Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Nea is in!!! (and hopefully not possessed)

I have never done such a difficult and traumatic application.  This has taken me four days, fourteen phone calls (I kept track), ten emails, and endless angst, but I finally submitted to NEA for a creative writing grant. 

All afternoon, I tried again to reset my damn password on four different computers, and finally called my friend, the writer Rochelle Shapiro, and asked if she could do it on her computer.  Bless her!  She opened it up and got me a new password and I promptly, for some reason, got seven Do Not Reply messages in my email, each with a different new password.  I picked up the latest one and tried it on my Mac.  Nope.  Error messages galore.  I then tried it on the PC and to my absolute astonishment IT WENT THROUGH.

I realize this is ridiculous.  I realize my chances of getting an NEA are slim to none, but I also realized something about myself that I sort of like, at least when it comes to this: I never give up. I find a way. I pray to the universe. I go get help.  I try to stay hopeful.

I made it happen. Now onto worrying about how to apply for a Guggenheim!
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5 comments:

  1. Clea SimonFebruary 11, 2009 at 8:25 AM

    Good for you!! I hope you get one!

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  2. Gina SorellFebruary 11, 2009 at 3:22 PM

    Woohoo!! Wishing you not one, but TWO grants! :)
    p.s. 750 words yesterday...back on the horse :)

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  3. Katharine WeberFebruary 12, 2009 at 6:12 AM

    The Gugg forms are perfectly reasonable, and you will breeze through, after the NEA struggle. It's like assembling one small piece of Ikea furniture after assembling a houseful first. But they're not due til the Fall.

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  4. David GittlinFebruary 20, 2009 at 2:36 PM

    Caroline:

    This is just another example of your incredible persistence. I have always admired your work ethic. It's a shame you get overloaded and tense at times, but you always make your way through the hard time. Your blog is amazing. You are amazing, funny, and inspiring.

    I just finished reading "Revolutionary Road" by Richard Yates. It is a beautifully written book. The author has a unique perspective and style.

    I heartily recommend the novel to all serious writers. I learned so much and enjoyed reading the book tremendously. Haven't seen the movie yet. If it's half as good as the book, it will win an academy award.

    I'm not going to hold my breath, however.

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  5. Andrew RoeFebruary 24, 2009 at 8:35 PM

    Hi Caroline,

    You have given me hope! I've also been pulling my hair out for the past two weeks trying to get my NEA application turned in. After multiple phone calls and emails, there's now someone "researching" it, but the deadline is next Thursday and I'm starting to get a little sweaty.

    I seem to be having similar issues. I keep trying to reset my password, the site says an email has been sent to me, but alas, no email ever arrives. I tried to register with different email addresses, but the system tells me "This email exists" even though I'm never able to actually register with the different email address.

    It sounds like it's a matter of trying to log in with as many computers as possible and then hope and pray one works?

    I'm a dreamy creative writer type too (as someone put it in another post), but I'm also fairly computer and tech savvy. So this whole experience is driving me nuts!

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