Temptations Writing Contest

In the mood for love? Just in time for Valentines Day...

Get out your pens for the NYC Writers Group Temptations Contest. Here are the details:

We're in the mood for love, so tempt us with your romantic short stories.
Entries should be less than 1,000 words. Please put a space between every
paragraph and do not use indents. There is no entry fee to enter the Temptations
Contest. All entries must be in English, but the writer can live anywhere in the
world. Paste your entries directly into an e-mail (submissions@nycwritersgroup.com)
and use the subject heading "Temptations Contest." Include your real name,
mailing address and e-mail address with each entry. One story per e-mail,
please. Entries without complete author information or sent in other formats
(including attached files) will be disqualified. You may enter as often as
youlike. Each entry will be acknowledged. If you do not receive confirmation
within 72 hours, please resend your entry. PRIZE: $25 gift certificate from
Godiva.com and publication on the NYC Writers Group Blog.DEADLINE: Feb. 22,
2006. Winners will be announced on March 1, 2005.

Yogaville, Virginia

When I moved in with my friend Sarah after college, she urged me to try yoga. A college athlete, I thought yoga was for wimps. But after an excruciating painful yoga class and three days of sore muscles, I quickly changed my mind.

This year, for Sarah's birthday, I decided to take her on a yoga retreat. I found this place, aptly named Yogaville, about 40 miles outside of Charlottesville. I imagined a few days of nice yoga classes, good food and fresh air.

What I didn't expect was to discover outer space right here in Virginia. After arriving, we walked around the grounds which were simply stunning. The first house at Yogaville was built in 1979 on their 750 acres of land. It is in a beautiful spot that overlooks the river and the Blue Ridge. We arrived just at sunset and the light bouncing off the hills and river was stunning.

We then went back to our room and prepared for our first organic, vegan dinner. I was expecting tasteless tofu, but instead we were treated to an amazing lentil soup, stir fried veggies and a salad bar that puts most restaurants to shame. We then were taken to our first Satsung, which from what I take is the equivalent of yogi's church. For the first half hour we were treated to Kirtan changing (lots of "Hari Oms") which were sung by two women with soulful and mystic voices and accompanied by drums. It was a treat, even if I had no idea what they were saying.

Where the evening turned a little strange was when they rolled out the video projector. The founder of Yogaville was a spiritual leader named Swami Satchidananda. He "left his body" three years ago and now, instead of personal talks, they reply old tapes of his "sermons." His talks were a mix of Chritianity, Buddhism and a little pop psychology ("think happy thoughts"). Sarah and I are still trying to figure out whether life at this Ashram is religious or not -- but it was very apparent that the followers of this man thought of him as some kind of divine spirit. His portrait was hung in every room and his quotes were written above entry-ways. Everyone spoke of him in awe-struck tones. I felt like I was at a Christian fundamentalist gathering and didn't know who Jesus was.

On Sunday we woke up at 6:40 for mediation followed by an hour of yoga. We later visited the LOTUS (Light of Truth Universal Shrine) for some more mediation (not to make fun, but during my attempts at mediation the best I could do was see what I thought was batman and George Washington ... I wonder what that says about my spirit?). We also attended a talk about "yoga in every day life" in which one of the yoga monks, a woman in her mid-sixties, discussed how we can use our mind to overcome every day cravings and problems. Her one example had us envisioning a lemon ("organic, of course" she said...) and squeezing it into our mouths. "Did your glands start salivating?" she quried.

I'm still trying to make sense of the whole experience. I felt oddly strange the entire weekend, trying to put all the pieces of what exactly this place was. A refuge for old hippies? A mystical and spiritual holy spot for yogis? Or a place to just get away from the real world and think happy thoughts? I'm not sure I'll soon return to Yogaville, but I did enjoy seeing how other people, so disconnected to Washington DC and the daily stresses of life, seem to live so at peace with themselves. Yet at the same time, that disconnect was so severe that reality seemed to be something for "other people."

It's nice to escape reality for a weekend. For a life, I'm not so sure.

The bikers return to Baltimore

Last night we picked Dad and Lauren up at BWI. Lauren looked thrilled to be home and both looked tired and ready for a return to normalcy. Dad was itching to get home to Mom and Lauren to sleeping in the same bed every night.

They had some amazing adventures along their route -- amazing way to learn about your own country and yourself. And now, I'm just going to have to convince them to do it again in an year after I graduate ...

NY Times Guide to 10 US Cities

This is really cool. The NY Times has put out their own interactive guide on 10 US Cities including Washington, D.C., Atlanta, San Francisco, Miami, Boston...

You click on the city you're interested in and Links pop up with NY Times correspondent's favorite places to eat in the city, favorite people watching spots, favorite hotel, restaurant, etc. We're thinking about heading to Atlanta next month ... might come in handy!

The Silk Road leads to Queens...

Last Friday I met my friend Guly for dinner in Georgetown. Guly is from Tashkent and I hadn't seen her in about a year. She's now living in D.C. and we caught up on old times. Guly introduced me to a world of Uzbek food when we lived in KZ and to this day I still miss those hot, steamy mantys.

The New York Times has an article this weekend about an Uzbek/Bukharan restaurants in Queens. Might just have to make the trip for some Laughman. Mmmmmmm.

Vegablog goes to South Africa

Ever dreamed of taking a safari in Africa? You can follow two Washington Post reporters on their travels through Africa in the WP's latest vegablog. Meredith and Cindy Bragg arrived in South Africa on the 10th and they'll be posting dispatches from their adventures.

Powley Bike Update

Lauren and Dad have made it into Louisiana after two and a half weeks in Texas. They are chugging along having a great time in the process. A few days ago Lauren spent the day in Houston with middle school field hockey girls. Lauren and another national team member held a little clinic and talked to the girls about playing in college and beyond.

You think about other world class athletes and the dedication it takes them to get where they are. It's more than just a love for the game. It's an obsession. She was talking in one of her entries the other day about missing even the stinging that comes from playing in the rain when your hands are cold and the stick hard.

Following Maryland last fall brought back so many of my college sports memories. And while I did love field hockey, my obsession (and level of skill) was never quite where Lauren is. But what I miss to this day is the feeling of being on team. Of having a shared goal, a shared language. It's like being part of an exclusive club and I feel incredibly blessed that I had the opportunity to play for so many years, and now have the chance to see my sister love the game and enjoy so much success.

If you're interested in checking out their progress, you can follow their route and daily entries here.

Win 104 Roundtrip Airline Tickets

Southwest is currently running a very interesting contest. Register on their website before January 31 (click here), and you could win 2 round-trip tickets every week, for the next year. I have no idea how anyone could fly that much over the course of the year, but it would make planning weekend get-a-ways alot more fun! You could hit Reno, Los Angeles, West Palm Beach... I might start making my list now!

Our mouse saga

It all started when we left for Arizona.

We had received this great gift basket from our family that included packets to make scones and biscuits. I left it on the kitchen counter, washed a few dishes and then rushed out the door to the airport.

And when we came home: flour all over the kitchen. And mouse poop too.

For the last two weeks we have been battling the mouse that had taken over our kitchen. Liam refused to eat at home and every morning we would wake up and wonder how active our little friend had been overnight. It was always scary walking into the kitchen and discovering how much damage the little guy had done. We bought traps. We kept everything in the refrigerator or locked and sealed in the pantry. But to no avail.

Fed up, on Tuesday I went out and bought glue traps. I wanted a more humane solution, but nothing else seemed to work. On Tuesday night when we got home, our culprit had been caught. And he was still alive. We took out a broom and swept him into a plastic bag and threw him out. I felt awul and he looked so afraid and in pain.

But, for the last two days, we've had a spotless kitchen. No more mouse poops.

Views from the Editing Desk: A few query tips

Over the past week I've been catching up on my editing work for Transitions Abroad and sifting through dozens of queries. It is remarkable the difference a query can make on an editor, and it has been an intersting exercise for me, as a writer, to see how other writers approach the query. Here are a few notes I've taken over the last few months:

1. Do not send your manuscript out to dozens of markets with a generic e-mail message that starts, "Dear Editor..." This tells the magazine that you haven't done the research to find out who you are writing to, and you probably don't know much about the magazine itself either.

2. Do your research before you query. You need to know the market you are trying to sell your work to. For example, Transitions Abroad does not publish travelogues or narratives. Yet at least one out of ten queries I read offer a "journal-like" story about the writers recent trip to Paris, Morocco, Bolivia... When a magazine has writers guidelines and an editorial schedule, make sure you read them thorougly and then specifically market your piece to a department or issue you think your work might fit.

3. Make yourself stand out. A query letter that says, "Here is my article on getting a passport. If you like it, please contact me" isn't going to get you very far. Tell the editors why you chose to write on a particular topic and why you think the piece fits with the magazine's mission or would be of interest to its audience. Be creative. Be funny. Be different.

4. Make your article stand out. If you are writing about being an American in Paris, trust me, it's been done before. That doesn't mean an article on Paris can't get published, but what is your specific angle? Why is it different than what's been done in the past? What new information can you bring the the table?

5. Take as much time to write an e-mail query as you would if you were writing a letter and sending it snail mail. Remember that this is the editor's first impression of you.

6. This may seem obvious, but have a concrete idea before you query. A destination is not an idea. Just because you are traveling to South America doesn't mean you should immediately fire off a bunch of emails to travel editors in the hope that they need a story about that destination. Come up with a concrete idea and then query.

Just a few thoughts - good luck in the New Year with all of your queries!

Write your way to Tahiti

I saw this today on Jen Leo's Written Road blog. Islands Magazine is currently running a contest (deadline: January 31, 2006) in which the winner is sent for 5 days and nights to Tahiti. All you have to do is write about your best Island experience in 1000 words or less.

What could be better? Writing and traveling all in one!

Now I just have to figure out what I should write about...

Georgetown Writing Classes

About 5 years ago I took a creative writing class at Georgetown through their continuing education program. It was a great workshop and the class produced a piece each week and engaged in peer review.

If you live in the DC area, I'd highly recommend checking out Georgetown's continuing education classes. They run the gamut from languages (Arabic, Chinese and Spanish at all various levels), literature, art and writing. A few of the writing classes next semester include:

* Do You Really Want to Wrtie Fiction: A Workshop
* Getting Published: Freelance Writing
* Getting Published: Travel Writing
* Writing at Work

Check out the writing classes here and for the complete listing of classes, click here.

Happy writing!

I've ridden a camel...

For Liam, growing up moving around was just part of life. He was born in Guam, spent some time in Vermont, Korea, Bulgaria and a few other spots along the way. It's no surprise that when it came to choosing a career, the Foreign Service was a likely choice.

In today's Christian Science Monitor, Donna Gorman interviews Foreign Service kids about their interesting environments and what it is like to grow up without McDonalds. Over 11,000 children are currently overseas as part of Embassy communities. And while they may miss out on some American staples like Sunday football and senior proms, they seem to make up for it with a world of unique experiences.

Dispatch: Pittsburgh, PA

Woke up in the city of Steel this New Years morning. We traveled here for the holiday and spent four hours last night at a restaurant called Eleven, eating one of the most elegant meals I've ever had. After rounds (and rounds) of courses, we headed back to our hotel on the North Side. The Priory was once a priest's house and today is a cute B&B with elegant rooms, a great breakfast spread and alot of history. The downstairs lobby is appointed with antique furniture and has a cozy feel - you want to bring a book, curl up and spend the afternoon sipping tea and reading there. The most interesting aspect is what at first appears to be a storage closet, but in fact was the vault of the church. For decades, the priests kept baptismal records in the vault, to protect them should anything happen to the house. The vault kept an entire history of the community.

After celebrating at midnight (okay, I admit, I fell asleep at 11:15 and I had to be woken up so my cheer was a bit groggy), we hit the sack and prepared for a big today. Steelers v. Lions at 1:00. I finally had my baptism at Heinz Field (and in this family, I think baptism is an apt metaphore). For 4 years now I've heard about this temple at Hines Field; about the dedication of its fans; about the soul of the city and how football is at its heart. Eastern Pennsylvanian by birth, I had nothing against the Steelers, but grew up cheering for the Eagles by extension of my Dad.

But, by marrying Liam I did somehow agree to take on a love for the Steelers and magically, through the years of our dating and marriage, I have grown to like them. The team has spunk and class - something that's not always apparant in professional sports these days. So when we walked to our seats near the top of the Stadium, after getting over the feeling that I was floating above the stadium, not actually sitting in it, I watched as 64,000 or so fans piled in. Everyone was wearing Black and Gold. Everyone had their terrible towels ready for action. It was game day and these fans were ready. There was so much energy, so much love for this team. It was really a blast to be there and experience it for myself.

And to top it all off, the Steelers won, putting themselves in the playoffs which means at least one more week of Steelers football for us!