Friday Boredom

Friday, April 27, 2007
Laundry

I'm just sitting around the house, wasting time until I leave for Coachella. Hence, the cat photos.

One hour to go.

I. Can't. Wait.

This is like Christmas. But with better music. And beer.

On today's lineup: Bjork, Jesus & Mary Chain, Amy Winehouse, Nickel Creek, Interpol, Jarvis Cocker, Arctic Monkeys, DJ Shadow, Sonic Youth.

And tomorrow, Arcade Fire (said in hushed, reverent tone).

I could weep with joy.

Inside Weirdness

Wednesday, April 25, 2007
I don't know what I was dreaming about, but in the middle of the night I scribbled this into my notebook:

"When the simple act of cutting cheese turns into something of lustiness."

Neverending Grocery List

Tuesday, April 24, 2007
I just called Jason before he went to Trader Joe's, and we had one of the most annoying exchanges ever:

-- When you go to the grocery store, I need you to pick up limes and tomatoes and ... ???

-- There was something else.

-- Yeah, but I can't remember what it was.

-- Me neither.

-- I know there was something else.

-- But I can't remember what it was.

-- Me neither.

-- Tomatoes and limes and what else?

-- I can't remember.

-- Me neither.

-- What was it?

-- I can't remember.

-- Me neither.

-- This conversation is going to be like "The Song That Never Ends," huh?

Wish Jar

Friday, April 20, 2007
IMG_4428

Last night at the art museum, I met a man.

He said he spent a whole year collecting something for the woman he loves.

Wishbones. A whole jar full of them. Maybe 40 or 50, he said.

On Valentine's Day, he showed up for dinner at the restaurant, his wishbone jar under his arm. He waited and waited. She didn't show up.

He untied the ribbon to open the jar and plucked out one of the bones. He broke it in half and made his wish.

He wished for her to show up. But she never did.

When he got home, a voicemail was waiting on his machine that said she never wanted to see him again.

He still has the wishbones, he said, because you never know when you need a jar of wishes.

And Ohio is Full of Buck's Eyes

Saturday, April 07, 2007
Today I had someone ask me if the grass in Kentucky is really blue.

10 Things

Friday, April 06, 2007
Ten Wonderful Things About Today:

1. WHEE! Last day of work before vacation!!!

2. Lunch with a millionaire. Now, I am not a millionaire.) In fact, because I wrote a check to the federal government today for my taxes, I'm farther away from being a millionaire than usual.) But at least I can eat like one.

3. Weather. It's 90 degrees and sunny. And it has been all week.

4. Inspiration. I received a gorgeous zine in the mail from the always fabulous Jen Lemen. She motivates me to create my own art.

5. Song of the open road. I'm about to embark on a road trip along the Pacific Coast Highway, considered to be the most beautiful drive anywhere in the country. And I have 4G in memory cards for my camera.

6. Fun. It's White Party weekend! And that means gay boys, techno and fun all over Palm Springs. Right now everyone in town has better abs than I do.

7. Anticipation. I made a big stack of photo/collage cards and mailed them today to many of the people I love. I can't wait for them to receive them.

8. Little gifts. Yesterday I spent an hour or so wandering the bookstore, looking for the perfect novel to bring along on the road trip. I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for, and I left empty-handed. Then last night, as I was pulling luggage from the closet, I found this anthology of nonrequired reading. I had totally forgotten about it, and it's the PERFECT thing to drag from car to campsite to city hotel!

9. Kindness. This morning, Jason carefully placed my robe in the bathroom, so it would be ready as soon as I got out of the shower. Then he helped me make breakfast and coffee. It's those little things I love most of all.

10. Friends. Laura gave me a Starbucks card and tiny bottles of Bailey's. Kathy gave me a book she wrote about driving the Pacific coast. Jeff and Chris offered to catsit and bring in the mail. Life coach Leslie gave me warm words to travel with. Other friends have gifted me with the most beautiful emails before my departure.

I feel rich.

Best. Appetizer. Ever.

I'm doing a story about appetizers, so I got to sample a bunch of goodies all over the valley this week.

But it wasn't until last night that I found heaven.

Delicious snack

It's a hollowed-out grapefruit with big chunks of the fruit mixed with raw salmon, scallops, king crab and tuna, covered in a light and delicate citrus sauce.

Oh, yum.

Awwww.

Wednesday, April 04, 2007
This little Maggie loves chocolate salty balls.

Maggie

Make your own South Park character here!

In the Spirit

We've been trying to make plans for our upcoming road trip to Big Sur.

There's this one place where I really want to stay -- all the reviews say it's a secluded, magical, wonderful place.

But there's a catch. There's just one room in our price range available on the day we're going to be there ... and it comes with a ghost.

JASON: Absolutely not.

ME: But what if it's a friendly ghost? What if it's Casper?

JASON: No.

ME: They didn't say what kind of ghost it is. What if it's a puppy ghost?

JASON: A puppy ghost?

ME: Yes! Like a sweet, cute puppy. But a ghost.

JASON: Well ... I guess that might be OK. Except you would be all, "Isn't he cute? I want a puppy ghost."

ME: I'd say, "He followed me home. Can I keep him?"

JASON: The cat isn't going to like this one bit.

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Creating Kindness

Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Cactus

Listening: Arcade Fire "Neon Bible." When I got my first copy of "Funeral" from Eileen, it took me about 10 tries to really get this band. Now I'm hooked. Their songs are so lush, complex and orchestral, I find something new in them on each listen. No other band can speak to me, lift me up, exhaust me, the same way they can.

Reading: Freakonomics for my book club. Also Ask and It is Given, a recommendation from my opera teacher, and Everyday Matters, a recommendation of my artist's group.

Thinking: My head hurts. There's been a serious lack of caffeine today. And now it's so late in the afetrnoon that I shouldn't even start.

Plans: Making steamed mussels in white wine for dinner. This is the first quiet night at home in a while. Maybe I'll light candles.

Happiness: I'm so happy my sister and I are on good terms again. We never had a huge blowout fight or anything -- there was just this underlying current of discord. But then I created this little book of drawings and collages and stickers. I wrote out exactly how I felt, how much I missed having my big sis in my life, how much I love her. And it worked, just like magic.

Since then, some of my friends have joked that I should collage for world peace.

But you know, I wonder if they're right.

I've been creating a lot of art lately. I've been sending out homemade cards and making little drawings for people and giving friends some of my framed photographs. And it makes people SO HAPPY to receive something unique and original and pasted together with love.

My friend Margot wrote a poem about me, and it fills me with complete joy to even think about it.

I wonder what tomorrow would be like if everyone sent a handwritten note or drew a picture or gave someone a poem. Let's try it.

"This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness."
-The Dalai Lama

Apology

Monday, April 02, 2007
Rose

I don't know why I've been MIA lately.

It's not that I don't have anything to write about. I do. My handwritten journals are filling up like crazy. I'm like a spigot that won't shut off.

And it's not that things aren't happening. They are. There's the wedding and the road trip and my job and Jason going back to school and all kinds of other stuff.

It's also season right now, so there are 10 things to choose from every night -- and if I'm not covering the events, I'm out socializing and networking and meeting people and going to new places ... and it's exhausting, really.

And best of all, I have beautiful things to share. My career is starting to head in the direction of my dreams. I'm finally coming to terms with my mother in the nursing home. My sister and I have become friends again. My artwork is actually beginning to sell. My friends are among the brightest and most exciting, wonderful people in the world.

I've plucked and weeded and pruned, and everything feels good and right.

I just haven't been able to share all of it out loud yet.

Sorry.