Gallivanting Files: Diverse Word Poetry Slam

Hi there :)

Tuesday night I did something I haven't done in QUITE some time.  I went to a poetry slam with my roommate and one of her friends :)

Now I must say it started off slow and a bit... meh... but then it picked up and the poets were really awesome.  I kept feeling myself getting giddy and wanting to get up and perform something.  My mind kept flashing back to the days when I was a regular fixture on any available poetry stage.  I always participated in cyphers and could be found writing poem after poem in notebooks, on class notes, my hands, anything.  Poetry was such a huge part of my life, but for some reason a few years after graduating college, I just stopped.

You know when you were really known for something when years and years later people are still asking "Do you still write?" or saying "You should start writing again." 

The clencher for the whole evening for me was the last poet.  He was like 20 years old which made me remember being his age and totally submerged in poetry.  I could see how much his poems moved through him and how he got into them.  I miss that.  His last poem was about using your talents even when you don't feel like it.  It was along the lines of use it before you lose it.  I totally felt like he was preaching directly to me... Needless to say, I want get back into writing again.  I miss having that passion/outlet in my life.

Soo... don't be confused if I start posting random poems on here, K ^.^

Music of the Moment

Just a little ditty that reminds me of mah booski :)

I love this song. I want it played during my reception, but I really think I'll be the only one jamming to it. *shrug* Meh! Whateva... I'm the bride! lol

The Recent Craftiness of the Ghost of Apt 203

Greetings from your friendly blogiverse ghost-girl!  It seems that I've been a rather crappy writer here of late and I really want to change that.  Matter of fact, I want to change a lot of things...  But first I'll start with actually writing a post.  Baby steps right?

Anywho, a few days ago, during a particularly slow couple of hours at work, my coworker and I got to talking about what sort of things I crochet.  She asked if I'd ever made one of those crochet crowns that people use as baby props or anything like that.  I told her I hadn't, but of course it got my wheels a-spinnin' on what type of things I could make to use as photo props at work. 

Pinterest to the rescue!

I started browsing pinterest to get an idea of the kinds of handmade things people are using in photos and came up with various forms of garlands, crowns, cute hats with animal or sports themes, and umpteen photo-booth themed props.  Oh and LOTS of mustaches... While looking, I made a little list of things that I am most likely to be able to sit down and crochet without needing to buy new supplies or perform some super involved fancy stitches.  The list consisted of: Valentine's heart garland, child-size cupid wings, crowns, bunny ear hats for easter, sports-themed hats, and possibly a child sized fedora (tho I'm still debating that last one...)

After making the list and sharing it with my coworker to see if they were things she'd actually use, I set about mentally inventorying supplies.  I did have to purchase bulky red yarn, but that's it. Everything else came from my existing yarn stash, so my work project also acted as a stash busting project. Hurray for a two-fer!!  When I got home, I turned on a movie, got comfortable on my bed, and got started making big red hearts.  When I connected them together, I felt like the ends of the garland were missing something... so I added pom-poms... everything's better with a pom-pom on it right?!

With the garland finished and pinned up on my wall (looking mighty valentine-y I might add) I moved on to the crowns.  I used BobWilson123's video on youtube for the pattern.  It's simple enough so once I take the time to learn some other trim stitches, I'll be able to modify the look of the crowns.  But I made 3 basic crowns in white, pink, & blue.  And then, because I was feeling fancy and wanted the crowns to be REALLY nice, I hand washed them and blocked them!  Watch out now! I never block anything, lol. I'm actually glad I did because it really defined the points.

See my fancy-pants blocking skills

The last thing I made during my photo prop crafting spree was not crocheted.  While browsing on pinterest I came across a valentine themed picture where the child was holding a jar of colorful candy.  I thought how cute and simple it was, so I decided upon recreating it.  I got a mason jar with a cork lid from the thrift store, a couple of bags of dollar store candy and a roll of valentine ribbon. Here's the finished product.  Very appropriate and when the holiday's over, the studio has a candy stash ^.^

That's it for my recent craftings.  I going to really put in effort to write more regularly on here.  I feel like the spirit of this blog might change tho.  Not hugely, but a bit... But then it's not like a change will really be noticed, so whatever! Onward and upward :)

Peace out!

Poem 2 of 100

Hey there ^.^

Yesterday there wasn't much to write about except work was pleasant.  I had some good sales and met some nice people.  Umm... what else... I'm sort of considering joining the Mood Blanket 2014 project, but not sure if I really want to do it yet.

During our lunch break, I told my coworker Erica about my 100 Days challenge, and she chose my prompt for the day.

Here is poem 2 of 100.
~~~~~
Form: Free Verse
Topic: Erica

I see her
full of laughter
and kindness
and honesty
and maybe a bit less tact
than preferred

She speaks loudly
smiles often
and humors my
quirks

I think
good coworkers are hard to find
I guess I should tell her
She's a blessing
~~~~~
I'm not sure how I'm going to post these poems...  should I post them everyday or wait til the end of the week and post then?  I feel like that will be easier and be less like poetry spam on the blog. We'll see :)  Oh and I'm super excited that I got a few prompts from Facebook which is cool.  It's nice to have my friends involved in this project.

I hope your Friday is starting off nicely.  Peace!

New Year, New Project

Happy New Year y'all!  I hope you brought in the year with the people you love.

Recently Lamar & I read an article about quantity being a better route to better quality (article HERE) which lead us to a page about learning something or practicing something for 100 days (check it out HERE).  He suggested I write a poem a day as my 100 day challenge.  And I, being ever the lover of poetic forms, added that to the mix.  So my challenge is to write a poem, every day, for the next 100 days, in one of 14 forms on any topic.  I'm excited and nervous because I haven't written in soooo long that it's like getting back in touch with an old friend that you let things fall off with... you know??

Anywho, today Lamar chose form #7-Kyrielle and told me to write about loving a sports fan. 

Kyrielle: A French form of rhyming poetry written in quatrains (a stanza consisting of 4 lines), and each quatrain contains a repeating line or phrase as a refrain (usually appearing as the last line of each stanza). Each line within the poem consists of only eight syllables. There is no limit to the amount of stanzas a Kyrielle may have, but three is considered the accepted minimum. (from ShadowPoetry) 

So here is poem 1 of 100. 

~~~~~
-Untitled-
Basketball, football, volleyball
Sacks, passes, trying not to fall
These things are the music at hand
When you really love a sports fan

He coaches teams and watches games
And wants you to come cheer his name
You go tho may misunderstand
When you really love a sports fan

Eventually you'll learn the rules
And be crocheting at the schools
Yelling at the refs from the stands
When you really love a sports fan
~~~~~
What would you do as a 100 days 100 things project?  Also, give me a number 1-14 & a topic for a future poem. That would be cool.