News, Naturally

I have decided which MFA program I want to attend. Of course, I still have to be accepted there, so I won't mention yet which program it is.

I am the queen of shortlists. Not because everything I write gets shortlisted, but because I never make it further than shortlists. However, three shortlists is good enough for me. There's the one I don't like to mention, there's the International 3-Day Novel Contest shortlist, and then there's the one I found out about earlier this week, which makes me rather excited. Yes, I made the shortlist for This Magazine's 10th Annual Great Canadian Literary Hunt, in the poetry category. I feel good about that.

Here's the news from this week that I don't feel good about: My colposcopy results are in. Now, my PAP smear showed slightly abnormal cells, but the colposcopy showed severely abnormal, precancerous cells. So I get to have another little procedure that will hopefully take care of that. At least I get to be anesthetized. I want to do some reading up on LLETZ (large loop excision of the transformation zone), the procedure I'll have, but it's hard to read about having a loop of wire scrape my insides. And then the cauterizing process. It sounds like FUN! (No.) Just one of those things that must be done, though. Especially with all the cancer genes in my family.

Let me leave on a more upbeat note: I was able to work out today, after about a year of not being able to work out. In the past couple of years, I have experienced two concussions, a broken foot, a broken leg, a torn ligament... um, I needed acupuncture, an MRI paid for by me... and I can't remember what else. Finally, I was given approval to use my legs again. Yay! Kicking back on the recumbent bike felt unnaturally good.