SUMMER UPDATE-Lost Lit Newsletter 9.7.22

2022 MENDOCINO COAST WRITERS CONFERENCE RECAP

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DAY 1: Tues. 8/2-I flew from JFK to SFO and had the BEST flight of my life. I felt like I was 25 again without a partner or kids. I drank 2 cups of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee with 8 cream envelopes and 5 Splenda packets each. I felt side eye judgement from the flight attendant but I didn’t give a damn. I was going to drink my coffee, my way b/c I was kidless and that’s what single privilege selfishness is all about. I i-messaged my friends using the Jetblue free fly-fi about my newly discovered freedom, which I was dubbed, “Live it up Lynne” (LIUL).
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Somehow I managed to BART to my hotel in Union Square after 12 years away (Deciphering the clipper digital card almost killed me!)
Barely had time to wash up before being picked up by old friends and whisked away to Brendas meat and three.
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Pigged out on southern comfort food-soufflé crab cakes, fried chicken, bbq spare ribs, mac n cheese, collard greens, biscuit and cream soda—all while telling my inner diabetic, been on a keto diet since March, to sit down and shut up. That was just dinner. For dessert-beignets three ways. Happy Lynne!

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DAY 2: Wed. 8/3-Woke-up early, hunted for a coffee shop to type up my last critique letter. Stumbled into Chinatown, laughed at a store called “Welcome Home,” which I assumed sold furniture. Discovered it was the perfect cafe! Got to work while sipping coffee in pure bliss. Ate a quick brunch of eggs blackstone at the recommended French Cafe.
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BARTED to Oakland to carpool with Muriel and Tom, both in the speculative fiction workshop. We had a great time chatting on the 3hr ride to Mendocino. Both had PhD’s, which made my MFA shrivel. But both were humble and lovely! Later met up for dinner at Paddington’s Pub. We established Tom’s random trivial pursuit knowledge was like a Snapple bottle cap-a surprise with every swig!
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Went to bed feeling like is this what people mean when they say-I’m so blessed?

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DAY 3: Thurs. 8/4-First day of the Mendocino Coast Writers Conference (MCWC)! I thought I could walk there from my bed & breakfast, but after crossing the scary 101 highway, and up a hill (where I thought I was going to die) a angel of a woman stopped, said, “Looks like you’re going to the MCWC,” and gave me a ride the rest of the way!
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There I found @dethpsun merchandise. I told the board member-I KNOW DETH!
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First day of the conference was packed with morning, master class, memoir workshop, where I was the 2nd person workshopped, seeing if my personal essay hermit crabbed as a Kdrama fan/anti suicide pandemic letter to Jung Hae-In worked. Had my private consult with Faith Adiele, where I asked if my Anti-Asian Hate Trump rant was anything? Attended Faith’s Hermit Crab craft presentation, then wanted to collapse at 4:30pm. Had a wonderful talk/ dinner with a fellow classmate who was writing a grief memoir too.
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As I crashed hard to sleep, I thought—this conference is going to kill me. It was all too much, too overwhelming. I had forgotten that I’m an introvert and all this socializing was sucking my soul. But at the same time, I was so ridiculously happy.

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DAY 4: Fri. 8/5-Second day of the MCWC! Was the perfect conference day. Our memoir workshop (where I remembered to take pictures!) was led by Faith Adiele and she managed to select only BIPOC writers, 5 out of 9 of us we’re trans-racially adopted! All of us wrestled with identity, race, class, home journey searches, grief. It was hands down the best manuscript critique workshop of my life.
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Attended a writing residency talk by Jean Chen Ho and felt inspired. Got a ride back with a fellow classmate and we talked shit about TRA writing, adoption narratives and literary citizenship drama. Took a quick nap.
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Met up with most of our workshop group for dinner on the water. Then attended the faculty reading where Faith presented a Hermit Crab essay via Power Point! Seriously blew my mind!
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Just as we were bonding and I was figuring out how to pace myself at this conference, I went to bed really sad that the next day, would be our last day! Also by this point I forgot I had kids and was a mom who would give up all her writer dreams for what? Why?

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DAY 5: Sat. 8/6-Last day of the MCWC! The morning started off chaotic/off balance. Felt like a moon or a planet was out of whack. But we had another great writing workshop filled with whip smart, craft focused observations while leaving room for so much fluidity and grace to let the writer decide their story destiny. We ended with a beautiful, teary eyed, full of gratitude-reflection and closing. All of this was thanks to Faith’s thoughtful, intentional curation and leadership. I am her fan for life!
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Happy to participate in the closing dinner where I was able to get selfies with Faith and my Korean sister (I *think* we were the only Koreans in the house!). But wished I’d gotten my face with each workshop participant b/c I loved them all! Listened to the keynote presentation by Karen Yamashita which was hermit crabbed inside Mari Kondo commentary.
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Got a ride back to my b&b from my classmate now friend and we wound up sitting in her car talking for hours! It’s like when you go on a first date and you know they are the one. I felt like I had found a soul mate friend! A really perfect ending to a magical, restorative, creativity inspiring, intellectually stimulating but so much heart and love that makes me want to burst into tears like the whole year after my mom died. Or the 6 weeks of Emmy’s postpartum. Love and grief are like that. Flip, flip. I see you.

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IN CLOSING: What does self care mean for Live it up Lynne’s (LIUL) Mendocino trip?

-planning out a relaxed breakfast from 8am-8:50am

- Sitting on the patio at a bistro table with flower table cloth over looking the flower garden eating:

*Homemade raisin scones

*hard boiled egg with a cute drawing face!

*oatmeal with blueberries-1packet of Splenda

*vanilla yogurt with granola

*fruit cup

*3 cups of coffee from personal coffee pot (12 Splenda packets, 15 half and half containers)
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-Not missing my kids.

-Not missing my husband

-Seeing tall, bold flowers that always reminds me of my mom. Thinking how she would have loved this bed & breakfast.

-Fully understanding how important it is to take care of your stomach, that calms your mind, that leads to your heart.

-Finally, staying at the Joshua Grindle Inn Bed and Breakfast in the library room! They were honestly the most caring, accommodating hosts with my panicked requests to pack breakfast b/c of my anxiety around schedules and time (which when you are traveling by yourself is amplified to dizzying cliff hanging heights!). I loved coming home here.
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My take away from the MCWC Faith’s Memoir workshop—as long as you have a container to hold your story, it doesn’t matter what that container is made of. How it bends, how it moves forward or back. The most important thing is that container provides safety or comfort or care. And you as a writer get to determine, design, decide what safety means. B/c at the end of every story, no matter the trauma, pain, loss, and always grief-we just want to know that we’re gonna be ok.