Playing with Words

My life in Sing and the first installment of my Asian travels

2010-07-28T07:24:00.005-05:00

I work long hours. I'm in before 9am (sometimes 8) and I leave anywhere between 6:30 and 9pm. Except on Fridays. Fridays, we have a happy hour in the office, it starts at 4pm. Sometimes I start at 4, sometimes I start at 5. Always, once I pick up a glass of wine, I don't work again until Monday morning. Some days I'm frustrated and I hate my job. It can be

What I did the weekend of Vesak Holiday in Singapore and What I didn’t do the Weekend of Memorial Day (

2010-06-20T03:40:00.003-05:00

What I did the weekend of Vesak Holiday in Singapore (Thursday May 27 - Sunday May 30 2010)The last Friday in May, in Southeast Asia (and Singapore in particular) is Vesak day and a national holiday. Apparently this is a celebration of the Budda's birthday, which like how the US celebrates holidays, means big sales in Singapore. For me the weekend started Thursday night when a small group of

Singapore so far ...

2010-04-11T21:53:00.001-05:00

SFO > HKG > SIN These are long flights. 14 hours to Hong Kong, another 3 to Singapore. I watched 4 movies. Read a book, slept. On my flight from Hong Kong I sat next to a gentleman from China who spoke no English and obviously couldn't read English. The Embarkation card that the flight attendants passed out was in English. He and I engaged in some sloppy and awkward sign language when he

The little joys of packing and preparing to move to the other side of the globe

2010-04-01T15:11:00.004-05:00

I’ve learned a lot about in the past few weeks. For instance, even if you believe that your apartment has been re-rented. Check, double check, and check again. Otherwise, four days before you leave you could be on the phone with the leasing director screaming and crying that they failed to inform you that the potential sub-leaser you sent them was rejected three weeks

Singapore, Here I come

2010-03-04T10:51:00.009-06:00

I’ve tweeted, buzzed and announced it on Facebook. But I haven’t blogged about it. I am moving to Singapore. For one year. I’ll be going back to the Greatest Company Ever. Working out of their office in Singapore.I wasn’t necessarily looking to move to Asia. I was actually networking for jobs on the East Coast. With my job situation not panning out, and missing my family too much, I was

Goodbye to Good Time Charlie

2010-02-16T10:02:00.003-06:00

Good Time CharlieI first started working when I was ten (yes ten) babysitting. I believe that's illegal today. Then I worked at the snack food stand at the little league field. That was the summers I was 14 and 15. When I was 16, I started working in the local Public Library. And when I was 17, GapKids at the mall.But, my first office job was the summer between 11th and 12th grade. I interned for

Bloviating

2010-02-01T12:11:00.002-06:00

Bloviate Pronunciation: \ˈblō-vē-ˌāt\ Function: intransitive verb Inflected Form(s): blo·vi·at·ed; blo·vi·at·ing Etymology: perhaps irregular from blow Date: circa 1879: to speak or write verbosely and windily

The Speed of 2010

2010-01-28T18:42:00.006-06:00

time is a concept.really. it's not a concrete thing.it's fluid.This year. This one, as in, the last 28 days (isn't that a movie about zombies? or is it rehab? curious that I chose the 28th day to blog) have been moving at two very distinct paces.s. l. o. w.andfastI started a new position at the job that I don't love. So, there's that. I'm now working 40 hours a week again. So I can worry less

Google.cn

2010-01-12T17:49:00.004-06:00

Wow.I have been evasive on this blog in the past about who my former employer was, simply referring to it as the Greatest Company Ever. But it has now been three years since I left, so I will say it, it was Google.I loved working there. I drank the primary colored Kool-Aid. I worked with smart, ambitious, fun, extraordinary people. Often the hours were long. And sometimes, like any job, it was

10 years ago

2009-12-31T12:36:00.003-06:00

There is a meme on twitter right now, #10yearsago.This, well, it gave me pause, an epiphany-type moment. What I didn’t realize on December 31, 1999, was how much my life was about to change. I was aware in some obvious ways. I had just quit my job in Advertising and, in the New Year, was starting a new job and a new career in recruiting. I was in the midst of a messy, complicated break up. And I

Goodbye to the Aughts

2009-12-30T17:02:00.010-06:00

Before Christmas I started to draft a decade retrospective blog entry. A listing of the things I said goodbye to in the last decade. Things like an answering machine, a landline, DC, New York, and people lost. I had envisioned it being part nostalgic, part sentimental, part, sad, part funny.But seriously, just the number of funerals that I went to in the past decade, was depressing. (btw, that

Things said in my office

2009-11-20T13:03:00.002-06:00

Overheard, the President talking to the Director of Operations:It's like we're working with a proctologist.My VP, speaking to me:Woman of a certain age are always talking. Older woman, fifty-five and above. Not at your age. At your age they just look good. Well, for another year or two.

‘With all due respect, ma'am, you can go jump off a bridge.'

2009-11-18T11:35:00.005-06:00

This story gives me hope for, well, our culture, kids today, and the eventual chipping away at prejudice in our society. Oh and that the constitution and the ideals on which is was founded are still kicking ass.A boy and his flagWill Phillips isn't like other boys his age.For one thing, he's smart. Scary smart. A student in the West Fork School District in Washington County, he skipped a grade

A Boy And A Girl In A Bar

2009-11-16T10:50:00.001-06:00

Saturday Night.Setting: The crowd from a Rugby house party has moved on to a sports bar in the Lakeview neighborhood in Chicago. A boy and a girl are talking. He’s attempting to flirt. He’s bought her a drink. After several minutes of conversation, he thinks things are going well, she thinks he seems nice, but another boy from the party walks into the bar.Girl (cutting him off from general

You say it's your Birthday...

2009-09-24T12:01:00.005-05:00

My birthday is this coming Wednesday. Birthdays, for me, are a touchstone. They are a time to reflect on where I am in my life. I both love and hate birthdays. I mean, who doesn’t love cake? And gifts? And people celebrating YOU? I’ve been known to wear a tiara on my birthday. (The rest of the year I am not a Tiara kind of girl) And drink very large, very alcoholic drinks. Over the years

Who says things like that?

2009-09-23T16:43:00.003-05:00

My VP came up to me and whispered "See those are not challenges you have to deal with"I asked "What?"He replied, "Babies" and walked away.

What kind of puff piece does GoogleNews think I am?

2009-09-18T14:20:00.003-05:00

I don't know who GoogleNews thinks I am. But I don't like it. Lately, all my recommended news articles are all fluffy entertainment gossip. So, all week I've been clicking on hard news articles about Iran, Health Care, Afghanistan, Wall Street. Ok and maybe a review of Glee. And Gossip Girl. But also G20, the Olympic bid. Oh, and Kanye. Hmm, maybe GoogleNews does know me. Still, I don't like it.

What is your definition of slow?

2009-08-20T12:26:00.000-05:00

My VP: People complain that these old computers are slow, but you just have to be patient. You can't rush it.

Transference

2009-08-19T11:15:00.002-05:00

Most mornings, when I’m too lazy to brew it myself, I stop at Starbucks. It’s not that I’m a fan of Starbucks (I think ya’ll know my favorite latte, where the foam is sublime), it’s really about proximity and convenience. It’s on my walk to the el.Everyone at that particular Starbucks is great. They are friendly and cheerful (not too cheerful), they remember me and my order. They are efficient.

Full time headache

2009-08-14T16:40:00.000-05:00

Me: the last pay period was 10 business days. You paid me for 78 hours.Payroll: you worked 78 hours.Me: but I’m full time.Payroll: you get paid the hours you work.Me: why don’t I get paid over time, like when I come in on Saturdays?Payroll: because you are full time employee.Me: then why wasn’t paid for 80 hours?Payroll: because you get paid for the hours you work.Do you understand why I have a

More from my VP's Office

2009-08-12T15:50:00.003-05:00

While I was sitting at my desk I heard him to say to one of my (male) co-workers, "Turn around. Look at your butt. You and your butt."

Things my VP has said to me:

2009-08-11T14:26:00.003-05:00

"You know how women are…""Mr. (Blank) is too nice, we're trying to make him more like Amy.""You know what they're like at that age." This was said to my colleague, who is my age.

Old school, like it’s 2004

2009-06-10T18:20:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I experienced something horrifying. A day without my cellphone. It's such a naked, impotent feeling. The empty space in my purse, puffed out with loneliness, it's shape molded still from the missing phone.No music player to play Andrew Bird or Calvin Marty and the Sunken Ship. No internet. No email. No facebook. No texts. No twitter.I waited at the corner and actually watched the cars,

What do an Eagle, Mr. T, Pirates and Ivy have to do with each other?

2009-05-26T18:27:00.002-05:00

Last night, I had quite the inaugural Bleacher experience.It started with me cranky and tired (as I am most days). Sunday, I spent too many hours drinking beers and cheering for the losing Blackhawks. Sunday was a perfect Memorial Day weekend. Crisp, sunny, full of sloshed jackasses (me included). But Monday, Monday I was exhausted a bit hungover and outside it was soggy and grey. Not a day (or

What’s been going on since I haven’t been blogging:

2009-05-14T10:36:00.001-05:00

What I haven't been doing while I haven't been blogging:Eating healthyGetting publishedCleaning my apartmentDiscovering a cure for cancerWorking outDoing goodBeing selflessUpdating my resumeFinding a better paying, intellectually challenging jobFighting crimeMaking the world a better place What I have been doing while I haven't been blogging:TwitteringWorking my mundane low paying jobComplaining

Riding the EL, Friday Fun, and my failed attempt at Missed Connections and proof that, Yes, I am a loser

2009-04-03T14:59:00.007-05:00

This morning, on the el, there was a man who I thought was, well, a hottie. But, for me, the el is about commuting, not being hit on. That, and I am a big old shy loser, out in the world, when I don’t have a drink in my hand and I’m not standing in a bar.It isn’t that often that I see someone on the street that I find attractive. Actually, it’s rare anywhere, not just on the street. So, this

Um, Yeah, OBVIOUSLY

2009-04-03T14:02:00.003-05:00

Sex on Skates Opens Up to Tyra About Unsafe Sex4/3/09 at 2:53 PM Why Levi Johnston would agree to give his first big talk-show interview to Tyra Banks we'll never know, but we're delighted he did. Because no other TV host — or, God forbid, serious journalist — would have the kind of conversation she did during an episode taped this week, to air on Monday. In it, she doesn't let Levi's mumbled,

Word of the Day: Osculation

2009-04-03T11:31:00.003-05:00

What a scientific and boring sounding word …for something, one would hope, is not scientific and boring. (At least from one I can vaguely remember). Word of the day:osculation \os-kyuh-LAY-shuhn\, noun:The act of kissing; also: a kiss.He had engaged in nervous osculation with all three of Lord Flamborough's daughters.-- Thomas Sutcliffe, "The art of seduction, the skill of the tackle",

Alcohol Lubricated Locutions from Friday Night

2009-03-30T12:23:00.001-05:00

"Holy Crazy Sideburns""That's what happens when you a wear mock turtle neck on a date""I don't DO stupid." "Well, I could probably 'DO' stupid, but it would be hard." "It would have to be hard.""I could do stupid but only for a limited run.""I don't care, just get rid of it.""Oh, I have more to say." "Oh, I know you do.""Because I was hilarious.""She said you forgot the rest of your outfit.""

word of the day: Propinquity

2009-03-26T11:25:00.003-05:00

propinquity \pruh-PING-kwih-tee\, noun:1. Nearness in place; proximity.2. Nearness in time.3. Nearness of relation; kinship.Following the race he took umbrage at Stewart's rough driving so early in the day, and the propinquity of the two drivers' haulers allowed the Kid to express his displeasure up close and personal.-- Mark Bechtel, "Getting Hot", Sports Illustrated, December 6,

Couple things that have been bugging me lately.

2009-03-25T17:03:00.003-05:00

Don't pee on the toilet seat. Really.When you are in the ladies room, don't spray so much perfume, that I end up smelling like your perfume.Drama. Can't we all just take a deep breath and relax?You don't always respond to my emails or return my phone calls, so don't whig out when I don't respond to yours.Please respond to my emails.Wait for people to exit the el before pushing your way on.Hurry

Word of the Day: Eclectic

2009-03-24T12:42:00.002-05:00

1eclec·ticPronunciation:\e-ˈklek-tik, i-\Function:adjectiveEtymology:Greek eklektikos, from eklegein to select, from ex- out + legein to gather — more at legendDate:16831: selecting what appears to be best in various doctrines, methods, or styles2: composed of elements drawn from various sources ; also:heterogeneous— eclec·ti·cal·ly \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

Driving in Morrocco

2009-02-22T11:52:00.006-06:00

I haven't been blogging because 1. I've been hyper-focused on my jobsearch and 2. I've actually been working on other writing. So in the meantime, here is an old essay that was part of my thesis:On a drive from Rabat to Marrakech, October 2002 Colorful stands selling pomegranates, apples, tangerines, eggplants and live chickens for slaughter line the highway.Most public restrooms, even in the

Word of the Day

2009-02-07T10:01:00.004-06:00

It was pointed out the me last night that all the vowels are all in order. I also like this word because I'm a smart ass(ie. facetious) Also, it sounds like feces. Really, I am a grown up. Sometimes.FacetiousMain Entry: fa·ce·tiousPronunciation: \fə-ˈsē-shəs\Function: adjectiveEtymology: Middle French facetieux, from facetie jest, from Latin facetiaDate: 15991 : joking or jesting

I saw my shadow (and I wept)

2009-02-03T17:10:00.008-06:00

Randomness to follow (mostly thoughts from the past couple weeks):I love Obama. We know that I love Obama. I'm all about slurping up the Kool Aid. And I was pretty damn happy about all of his nominations. And then like dominoes, they keep falling. Weird, right, that Hillary seems to be the least controversial. Even with her husband cozing up to all those foreign nationals? Apparently,

25 Random things about me

2009-01-27T09:32:00.003-06:00

It was brought to my attention by a step-3rd-cousin (I have a complex family) that I have been neglecting my blog. (His exacts words were "Ho, get off the street and back in the library")So to kick start things I am sharing with you something I posted on Facebook. I was "tagged" in a Notes game of tag. You have to write 25 things about yourself and then tag 25 people and they then do the same.

What is hidden in my closet?

2009-01-15T22:14:00.004-06:00

I am not an organized person. And I'm a shopper (at least when I am employed and have a paycheck) On top of that, I am a pack rat. I'm borderline a hoarder. Alright, maybe I'm not that bad. But, it's not good. I have clothes in my closet that I haven't worn in over four years. I also took more than eight trash bags of stuff to salvation army when I moved out of New York over three years ago.

Blagorageous claims of the day

2009-01-09T15:48:00.008-06:00

He's being impeached because he tried to get pap smears for women.He is the reason some kid got a new kidney.He could have saved the housing crisis, but The House stood in his way (and made things worse), so you know, blame them if you lose your home.He has a Poem of the day desktop calendar.and I'm just curious about this sentence:"...let me close by doing something that I probably won't do much

Making Noise in Public Library

2009-01-06T14:49:00.003-06:00

I had to watch a lot of Sesame Street when my brother was young. Which is fine, except that we are eleven years apart in age, so when he was 2 and I was 13 I was watching a lot of Sesame Street. There was one bit that I remember with Grover. He was sitting on a mountain top wearing lederhausen and calling out "Echo" and listening to the return "Echo, echo, echo." During this time my dad was

Roland Burris takes a break from the 3rd person

2009-01-06T13:46:00.007-06:00

This is what unsettles me about Roland Burris, he kept beginning sentences with "Roland Burris."I just have a hard time taking anyone serious who speaks in the third person.The other thing, and well, this is bigger, he appears to be surprised that anyone would have issue with him accepting the appointment. If he had acknowledged that there is validity to everyone's concerns, it would almost feel

The Public Library Is Stinky

2009-01-05T16:11:00.009-06:00

In an attempt to get out of my apartment (and you know bathe and get dressed) and take a break from my new obsessive news watching, I am blogging from the Chicago Public Library. Usually I go to various coffee shops. I have quite the knowledge of which ones have free wifi and which ones are loud, which ones quiet and who plays the best music. But in an attempt to be economical (because let's

cryptic notes

2009-01-02T15:21:00.003-06:00

As a writer (and in particular as someone with ADD), I do not always have a pen handy when I have an idea, so I have gotten into the habit of saving text drafts of ideas. But frequently I forget what I was making notes about. Following are some notes I made about story/essay/blog entry ideas:Olive (no idea. Seriously, not one clue)What would be innocuous? (again, who knows?)Signs on Greenlawn

Projecting My Ridiculous Insecurities

2008-12-30T20:02:00.010-06:00

I returned home last night after almost two weeks on the East Coast at my parents house. It was a week of drinking wine, napping, making fun of each other and board games. All around a good holiday and great family time.When I got home I came home to a pissed off cat (she does not like it when I leave) and an empty fridge. To be honest, it wasn't empty. What it did contain was rotting left

Rerun

2008-12-28T09:31:00.005-06:00

I think it warrants a repeat...this was almost two years ago. I was telling my family this story and it stills cracks me up. I was, of course, kidding when I made the comment. It was something I said frequently. In addition, I would affect a vally girl accent while saying, but still someone quoted me.

Word of The Day

2008-12-21T22:47:00.005-06:00

Time with my family made me think of this word. Can't imagine why:Wisenheimer Main Entry:wi·sen·hei·mer Variant(s):also wei·sen·hei·mer \ˈwī-zən-ˌhī-mər\ Function:nounSmart AleckEtymology:2wise + -enheimer (as in family names such as Guggenheimer, Oppenheimer)Date:1904

Do your mother a favor...

2008-12-19T07:16:00.003-06:00

My mother called me last night. She read my latest story, and this is what she had to say: "Can't you write anything happy? Do your mother a favor and write something happy."Ugh. Mothers.I didn't sleep last night. Not at all. I packed (last minute) did some tidying up in my apartment, explained to my cat that I will be gone for 10 days but that I am coming back and someone is checking in on

Sometimes I write more than the random blog post

2008-12-16T12:16:00.005-06:00

My second published piece titled Molting is part of the current edition of Poeticdiversity.My first published piece Doors Closing was on Failbetter this summer.What was surprising to me is that I just googled my name and "Doors Closing" and came across this blog review of my story, which gave it 4 stars. I had no idea it was out there. Now I really do feel like a writer.

It's beginning to smell a lot like winter

2008-12-15T17:34:00.005-06:00

I love the smoking ban. I LOVE the smoking ban. I remember my first morning after the New York smoking ban. I woke with a hangover complete with headache, nausea and fuzzy teeth. But my hair smelled like my shampoo. My coat, well my coat had a whisper of a smoky smell from earlier pre-smoking ban nights but it didn't need a febreeze fogging in order to wear it to lunch.How quickly we

It's a {Bleeping} Valuable Thing - the week so far

2008-12-11T14:42:00.009-06:00

what a week....EmbarrassingI started to read the complaint. It's juicy Romance Novel addictive. And horrifying. And embarrassing. And bleeping insane.HotI have a big time crush on Patrick Fitzgerald. It started after the Scooter Libby trial when I saw him at the taping of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. And after his press conference Tuesday it grew even bigger. He's all kinds of hot when he's

You can teach an old dog new tricks (at least this old dog)

2008-12-08T16:37:00.004-06:00

Friday night, once again I got all fancy with makeup and high heels. The heels were ridiculously high and a size too big. Gel inserts and socks didn't make up for the extra room. The slush on sidewalks didn't help either. This blogger could only take tiny steps, slowly. Now, you might be curious, why would someone buy shoes that are a size too big? Some of you are already guessing the

You Get Me...You Really Really Get Me.

2008-12-07T11:12:00.006-06:00

Maybe you are comfortable with who you are, secure in your “You-ness” and confident in how you are perceived by others. Me. Well, I am and I’m not. I am a complex mess of insecure and overconfident, but that’s more than a blog post, that’s a whole book of exploring essays and possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars in therapy. But this weekend two things happened that made me realize that

Twittering Too Much

2008-12-05T14:00:00.003-06:00

TwitterificUnemployment means a lot of time available to waste. And for me, I waste on it online and watching tv, usually simultaneously. I have become a news and blog junkie. And twitter is not helping. At all.At first my tweets were from friends. One is a college friend who tweets every thought. No matter how mundane. All day long I read about how he can’t find a folder, has a meeting,

I wish I could sleep like my cat

2008-12-05T00:34:00.003-06:00

aren't you jealous? doesn't she look cozy?

High Brow Flatulence

2008-12-04T14:10:00.008-06:00

The best, the BEST thing about this article is that it is the #4 most emailed story on the nytimes.com website. (dailyintel) SCIENCE / ENVIRONMENT | December 04, 2008 As More Eat Meat, a Bid to Cut Emissions By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL Farm emissions are being discussed during international talks on a new treaty to combat global warming. Most Emailed1. The

Shaving Your Beard Gets You A Cabinet Nomination

2008-12-03T13:37:00.006-06:00

Was it my imagination, or did the Chicago news anchors pretend to be surprised that Bill Richards got a nomination? On ABC they pointed out that he had been his competitor at one time. Did they forget that he endorsed him too? Wasn't it a forgone conclusion that he'd be somewhere in the Obama Administration?Am I missing something? Is there a reason this nomination wasn't part of the Economic

Word of The Day

2008-12-03T13:16:00.002-06:00

While the stories I write are short, the stories I tell are long. I've been called chatty and loquacious. My conversations have been described as elliptical (lots of tangents and extraneous details but EVENTUALLY I get to the point). I now have a new word for my wordy speak: ProlixMain Entry:pro·lix Pronunciation: \prō-ˈliks, ˈprō-(ˌ)\ Function:adjective Etymology:

Thankful for Chicago

2008-11-25T14:35:00.007-06:00

Things in Chicago for which I am thankful (and while I love them, I’m staying away from the obvious things like the Lake and the Cubs)The CTAIt’s like dating a bad boy or having that friend. Unpredictable, frequently late, crowded, frustrating. But it serves a purpose. And it’s worth it for those moments. Like on the brown line when you cross the Chicago river or on the 145 or 146 on Lake

If You Want My Body And You Think I'm Sexy

2008-11-24T15:59:00.006-06:00

Thoughts on AttractionFriday night I got all dolled up (eye shadow, painful high heels and everything) to attend a party. At the beginning of the evening a friend and I were dud magnets. If you are boring and not very attractive, you talked to us. Even after we tried to politely make an exit by saying we were going to the bar, you asked us to get you a drink, or you followed us. You were

Mundane Monday Musings

2008-11-24T14:47:00.008-06:00

A Tale of Two Press ConferencesI watched two press conferences today. The first was our current president. Huddled a bit to his side and behind him was Paulson, looking a bit like Lurch. At least that's what I first thought. His shoulders slightly curved, his eyes darting around, his mouth closed as he nodded his way through Bush's speech; Paulson looked tall, creepy and awkward. This is the

2008-11-21T12:00:00.007-06:00

A bizarre and disturbing reflection of me. (and my internet habits) The google news recommended column cracks me up. There have been days when it was all Obama all the time with the occasional Hilary popping up for variety sake. Other times it has been all fluff and gossip with a random local Chicago story. I'd like to fancy myself intelligent and urbane. Someone who reads smart things and

I am not Helvetica

2008-11-14T18:13:00.009-06:00

Following is an essay I wrote this summer and read at a reading:I am not Helvetica. But my laptop thinks I am. My Macbook, if I’m being precise. It’s new. Semi new. Well, it’s five months old. But it doesn’t know me yet. It knows me a bit. The desktop picture is mine. The alert sounds are the sounds I chose. It tells me when I have new mail and knows to open my gmail with firefox. It

Back in the Saddle

2008-11-13T15:40:00.009-06:00

I know, I know ...where the hell have I been? Too much has happened since I last posted to play catch up (and lets be honest, I'm too lazy).But here are somethings that I've been contemplating lately (I almost said ruminating, but then I'd feel like I was stealing from Aaron Karo)On election night I was called an elitist by a McCain supporter (and at the time I thought a red stater - but in the

Any minute now, I"m waiting for my real life to begin

2007-05-10T17:54:00.000-05:00

now what?I can't stop listening to Colin Hay.It hit me on the el today ...this is it. I am no longer a student. It feels different this time. Maybe because I've already been out there in the real world. I already have a two page resume and have paid rent and done the 9 to 5 shuffle, subway to cubicle to happy hour, five days a week. and now, after a two year detour, I have to go back.but

You Don't Love Me Yet

2007-04-26T13:41:00.000-05:00

but I DO LOVE Jonathan Lethem.I loved Motherless Brooklyn.... and I LOVED The Fortress of Solitude. In fact, I push the Fortress of Solitude on anyone who will listen. I believe it's "The voice of my generation."His newest book ... You Don't Love Me Yet... I was worried I wouldn't like it. It sounds flufflier in content then his previous books. On it's surface it's about a struggling indi

Goodbye to a legend...

2007-04-13T13:38:00.000-05:00

Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made sense from things she found in gift shops. - Kurt VonnegutNovember 11 1922 - April 11 2007

Word of the Day for Friday, April 13, 2007

2007-04-13T09:36:00.000-05:00

spoonerism \SPOO-nuh-riz-uhm\, noun: The transposition of usually initial sounds in a pair of words. Some examples: We all know what it is to have a half-warmed fish ["half-formed wish"] inside us. · The Lord is a shoving leopard ["loving shepherd"]. · It is kisstomary to cuss ["customary to kiss"] the bride. · Is the bean dizzy ["dean busy"]? · When the boys come back from France

Happy Passover

2007-04-04T12:59:00.000-05:00

To our Jewish brethren out there... happy passover and a tasty seder

Don't mess with these kids today

2007-03-28T01:41:00.000-05:00

Young carjacking heroine shines on TVBY KATHLEEN McGRORYThe Allapattah girl who swatted a carjacker with a schoolbook and saved her little brother can now add another line to her résumé: TV starSix-year-old Briana Castillo and her mother, Atheysha Diaz, were featured Tuesday afternoon on the nationally syndicated daytime talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show. At the end of the show, DeGeneres

words are fun to say

2007-03-16T17:10:00.000-05:00

i spent the afternoon babysitting a charming 1 1/2 yr old girl.at lunch time I served her mac & cheese, peas, cantaloupe, tofu and milk.it's fun to say cantaloupe-cantaloupe-cantaloupe-cantaloupe-loupe-loupe-loupe.and toe-foooo. go on, say it...toe-fooooo.and then peas - peas - peas peas.and mmm-mmmm Milk.cantaloupe-cantaloupe-cantaloupe-cantaloupe-loupe-loupe-loupe

art school lemonade

2007-03-15T13:58:00.000-05:00

the happy doctor and i talked about my writing (what i write about, how i write, where the inspiration comes from)I realized that although I write fiction, generally through my writing I'm working something out in life.He said, so that's how writing fits in your life.and I thought about it, and said, I think of it as how I use my life in my writing.lemons to lemonade.life into art.a bad day turns

why i haven't been blogging

2007-02-27T00:37:00.000-06:00

this is my last semesterI'm worried about having enough for my thesisI'm working on two (maybe a third?) story ...see previous post (word of the day) also, was working on a screenplay with another hilarious friend from school - although we haven't gotten together to write in a couple weeksI've started reading for just good fun again (sounds contradictory - I'm a writer after all - oh for this one

Word of the Day... idee fixe

2007-02-08T14:50:00.000-06:00

This is what happens to me sometimes when I’m writing a story…. idee fixe \ee-day-FEEKS\, noun: An idea that dominates the mind; a fixed idea; an obsession. The reality of obsession -- its incessant return to the same few themes, scenarios and questions; its meticulous examination and re-examination of banal minutiae for hidden meanings that simply aren't there; the cancerous way

On the Road Again

2007-02-02T15:22:00.000-06:00

I'm in New York this weekend to say Happy travels and all that to a dear friend who is moving with her husband to Singapore. Since I am unemployed again and still a grad student ... I took the shuttle bus from LGA to the Port Authority. On the bus was a young girl from Sarasota with her friend and what I gather is her Uncle David, who lives in New York. The girl was here to audition for colleges,

Today's Horoscope for Libra

2007-01-27T16:52:00.000-06:00

You could be quite productive today, but your accomplishments may be more creative than practical. Everything you touch now has the potential of turning into an artistic project. Although this could be lots of fun, you must be careful not to spread yourself too thin or you will end up more frustrated than fulfilled. Saturday, January 27, 2007

Go Long...

2007-01-27T16:16:00.000-06:00

It's a new semester. And I had my first meeting with my adviser (well, one of my advisers) and we talked about the work that I've done in the past and what I am working on now. She's thinks I have miscategorized myself as a short fiction writer ... she thinks I have larger projects in me...that I have global views on my stories and my characters ...and in her words there are "neighborhoods

The Happiest Depressed Person You Know

2007-01-25T15:24:00.000-06:00

That was a how a friend described me when I told I told her I was going to start therapy. But as my Happy Doctor put it, I've had a complicated life and there's a lot going on. Apparently I'm so crazy, I need to meet with him twice a week.It's a strange experience talking about yourself for an hour and not have the other person reciprocate, well not really reciprocate so much as just ask you

words...glorious words

2007-01-16T17:17:00.000-06:00

Imprecation:~noun act of imprecating; cursinga curse; malediction Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006

Me Overheard in Chicago

2007-01-12T10:56:00.000-06:00

I'm a bit sarcastic at times. And self deprecating. and often times I talk in a fake valley girl voice whilst mocking myself. But I always assume my friends know when I'm kidding... I never think about what other people on the el might be thinking...

he's a bit dumb, in my opinion

2007-01-11T20:11:00.000-06:00

When a whole nation is roaring Patriotism at the top of its voice, I am fain to explore the cleanness of its hands and purity of its heart. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Journals, 1824

A virtual Musical world

2007-01-10T11:21:00.000-06:00

This site was recommended to me by a friend. I have only just signed up. So my testimonial is by proxy. But I trust her. Apparently this is set up kind of like netflix, it reads the music you listen to and compares your music preferences to other users prefrences and makes recommendations. You can also link to friends and it shows you what your neighbors are listening to ... it's another virtual

Oxymoron

2007-01-09T15:41:00.000-06:00

The Word of the Day for January 09 is:oxymoron \ahk-sih-MOR-ahn\ noun : a combination of contradictory or incongruous words Example sentence: "That's an oxymoron!" said Joanne, when she heard the DJ describe the song as an "instant classic." Did you know?The Greeks exhaustively classified the elements of rhetoric, or effective speech and writing, and gave the name "oxymoron,"

iPod ennui no more

2007-01-07T22:40:00.000-06:00

Apparently this happens to quite a few people, but my love for my iPod (and my music) is cyclical. When it was new and unscratched and ready for downloads, I was a like a crack addict, always on the hunt for new songs. It was during my move from New York to Chicago, and while I was surrounded by half packed boxes, I would spend more time than I had to waste downloading music. I was obsessed.

Home again...In love again

2007-01-06T13:15:00.000-06:00

I've done a lot of blogging about my writers block. The other day I came across something I wrote in the fall about my frustrations with my writing: It’s like going from loving someone to not. I was a writer then I wasn’t. The words stopped. They used to hang out inside my head. Between meetings and phone calls, walking down the street, sentences knocked around with the rhythm

Good Bye to 2006 ~ onward for a new year

2007-01-04T23:05:00.000-06:00

2006 ~ it was the best of times it was a the worst of times.a friend recently, when talking about a year he spent abroad during undergrad, commented that it was a great year and he could live it over and over again ~ groundhog day style. Which gave me pause, because, a whole year? I thought back over my life ... my, well, a few decades on this earth. And I can think of days, weeks, even months

Things I saw last weekend in San Fran and San Jose

2006-12-07T16:53:00.000-06:00

This was at my company Holoiday party ...it was insane...I don't konw if you can see it ...but there's a man floating in the air ...And this is me shooting a cork gun... I should point out that I didn't hit one target...and that was after five triesThis is my mom's cat, rolling around in the mulch. not sure why, but she was having fun.And my Mom's Dogs..looking pretty after coming back from the

on the road again

2006-11-07T11:37:00.000-06:00

(This ones for you JW.) Why, although I do it ALL the time, I hate traveling:stocking feet with the inevitable hole in the big toe or at the heel, on slick linoleum airport floorspeople who put their shoes back on right at the point on the security conveyor belt where your stuff comes out, causing blockage from the line of people behind them, and forcing me to stand in my stocking feet just that

where'd he go? where'd who go?

2006-10-23T15:07:00.000-05:00

not sure why i haven't been blogging ... still dealing with 'block'age. but i have great advisors who encourage me and give me assignment (reading and writing) to try and make writing fun for me again... in the past month ... i had a birthday ... threw myself a party...had a friend visit... adopted a cat (pictured left) ...said cat then went into heat (which is really quite a sight to see)...

and now back to our regularly scheduled programming

2006-09-21T17:38:00.000-05:00

So ... back to school.and once again ... a word from our sponsors:I'm taking a class with Sarah Levine, one of the more popular professors at the art institute. Her classes fill up fast and are hard to come by, it was luck that there was an opening and I slid in. It's hard to tell this early, but I think she's worth the hype:I'm also taking a class titiled "Travel Writing" The professor

Remembering an old friend and co-worker

2006-09-11T17:32:00.000-05:00

Patrick Sean Murphy Sometimes, you learn the most about someone from the silence. From what people who knew them best do not say. With Patrick Sean Murphy, they don"t talk about his job much, as successful as he was.No, those closest to him emphasize other pieces of his life. Because he did. They all say he had three loves: his family, basketball and fishing.Summer weekends at the family cottage

Nil aon tintean mar do thintean fein: there's no fireside like your own fireside

2006-08-14T13:59:00.000-05:00

i'm baack.it's good to be home.

irish blogging to come...

2006-08-08T13:40:00.000-05:00

i will soon post:the dogs of Ballyvaughncollaborating ... otherwise known as ... the making of tron 4realworld- county clare :when writers stop being nice and start being realall the things i love about irelandall the passive aggressive ways the irish tell you to Feck offaran islands...falling in love with ireland againthe cows of county clare, the cows of innis mor and innis mainsynge'ing on a

where's she been?

2006-08-08T13:33:00.000-05:00

and here: in Ballyvaughan

What she be saying?

2006-08-08T13:14:00.000-05:00

Where have I been?the burren college of art ....(not my pics btw ...)i am having issues with the internet connection in county clare ...and with blogger ...so bare with me... will post more later

11:20 PM on a Thursday night in Dublin

2006-07-17T15:10:00.000-05:00

Yes, that's 11:20pm. Still some light in the sky... this was taken at the top of my street

A few things to note

2006-07-17T15:00:00.000-05:00

I've met only one Patrick. Seen only a couple redheads. Gaelic is not "Irish". There is a separate Irish language; it's one of THE most ancient languages. The Irish call soccer soccer, rugby rugby and football, well they have their own sport that they call football. Policemen/cops are referred to as guards. Your home is your "gaff" If you are drunk, you are "locked" (let's

Craic

2006-07-11T14:40:00.000-05:00

Definitions of craic on the Web: (CRACK) conversation, chatwww.erinhart.com/glossary.htm Craic, is a pseudo-Gaelic spelling of the English slang term crack, meaning good fun. Most commonly this word is associated with Ireland and its slang. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craic

a Craic'ing good time ...otherwise known as my first irish week

2006-07-11T13:38:00.000-05:00

Ireland so far …My challenges have been: dialing the phone. (sometimes you add an 01, sometimes a 0 in front of a number) placement of the shift key on the keyboard I keep saying dollars instead of euros Standing on the correct side of the street when attempting to hail a cabCrossing the street (knowing which way to look to check for oncoming traffic)Pronouncing things

leaving on jet plane

2006-07-04T18:44:00.000-05:00

It's finally here...the day I leave for Ireland.My new passport didn't arrive until Monday.I didn't pack until this afternoon.But ... here I am at Ohare, waiting patiently for my bargained priced back of the plane window seat.

Little Black Curly Hair

2006-06-29T17:49:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I think of something that I want to write about and I make a note in a journal.I imagine it's kind of like m.lady's post its and notes that she has stuffed in pockets.Some are phrases that came to me or just a word to remind me of something or possible titles to stories.Here's some notes I've written recently:Life on an Ant FarmTouchThe night I was rejectedJourney songs at Happy HourHe

Like an old friend.

2006-06-27T18:05:00.000-05:00

I first read Sandra Cisernos (Woman Hollering Creek) two years ago. I couldn't believe I'd never read her before, or that I hadn't even heard of her writing. She's pretty amazing. This week I picked up a copy of House on Mango Street, and wow. Now I remember how incredible her writing is …Her's an example of what she can do:My NameIn English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many