Emily A. Benton

• we have a new president! thank gawd. I left work and watched the inauguration at the bar across the street. It’s so weird to work in an office, much less an office that specializes in ENTERTAINMENT product, that doesn’t have TV.  Anyway, his speech made me speechless. Also, I loved Michelle’s dress at the neighborhood ball. I don’t care what anyone says.
• I haven’t buried Christmas, but it has been slaughtered. We took the tree to the dumpster on Tuesday.
• The Queens MFA readings last week were great! I went to all of them. Elissa Schappell was my favorite; I really need to pick up one of her books. I also enjoyed poets Morri Creech and Kym Ragusa. Now that Morri is teaching at Queens, I hope to he starts to read around at more Charlotte events.
• I got my new car on Friday! it’s big pimpin’. I keep looking for excuses to use it, which is bad. I’m still sorting out all the title and DMV crap, but it’s worth it. I can’t stop thanking Dad, and showing off my new wheels. Thankfully, my friends take my excitement well.
• Scott and I celebrated his birthday in style, and I surprised him with tickets to see Antony & The Johnsons at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta on Feb. 8! I’m ready for the mini-vacation.
• I saw “Revolutionary Road” and liked it. But if I had my hands on it, I would have stopped the movie right before the pivotal climax, because I think that would have been more depressing than the real ending – although it was still good. (I won’t spoil for those who haven’t seen it yet, though.)
• I have been battling a horrible cold since Sunday, but I’m starting to feel better.
• Work has been INSANELY hectic. I’m doing dual runs of our magazine because we’re changing printers and therefore everything I do has to be done twice, in two separate ways, and it is screwing with my head.
• More music: I really need to go buy the new Andrew Bird – I’ve been listening to it on MySpace and it’s driving me wild (*throws panties in the air!*). Also, the Mark Olson & Gary Louris release, which I don’t have but have been listening to at work (where we have shared iTunes). And today, at work, I got the new Robyn Hitchcock & Venus 3 - yes! This man has stood by all my quarter life crises. And tonight, through work, I have tickets to see The Gourds at The Visulite. Saturday, I’m going to lick the snakeskin boots off Alejandro Escovedo at The Neighborhood Theatre (ok, part of that is just wishful.)
• A friend challenged me to write more prose so I’m going to give a stab at some earlier nonfiction essays and a short story this coming weekend. I also have some new poems brewing. I feel like sending out more writing again; it’s been a while since I did that. But the PAPERWORK! The paperwork is what can kill you.

This has been a very boring and self-absorbed blog post, along with the last few, I’m sure, and I just want to say that is about all I am capable of right now. Sporadic, self-absorbed updates. But you probably already knew that!

*EDIT: OMG, I can’t believe I didn’t mention this. IT SNOWED! IN CHARLOTTE. 2-3 inches and the whole place just about shut down. It was wonderful, except that I still had to go to work!