General
Custer’d
A few days ago, Gene and I were floating the idea of buying a place, like a paper boat in a bathtub. We take the boat out and play with it from time to time, but just for fun, and it always ends with an agreement that in order to buy a place as nice … Continue reading
About writing
Samuel R. Delaney, in his book About Writing, says “Writers are people who write.”* My heart sinks immediately whenever I read that old truism, thinking of the short story that’s been stalled in my fiction folder for three weeks now, thinking how little fiction I’ve written at all. I forget that I write every day, … Continue reading
Clean living
Sometimes I rather plaintively ask Gene why we can’t have a house cleaner come in a couple of times a month, and then he says “Would a house cleaner cost me as much as you do?” and we both laugh and it’s all very cute*. But anyway, a few weeks ago I finally hit saturation … Continue reading
Pleasant
I’m dog-sitting in Pleasant Hill for a couple of weeks. When idly checking for something to do out here, I was surprised to find a motherlode of options. It’s like there’s this whole, awesome Stars Hollow town under the featureless suburb I remember from my younger years. For example, on Saturday, I will be attending … Continue reading
You are spearing that tomato and I don’t want to hear another word about it
I hate authors who do that dippy routine about how “the characters tell me where they want to go and I just follow,” invariably followed by a specific example of that time when the author wanted to do one thing and the characters wanted to do something else and they had a long argument and … Continue reading
Smell
A few weeks ago, our top-floor neighbor’s sink overflowed and all the apartments below him, including ours, had water damage. Ours was pretty minimal, though the port-a-potty smell of wet drywall did linger for several days. Today I began smelling the faintest whiff of port-a-potty again and notified both the upstairs neighbor (who is also … Continue reading
Cracker Jack
The California Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage today. This is a big deal, not just for LGBT people, but for everyone who believes in equality and justice. I congratulate every Californian who wanted to get married and will now be able to. There is no word as to whether the Supreme Court … Continue reading
Watching Enchanted
Patrick Dempsey: Blah blah blah I am Mr. McCynical! Gene: Whoa! Me: Holy cow. Gene: Is that Sam Seaborn? Me: No. It’s the lead from that show that McTighe was on. Gene: Ok, but I’m not crazy, right? You’re hearing Sam? Me: They’re voice twins! Patrick Dempsey: Blah blah blah princesses aren’t real. Gene: Ok, … Continue reading
The rules
I spent about an hour yesterday looking for rules about what to wear to weddings, though I do think most rules surrounding weddings are bullshit. (Startling, eh? Yes, this is shaping up to be one of my edgier posts. I also think water is wet, and opening your eyes helps you see.) Nevertheless, it’s important … Continue reading
Free Stuff!
Those of you who have begun to enjoy taking the torturous path through our household labyrinth of broken televisions, various computers and general clutter will be disappointed to hear that I am indulging in some spring cleaning. For the rest of you, coming over is about to become fun again. As often as we march, … Continue reading