Thanks to my friend Danaly - I found myself on this website.

It made me think about how we use so many words and sometimes, only a few are needed. Hemingway thought this concept up and called it “micro-fiction”. I wonder though if we could tell our own stories in six words. So readers, tell me something about yourself in 6 words?

I’ll go first:

Five positive tests, two healthy babies.

Lost father, was given a Dad.

Love the politics, hate the practitioners.

If you have by chance, been living under a rock and are unaware that Twilight opens on Friday then you may not understand the next few sentences. If you have been reading this site, the next few sentences might scare you, might cause you to question my sanity. Never to fear though, I promise it’s just the vodka talking.

So, I am in love with Edward. I’m sorry Kevie, I am leaving you for a fictional teenage vampire. He will take care of me, protect me from the bad vampires and try with all of his might not to suck my blood. Edward and I shall forever live in a mystical world and I will be his vampire bride.

Wow. That was awkward. Seriously people, these books are like crack. It must be how some people felt about the Harry Potter series - although I do not know who could think all of that magic stuff was real. I mean, have you ever met a sorcerer? What’s that you say, vampires are just as far fetched? Well, to that I say - have you ever been to Santa Cruz at night? Yeah. Bloodsuckers are alive and well. Why do you think they filmed the Lost Boys there? Not a coincidence. After watching a few episodes of the Two Coreys, methinks Corey Haim might have fallen prey to the vampires himself.

Anyhoot - I already bought my ticket to go see Twilight. I am still considering a trip to northern Washington to retrace the steps of Bella and Edward through the small town of Forks but that might be too much. Do you think that’s too much? Am I taking this too far?

Read the books, then judge me… I dare you.

I have no time to write on my web page because I am hopelessly entranced in a book about a teenage vampire love story. My life has been reduced to this sad, sad state.

However, I am working on a couple of posts in the back of my mind:

 - why I voted No on Prop 8 (a wee bit controversial but whatever)

 - my Thanksgiving plans and why I think we are going to have to eat take-out

Sweet

I was wearing a really great dress. My hair turned out perfect and I had on my best shoes, the ones so dainty and sparkly that my feet look like little presents. We walked in and I scanned the crowd, no one familiar. I had my incredibly handsome husband by my side, his new tuxedo fitted to perfection. I had already decided we were the best dressed couple there. However, with all the money in this room, it was unlikely that we were really the best dressed, just the most current. In this county, money seems hopelessly lost on the old and tasteless. Deep inside, even though I felt like I looked good, I was insecure that I didn’t know anyone and thinking maybe someone could see in my eyes that I felt out of place in this opulent ballroom, tucked in one of the most beautiful resorts in the country. I honestly felt more aligned with the wait staff than our dinner guests, mostly because in the fiscal pyramid, I am.

Small talk with a stranger visiting our table led to a realization that a person sitting as his table was someone I had gone to school with years before. Someone who had been the most popular boy - wealthy, good looking and mostly cruel. Growing up in this area, I was different. We didn’t have the money or the privilege of our fellow residents, just good fortune. It didn’t help that I had a HORRIBLE maiden name - one that would always cause a snicker or a jeer. This last name was the bane of my junior high existence. 

This boy, the one I have just been told is only a few tables away, was the king of taunting. He alone could reduce me to tears and make me feel like I was a total nerd and outcast. As I took this strangers hand, by his insistence this lovely reunion occur, I was mortified. I couldn’t believe that after 15 years I would see him again, would I be reduced the 12 year old with a ugly perm and no sense of self?

As he turned around, time stopped. It was a moment I will never forget. It wasn’t that he looked bad, he doesn’t. It is just that time has been friendlier to the girl with the bad hair and silly last name, than the privileged boy with the sharp tongue. In a flash, his eyes registered who I was and time, all those years, condensed into minutes as I stood in front of him. He was pleasant, he had a lovely pregnant wife and she quickly made the moment less awkward. I told him my new last name and we both laughed a little about my old one.

A few moments later as I walked away with my head held high, thinking if the whole night was for that tiny moment, it was worth it. There is nothing quite as satisfying as shocking someone by being more than they expected.

 *UPDATE* Follow this link, and at about 1min in, you will see a dark haired girl and a tall boy walk past the cameras….guess who?

Sucked In

I am a reader. In high school, I could put away about 50 books a year. I read everything from John Grisham to Danielle Steele. I would read to escape, not from a horrible life but from the reality of being a teenager in a small town.  I plowed through books, sometimes never really reading the fine print, just absorbing the basic story and then moving on to the next title. However, there was one author I savored, Ann Rice. I love me some vampire drama. Which makes no sense because I am a total chicken who can’t stand scary movies and avoid dark places like I avoid decaf coffee (seriously what is the point?). I just loved the intricacy and totality of Ann’s storytelling. She pulled me into a world I couldn’t comprehend and for the duration of the novel, I called it home.

As I got to college, I had less time for pleasure reading, plus I realized most of my reading had turned to that of the romance nature. It wasn’t that I thought romance novels were bad for me but I realized they were skewing my expectations on dating. I probably was not going to have my clothes torn off in a fit of passion, whilst riding a gondola in turn of the century Venice. Nor was I likely to find myself sold into marriage in the 1800’s to a man that seemed gruff but turned out to be the most sensitive lover for which a woman could ask. So, I mainly put aside fiction reading and turned to humor and biographies.

In conversation a few months back with a friend (Hi Zoe!) I was told about the Twighlight series.  I put off the purchase until today. I knew that I would love the books and my social life would suffer because of it, as I called off girls’ night for night with the “undead”. So, as I begin this new series, I apologize ahead of time if my writing slacks off but just blame it on me being sucked in.

Last night my mother, youngest sister and I went to Santa Cruz to see David Sedaris. For those of you not familiar with Mr. Sedaris, he is a critically acclaimed author (humorist) and he has written several best selling novels. He also is a regular commentator for National Public Radio (NPR).

My mom first read one of Sedaris’s books and passed it on to me, I quickly fell in love with the way he spins a personal tale. My little sister starting reading his books this summer as well and, like my mother and I, found herself laughing out loud at his wacky tales of summer jobs, drugs and family life. When I found out he was coming to Santa Cruz I quickly bought tickets for all of us, knowing that my mother and sister would like to see him.

For those of you that read Heather Armstrong’s website, no I am not trying to copy her - I had these tickets months ago. However I do think it is a strange coincidence considering we have the same couchas well. Big difference between us is, hmmmm, well the advertising income she boasts and maybe writing talent but whatever.

Anyhow, I wondered if Sedaris would be as funny in person as he is to read and in fact, we were not let down. He manages to take a mundane tale from his life, say a bad college professor’s lecture and turn it into a story with such detail and brilliance you feel as though you lived through the lecture yourself. I can only aspire to make words come alive on a page in such a way.

Interestingly, he spoke about the internet and its’ impact on the writing business. He basically said the bad part about blogging is that everyone is now “writing” and that most of it is really bad. I guess for that I owe y’all an apology.

Even after the insult to my writing talent, I wanted to stick around and have him sign my book. He was really engaging with each person in line, asking questions and slinging one liners left and right. He seemed to have a different random question for each person. When I got to the front I waited for my question. Will he ask me if I am a cat person? What my favorite installment of Back to the Future is?  How I feel when I see the color blue? As I stepped up to the table and handed him my book it went something like this:

DS: You’re a Scorpio.

Me: No.

DS: A Libra, you’re a Libra.

Me: No.

DS: Well then someone is.

Me: I’m a Capricorn and my birthday is 11 hateful days after Christmas. Everyone is broke, on a diet and sick of parties - terrible birthday.

DS: Hmm. Me too, Capricorn that is. My  birthday is the day after Christmas. We usually put off celebration until a later date.

Me: That sounds like a good idea.

So much for witty repartee. I really wanted to say something that would make him remember me - something that would end up in one of his stories. However, that was not to be. Instead, a few other little pleasantries were uttered, he wrote something in my book and I walked away. When I got back to my car, I looked into the book to see what he’d written:

 If only one day I could be so clever.

I have read the following things on the web this week and they have either made me smile or cry - thought you might like them too:

1. Sweet Juniper - could I relate any more to this story?

2. Blurbomat - I want this photo so bad. Jon is an amazing photog.

3. Finslippy - This was so real to me that I had to stop for a second and remember that it wasn’t me going through this again. Miscarriage SUCKS.

4. Want sooooo badly to go to this conference but with the pending move, my life is just to crazy to fit it in.

5. Oil Execs can suck it. It cost me nearly $80 to fill up my car last week. That is just ridic. (that is my new shortened version of ridiculous - I’m hoping it catches on…)

From this morning’s roundup:

MORRIS, Ill. (AP) - Got milk?Police say a trailer loaded with 14 tons of double-stuffed Oreos has overturned, spilling the cookies still in their plastic sleeves into the median and roadway. Illinois State Police Sgt. Brian Mahoney says the truck’s driver was traveling from Chicago to Morris on Interstate 80 around 4 a.m. Monday when he fell asleep at the wheel and slammed into the median.“The boxes came out of the trailer and boxes were ripped open,” he said.The crash about 50 miles southwest of Chicago remains under investigation. Mahoney says no charges have been filed but both lanes of traffic remain closed while authorities remove the cookies.

Can you imagine? You screech to a stop behind a truck that has just jigsawed and spilled its contents on to the freeway. You strain to see what is now covering the ground - toxic chemicals? Animal parts? Tires? Feathers?

No baby, it’s your lucky morning - grab your coffee and start dipping!

One day I was talking with my older sister (Hi Deanna!) and we were discussing my current mental state. She happened to have her local paper in front of her and she opened it while we were on the phone, it contained the above comic.

Sometimes in life, things are just fitting.

Well then. I am no longer allowed to make political predictions on this site.

After this debacle and yesterday’s predictions, I pretty much need to hang up my crystal ball and let the professionals do their job. However, according to Andrew Sullivan, I am in good company because a Zogby poll had Obama taking Clinton in California by 12 points!

If you are interested in a good re-cap of what happened yesterday, head over to Andrew Sullivan’s page, as it has a plethora of good info.