Months ago, Elf Sternberg quoted Scott Westerfield who quoted Raymond Chandler as saying, [T]here should be a space of time, say four hours a day at least, when a professional writer doesn’t do anything else but write. He doesn’t have to write, and if he doesn’t feel like it, he shouldn’t try. He can look out of the window or stand on his head or writhe on the floor. But he is not to do any other positive thing, not read, write letters, glance at magazines, or write checks. Write or nothing. Whether it’s writing, classwork, or drawing, it comes down to the same thing. I found myself floundering just…

After not hearing a damn thing from the Human-Centered Computing Ph.D. Program for months, I emailed them to ask if there was some problem. All my documents show as being in, all letters of recommendation done months ago, etc. The response? “A first round of offers was made, and all other applicants were placed on a waiting list. Unfortunately, it appears that the class will fill up and no offers will be made to applicants on the waiting list.” So presumably, I’m on that waiting list. Which is really a rejection list, since no offers are being made to them. Regardless, I’m questioning further, just in case I was offered…