Warren Wilson January Residency, 2005

This is my third writer's residency here at Warren Wilson--I'm an old timer now. It's winter, so we stay in still-occupied rooms. This time, I'm in a freshman girl's dorm. It's tidy and functional except for the cloying smell of...massage oil? incense? something vaguely hippie and undergraduate. The red-eye from Oakland to Atlanta to Asheville was brutal as always, but I'm happy for some time to relax, nap, run, finish last minute prep and even have a quiet time. The calm before the storm. Already miss Wes and the kids, but am looking forward to reimmersing myself in the writing world. The classes look especially good this time.