Ommmm U Or Why I Write Romance
Well, now my life is complete. A Pulitzer Prize winner has sneered at me. What could be better than that? How did this occur, you say? Let me start at the beginning.
Several years ago, I received a catalogue in the mail for a place I’d never heard of before, a place I will call Ommmm U in upstate New York on acres of bucolic land. Ommmm U offered extensive seminars on a wide range of topics from Aromatherapy to Yoga, and more.
I found the “and more” as I thumbed through the catalog in March and saw a five day writing workshop in the summer with a well known humorist and thought, well, she’s pretty funny and wouldn’t that be cool. There was also an awesome line-up of luminary literati for a weekend in May. It was at the end of final exams and I dithered over it, thinking, “Do I go for five days of non-stop fun, or do I go highbrow?”
I showed the catalog to my husband who said the following wise words: “Maybe you should go for just a weekend to see if you like it, before you spend a whole week there?”
In case you didn’t hear me, honey, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
I began my pre-travel checklist: House and pet sitter? Check! Train tickets? Check! Shuttle reservations? Check!
I re-read the catalog fine print. I needed to reserve a cabin room with a private bath. Call me crazy, but I really don’t like sharing bathrooms with total strangers. Just my little quirky thing, I guessed. I was not alone. When I called (two months in advance), I was told I got the very last one.
Three meals a day were included in the cost of the seminar, I read. Then, something caught my eye. Did that really say all vegetarian? Occasionally fish will be served? As in no meat? Not even chicken? Okay, shoot me, I eat meat. And I’m on a low carb diet, and much of what vegetarians eat is not good for my metabolism–like bread, potatoes, rice, etc. And, to top it all off, I have a list of food allergies that include mushrooms, eggplant and peppers, all the deadly nightshade family members that seem to be in vegetarian dishes. So I emailed Ommmm U to see what was up with that, should I bring protein bars? The answer: “probably not a bad idea.”
Protein bars? Check!
Then I mentioned this place in my writing group. One person had been there. She said, and I quote: “The food’s AWFUL there! It’s health food you know! After I left there, I went to a friend’s house. They asked what I wanted for dinner. I said put on a side of beef and give me a drink!”
Scotch? Check!
To read more go to
http://sharonbuchbinder.com/blog/2011...
Several years ago, I received a catalogue in the mail for a place I’d never heard of before, a place I will call Ommmm U in upstate New York on acres of bucolic land. Ommmm U offered extensive seminars on a wide range of topics from Aromatherapy to Yoga, and more.
I found the “and more” as I thumbed through the catalog in March and saw a five day writing workshop in the summer with a well known humorist and thought, well, she’s pretty funny and wouldn’t that be cool. There was also an awesome line-up of luminary literati for a weekend in May. It was at the end of final exams and I dithered over it, thinking, “Do I go for five days of non-stop fun, or do I go highbrow?”
I showed the catalog to my husband who said the following wise words: “Maybe you should go for just a weekend to see if you like it, before you spend a whole week there?”
In case you didn’t hear me, honey, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
I began my pre-travel checklist: House and pet sitter? Check! Train tickets? Check! Shuttle reservations? Check!
I re-read the catalog fine print. I needed to reserve a cabin room with a private bath. Call me crazy, but I really don’t like sharing bathrooms with total strangers. Just my little quirky thing, I guessed. I was not alone. When I called (two months in advance), I was told I got the very last one.
Three meals a day were included in the cost of the seminar, I read. Then, something caught my eye. Did that really say all vegetarian? Occasionally fish will be served? As in no meat? Not even chicken? Okay, shoot me, I eat meat. And I’m on a low carb diet, and much of what vegetarians eat is not good for my metabolism–like bread, potatoes, rice, etc. And, to top it all off, I have a list of food allergies that include mushrooms, eggplant and peppers, all the deadly nightshade family members that seem to be in vegetarian dishes. So I emailed Ommmm U to see what was up with that, should I bring protein bars? The answer: “probably not a bad idea.”
Protein bars? Check!
Then I mentioned this place in my writing group. One person had been there. She said, and I quote: “The food’s AWFUL there! It’s health food you know! After I left there, I went to a friend’s house. They asked what I wanted for dinner. I said put on a side of beef and give me a drink!”
Scotch? Check!
To read more go to
http://sharonbuchbinder.com/blog/2011...
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