My name is...

I always thought I had one of the most common names. Jane. And you hear it all the time: Dick and Jane, "Plain Jane" (even though I hate that term), G.I. Jane starring Demi Moore. Easy to spell, easy to remember, right? Apparently not.

It seems like Jane is becoming less and less common. Now it seems like parents are naming their kids anything that will make them stand out from all the other kids.

David Beckham and Posh Spice (I forget her real name) called their son Brooklyn. Gwyneth Paltrow named her daughter Apple. Some Israeli couple named their kid Like after the button on Facebook.

So should I be surprised when I go to Starbucks and they ask my name after taking my drink order? My conversations with Starbucks employees usually goes something like this:

Cashier: Welcome to Starbucks. What would you like?
Me: I would like a tall iced green tea lemonade.
Cashier: And what's your name?
Me: Jane
Cashier: Jay?
Me: No, Jane.
Cashier: Jean?
Me: No, JANE.
Cashier: Okay. (Calling out to barista) Iced lemonade green tea, tall, for Jen!

Go over to the waiting area, wait for my drink. Stand around for a few minutes. Then I hear:

Barista: Drink for Jan?
Me: A tall iced green tea lemonade?
Barista: Yup, for Jan.
Me: It's Jane.
Barista: Okay, Jay. Enjoy your drink.

Meanwhile, they have no problem with Fiona, Arwin and Janelle.

Perhaps I need to change my name to something more difficult, so that they can pronounce it properly. Maybe if I started calling myself Eilonwy, like the princess in The Black Cauldron, then I'll have better luck.

First year finales

My first year in the MFA Creative Writing program is over. The last class was actually May 11th, but I've been so bad about updating my blog that I'm over a month behind.

What did I learn from my first year? Two things:
1. To be a good writer, you have to read and write. A lot. When you read, you'll find lots of examples of great writing and not-so-great writing. The more you read, the more you can see which of that writing is not-so-great. And read different genres, not just the genre you want to write in. Expose yourself to different styles of writing. When I first started writing, I thought I was going to write humor. As the year progressed it turned into dark humor, which my classmates thought suited me better.

2. Make time to write. I mean, put it into your schedule. Since I worked full time, my thought was, "I'll do my writing when I have time." That meant almost never. A full day of work, come home, eat dinner... and I would usually end up being too tired to do anything else except sit in front of the TV and zone out. I've realized I have to put writing into my schedule so it gets done.

Putting it into my schedule is going to be a lot easier now that I'm not working. Yup, that's right, I'm unemployed. My department was restructured and my position was eliminated. I actually saw this as an opportunity. I've been trying to get into the publishing industry but I don't have any experience in the field, so I had applied for summer internships. Who doesn't want free labor, right? Well, from the ten places I applied to, I only heard back from one company, HarperCollins. It was a very polite email about how I had an impressive background, but they wanted someone who was more in line with industry (read as: a college student who is would be more likely to work for them after graduation). I can understand that. I'm disappointed that I wasn't picked, but I still appreciated that they let me know I was rejected.

So my summer is free. Something I haven;t had since I've graduated from college. I left for vacation with the hubby to Barbados on my first jobless day. We came back a week later and I've been sitting at home since finding various ways to entertain myself. First I ordered all the books I needed for my lit class this fall. Then I cleaned the house. The bathroom has never looked so good. Hubby said I should put learning how to cook on my list of things to do. Not a bad idea.

But now I have free time to write, which I plan to do. I have a new idea for a story and I'm hoping to get a good chunk of it written before school starts. And it means I can update this blog on a more regular basis! I even have a post ready for tomorrow. See, my plan to write more is already in progress. :)