[Jossa's Scrapbook] Spoonsful of Sugar

by **Jossa Skyglow** on August 14th, 2013, 3:55 am

It seems like the trend is to write an autobio for my first post in my scrapbook, so I'll do that first.

Name: Jossa works just fine, but if you want, you can call me R.
Age: 22.
Gender: Male.
Occupation: Several. I'm an Academic Resource Specialist at the nearby community college. This is actually an umbrella title for all of my myriad jobs there, which include tutor, teacher's assistant, academic coach, etc. I also work at a restaurant at night. And I guess being a student qualifies as an occupation.
Area of Study: I major in English and minor in Anthropology.

Favorite Books: I can't give you any one book, but I'm an avid fantasy reader and I have a lot of favorite authors, like Neil Gaiman and Lev Grossman and Ernest Cline, etc.
Favorite Music: My playlist changes regularly, but I listen to almost anything. I have a secret love for indie music.
Favorite Food: Everything. It's a miracle that I'm not obese. I eat nearly constantly.
Favorite Pastimes: Playing Video Games, Reading, Writing Poetry, Cooking.

According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test, my personality type is INFP. I'm not entirely convinced.

I spend a good portion of my day listening to music and there's usually some sort of song going on in my head. I'm kind of musical in that I play a couple of instruments as a hobby and I have a knack for playing by ear. Music is kind of important to me because it acts as such a powerful tool of communication. When I feel like I can't communicate well verbally, I can always sing or play to let out what I'm feeling.

I'm also the president of the creative writing group at my college. Poetry is my primary focus when it comes to writing. For some reason, I tend to write prose kind of... Formally, I guess. I don't feel like I have to do that in poetry.

My dream is to get a PhD in Anthropology. I'd like to study the ecstatic religious experience and how different cultures search for/attain it. I could talk forever about what I know now, which isn't all that much, because it's really fascinating to me.

--><--

With this scrapbook, I will post various prompts, responses, quotes, poems, music and images that I find interesting or that I've made.

Here's a song in my head: Comforting Sounds - Birdy.

by **Jossa Skyglow** on August 14th, 2013, 5:59 pm

Here's a poem I've been revising. It's called Sunday.

Generally,
I am
isochronal,
a tempo –

but

there was a moment
of brightness,
sudden: a held breath,

or an unraveling of skin
against touch. I delayed,
splayed myself against
the stiller dawn, my body
a countermelody.

There were
delphic murmurings
against the linens;

and you, tidal,
thrashing mildly
against the morning

and me -

Reach by Andrew Belle has been in my head today.

Someone in my club just emailed me this prompt: A fortune teller at the local county fair tells you two things. She tells you something good that will happen, and something awful that will happen. What are these events or incidents?

If I write up a response, I'll post it here. But I think she'd tell me that I'll be a wizard, then she'd tell me that my powers would only manage to make kittens into full-grown cats or something (which would be the opposite of I'd want, if it'd have to be a cat-related magic).

EDIT: Evidently, a person who uses cat magic is known as an ailuromancer. Like, they read the future by watching cats. That's what I'd end up being.

The Kindly Brontosaurus is a thing.

by **Jossa Skyglow** on August 15th, 2013, 7:27 pm

This is something that's been in my head today:

Exercise 1:
describe the self
as lover

and I am not, no;
there is something in me
that is not,
a need

that screams.
I am not still,
have not been still
for years.

I made my first IC post today, which was exciting. It's making me think more about Jossa, which is helping me flesh him out. He's nothing like a real, believable person yet, but there's hope for him yet.

This is a nice song. I haven't seen Little Miss Sunshine for a while.

There's this poetry contest that I'd like to enter. Here's a link. I'm looking at the New Issues contest, the one for unpublished poets. I don't think I have enough pieces that I'm proud of yet, but if I work hard, I can probably piece something together.