My Parents Are Gaining Momentum

I'm staying strong, still holding out about my romantic exploits, but my parents seem to be strengthening. They'll be in town on Thursday, so we'll see if I can hold my own.

On gawker.com, someone reported seeing Tobias Wolff right near my work. I wouldn't have known what to say to him. But I still would have chased him down. Too bad I had the day off:
594 Broadway
Mar 12th, 2007 @ 1pm
I just saw Tobias Wolff, of This Boy's Life fame, picking up a sandwich at Miro on Broadway. He looked distinguished with his signature bald head, gray mustache, glasses, and leather jacket. He was alone and no one paid him any mind.

In other news, I've abandoned McEwan and I'm reading Andre Dubus' Adultery and Other Choices. So far, it's fine.

I watched Half Nelson finally. Everyone's already seen it (except Alyssa), so I don't think I need to go into detail about it here. It was pretty good.

Song of the second: "How Can I Love You If You Won't Lie Down" by the Silver Jews

Since Last We Spoke

Not a lot to report.

I saw Zodiac with Maggie last night. She was riveted. I thought it was pretty good. Completely worth seeing for the hotness of Jake, Mark, and Robert.

Then we went to my favorite bar on 1st avenue. Best thing about it was that drinks were half off. Worst thing was everything else. So after a while, we headed for the quietest bar in town, which happens to be on my street. (It's also next to one of my parents' favorite theaters.)

I finally wrote a draft of my Coetzee annotation. Really unimpressive, but it's because the subject I originally chose was too large and difficult. I wanted to write about how there seemed to be no surprises for Coetzee as he told the story and therefore everything felt formulaic. But I couldn't find a way to make that sound like anything but a book review. I'm saving it for my cover letter.

I'm pretty sure I'm giving up on Ian McEwan. I'm going to ask my mentor if I can skip him.

At lunch, I talked to Alyssa and she told me that I don't have ADD, but I might have dating ADD. She hit the nail on the head.

In other boring news, I've called 311 on my building (tenant rights' number) and the work on my heating unit is back in progress. Maybe by next winter, I'll have heat.

I haven't taken any pictures lately. (The above photo is courtesy of one of my favorite artists, Felix Gonzales-Torres.) I'm gearing up for Aimee, Paulette, polarchip, and my week in pictures which begins March 15, the day my parents and Alyssa get back to town. I can't wait for picture week!

Happy Blog Birthday To Me!

One year ago, today, I began this blog. My entire life has changed in a year. Unsurprisingly, my first blog entry has only one comment, and whom else could it be from, but my internet obsessed partner in crime, Aimee?

I was going to buy a cupcake to celebrate my blog birthday but I’ve been eating junk all week, so here’s a picture of a (healthy) mango I had on hand with a candle in it. (Oh no! I just realized I forgot to make a wish when I blew out the candle.) Big thanks to polarchip for encouraging me to start blogging and to keep going.

Now, let’s back it up two days:
I was sitting at home, staring at my bathroom ceiling, when it occurred to me that everything in my life is going really well. Frighteningly well. There was only one option: something very bad was going to happen. (Is this a Jewish thing or do all people think like this?)

I frantically started emailing/calling people to let them know things were about to be bad.

Alyssa came over (night of Manhattan, which I thought was good, but certainly no Annie Hall) and she thought this theory was ridiculous. (By the way, we met three neighbors during the great microwave search. This is the best way to meet people ever. We found two cute men and one disgusting middle-aged man in a green bathrobe. He couldn’t get rid of us fast enough and we couldn’t leave fast enough. This activity is highly recommended to anyone moving into a new building.)

When I went to work the next morning, I discovered that I had been sent an email from the Director of Communications informing my boss that my blog had classified information on it. Yup, apparently I’m not the only one in the world with information anxiety. Pretty scary.

I flipped out and promptly put my blog on “private” mode. I left my desk to call my parents and cry to them for an hour. This was not a small potatoes cry. I walked around the freezing city, trying to find a good warm store/restaurant/café to linger in while I bawled on the phone. And of course the parents put things into perspective with love, patience, care, attention, logic, and a few pep talks sprinkled in.

Now that a day has gone by, I’ve calmed down a lot. I’m pretty sure I’ll want to publicize my blog again, but I’m not rushing it.

It’s creepy that this whole thing happened almost exactly one year after the birth of my blog.

Thanks to everyone for being so ridiculously supportive. I’m embarrassed by how shocking/traumatic this was, but nobody laughed at me. All of your emails, calls, and hugs were perfect. Thanks.

Here are my celebratory picks for the year (nobody who has been reading along will be surprised):
Book of the year: Old School by Tobias Wolff
Music of the year: The Be Good Tanyas (This was such a hard one, but it was kind of their year on my itunes.)
Movie: Too hard to remember all of them. Maybe I should just honor the Christmas Movie Marathon of 2006, which started as a list of six and ended up being three: History Boys, Dream Girls, and Volver.
Move/City: New York
Exercise: Swimming and walking
Most Random Comment: Remember that relative that found my blog? That was bizarr-o!
Solidified friendships: Aimee and Paulette
Tech help: Polarchip
Most frequently plugged: Trader Joes with Aveda at a close second.
Sexiest pet: Cornelius
Obsession with feelings toward another animal: Horses
Drink: Honeybush tea
Food: Garlic
Biggest scandal: privacy vs. public blogging (ongoing)

I hope this coming year will be another great one. Not much could top this. I’m still convinced I started Saturn Return a year early, which is why I am the way I am right now.

Thanks for reading.

Love you.

going underground

I've been banished. I live in a basement, I work in a basement, now my blog is underground too. More on this later. Sorry to abruptly go private on all of you.

Why Did It Take Me So Long To Move Here?

I promised myself I wouldn’t write on my blog until tonight because I need to be working on school stuff, but it’s 4:40 pm and by the time I finish this post, it will be nighttime, right?

To give you an idea of the world I live in, at this moment, Cornelius is licking the wall.

Yesterday I walked to the southern tip of Manhattan, Whitehall, and met Kim at the subway. We walked from the east side to the west side and then all the way back to the East Village, stopping along the way to take pictures and enjoy being tourists, even though she’s lived here for six years. The new goal is for us to have a long walking date once a week. We’re going to traipse all over the boroughs, seeking/creating adventures. Here are some pictures from our trip. I’m still not a good photographer, please, patience, people.

We stopped at Kiehl's and I used the bathroom, which I think is the nicest public bathroom in Manhattan. The Edward Albee plaque is from their bathroom. See? I learned something in the bathroom. Amazing. And Kim and I had to read Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf in high school, so it was really perfect.


Then we went to (oh my gosh, are there only three restaurants in New York or am I trapped in a cycle??) Angelica’s for lunch/dinner. I had just been there two nights before with Alyssa, so I was a little embarrassed but our food was super yummy (it’s always a risk: either yummy or bland). Kim got the wee dragon bowl bargain: her first time!

After dinner, we went to my apartment where Kim admired my new furniture that Aimee apparently hates, and laughed about the Raw Food book that polarchip suggested I read. Sorry, p, but it’s kind of hilarious. Do you know what Carol Alt’s relationship is to hockey? Kim wants to know. She mentions it like a million times in the book. Also, does she own stock in Whole Foods?

I watched Robocop last night. I wish I hadn’t watched it alone since I really don’t know what to think of it. Anyone seen it?

Blog 2.0: Today I did my usual Monday rounds, but there was a crime scene right outside of Trader Joes. The area had been roped off and all that was left was a bloody backpack and a bloody leather jacket. I couldn’t decide if someone had jumped off the Palladium building or if someone had been killed. I was glad I didn’t have my digi-cam, but also kind of wished I did. I just found out what happened.

I spent the day WRITING!!!! It’s true. I’m kind of proud of my Amy Bloom annotation. Now I just need to write the Coetzee one. I can’t believe how fast the submission deadline is approaching.

Then Alyssa called since she’s applying to a job in my neighborhood and I walked her there. We decided to walk around and chew gum and when our gum lost its flavor, we’d walk into whatever café/restaurant/store we were standing in front of and ask if they served coffee. But then we got distracted and ended up sitting at Mud Coffee for three hours. I worked on my writing and Alyssa worked on hers. Such good students!!! I got some seriously yummy butternut squash soup while we were there, which was appropriate because when we left the café, it had begun to snow big time. Yea! Snowstorm alert. Time to snuggle.

I’ve decided I have a unique diagnosis, thanks to polarchip and Aimee called L.E. or Life Exuberance. I’m really into this condition, which is like a symptom in and of itself: to be into actually having it.

Alyssa’s coming back over tonight after class so we can be nerds and watch Woody Allen’s Manhattan, which I got at the library today.

Tomorrow night there’s a panel discussion at Housing Works about AIDS and cinema and guess who’s hosting it???? One of my heroes: Sarah Schulman!!!!!!! I’m definitely bringing my digi-cam and I might print out an article that was published in Minneapolis about how Rent (the musical and movie) was stolen from Schulman’s book, People In Trouble and give it to her. I can’t wait. Let the life exuberance continue!

P.S. Alyssa is coming over and she's bringing microwaveable popcorn. I don't have a microwave, so we're going to knock on all my neighbors doors and see if we can pop it at someone else's home. Then we can meet more people in my building.

I’m So Behind

I know I wrote two days ago but every day feels like a lifetime and there’s so much to report. I made a list. Here goes:

On Friday night, Alyssa and I went to (you guessed it) Angelica’s Kitchen for dinner. I had the strangest meal, even for Angelica's standards. After a full day, I still can't decide if I liked it. We stopped by Black Hound for free samples. (There's only about eight activities that I do in my neighborhood and so far Alyssa and I have done five of them.) Then we stayed up late watching a marathon of television shows on DVD. We went through all the faves: Gilmore Girls, The Office, and Wonderfalls.

Today at work, Mike Figgis purchased a rare art book about some era of German art that I could not understand, but he was excited about it and we were excited about him. One of the volunteers thanks him for making such great movies. We knew it was him because he paid by credit card, not because we automatically identified him.

At lunch, I purchased a rug from Kate’s Paperie that was 75% off since everything is on sale for their big remodeling project. Please see pictures. I’m pretty excited about the rug. I was worried it was kind of cheesy but Alyssa fully approved.

Then in a matter of minutes, Alyssa stopped by, quickly followed by a random appearance by Rachel Steiner, a girl I used to go to Jewish sleep-away camp with when I was about twelve years old and Tara’s older sister, Jessie. Jessie, Tara, and Rachel all grew up in the same town. Rachel seemed the same and I’ve seen Jessie since I’ve lived here, but the whole thing was just super weird and exciting.

On my walk home from work, there were all these ambulances and fire trucks outside the Houston subway station and I heard people talking about an explosion, but as of tonight, I’ve seen nothing on the Internet related to this, so I’m unclear about what happened.

Then, I got to see the lunar eclipse. I had forgotten about it, but there it was! I don’t think I’ve ever seen an eclipse before. I think they’re kind of magical and people do weird things under the influence of an eclipse.

For the millionth time this week, Alyssa and I hung out. We went to Viva for some Zen vegan pizza. Then we decided to enjoy the summery weather and get a pint of Ben and Jerry’s to share while watching some more Gilmore Girls. I remembered the free pint coupon that Riva sent me months ago and we ran home to pick it up. Then we took a half an hour deciding what flavors to get and ended up with Banana on the Rum and Cherry Garcia. (Notice how I'm hiding my enormous chin in this picture.)

Whew. That brings us up to now. It’s one am and tomorrow I’m supposed to have adventures with Kim. Then maybe, just maybe, I’ll start to get some work going. Skeptical? You should be.

I'm back to drinking coffee. I was in such a celebratory mood because of the fifty degree autumn weather we're having that I went a little overboard today and had 2.5 cups. Not really a smooth transition back to coffee, but man did I miss the stuff!

Sadly, in the middle of next week, Alyssa is heading back to Colorado for the week, so I will be without Aimee and Alyssa. On the upside, I really may get back to my writing. I could really use a residency like Ragdale to keep me from getting sidetracked. I never thought I had A.D.D., but I have found eight thousand ways to distract myself. It's getting a little out of hand.

All My Troubles Have Gone Away

This haircut is different from the last one she gave me. Still adorable and fabulous, but something about it is different. Neither of us could figure out what the change was, so maybe some of you who have seen the two versions can. Veronica is so fabulous and amazing for giving me free/perfect haircuts. I keep telling her that she can charge me, but she does it out of the kindness of her Romanian heart.


Alyssa and I had lunch together again today and then we walked around SOHO and people-watched. The weather has been so ridiculously good that it seems unjust to have to go to work.
Drinking hot water with lemon all day makes me feel like I'm at a spa (except for the fact that my coworkers blast the most annoying radio station, I'm sitting in front of a computer, I work in a basement, and I'm covered in dirt from old books).

*movie of the week: My coworker burnt me a copy of the criterion edition of Robocop because he flipped out when I told him I'd never seen it.
*song of the evening: Heavenly Day by Patty Griffin
*my new ringtone (which corresponds to a certain person's myspace page that Riva might know about): Sugar, Sugar by The Archies

Knit Me Baby One More Time

I can't believe the beauty! The sun has been shining for two days! It's supposed to be another warm one tomorrow. I've been basking in the hot 40 degrees.

Last night was semi-productive. I read some more of McEwan (still not a fan). Also, I wrote my outlines for my annotations and reread my story.

Tonight, for the first time since I lived in San Francisco two years ago, I started knitting. Alyssa and I went to Happy Ending Music and Reading Series. It was craft night and the publishers of a bunch of craft books donated a bunch of knitting needles and fancy yarn. I got really into knitting during the music and the crafty people giving talks about their books and their crafts. Alyssa was convinced that this was going to be the ultimate event in New York and I can't say that it was, but we had fun. We even got yelled at more than once for talking during the lectures. The hostess, was weird and nobody laughed at her jokes, but that didn't stop her from trying. I felt like the bad kid in school. But I was also the master knitter of the night (not including the presenters). Here's the scarf I started. It's just like riding a bike, it came right back to me. The band that played, Mason Dixon was really good.

Big excitement of the week: Veronica volunteers tomorrow, which means I get another fabulous haircut!

Oh! Today at work on the radio there was some weird radio gimmick where people were supposed to call in and choose between Chaka Kahn and Whitney Houston. For a couple hours it was all Whitney and Chaka all the time. Ultimately, Chaka won the battle for most-played, which was a bit disappointing.
Whitney song of the day would have to be: All At Once
And Chaka song has got to be: Tell Me Something Good

*health restoration of the week: No coffee; just hot water with lemon

I Am Such A Nerd

Good old Richard Brautigan's poetry just landed on my desk. I forgot about how I used to memorize his poetry with Jen in high school.

Here's the Brautigan poem of the day:

Nice Ass

There is so much lost
And so much gained in
these words.

More news:

Went to a really fun Oscar party at my friend, Maggie's home. She's trying to set me up with her housemate. We'll see. So far there's mutual interest, but I have a feeling this one is going to take a while.

Aimee is gone again. I feel like I'm the housewife who pads around, waiting for her to come home from her business trips, worrying that she may be having affairs. Except in our case, it would be good for her to be having affairs. What with the fact that we're not lesbian lovers.

I had lunch with Alyssa and Eva today. That was kind of fun but I'm worried Eva thinks I'm out of my mind. I'm not losing sleep over it, but I have to say, I could get where she's coming from.

My Raw Food book finally came in at the library, but I don't see how it could happen. All the germinating and preparing and blending and words that end in -ing. Polarchip, sending you major props. On that note, I'm not drinking coffee this week because I want my face to clear for a certain date I have this weekend.

I'm not that into Ian McEwan's Saturday. Anyone want to help me out with that?

Aimee told me that maybe the reason I'm not doing any writing/schoolwork is because I'm acting out about no longer having Michael as my mentor. I think she's right. I finally got a little bit of work going last night and I'm going to try and keep up with it tonight.

Song of the day:
*Man Eater by Nelly Furtado

Perhaps of the day:
*Perhaps I like horses after all.

WHEEEEEEEE!

No big surprise, things have gotten out of hand. In the past two weeks, I have had only one full night of sleep (last night) and my life has become a series of over-stimulating events. I’m not really sure who this Gili is and how she got this way, but I’m mostly enjoying the ride and learning a lot about myself.

Riva came to stay with me for a few days. It was really good having her here. I can’t even remember all that we did, so here’s some things: ATE a lot, including at hummus place, café colonial, s'mac, angelica kitchen, essa bagels, around the clock diner, guss' pickles, economy candy, mud coffee; help me out, Riva, what am I forgetting? We discovered bars in my neighborhood, including my new favorite one on First Avenue in between eighth and ninth (I don’t think it has a name). We walked to the West Village, stared at puppies in the windows, strolled downtown along the Hudson, walked through Chinatown, Little Italy, and the Lower East Side. We did cucumber facials (see picture) at three in the morning to try and relax. We listened to Radiohead because it was the closest thing I could find to music that sounded like we were at a Turkish Spa. In the famous Riva/Gili tradition, I gave Riva a ton of clothes that I no longer want. And in exchange, she helped me find romance.

The day that Riva left, I ran into Tara on the street at lunch. We caught up and she told me she’s applying for her MFA at a ceramic program upstate! Go Tara! I’m so relieved that she’s finally doing this.

That night, I ended up having a date, which was fun. I was able to make use of the bar on First Avenue that Riva and I discovered.

Yesterday, I went to work and Aimee stopped by in the morning. We caught up as fast as we could (this is an endless challenge) and then she flew off to the Mac store.

Olympia Dukakis came to my workplace yesterday. I adore here, but I was too tired to be excited. She hung around in the café with a friend. Still, it was cool.

I decided to take the night off and get my schoolwork going (I had an assignment due for my interdisciplinary study) and try to catch up on sleep. I’ve been completely neglectful of my writing, but I have a plan. It doesn’t start until next week, but I’m going to try really hard to stop all this slacking. Back to getting up early to write. (I could be doing that now, but I’m behind on the blog and wanted to put something up there.)

In the end, I had really mixed feelings about Coetzee, which basically came down to the subject matter being so overwhelming that it was hard to focus on his craft. Amy Bloom was nothing special, definitely not memorable. Next up is Ian McEwan’s Saturday.

I haven’t even opened the envelope from my mentor to read her comments. No time. But I will work on this next week. It’s on the planner; it will happen!

Tonight I’ve got plans to meet up with Aimee, Cindy, and Ivan for MOMA, Museum of Arts and Crafts, and Pan’s Labyrinth (finally!). Oh!! I saw Lives of Others. Go see it. This is my favorite movie that’s currently out in the theaters.

Tomorrow night I have another date after work. The next day I may have hang out time with Kim (hi, Kimmie!) and then Maggie’s Oscar party at night. Monday, I should be getting back on track writing-wise. I can’t believe this month is almost over. Sad!

I finally caught up with the 1990s (I know we’re past that, but I’m not) and upgraded to a new cell phone. The guy at Cingular made fun of my old phone. My new ringtone is also the song of the week: Bill Withers’ Aint No Sunshine.

Two pictures have been uploaded! More when Riva sends them my way.

One of My Weirdest Days In New York

Riva surprised me and showed up at my work with her posse. It was so fun to have her there! I'll see her again tomorrow night.

Then I had some difficult interactions with some people that I didn't want to interact with. (Back to the vague language.)

I ran into an old friend of mine, Erin, who I lived with in Amsterdam. She was on the street, visiting from D.C. and she flagged me down. I'll see her again in a month.

Finished "Disgrace" by J.M. Coetzee. I'll need some time to think about my overall feeling of the book. I DO like his writing style but the subject matter was a hard one. That's not a bad thing.

This coming week is going to be so action-packed, I'm already feeling over-stimulated. Or maybe that's just the coffee talking.

Life Is Not Linear

And neither are blog posts. Since there was some maintenance work that had to happen on my computer, I couldn't post pictures until Ellen swooped in and saved the day.
The day has been saved!!!

Here is my first attempt at photojournalizm (the "z" means that it's not real photojournalism; it's Gili's inability to take pictures, but trying anyway journalism).

You asked for it. Get ready for lots of bad pictures coming your way.

On Monday mornings, this is what my life is like:

I open my gate, recognizable by the silver graffiti, which reads "Noser." This tag is on other buildings in my neighborhood as well. I like to think of it as a kind of tag for the Jewish people, and I open and close my gate with pride.

Then I walk by the tree stump that cracked in half and fell on a woman's head right before my very eyes. Remember that? This is the belated evidence. I wasn't kidding. The stump is a constant reminder of the city's unexpected drama.


From the stump, I walk the short distance to Trader Joe's to pick up produce, rice milk, tea, cereal (notice the great cereal display in the window), and the like. This is like cleansing in the mikvah. It's my early Monday morning ritual and there is a certain calm that has fallen over all of Trader Joe's, which can only mean that the day before was chaos. I am beginning to know some of the members of the Monday crew and I have a great affection for all of them (hopefully this has been obvious from my other posts).


Once all groceries are unloaded, I gather my holds from the past week and return them to the Tompkins Square Library. It looks way prettier on the outside than it does inside. I am getting to know the desk clerks by severity of attitude. They seem to be having an ongoing competition to determine which one of them hates their job the most.


After the library, my day is open. These four pictures represent the constants. Thanks for indulging me in my first real use of my digicam. Hopefully, my pictures will be more interesting as I grow more comfortable taking them.

Snow, Mermaids, Beer, Squids, Cramps

I'm having digicam issues which is why I've been avoiding the blog. That and I've been somewhat busy. Ellen is going to fix everything, as she always does, so I'm not too worried about it. The digicam's great but my computer doesn't love me the way it used to.

Snow and ice pellets are real. I've lived to tell it. Walking to work is a new kind of exercise.

On Monday night, Kim won free Bud Light every Tuesday night at a bar in my neighborhood. She was nice enough to give me the prize since there's a better chance of me going there, but last night I missed my first free night due to a certain feminine cycle beginning. Too much information? Maybe, but oh well.

Recently, I've been told that I'm like Daryl Hannah in Splash. This is kind of true. I'm like this new person learning about people without knowing all the rules or caring much for following them.

The BBC put out an important study on giant squids. I was going to say that this isn't a metaphor for anything, but hello! I studied Queer Theory. Everything means something, right? So maybe there are moments in my life when I feel like a giant squid.

For Valentine's Day, I made a little shrine up in the bookstore for Judy Blume. I hope she accepts.

Will I Ever Get Used To This?

I was just walking home from my early Monday morning Trader Joes routine and sitting in Liquiteria (the cafe on 11th and 2nd, where Aimee and I shot a youtube video for Ellen, remember where the owner, Doug wanted to know if I saw "For Your Consideration" in my Christmas movie marathon) was PARKER POSEY!! I had my digicam in my pocket but I was way too shy to say anything. I smiled and kept walking. Now I'm home, unloading groceries and I'm thinking about running over there to pick up coffee.

I can't believe she's my neighbor. I am ridiculously star-struck.

Let's Save Our Troubles For Another Day

I've been slacking on the blog. Here's why: last week I had to deal with no heat and a broken computer. (Fixed by the handsome boy at the genius bar. See, E, I resisted calling you to help me.)

Plus my submissions for school were due. I feel semi-satisfied with what I sent out to my mentor. I really took the knife to my story and chiseled away at a lot of the scenes. A friend of mine said I must feel like I'm walking around without one of my arms now. Because the truth is, I think to myself, "ohhh, I'm so witty and smart, I can't get rid of this part, even though it doesn't move the story forward because I want everyone to know how brilliant I am." Maybe that's not something I'm supposed to admit publicly, but I'm not one to lie, at least not about art-related things. So, yes, I feel as though I'm operating with one arm.

This past week, this stupid show called Six Degrees filmed an episode at my work. I found out that the episode will probably not air in the U.S. but will be sold internationally because the show is going to be canceled. I didn't mention to the crew that I couldn't believe it's still on the air. They should change the name of the show to "Oops, Our Cast Is Wearing Way Too Much Makeup." That girl with the face (you know, the one in the previews who takes off her shirt on a garbage truck) was there all day. That's my encounter with a mediocre star for the week.

This weekend I'm doing a fruit/veggie detox (the first time I did this, I didn't put it on my blog because I knew my parents and sister would have a collective heart attack). I let myself have a cup of coffee and then the rest of the day I'm eating raw. So far I've had an avocado with garlic and tomato (a lazy-person's guac). E's right, this stuff goes right through you, so I've got to keep eating. (That's not really a complaint since eating is my favorite hobby.)

Other news... DRUM ROLL:

I got my digicam. We can stop all the debate and be happy for me. Naturally, it will probably take me another month or so to buy a memory card that can hold more than five pictures at a time. You know these things take me a while. (Please be patient with my inability to take good pictures.)

As requested, here's a picture of my new, beautiful desk. Thank you, dad and our new friend, Red, for rolling the desk ten blocks to my home. Thanks, Red for lifting it into my apartment. Thanks, dad for paying for it.

*Amy Bloom is so-so. She's readable, but I'm not in love.
*Song on my itunes right now: Escapade by Janet Jackson.
*Inspiring television show on DVD of the week: art: 21
*New comment poster who I love and needs to be acknowledged because she wants more attention on my blog: KIM, who I'll see tonight, right?
*Youtube video of the week: SJP endorses donating to the organization for which I work.

p.s. This morning I started working on a first draft of a story that's been crawling around in my brain for months are I'm so excited to finally get it on paper.

I Want To Be Warm

Today was not a good day. But the end results were as satisfactory as they could be:
1. purchased a space heater paid for by my broker
2. promised a new radiator in the next two weeks
3. told that my smaller ac/heating unit will be fixed at some point
4. given an allowance from my broker to pay my con-ed bill.

This evening I attended my mentor from last semester, Michael Lowenthal's reading of his new book Charity Girl. I liked comparing this reading to the one he gave at school last month. He read an essay about what led him to write the book, and this was just as valuable to me as his reading of the work. He spoke about how he was inspired to start researching the topic thanks to Susan Sontag's book AIDS And Its Metaphors. (Some of you may know that I think she's one of the smartest people that has lived in current times and I am incredibly jealous of those who got to know her while she was still alive.) Michael mentioned that he has an “eavesdropper’s queasy thrill,” which rang very true for me, too. Doesn’t every writer have a good dose of voyeurism in them?

Big thanks to everyone for supporting me during this lack of heat nightmare. Hopefully, it's coming to a close.

Favorite easy listening song played at work today: She’s Gone by Hall & Oates

Ahmed, send up the heat!!!

Remember in Beaches when C.C. Bloom has that shabby apartment in New York and bangs on her radiator with a frying pan and yells, “Ahmed, send up the heat?” Well, subtract the red hair, the frying pan, and Ahmed, and add brown hair, hours of fun with my super, and me walking around my apartment in my down coat, two pairs of pants, and my down shooties. This brings us to the present moment. My super is standing outside my apartment fixing something or other and I am praying that tonight things will be better.

Reality check: Cornelius has always been afraid to go under the covers and now she refuses to come out. We are not pleased.

I spent the day working on my submissions and trying to support Aimee as she sat on her plane for 5 hours that didn’t end up taking off for Japan. She’s in Astoria and if I wasn’t frozen in one spot, I’d go bring her books for her trip.

Hester sent me a short story by Junot Diaz from a 2001 “New Yorker” entitled “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” and after finishing Nathan Englanders 79-percent-thumbs-down book, this was a real pick-me-up. Some day I’ll get around to reading Diaz’s “Drown,” but it’s going to be a while.

Right now I’m starting Come to Me by Amy Bloom, and I’ll get back to you soon about how it’s going.

(Picture me taking a small break from typing to put on my mittens.)

My digicam arrived today but I didn’t answer the door because my doorbell is always ringing, so it’s living at the post office. Pictures of my new furniture will have to wait.

What I’ve consumed while homebound:
Trader Joes cereal with a handful of flaxseeds, baby carrots, Peet’s French Roast coffee (thank you, S), a cup of unsalted mixed nuts, and three cups of honey bush tea.

Song that I wish I had listened to before last week’s romance stuff:
Casanova’s Last Words by The Go-Betweens

Just in case there’s any confusion at all: I STILL love New York...frozen or not.

Vague Language

Hi everyone. A lot of things have been going on in New York. Mostly related to dating. Nothing seems appropriate for my blog so I haven't been writing.

Right now I'm drinking cardamom coffee, which is my newest addiction. The raw food diet will have to wait.

My school submissions are due at the end of this coming week so that might take up a lot of time too. But I'm going to try to get back to my blog as soon as I have something acceptable for the public.

Oh!! Aimee's back and we've been catching up after a month with only email. Too bad she's leaving so soon and I won't get to see her for two weeks.

That's all I've got.

A Lot In Lists

I’m so tired from running around town with my dad in the past three days that I’m only capable of…

Trip With Dad in List Form:

Restaurants:

Three Cups, Mermaid Inn with Kim, Angelica, and Hummus Place

Furniture purchased:

Mahogany desk from the 1940s, real curtains, white dresser

Play we saw:

Two Trains Running by August Wilson

Lifesaver:

Dad got my Uniqlo coat fixed after the zipper broke

Dad sealed the draft in my apartment

Moment:

We saw the first real snowfall of the year when we walked Kim back to the train.

Michal, the Israeli that works at Rite-Aid told my dad that he’s blessed.

Announcement:

My mother has updated her glorious blog. Sing praises!

Big, big thanks to my dad for spoiling me rotten.

Good night.

Parker Posey's Here

AT MY WORK!!! RIGHT NOW!!!

Hairless In The Arctic

Enough with that old post already. I’m putting an end to the silliness.

I just got home from Kinky Jews at the KGB. Lots of Jewish writers reading but on my end, very little attention span. I left as soon as I could.

The word “arctic” was used on the radio to describe tomorrow’s weather. Not pleased.

Major break-through at work: I put on my I-Pod and kept it on almost all day. This is a whole new level of sanity I didn’t know I could achieve.

Today “The Onion” (the newspaper) filmed upstairs in the bookstore. I don’t know what they’re filming but they took over. On Friday, "Law and Order: SVU" is filming so the store’s closed. I think I’m going to be the one to supervise the shoot. SVU is creepy.

Last night I had dinner and drinks with Kim at Lil’ Frankie’s. This might be her favorite restaurant. I can’t completely get down with a place that doesn’t have chardonnay by the glass. The dessert was pretty rocking. I’m kind of skeptical about over-priced menu items so I thought the nutella thing wouldn’t be worth it. I was wrong. We were served a baked dough-pie-type filled with nutella and strawberries and cream. Yum.

Also, Kim introduced me to an amazing gum. Not only does it last forever, but it also has smart packaging. I can't go into detail here because you will tune me out, but if you find this gum, get it. We're worried it's not going to catch on and we need your help. Buy Stride gum! (For us.)


I’ve been thinking about learning to ride a long-board. I know this could potentially be very unsafe and the chances of me ever doing it are unlikely, but I think it would go nicely with my general lifestyle. I don’t really know what that last sentence means. Basically, every time someone skates by on a long-board, I think to myself, “Wow, what could be cooler?” And I find myself answering, “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

Tomorrow night I have a kind-of-sort-of date that I will not be going into details about on this blog, NOR should you if you are privy to the situation. In preparation, I am about to take on the massive feat of shaving off most of my body hair. Suddenly being Jewish feels like a punishment. (You MAY speak of the shaving/Jewish problem freely.)

I’ve been horrible these past few days. Very little writing has happened and even less reading. Maybe in the morning I can redeem myself.

One of the best Prince songs of all time (not that I believe in choosing favorites since they’re all perfect) is “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man.” Please find this song and put in on repeat. Then write me a thank-you card.

I heart Mondays.

I love having today off. It’s so fun to have the whole city to myself.

This morning, the website that I use to check the weather said there would be ice pellets falling from the sky. First, does anyone know what an ice pellet is? Is that like a frozen pigeon poop? Second, an hour later I checked the website again and they had completely changed their mind. No sign of ice pellets. Not even a mention of possible precipitation (which there wasn’t, mind you).

I got my Trader Joes fix this morning. Fell in love with the person who rang me up (is anyone surprised any more?). Oh! And before that I fell in love with the person in line in front of me at the post office.

For lunch, I had an open face tempeh sandwich from Angelica.

Today I felt like a real writer. I spent a couple hours revising my story and I’m finally getting somewhere.


I got The Way We Were from the library and took some notes (blame it on life-learning). Here are my thoughts:
-Writing class scene in beginning of movie accurately captures emotions of revealing one’s art in public. And Babs portrays a perfectionist with exactitude.
-Consider sense of betrayal when a person cuts in while you’re dancing with someone else. Where does this tradition come from? Shouldn’t a person be guaranteed a full slow-dance until the song ends?
-One of the improbabilities in movie that disrupts honesty of the characters: Hubble doesn’t know Katie’s mother’s name long after they are married and are about to have a baby.

(I know that only huge nerds take notes during The Way We Were, or to even admit to having watched this movie on their day off, so go ahead and paint a red “N” on my forehead. I dare you.)

*Music to make you shake your booty: Da Da Da (I Don't Love You You Don't Love Me Aha Aha Aha) by Trio
*Still reading: Nathan Englander
*A big howdy to my pimp, Ivan, if he’s reading this! Good luck with your interviews!
*And a follow-up I’ve been meaning to mention: FC, I haven’t read The Duke Of Deception, but you are the second person to recommend it, so I’m putting it on the list. Thanks!
*Note about digi-cams: I’m waiting for my dad (hi dad) to come to town next week, when I plan to ask him to purchase a camera, a real desk, a real chair, and real curtains.

To Stay or Not To Stay???

Tonight is the National Book Critics Circle Award Party hosted at my workplace. I could stay or I could go. I'm not really dressed to mingle with the literati. What's a girl to do?

A) go home and read
B) take a walk around New York, enjoy the cold weather, then go home
C) stay and shmooze
D) stay and hide in the corner
E) other (please suggest your own idea)

My First Snow As A New Yorker

I didn’t think I wanted snow, but when flurries started swirling at lunch, I got a little jubilant (is it possible to be just a little bit jubilant?). It’s hardly enough to make a fuss, but it was the first time this winter. I heard a rumor it’s supposed to snow more over night.

Every Thursday, two volunteers who work upstairs in the café bake spinach pie during their shift. I had a slice and maybe it’s the winter desperation, but I could have eaten the entire pie. Maybe even two of them.


And the best news of all!!!! I broke down and bought a real coat at lunch. Not only is it Polish goose down (sorry, E), but it was also 30 percent off. See, waiting until winter’s half over is a good strategy. Aimee’s going to flip when I reveal where it’s from: UNIQLO!!! I couldn’t help myself. I know, I’m a sheep. (I really AM since my Hebrew name means pretty lamb, my zodiac sign is a ram, and I was born in the year of the sheep.) Blame it on the information anxiety; I had to find out about Uniqlo for myself. The coat is a deep dark blue, almost a black, and it was originally 90 bucks, which is so reasonable and I only paid 60! I can’t complain. I wish I had a digi-cam (how many times will I say this before it actually happens??) so I could model for you all.

I’m loving all the new blogs I’m reading thanks to the residency. Provides me with good reading while I’m “working”. (Is Tavi’s blog the repeater? I’m a little puzzled.) (Here's a photo I stole from Jen's flickr site from the residency. This is me and a not very flattering shot of Jessica D out drinking it up in Cambridge. She's wearing the Bible Camp hoody that I wrote about in an earlier post.)

Tonight, I’m hanging out at home, sipping garlic tea, having a little dark chocolate, and reading more of Englander. I like his writing. He’s a smart storyteller and I can kind of see why two of my mentors recommended him to me.

The early morning rising is HARD. Once I’m out of bed and sitting in front of my computer, I’m okay. Although this first submission is forcing me to consolidate a lot of scenes in my story and I’ve no desire to delete anything. Learning to let go… Truly though, my main concern is finding the momentum to stand up and walk the few feet across my apartment to my desk.

Can someone please tell me how I can stop the frizz? My hair and I are in a big fight and I’m losing. I need to know what works.

Coldest Day In New York Yet. Still No Snow.

This will be brief. I’ve got to sleep soon since I’m on my new early-rising-to-write-before-work schedule.

Took a trip to the library and picked up all my holds:
Movie I finally watched tonight: The Notebook, which is horribly written but filled my romance quota for the week.

Moisturizer switch: Sorry, Aimee, the honey just isn’t cutting it. I’m back to jojoba oil.

Song on repeat: Loudon Wainwright’s The Swimming Song. Remember when I used to swim three times a week (and sometimes more)? Remember when I actually did physical activities besides running to work and running home?

Time to curl up in my igloo and dream.

Night.

Home

Yesterday I tried to take some time for reading and writing and gathering myself after the train accident. I finished This Boy’s Life, which was almost as good as Old School, and I began Nathan Englander’s For The Relief of Unbearable Urges. I’m starting to revise one of my stories and I’m having trouble letting go of some sections, but I think this draft is going to be strong once I’ve put the work into it.

Tonight after work, my friend, Kim and I met up to see her favorite writer/muse, Elizabeth McCracken read at Dixon Place. Kim was beside herself with enthusiasm and this really was a dream come true for her. McCracken read and so did her husband, Edward Carey.

I was there because I’m taking an interdisciplinary study in which I am required to attend readings and write a little about the experience. But mostly, I enjoyed watching Kim meet her favorite author.

After Kim got her book signed and schmoozed, we went to Café Mogador for dinner. I know St. Marks is mostly gross, but there are some really good restaurants spotted along the street, especially farther from 2nd and 3rd. I had goat cheese ravioli with squash and Kim had a hummus platter. We drank wine and celebrated Kim’s promotion, the meeting of her beloved author, and my homecoming. For dessert we shared a baked strawberry rhubarb tart and cider with brandy.

Leave it to New York to bring my spirits back up. It’s good to be home.

Debris

I swear to G-D. As we sped along, we ran over something and a loud noise just rang through the train. One of the conductors came running down the aisle, walkie-talkie in hand. The train came to a halt.

Announcement: “May I have your attention, please folks, we’re going to be here for a while. We struck debris. We got to make sure we are okay. Got to make sure the debris isn’t a dog or something.”

Five minutes later a woman conductor ran by: “We’ve been delayed two or three hours. We did strike debris.”

Gasps from everyone on board.

We haven’t even made it to Providence (not that it matters) and they aren’t going to let us off the train. I always have bad luck when I take the Accela. I have a feeling all the other trains are delayed too. How adventurous!

Wet brown leaves cover the ground. A silver garbage dumpster stands in a parking lot to the right of the train. On its side is lettered in white, “AMERICAN WASTE.”

I’m going to snuggle in with This Boy’s Life until I learn more.

Announcement: “No news. I’m waiting for the dispatcher. As soon as I hear, I’ll let you know. Thank you for your patience.”

A police SUV has just pulled up. He’s crossing the tracks toward the front of the train. We’ve been on board for an hour and a half. It’s getting darker.

Rumor: Another train is coming and we’re all going to be moved to the new one. New York feels like another country.

We hit a person. The woman called him “a trespasser.” We’re going to Providence in half an hour to an hour and then we’ll switch trains there. I think we killed someone. The woman didn’t want to make an announcement over the loudspeaker because she didn’t want to upset the children. Well, I’m not a child, and I’m upset. I’m having a heard time holding back from crying.

I can’t stop thinking about how that woman called the person a “trespasser.” Press has come and is taking photos and film of the train.

For over an hour the train has smelled like death. I never knew that smell but now it’s unmistakable. We rode over a body. More police have arrived. A white van with no markings arrived. All of them parked right next to the “AMERICAN WASTE” dumpster.

I feel responsible for a death. Strangely, the town we’re in is called Mansfield.

At 3:22 pm:
“Please take advantage of the café car. Everything is now comp. We appreciate your patience. As soon as we know more about the situation, we’ll let you know. It’s going to be at least an hour before we’re on the move.” (The smell of death is coming back stronger now.)

Seconds later, the same message but louder: “Ladies and gentleman, we apologize for the delay. There has been a tragic accident. We have opened up our café car for all our non-alcoholic beverages and snacks for you. Please take advantage of this. As soon as we know, we will let you know.”

There’s been a rush to the café car. As though there’s a scarcity of free food and drinks. You know how, when it’s really cold out, you can see your own breath? The entire sky is that color.

Life goes on, I guess. A middle-aged man walked by and just spoke into his cell phone, “Hey, I was just checking on the score.” And there are more calls like this. Nobody seems to be thinking about the loss of life.

More press has arrived. More police. What will they do with the body? How will they remove it without any of us seeing? Will they put it into black garbage bags? Is the body still in one piece? How old was the person we killed? Had they wanted to die? Was this what they were hoping for? Is the conductor okay? Is there someone there to console them?

I can’t concentrate on my book. I have to pee but I don’t want to talk to anyone and ask them to watch my stuff.

“Name some fun card games we can play,” a girl says on her cell. “We can’t remember how to play spit. I’ve read both magazines on the way here. I was going to bring a book.” And then my favorite part, “Okee-doke, bye.”

Another train is passing us on the left. I guess the tracks have been cleared on that side.

The neon sign in the aisle above the bathrooms just flashed “BE SAFE.”

And twenty minutes later, another announcement: “Although we will not be able to make up your time, our next move will be to Providence. Then we will be detraining you. Again, please take advantage of the café car.”

Three hours and ten minutes have gone by. Rain is falling and I think to myself, “Everything matters,” as I pile up on granola mix, snackwell vanilla cookies, and bottled water at the cafe car.

After four hours, “There’s been a change of plans. We’re going to do a train to train transfer at this very spot.” I found a new seat on a new train and we’ve been told we will all be partially refunded for our trip. This new train doesn’t smell like death.

The word “debris” is swirling in my head. To be reduced to such a word.

And now, we are finally moving forward.

A poetry teacher from my school, who lives in New York and loves her Sylvia Plath, just walked by. I should have looked at her and smiled. But she doesn’t know me and what I know of her is that her seminar was absurdly self-important and miserable. What would I say to her? I looked out the window instead. I guess after tragedy, we all return to our old selves. Still, I am left wondering how she feels after this whole experience. She may be the only one I know on the train. I don’t want to try to talk to her about this.

I did end up talking to the poetry teacher. A little. Mostly she wanted to offer me a mint and let me know she was about to see her boyfriend. I really don’t think there’s room in her head for anything beside herself. I know that’s a horrible thing to say.

We got to Penn Station about 9:30. We were all reimbursed the difference between accela fare and regional fare.

The rumor is that a fifteen-year old boy saw his parents across the tracks and ran to them. And he was killed.

The man behind me in the refund line said, “Fifteen. He should have known better.” I wanted to punch him in the stomach.

I’m home now. Corny is crying. Nothing could sound better.

Here's the first news story

Back to My Mole Hole

Lately, everything has the feeling of happening months ago. I can’t believe the residency is over and at the same time, I can’t believe that just yesterday I was in class.

Last night was really fun (was it really just last night??). I haven’t spent much time with other second semester folks and 16 of us had a big dinner at Tamarind House. Wine was drunk and characters came out of their shells. This felt like perfect closure for the second residency.

Kimberley and I pretended to be Bohemian today. We spent most of the rainy day lying around the house, doing close to nothing.

When I made my eyebrow waxing appointment this morning, I lied and said my name was June. The name came out of nowhere, but I was worried that they would match me up with the same woman I went to the last time I was in town. She seemed to resent me for forcing her to use hard wax and for living in New York.

I was chatting with another customer in the waiting area and when the lady called out, “June!” it took me a few seconds to realize she was referring to me. She barely spoke as she waxed and I have to say, she did a great job. She was quite the perfectionist. No resentment, as far as I could tell.

Before


After

Love how the salon tries to create an Amazon rainforest ambiance with constant wooden flute music, potted trees, and framed photos of naked women. I kept thinking how women who live in the Amazon probably don’t get their eyebrows waxed. (I could be wrong about this.)

I’ve started This Boy’s Life, which is worth all the hype and more. I want to have Tobias Wolff babies. Eight of them. Genius babies.

Tomorrow I head back to New York. Another example of feeling like I haven't been there for months.

I changed my blog’s name/address because life has moved underground. I’m honoring my burrowing existence (work and home). Or something.

Back to riding the rails...

The Residency Diet

Gaining weight is never as easy as it is when I'm at the residency. Today's menu (this is going to scare me, I think) is out of control:

coffee with milk; poppyseed bagel with butter; hot water; orange; hot water; spinach, chickpeas, green beans, peanuts, grated cheese, and onions topped with a watery sun-dried tomato dressing; a slice of German chocolate cake; half a brownie; another cup of hot water; another orange; Burdick's hot cocoa with eight women in the program; two bowls of Vive cereal; three pieces of philly roll; three pieces of avocado and eel roll; half a bowl of edamame; and a tiny chocolate truffle mouse.


check out the world's largest flower. scary cool, right?

exhaustion from eating and not sleeping has set in.

and I'll close with a direct quote from my mom's stay in my apartment. she said:
"Yes, Corny slept on me, and she may be queer."

*Longest Day of The Residency*

Started my day super early and ended late. Had good seminars, but overall exhausted.

Can't even be bothered to start my sentences with "I."

Spent way too much time with Andre Dubus. He's got one of those firm handshakes that makes you think when he releases, your own hand will no longer be attached. He's also unsettlingly good with remembering names.

It's gotten colder, but still no snow. Not complaining.

Get to sleep in tomorrow, but I think I'll get up and go bookstore browsing for organizing my reading list.

Has anyone read In Dreams Begin Responsibilities and Other Stories by Delmore Schwartz? I may add this to my list.

Apologies for such a boring post...

Let The Reading Begin. And Fun Feature: Creepy Marzipan Babies

First thing today, I walked into a metal barrier at the entrance to the library. I smashed my leg as hard as I could and kept walking. I read for an hour and checked my email and two hours later, I looked down. My jeans were covered in blood. I hadn’t stopped bleeding from the gash in my leg and I hadn’t even known I was bleeding to begin with!

All through my first seminar today (which rocked, by the way) my leg was pouring blood. I have to admit I feel pretty hardcore about this. But also fascinated by my ability to go for two hours without realizing blood is draining from my own body. It made me question what state I’m in that I’m so detached from myself.

My seminar had a genius icebreaker, maybe the best one ever, that was not just an icebreaker but also relevant to the topic (which was the revolt of objects). We had to go around the room and talk about what was a deal-breaker when it came to dating. I mentioned my hatred of horses and also something related to a question I have about a person that I’m thinking about sleeping with right now (though I won’t go into detail on this blog).

The stories people shared were so funny. One of the best parts was when Phillip told everyone that his name actually means “lover of horses” in Greek, so he and I could never be together. At the end of the two-hour very academic seminar, our professor wrapped it up by letting us know we’ll all meet someone right for us at some point.


I ran across this amazing website of babies made entirely of marzipan while researching the sugary substance. They're so creepy, I can't help feeling like they're fabulous.

With my new mentor, I worked out my proposed reading list for the semester. Here’s the list for Riva and mom and anyone else who cares to read along:

Tobias Wolff (surprise, surprise) - This Boy’s Life
J.M. Coetzee- Disgrace
Andrew Greer- Confessions of Max Tivoli
Elizabeth McCracken – The Giant’s House
Nathan Englander – Relief of Unbearable Urges (remember this one, Aimee?)
Andre Dubus – Adultery and Other Choices
Howard Norman – The Bird Artist
Amy Bloom – Come to Me
Junot Diaz – Drown
Jane Smiley – Age of Grief
Any stories I haven’t read by Flannery O’Connor
Richard Ford – Independence Day
Kazuo Ishiguro – Remains of the Day
Saul Bellow – Herzog
Michael Cunningham – The Hours (hated the movie, but the book is supposed to be way better)
Ian McEwan – Atonement and Saturday (I keep planning on reading him and not doing it.)
Tim O’Brien – In the Lake Of The Woods
Grace Paley- Collected Stories
Charles Baxter – Burning Down the House
I might try to read ZZ Packer’s stories again, only because one of my stories keeps reminding people of her book.
Prisoners: A Muslim and a Jew Across The Divide – Jeffrey Goldberg

New Shooties!!

My new shooties arrived in the mail today! Here are some photos of me wearing them around Kimberley's.

The rest of my day was not good, but I knew it wouldn't/couldn't match yesterday. Lots of long and uninspiring classes. And drinks with other students after the reading, which I should have skipped. Hindsight....

My mentor read from a nonfiction piece tonight and I was really impressed. I also ate dinner with her and I think she has a lot to teach me.

I've been thinking about the intense need I have to prove myself in all things that I'm passionate about. I guess it's a basic desire, but I think my need verges on obsession.

I had a fried pickle for the first time ever tonight. I can understand the appeal but I wish I could have tasted more of the pickle taste and a little less of the fried taste.

Sweet dreams.

Today was a great day. Go day three!

My morning seminar with Rachel Manley inspired and reminded me why I love to write. We all had to go around and say our reason for writing (like I’ve done a thousand times before, and may I mention that I don’t like that it has to be only ONE reason) and I’m curious to how my answer changes (I wish I had written down all my different answers over the years). Today I said I write because in “the real world” I’m always on the outside, looking in, but when I’m writing, I feel connection and a sense of community.

After lunch, my manuscript was the first to be critiqued in my large group. The feedback was really positive. All the work I put into last semester paid off. I love my story and I think it shows. Plus, I have new ideas for what may change.
This is why I’m here.

I also realized that what I said yesterday is ludicrous. Sure, most people primarily care about looks, but being smart is still most important to me. I loved being smart today. That’s right, I’m tooting my own horn. After all, a writer needs to celebrate the few times each year when she is not writing from an isolated place and when she is encouraged to continue.

I ate dinner with my new mentor and some of the other students. I know it’s going to be a shift, but now I think I am going to like her. She already gave me some solid, thoughtful ideas to grapple and puzzle over.

After dinner, I went to the faculty readings. Rachel Kadish’s new book is simultaneously hilarious, witty, sharp, and intellectual. I can’t wait until I graduate from my program, so I can read all the books written by my mentors that I haven’t allowed myself to read yet. From what I heard tonight, I really recommend this one.

I also enjoyed Rachel Manley’s reading of her memoir. Hearing her words is like swaying in one of those musical swings made for babies.

I just got home and Kimberley and I continued the celebration with a bar of raspberry dark chocolate. She’s enjoying pear cider while I’m having my nightly cup of garlic tea (garlic cloves steeped in water).

Day four can’t possibly live up to day three, but that’s okay. I’m going to try and ride this wave for a while.

Second day of residency

Best part of the day was the break in the middle where Jessica and I went to Cambridge Common and drank three glasses of wine each. Then we went back to school.
Mostly today was a drag. I accidentally ruined everything for my large group workshop and now we’re all going to have to read parts of our work out loud. I have to go first. Tomorrow.
In the evening, after the faculty reading, I went out with a bunch of students to imbibe. I had another glass of chardonnay before calling it quits.
I told Jessica she’s my only friend who not in an ironic way owns a hoody advertising Bible Camp. She’s fabulous. But I worry that in my program everyone thinks we’re a couple. What’s up with me having friends that everyone thinks are not just friends? That’s SO not the image I’m trying to project although it’s not as important to set the record straight (as it were) in my program as it is in my New York life.
I’m still not acting like this residency is actually happening. I hope this changes soon being that my work is going to be discussed tomorrow.
p.s. Lately, I've decided that being smart is not a main priority for women. What's important is to look as good as possible. Intelligence is secondary, if that. I feel like I already have the smarts, now I have to focus on looking as good as possible. I know most of you will think this is a waste of energy/not agree with me, but I don't care.
p.p.s. Okay, I do care, but I do think that looks come first in this world and I have to stop pretending that's not the case.
p.p.p.s. Therefore it's time for my beauty sleep.

Getting Into The Swing Of Things

Had breakfast with Matt M. and his new lady friend, Connie at the Oxford Spa. It was good to catch up; I approve of the match. Way to go, Matt!

Did a lot of nothing today except lie around in my undies and catch up on some reading for tomorrow’s seminars.

Tonight was the first night of my second residency. I chatted with friends, spoke to my old and new mentors, and went to the reading that my old mentor gave of his brand new book, Charity Girl.

The highlight of the evening was meeting a person that will be in one of my workshops who wrote a piece I really like. He told me that he really liked my story, too! And my old mentor had a some kind words to say about me, as well. After a day of doubting my abilities as a writer, that was incredibly encouraging and exciting. Now I’m really looking forward to having my work critiqued.

I’m going to sleep soon since I have my first big school day tomorrow. I’m still not totally in a school mindset (AT ALL!), but that might take a day or two to kick in.

song of the night: "Maybe You Can Owe Me" by Architecture in Helsinki

p.s. polarchip sent me this about Feng-Shui, which confirmed my suspicions. I am a feng-shui disaster.

Oh Give Me A Home Where The Amish Roam (But Make It Temporary, Please)

The reason I haven’t written in a couple of days is because NOTHING is happening. That’s the beauty of Somerville. It’s good to get my head cleared and into a non-frantic/non-New York state of mind before classes begin. (I still have two days before the residency kicks off.)

Mostly, Somerville feels like Amish Country. Without the bonnets.

Kimberley and I have been catching up. Tonight we’re going to hang out with Catherine, who is fabulous. She’s also a cook, and I’m hoping she’ll make something yummy for us.

If you read Aimee’s Blog, then you know I got a new blue coat yesterday (hence the picture, which if you need to know, was taken on Kimberley’s fancy computer and I still don’t have a digicam, because I’ve been told to wait and purchase one online).

Other news: I tried on a pair of pants at a thrift store today and there were four dollars in the pocket. Lucky me! Then, I tried on a sweater that I liked but there was a small hole in the chest region. So I told the woman at the counter and she gave it to me for 70 percent off. Now it’s at the tailor’s.

Seriously, there’s nothing new. I’ve caught up on a lot of boring television. And I had a breakfast burrito at this bookstore/café place this morning and I’m suspicious that they microwaved it, since it came really fast and tasted gross.

Also, my parents have randomly decided to hijack my apartment for part of the time that I’m gone.

What’s on my mind: I hope this residency is better than I expect it to be…

I need a good young adult nonfiction book to bring with me to one of my seminars. Any suggestions?

One Last Post About Me and Aimee (For A While)

I know, I know, you're all sick of hearing about me and Aimee this and me and Aimee that. Here's three pictures from our photo shoot. (See the genius haircut?!)


I still can't believe I won't be in New York for two weeks. I'm having culture shock.

Here I am entering my cave (also known as my home) with a new bookshelf that we found on the street.



And this is my "Sliding Doors" imitation, which I watched again today with Kimberley. We also watched "The Year My Voice Broke," which is kind of sort of the sequel to "Flirting," but it wasn't nearly as fabulous as "Flirting."

And three youtube videos of Aimee and my romp around the east village:
WHO in the sky
Keeping My Promises
Whenever We Think of Ellen...