Readings and Music and Books, Oh, My!

I spent the last few days at the AWP conference, and I'm still a little overwhelmed. I walked away with my weight in pieces of paper with stories and poems, non-fiction and memoirs. I shook hands, collected buttons, listened to some of the best contemporary writers in the world. Titillated. Curious. Driven. I felt these things and a lack of focus, like I still haven't found a niche. Still, I have deadlines. I have a deadline in 4 hours. In 6 hours I will be on a stage reading a thing called a poem about a moment or moments or people or a person, and I want to make sure I say something right.
I spent the weekend with a good friend and friends. I drank beer and ate food and lusted after pretty bicycles. I studied portuguese and learned how to say, "Eu sou uma mulher," and I'm beginning to belive it because I am no longer "uma crianca," and I don't want to go back to that. Now I have to look up at "uma ceu azul" and dream grown up dreams, then make them come true. So I'm going to quit procrastinating now. I'll read a poem and then write a poem. Then I'll submit a story. bye bye.