The Spring semester is over, and I just finished my first year in Graduate school. It’s been a lot to balance full-time work and school, but I’ve got my schedule down, and I’m pretty sure I got a 4.0 this semester.
The Master of Library and Information Science program at SJSU is fun and fascinating, and I’ve felt since I started that this is exactly what I’ve been looking for. This semester, I studied different types of information professionals in information organizations and the basics of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS, as well as writing code for my own websites, which was a ton of fun.
For one of my final projects, I created this website on traveling to Amsterdam!
I’ve been writing a lot and mainly posting poems in Tanka form. Sticking to a form keeps me challenged, and I like figuring out how to shape a poem while crafting a story or image. This month, I started rewriting the opening chapters of the novel, which I finished in 2018. I decided to strip it down and rework the story from one specific character’s point of view after I got feedback from a couple of people that the character was far more interesting than the others.
Besides school and work, I’m freelancing as an Alpha and Beta Reader. I’ve had a few recent projects in the last couple of months, which’ve been great. I love analyzing fellow writers’ work since it also helps me with my own writing. The recent reviews I received from clients have been a highlight for me.
I’m also staying busy. I’ve enjoyed going out into the city with my fiancée and friends. I’ve been going to Ocean Beach and Golden Gate Park, trying a ton of new restaurants. I highly recommend Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in North Beach and Hikari Sushi Bar in Japantown.
Movies! I love the movies and I’ve seen a couple of good ones recently.
Sinners is another excellent Horror classic. I definitely give it 5/5 stars. The music, the camera shots, dialogue, and story are well executed. I could write a full essay on it.
Thunderbolts* is interesting and definitely a Marvel movie that fits the mood of 2025. I like how the characters struggle with their pasts, and the main “bad guy” is just severe mental illness in a cape. I give it 4/5 stars.
As far as reading goes, I just finished Dear Writer by Maggie Smith. This book is for poets, and it’s impressive. Smith’s chapters are short and sweet, and she dives into the different elements and challenges of writing while sharing her past experiences. I highly recommend this book for fellow poets.
Moving into June, I’m focusing on rewriting my novel since I have the summer off. I’m also working on a goal of 100 Poems in 100 Days. I started this project a few days ago. The objective is to write a poem every day, no matter how crappy they are, so I have about 100 poems to work with in the fall and winter time.
Have you read any great books lately? Have you seen any excellent movies? I want to know. Leave a comment below!