Trying New Things

Academic, Boys' Love / Yaoi, Life, The Harrow Press Comments (0)

This seems to be my month to do new things. I didn’t plan it that way, but that’s how it’s turned out.

(1) I got rid of a bunch of old furniture, tableware, and artwork that no longer felt like a good fit. Some of it has been replaced with new stuff; some, not.

(2) I’m doing more art. For the last few weeks I’ve gone to the open art studio on Friday afternoons at the university where I work; the professor in charge has allowed me to play around with her supplies, challenging me to loosen up and go with the creative flow.  I feel like I’d like to draw more often, but I haven’t yet incorporated it as a regular habit, so for the most part my pencils and new sketchbooks sit patiently in the living room, waiting for me.

(3) I began kempo classes. I took judo, aikido, and a little jujitsu from childhood through about my second year of college and then let it lapse. Now, a couple of decades later, I’ve signed up again for something new. I’m not sure if I’ll stick with it — depends on how much it costs, how much I decide I like this more aggressive martial art, etc. — but I’ve enjoyed the lessons so far.

(4) I went out with the university’s geology field trip for three days, camping out in Death Valley, exploring abandoned mines, and pounding on rocks at various (non-National Park) sites. I’ve camped before, but not for a few years, and this was my first visit to Death Valley.

(5) I’m starting up a new website, TheHarrowPress.Com, and kicking off a new POD book project with The Harrow’s anthology editor Kfir Luzzatto — look for the new site and our call for stories on Halloween.

This Friday I’ll be off to Yaoi-Con, which isn’t a new experience, but I haven’t been there for two years, and this will be the first time that I’ll go and know a handful of people. We’ll be presenting a panel on Saturday, 2-3 p.m., in Room C: “BL Research: Beyond the Ivory Tower.” The topic will be the academic book on boys’ love that I’m co-editing and yaoi research in general. I hope I may see some of you there!

(Photo by S. Bilodeau. I’m the one on the far right, contemplating the likelihood that a brine dragon lives in one of the underground pools beneath the jagged salt formations of Death Valley’s “Devil’s Golf Course,” waiting to attack unwary mine workers.)

drupagliassotti @ October 26, 2009