Update - June 28, 2012

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So, one of the purposes of this blog is to keep track of progress on various fronts.

Here's what I've accomplished:

Job Hunt (Teacher):
Going very well. I've finished an unknown number of applications and have had 7 interviews in the past 6 weeks. For most of these jobs, the process involves an initial interview followed by another interview. As of today, I have my first interview that has led to something else. On Monday, I do a mock teach and will have a formal interview after that. The interview I had this morning also looks very promising, but it is unfortunately only a part-time position. I'm also waiting on a French position.

Education:
Not much new here. My work schedule and job-hunt have taken time away from studying, but I did recently go to a mini-Colloquium for the Franco-American Teachers-in-Training Institute. It was in Washington D.C., so I also got to see some neat monuments and museums. I also learned I really like mojitos.

Writing:
Not much here either. I've decided which novel I want to revise, but haven't had time for it. I did do some freewriting this morning and I came up with a plan for how to structure writing practice. I'm also still meeting with my in-person writing friend, and I worked on some critiques for a critique circle I'm a part of at Forward Motion.

Gaming:
This is doing slightly better, because gaming doesn't take quite as much mental energy as writing or education. In D.C., I had my Mac, not my PC (which is ancient), so I popped onto Dragon Age: Origins to figure out where my character was and what he was up to (haven't played since mid-December). I finished up some loose ends at the Circle, too. Mostly, I've been playing Baldur's Gate. I've finally recruited all of my party, and I'm about to start working more seriously on the Beregost quests. I also downloaded Morrowind via Steam, but I'm not sure that was a good idea since I barely have time for Baldur's Gate, and I want to finish it before starting a new game. Oh well, it will be there when I do decide to play!

Reading:
I'm not sure this even needs to be a category, because I just read all the time anyway. I finished the Jane Madison series by Mindy Klasky, then read her Fright Court novel, then the Capitol Hill novella, and I just started the Wish series.

 

Thanks!

 

Is freewriting something like brainstorming?

Having a group for critiquing sounds very useful. I am familiar with the critiquing process in visual art but I don't think I've participated in a writing critique.

 

Sort of. Basically, the rule is that during a certain amount of time (so you need a timer) you write continuously, without worry about grammar, punctuation, good ideas, etc. -- you just write what naturally comes. It's kind of like an extended word association game with yourself.

 

Sometimes I do that but I've never put a timer on it. What time limit do you usually give yourself?

 

Usually 15 minutes. Sometimes 10 if I'm short on time.