Name Change Blues

I had been told that changing my name would be a hassle, but did I listen? Of course not. I impatiently waited for the marriage license to arrive in the mail and when it did I was off and running. Who wants to wait up to a month to get appointments at places like the Social Security Administration and the DMV? Not me. I had to start with the Social Security Administration (DMV checks with them), so I decided that if I got there 30 minutes before they opened I’d be all set. I arrived only to discover that there were already 30 people in line ahead of me. I sat in the waiting room for close to an hour and it was miserable (mostly due to a few people who hadn’t showered in a very long time and a woman who was watching a video on her phone trying to learn English).

That was Monday. On Thursday I went to the DMV. I randomly woke up at 5 a.m. and decided that I should have breakfast and then make myself look pretty for my picture (they make you get a new license picture, which I was annoyed about because I love my old picture). Based on my experience at the SSA, I decided I should arrive at the DMV an hour early. I got there and there were already six people in line. It was pretty cold out so I was wearing my puffy and UGGs. The guy in front of me (who was just there to be with his girlfriend) was in a t-shirt. I thought his goosebumps were going to pop off his arms and start attacking people. Poor guy. But the second guy in line had clearly been in line at the DMV before. He had brought a pool chair that fully reclined and he was ensconced in blankets. Aside from standing for an hour and a half it wasn’t nearly as bad as the SSA.

The good thing about all that waiting in line was that I got to catch up on some reading (I also got to wait in line and read for 40 minutes at the post office so that I could mail off my passport). I spent the rest of the week making phone calls to various places, writing emails, typing letters, copying my marriage license (the bank that holds my retirement account told me that I’d have to send them my original marriage certificate and that I should put a post-it on it that says I want it returned because otherwise they won’t return it), and filling out forms online. It’s amazing how many accounts I have. This is the problem with getting married in one’s mid-30s—one’s life is fully established already. I would advocate that women get married at 18 (before they have too many accounts to keep track of) in order to minimize the name change blues.

I registered for the SCBWI conference in L.A. that’s at the end of the summer. I had such a great time there last year that I’m really looking forward to going again. This time I also signed up for a manuscript consultation. I’ll get to meet with someone (agent, editor, or maybe author) for 15 minutes to discuss a manuscript. Now I just have to figure out which manuscript to share. I have to decide by the end of May when submissions are due.

What I’m reading: I’m currently only reading The Emperor of All Maladies (I know, so unlike me to only be reading one book). Ken Burns made a documentary based on this book that aired on PBS so I’ve been watching it too.

Back to Reality

My wedding is over and I was expecting to feel a little bit letdown afterwards (because I had been planning my wedding since I was six years old and now it’s over). Fortunately, I feel great. The wedding was awesome despite being quite different from six-year-old me’s imagination. It was amazing having all of my favorite people (OK, not quite all, but most) assembled in one room. I just wish it could have lasted longer so that I could have spent more time talking to people.

Aside from having a new name, married life is much like unmarried life. Although the new name thing is pretty weird. I subbed three days last week and introduced myself to each class with my married name. I told the kids that I might have trouble responding when they used my name because it’s new (each class actually clapped when they realized that I had just gotten married, which I thought was really sweet). I then proceeded to not respond to my new name. Someday it’ll probably seem normal to be called Mrs. Allen, but for now I just keep wondering who came into the room…

Now that the wedding is over, I have plenty time and undivided attention to spend on my writing. For the last three days I have been revising old stories and finishing two long-unfinished stories. It’s been really great to get back into it. I feel like I might finally be getting the hang of writing a picture book. It’s really kind of a bizarre genre to write these days. Sometimes I wonder what I’m thinking trying to tackle on the most difficult types of writing. But then I flip open a beloved picture book and I’m instantly reminded why. Picture books rock!

Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) offers a Work in Progress award each year. Submissions are read by editors and publishers and one story is chosen in each category (i.e. picture book text, middle grade novel, young adult novel, etc.). I submitted my favorite story, which I wound up minimally revising after the Big Sur Writing Workshop. Since the whole world of publishing is so subjective, I figured that just because one agent didn’t think it was perfect, doesn’t mean that someone else might not love it. The winners are announced in late summer, so I’m just going to try and not think about it for a while.

Today marks the one year anniversary of my shoulder surgery. I have to say that my shoulder is SO much happier than it was a year ago. I went climbing this morning for a little bit and climbed all of the V0s and V1s. Last week I tweaked my shoulder slightly (while trying a V6) so I took a week off and now I’m trying to ease back into it by only doing easy stuff for a few sessions.

I signed up to run both Bay to Breakers in San Francisco (a 12K in May) and Wharf to Wharf in Santa Cruz (a 6 mile in July). I’m excited to get back into running. I’ve been pretty lazy all winter, but now I’m ready to get into running shape again.

What I’m reading: I finished Unbroken (great book, although so depressing for most of it), Hollow City (not as good as Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, but very entertaining), and The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of story structure any writer can master by Martha Alderson (only a good read if you’re a writer). I’m still reading The Emperor of All Maladies (it is seriously long!). Now I need to pick another book to read. I have about 10 new books on my shelf so it shouldn’t be too challenging.