I’m constantly amazed at how accessible the faculty are at Pacific. This morning I went to Maggie’s Buns, a neat cafe right across the street from campus. Inside I chatted with a faculty I had worked with in 2009 while I waited for my adviser from last semester to arrive. When she did, we spent about an hour sitting outside having coffee and talking about writing and the writing life. Really a great way to start the day and a microcosm of what the MFA Residency is all about.
Right now most of the students I talk too are a bit fuzzy-headed from the busy schedule we’ve all kept the last week. Personally, I’m looking forward to getting home and relaxing for a day or to before tackling my first correspondence packet. Since the third semester is the “essay semester”, I’ll be focusing on writing a critical essay on (at this point) the unreliable narrators of Kazuo Ishiguro. Thinking of examining Ishiguro’s The Unconsoled and perhaps When We Were Orphans. Will settle on a topic after I talk with my adviser– I’d like to get this essay out of the way as quickly as possible and get back to focusing on my short stories.
Looking forward to Barry Lopez‘s guest craft talk and book signing tomorrow afternoon.
Akopos 
Looking forward to the Lopez talk as well–and feeling like I’m at the beginning of a great semester with John Rember. The short version: I’ve spent two semesters slogging through the trenches with a heavily prescribed, realist project. Now I get to branch out into the conceptual space of Big Ideas (think ‘Spin,’ which I shared with you last semester), anchored by the basics I’ve learned. Jazzed, to say the least. And so happy that you’re forging ahead with the kind of stories you’ve been writing in this program. Really think you’re on to something big, Dennis.
Seems like it was just last night when you came up and asked to use my cell phone and we drank beers and introduced ourselves. Good to hear you’re psyched about the upcoming semester, I’m looking forward to reading your stuff.