road trip with two of my friends whom I met here at Chatham; we’ll visit New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut.  It will be great to tour these states with folks who know the areas, and hopefully the weather will hold out for the entirety of our journey!

I hope others of you out there will be exploring and relaxing next week.  Take advantage of the sun, go hiking and slide around in the newly-thawed black mud, go for a bike ride, or visit a part of Pittsburgh you’ve never been to.  Above all, have a great Spring Break!

Looking for an alternative to visiting the Chatham during the week?  Can’t make it to one of our weekend open houses?

The office of graduate admissions will be opening most Saturdays beginning March 13 until July 31.   Visits are by appointment only and are easy to arrange.  If you’d like to meet with an admissions counselor just contact the admissions office at gradadmissions@chatham.edu or 800-837-1290/412-365-1825.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love snow.  And yes, I did go outside and make snow creatures (a snowman and a snow puppy) in my yard when I was without power for 18 hours.  I also tried to make a snow angel but ended up sinking down in two feet of snow and couldn’t move.  I stayed for a while because it was nice and comfy.  But fun snow activities aside, I’m starting to get cabin fever. 

Luckily my itch for something to do was scratched with the intramurals here at Chatham.  My friends and I formed a soccer team and have been competing at least once a week for the past month.  Right after our night classes we head over to the gym and don our red t-shirts and hit the gym floor.  Not only is it a good stress reliever from classes, it keeps me moving instead of staying inside yearning to see a blade of grass again.  Now granted we aren’t professionals or anything out on the gym floor, but we can kick and we’ve made a few goals here and there.  All around it’s just a fun time to hang out with friends and keep your blood and heart pumping when it’s freezing outside.  And once soccer is done, we are starting kickball and badminton! 

So, if you’re like me and wanting something to do to stop the winter blues, stop by the gym instead of cursing that darn beaver or woodchuck or whatever that furry rodent is for seeing his shadow.  Keep those feet moving inside until we can finally get outside again!

This week’s been crazy, huh?  Spring break is more than a month away but thanks to the two almost back-to-back snow storms (or NO THANKS, depending on how much you like the snow), we got an early break.  I can’t tell you how excited I was when I got a campus alert on Sunday (Super Bowl Sunday… Geaux Saints!) informing me that our campus would be closed the following day.  Then came the news that it would be closed on Tuesday, then Wednesday… and Thursday.  Can I get a Friday?  No such chance, but I’m happy with what I got.  I was speaking with my boss earlier today who told me that in all the years she’s been living in Pittsburgh- nearly 15 years- she’s only experienced three snow days.  So, who would have expected four snow days in one week?  Well, the snow has finally subsided- only a few flurries fluttering- and the sun has decided to smile on Pittsburgh, but there’s still evidence of the snow storm.  I must say, blankets of snow everywhere is a beautiful sight, but it’s no fun shoveling it, nor is it fun digging my car from.  So, with that said, I hope this was our last great big snowfall.  Now I’m ready for 60-degree weather; unfortunately, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow so we’ve got about another 5 weeks of winter.  *Sigh!*  Anyway, be careful driving around town and watch your step walking around campus.

I don’t know what you’re doing this Sunday, but I’m taking a break from my books.  Instead, I’ll be front and center at my TV for Super Bowl XLIV.  I’m feeling pretty bold right now in front of my computer in the land of Sixburgh.  But for all of you die hard Steelers fans, you may be able to cut me a little slack because I’m also a fan; but my heart belongs to the Saints.  Actually, my heart belongs to Louisiana.  Currently, I consider myself a Texan because it’s been home for more than 20 years, but I was born and raised in Louisiana.  Football and spicey Creole cuisine brought my family together on Sundays and we especially looked forward to watching the Saints play.  Sure the team was known as one of the sorriest organizations in the League, so sorry in fact, that they were referred to as the ”Ain’ts.”  Fans who sat in the Superdome wore brown paper bags over their heads, but they continued to cheer the Saints on, nonetheless.  

Fans have taken the paper bags off, and the Saints are no longer stigmatized as the “Ain’ts.”  Thanks to QB #1 Drew Brees and Coach Sean Payton, the Saints are now one of the best teams in the NFL, ending the regular season with a 13-3 record.  And now they’re ready for the big dance in Miami- a victory for both the organization and the city of New Orleans.  Clinching the NFC Championship was a big win for the people of New Orleans, as well as the team. 

New Orleans has been through a lot over the last few years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, and nearly five years later, the city is still in recovery.  But like their football team, Natives of the Big Easy and others who consider New Orleans home, have never given up.  And that’s just what we’ll see on the gridiron on Super Bowl Sunday.  What we’ll see is the heart and soul of the city in the players.  The Who Dat Nation- who started flocking in to Miami on Monday, some by plane, some by bus, and the rest by car- will be wearing their Saints jerseys and shouting, “Who Dat?” of course!  No doubt, they’ll be the most boisterous fans in Sun Life stadium. 

Sam Cooke said it best, “It’s been a long time coming,” and despite the naysayers, Reggie Bush and the rest of the men in Black & Gold deserve to be in the Super Bowl.  So, I’m speaking for all of my native Lousianians and Saints fans- new and old- Geaux Saints!!!!

There’s excitement in the air as this semester ramps up.  With the application deadline for the Creative Writing MFA having recently passed, there are a lot of applicants wanting to know more about our program and what it offers its students.

For those of us in the MFA for Creative Writing program, the possibilities are seemingly endless right now.  Our MFA Student Council is a hard-working bunch who seems to have no shortage of inspiration or energy.  This semester, the council is working on a Valentine’s Day fundraiser, along with a Podcast of student readings – two big projects that are proving to be a lot of fun and a lot of work.  In addition to the V-Day fun and the Podcast, a group of MFAers are putting together a Creative Writing Community Outreach program.  The program will provide opportunities for MFA students to volunteer their time as creative writing teachers in various settings within the community.  For those of us pursuing teaching and who are looking for experience in the field, this has become a great do-it-yourself learning project that will benefit all involved. 

I’ve been consistently impressed by the faculty, classes, and all other aspects of the Creative Writing program, and I am even further impressed by the quality of my fellow students.  We’re a hard-working bunch with varied backgrounds and experiences, and we’ve managed to pull together as a collective group of writers and thinkers.  In just five months, we’ve developed into a sort of family, celebrating successes with beers after class, critiquing each other’s works, and supporting each other through personal and professional challenges.  The combined efforts of Chatham and the students have made our MFA program shine.  I’m proud to be a part of it!

It’s week three of classes, and already a sense of urgency has crept in: Is that paper really due tomorrow?  How is it possible that I’ve signed up for a presentation on the same day my 15-page critical analysis is due?

Spring semester is tricky; after a few weeks off, laziness and procrastination feels all too comfortable and sitting under neon lights at nine p.m. doesn’t help my growing urge to go to bed early.  I managed to push off several assignments (and writing entries to this blog, apparently) until the last minute already, thinking It’s the beginning of the semester – there’ll be plenty of time to do this stuff next week.  But next week is here, and I see I’m not the only one who is now suffering from a winter break full of sleep, candy and more sleep.  Grad students in the computer lab type frantically while members of a group study session admit to not having read the assigned book.  I walk past these fellow students, smiling and knowing I’m not alone. 

Welcome back.

The leaves are blazing, fading, falling, and the typically green lawns on Chatham’s campus are carpets of orange and yellow.  It’s mid-semester, and we’re all struggling with the urge to get outside before winter comes, knowing that we have papers and projects due.  We go for brief walks, trying to convince ourselves that we should then be content to sit in front of a glowing screen for hours on end.  It’s not working.  Students with dogs have a better excuse to be outside daily for extended periods of time while the rest of us think of reasons to walk to the CVS on the corner.

This is the hardest time of year for me; I dread relinquishing my freedom and resigning myself to many months and hours spent indoors when I would rather be out.  For the last four yearsI’ve lived in northern Arizona where even the short frigid days of winter are sunny and inviting.  Also, I was out of school, working in the “real world” (hahaha) where I could go mountain biking or hiking or running after work without the thought of homework in my mind.  On the weekends, it would be a short drive to Flagstaff to ski or snowshoe.  Who’s idea was it to go back to school, anyway?

But here I am, in the rainy alien landscape of Pennsylvania about to delve into a dark winter of intellectualism.  In a way, I’m glad to be attending grad school in an area where it rains and stays gloomy for much of the winter.  If it were like northern Arizona, while freezing cold in the winter, the sun is always shining and I would surely be neglecting my scholarly duties to go rock climbing.  It seems only appropriate for a writer to be quarantined in an under-lit room, scribbling away while tree branches screech and scrape across the windowpane in the cold winter wind.  Well, no need to take it that far yet – it is still October, after all.  In fact, the maintenance worker just vacuumed the huge campus lawn, sucking up the fall leaves and willing autumn to hold out for just one more week.

Disappointed you are too old to go trick or treating?  Looking for something fun to do on Halloween night with other graduate students?  No need to fret any longer!

SPOOKTACULAR is almost upon us…

Don’t let the name fool you: This will be a gathering of grad students (21 and over), with readings, food, music, and modest libations. For folks who have never heard of Spooktacular, it’s our annual Halloween party, and it’ll take place in the first floor of Mellon on Oct. 31, 7:30 – midnight. There’s a modest $5 suggested donation at the door, and we’ll be raffling faculty books!

Read Up!
Because we’re a literary tribe, we’d like to invite anyone (MFAer or other grad) to take up the open mic at Spooktacular. Poems and prose, dark and funny – preferably nothing exploitative, but the work can be yours or another’s (feel free to dust off that leather-bound Poe). We’re expecting five minutes, tops, so everyone has a chance. You can sign up when you arrive.

Pimp My Outfit
Yes, costumes are encouraged. Whatever you like. Dead writers are particularly beloved. Also characters from literature, famous and obscure. We will have a number of absurd and arbitrary Costume Prize categories.

Bring a Book
Spooktacular will kick off a book drive for the Book ‘Em Project, which brings donated books to prisoners. Have some old novels lying around? Have some doubles? Spare a copy for some incarcerated folks.

Let Them Eat Cake
We’ll have some food from campus catering, but we’re hoping to make this a kind of Stone Soup potluck as well: Feel free to show off your baking prowess. We’ve got some volunteers for brownies, cookies, etc.

For more information contact Robert Isenberg: RIsenberg@Chatham.edu