2nd Prize in Tanka, Lynx and Poetry Quarterly

I didn't know I placed second in a contest I joined in 2013. And here I was, saying I can't seem to break the 3rd place rut. I just found out about this while reviewing my submissions after a bit of chaos during the holidays. I'm getting my writing life together, while juggling taking care of my health and my grandmother, who has suffered some broken bone/s due to a fall.

Here's my 2nd Place certi from Diogen, for my summer tanka:

Also, also, also

I have been recently published in the Fall 2013 issue of Poetry Quarterly, an award-winning journal edited by Glenn Lyvers. My poem "Assumption" is in there, and you can get the paperback copy over here.

What/where else? Yes, Lynx, edited by Jane Reichhold. I have several haiku there in their January 2014 ish. Read em here. :)

I Wish I had Better Eyesight

A doctor once came to my high school. He was an ophthalmologist, and he talked about how we can better take care of our eyes. According to him, once you reach the age of 15, any damage done is permanent. Which was weird since I was 18 then. I had astigmatism and near-sighted vision until I was 15 years of age, and then suddenly, my vision became 20/20 again when my doctor checked.

I didn't wear glasses for the next 5 years. The 20/20 vision didn't stay long. For some reason, my eyesight became poor again. I can't read signages that are more than 3 meters away. My myopic vision returned and I had to wear glasses again.

I hate wearing glasses. They're so uncomfortable. I can't wear contacts because I already had an eyelid operation and it made my eyes far too sensitive to any foreign object. These days, I've been keeping my glasses off my face, and I noticed something. When I wear my glasses for a few hours, my eyesight gets really blurry once I take them off. When I keep my glasses off, my eyes are able to adjust better. It's like the glasses make my eyes "lazy". Maybe I'll just not wear them after all...

Ares Magazine Kickstarter

A magazine I'm highly interested in (reminiscent of OMNI) has launched its kickstarter campaign. What really gets me excited about them is their support of indie game developers. I think they're also including games in their mag once they launch. I'm sure they'll make it big, and soon. :) Support them at their KS page.

Favorite Animal of the Week: Penguin Fetching Newspaper

Because penguin.

There's a guy with two dicks!

If that isn't the most interesting thing I've read in my life... I wonder if I can make a poem out of it. It's cool. Since he has a pair, he gets to have a boyfriend AND a girlfriend. I'm linking a Reddit thread where two-dick guy has a Q&A: The Fun Link

EPIKO Work Update

I've encountered several plot holes in this story, which I managed to fix in my two-week hermit writing session. These kinds of inconsistencies are impossible to spot in the outline of a work, and won't even be obvious in the synopsis. I discovered them while doing the writing itself. I had that what-the moment, you know, when you realize that the events you planned just don't make sense and could have easily been solved if the characters weren't so myopic.

I'm thinking of several title changes. Like--
Epiko: The Realm of Trickery
Epiko: The Bronze Seer
Epiko: The Goat's Horns

I dunno. I'm not inspired yet. Still, I'm at the editing stage. WIP's at 45,000 words. It's a short novel or maybe a novella. Really depends on which publisher is looking at it.

And it's back to my day job for me! Gonna have a lot to juggle.