Sweat Scholarships Ripe for the Picking

Since I crossed the finish line of the first annual Run for Grub about two months ago:

• my running regimen has been downgraded from militant to pleasant,
• I've reminded myself that music is more than just a collection of beats driving my feet, and
• that toenail I was so worried about losing? Totally lost.

What HASN'T been lost is the four Grub Street scholarships I ran this race to fund in the first place (make some noise for the generosity of all our sponsors, please!)

If you're looking to join a family of writers in Boston.

If the writing project nearest and dearest to you could use a gentle kick in the pants.

If your writerly spirit is willing but your bank account is weak, the Run for Grub Scholarship may be for you:

WHAT: Run for Grub is a set of four scholarships covering the cost of a 10- or 6-week Grub Street workshop of your choice.

ELIGIBILITY: You must either be taking your first multi-week workshop at Grub Street OR taking your first multi-week workshop in a genre that is new to you (i.e. you are a fiction writer taking screenwriting for the first time, or a poet taking a memoir class, etc).

APPLICATION: Send runforgrub@grubstreet.org a one-page, single-spaced letter in 12-point font. The letter should detail how you'd benefit from taking a Grub Street class and include your bio and your familiarity with writing workshops (at Grub or other schools).

DEADLINE: Applications must be received by October 15th, 2010 at 5pm EST.

A letter, people! Just a letter! You could have this whole application wrapped up faster than it takes to fill out one of those silly Facebook questionnaires. And really. If I can run 26.2 miles, you can certainly write one stinking page.

We'll even let you keep all your toenails.

For complete scholarship information, visit the Run for Grub Scholarships page on the Grub Street Web site.

Bo-Bo Knows Marathon Hiatus

I'm taking the next 16 weeks to blog about my training for the marathon I'm running as a benefit for Grub Street Inc, an independent writing center in Boston, MA.

I'll return to Bo-Bo Knows in August, but in the mean time, check out the Bo-related post at Run for Grub!

Bo-Bo Knows He's Top Dog

File this one under surreal.

Earlier this week, I got an email from Dogster in response to my December blog post about losing Bo. The email started like so:

Hi Catherine,

I was just browsing through your blog, and wanted to send my condolences for your lost of Bo-Bo.

I too have lost a dog once, and it was horrible, but a very rewarding experience : )

Any-who, I work for Dogster.com, the top pet community destination on the Internet. We have a breed page with over 2800 greyhound members...

The letter goes on to explain why my linking to Dogster.com is a good idea. And I'm not saying it's not. I want to be clear here: I have no problem with dog sites--love them. But I do have a problem with this letter. Two, in fact:

1. It would appear this gentleman hasn't actually read more than a line of my blog. Because that particular post wasn't about losing Bo--bite your dog-wagging tongue, Mr. Dogster!--but about how my husband and I, through a Herculean overhaul of out diet and exercise plans, have literally shed the equivalent of a Bo's worth of ugly fat.
2. If my post HAD been about Bo going to that meaty cornucopia in the sky, and this was an actual, live condolence email, in what universe would a smile emoticon have any place in that note? Not to mention changing topic to his request with a flippant "any-who." Seriously?? He might as well have written:

Hey, I know you just lost the only thing that ever loved you more unconditionally than your mother, but ANY-WHO could you do me a solid and link to my Web site? You know. Between sobs.

And then today. Same sweet, but misguided, guy sends a second email. Today he's writing to tell me that I've won an "award of recognition for being an awesome resource for dog owners/lovers!" Well, that's sweet. And yes, my blog may touch on things greyhound occasionally, but in recent memory, I've also spent a month groaning about boot camp with Jillian Michaels and promising to blog my way through Walden before losing the plot somewhere amid the holiday hustle. In other words, my blog's about me, and enjoying my dog just happens to be one of my favorite things about being me, so he comes up from time to time.

So given that I've done nothing to earn this award, I clearly can't actually accept it for myself, but I will accept it for Bo. Because since retirement, the only other prize he's received was a first-place ribbon for softest fur at the Greyhound Expo a few years back, and I have to tell you--that thing screamed consolation prize (he was simply too dainty to be anything resembling a threat in the hot-dog-eating contest).

So congrats, Bo! Dogster.com recommends you for reasons that have nothing to do with me or the content on my blog, I'm sure. Though I have to warn you, they might strip your award when they see how I've chosen to present it to the world. Except they won't. See it, I mean. Because they're not actually reading my blog. We've been over this.

Find more dog info here!