« September 2006 | Main | November 2006 »
October 30, 2006
Overheard This Past Weekend
Janie: Grandad, can you fix it?
Grandad: I probably could fix it if Grandma would let me have some new tools.
Janie: [calling into the other room] Grandma! Will you let Grandad have some new tools?
Grandma: Maybe if he's nice to me...
Janie: [to Grandad] Are you going to be nice to Grandma?
Grandad: I am nice to Grandma!!
Janie: [in a loud whisper] You need to be nicer...as nice as a dog.
Posted by madchen at 10:16 PM | Comments (1)October 29, 2006
Going Home Alone
I've broken it off with Mr. Music. On his voicemail.
The coward's way out, I know, and yet what a delightful relief it was to know that when I went out with Ms. Secret Blog, Her Boy, and their friends last night that I was a free woman, able to go home with anyone I chose. Much to my disappointment, no one decided to take me up on it. Instead, I just enjoyed an indie rock concert and a post-concert Halloween party--getting home at the ripe old hour of 3 a.m. (and thank goodness for daylight savings time since I got to fall back and ignore the fact it was really 4 a.m.when I pulled into the driveway).
Today I caught up on my sleep, watched hours and hours of DVR-ed television (including a very, very graphic Sin City), and re-examined the NaNoWriMo guidelines. I have the first two pages of a fabulous, self-autobiographical chick lit novel (aren't your proud that I'm taking on the challenge and avoiding the "erotica" genre?) that I think is going to be a nice way to get my 50,000 words necessary to complete the task. According to my calculations, I will need to write 3 pages a day to accomplish the feat and you, dear reader, can keep up with my progress here:
(I'll be sure to keep everyone apprised as the month proceeds, since I *know* you (and by you, I mean Mr. Bastish) are dying to see what I come up with.)
Posted by madchen at 11:26 PM | Comments (0)October 28, 2006
I'm In
Hurrah, the Big Idea PowerPoint presentation is DONE! The hours and hours and hours of mind numbing computer work is all behind me and I'm pleased to report that the China materials have wended their way to Shanghai and are being translated at this very minute. How am I celebrating?
Watching TV with Janie of course. And by committing to another endeavor that will certainly create stress comparable to the last two weeks.
Unlike my flirtation with veganism (oh 6 months, how short I fell!), perhaps I will actually be able to accomplish something off my list of 50 Things To Do before the end of the year. Or at least get the second chapter written of my great masterpiece of chick lit: Twenty-Eight.
Incidentally, click here to see new pictures of Janie--her dad is becoming quite the photographer. Enjoy the ubiquitous photo where Matt is giggling gleefully while Janie throws a fit.
Posted by madchen at 11:23 AM | Comments (1)October 26, 2006
A Long Time Ago
It's been a long time since I"ve blogged in a coffe shop, in fact, just sitting here with internet access and an hour to kill takes me back to spring 2005 when I would spend whole afternoons in Wayne's Coffee--my favorite hangout in Karlskrona, Sweden.
Back then, I was frantically compiling the last bits of my thesis; today, I'm frantically compiling the last bits of my Big Idea China presentation, which seems to be a never-ending process of revisions and additions, not to mention the need to create notes to go along with the PowerPoint slides so rapidly multiplying.
Back then, I was surrounded by people speaking a foreign language that I didn't understand; today, the people aren't speaking Swedish, but there are French, Spanish, and Arabic conversations floating past my ears.
Back then, I was frustrated with the Turkish visa process; today, I am irritated by the Chinese visa process and wondering how the Chinese embassy website could fail to mention that they moved the visa office several miles away and restricted the visiting hours to 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Back then, I was too busy to think strategically about my future; today, I am too busy to clean the cat vomit up off my floor and look back mockingly at that bright-eyed girl with enough time to waste an entire afternoon watching a parade go by, and yet so pleased that I can look back and remember with such clarity the bright jackets of those people marching down the street.
Posted by madchen at 04:40 PM | Comments (2)October 25, 2006
The 15 Minute Update
Things have been so busy with the Big Idea that I haven't really had the time to update Write Again Soon. Ok, that's not really true--I *did* watch 2.5 episodes of Lost: Season 2 on my brand new, fabulous video iPod last night. But I was in bed, half conscious, I swear, and dear reader, you wouldn't have seen anything witty flowing from my fingertips into the keyboard, I promise.
Tonight is no different, and I have precisely 12 minutes left to write about the past week before dashing off to my softball game. At 9 p.m. In the freezing cold. To play an undefeated team. Oh joy, rapture.
So let's get started, shall we?
On Monday night I had the talk with Mr. Music. You know, the one where I break his gentle heart by explaining that we're not exclusive,
[and here is where my mother walked in and I had to stop typing, lest my evil ways jump off the page and give her a stroke...so now it's 10:52 p.m. and I'm giving myself the remaining 11 minutes to type the rest of this missive]
that I am not even *close* to wanting to be exclusive, and that no, indeed, it doesn't matter that he thought we were "somewhere farther along", I'm just not there. He was baffled, with lots of deep breathing and starting into space, starting to ask questions and then not getting past the third word. It was painful. After a much longer conservation than I anticipated, I finally convinced him that yes I wanted to keep seeing him and yes I still wanted to go away next weekend and yes I would always be honest about where things were going. But no I did not want to know if he dates other girls because no, it is not any of my business what he does on the nights when we're not together, and no sex is not love and never will be for me. Painful-l-l, I tell you.
Sigh. Moving on.
And now, since I'm rapidly running out of time, let me briefly summarize the events to date:
1. Ms. Secret Blog is now engaged and I couldn't be happier for her. The Boy apparently got down on one knee at the top of the Washington Monument and proposed, to which she replied: Holy shit, are you kidding me? And then said yes, of course.
2. After the whole fiasco with Mr. Bethesda (remember him, the one who decided to go back to his girlfriend?), he's back in the picture and we're planning on a proper date as soon as he stops hacking up mucus and running a fever. I don't need any of that, regardless of how promising his skillz are. No indeed.
3. I have developed a secret crush on a guy I know slightly. Now, when I'm actually around him I feel no pull, but he has cultivated a witty, wry, self-deprecating, well-read persona via his blog and I can't stop wanting to have his babies. Which I would promptly hand over to social services because, please, I can barely get myself out of bed these mornings let alone raise a baby born from blog-lust.
4. On Tuesday I met up with Mr. XXXX, a guy I knew from church WAY back in the day when I was a happy-go-lucky-praise-Jesus sort of girl. He was one of the only guys in my grade in the youth group, and probably didn't receive his fair share of female pubescent adoration. At the time, his sullen brooding just didn't do it for us. But now--he's lucky to be married, let me tell you. The girls would be all over him. He actually google-stalked me, and we met for coffee, where I was delighted to see that he turned out to be a funny, well-adjusted, successful sort of guy (as I'm sure there are many, many people who would also be surprised to see that I'm not an unwed mother of 6 living in rural Pennsylvania). He keeps in contact with all the old group, and I'm going to try and convince him to schedule a mini-reunion for the next couple of weeks.
[Mr. XXXX, since I know you're reading this--and an official welcome from Write Again Soon--what would you like your moniker to be? I am strongly pulled towards Mr. Paramilitary High School (Mr. PHS). What do you think?]
There is much, MUCH more to tell, but I've run out of time, so here is the really brief highlight reel. I was like Derek Jeter at my softball game tonight, if by Derek Jeter you mean girl catcher who left her car lights on and had to have the game stopped while she ran like mad to turn them off, and then played the best game of her life. Janie drew a picture of me and Mr. Music with our two children, all holding hands, and then wanted to present it to me when he was over last weekend (hmm, am I sending mixed signals?). I'm ghostwriting a series of articles on celebrity scandals that will be published under a (relatively) famous author's name, thus justifying my unholy obsession with People.com. And I won't have a second to myself until midnight on October 31st, when I turn in my final PowerPoint presentation for the Big Idea workshop in China. Until then, Write Again Soon may be even more inconsistend with update than normal so may I recommend the following blog archives for your viewing pleasure?
Defective Yeti - make sure you read the Bad Review Revue
El Guapo - just about everything El Guapo writes is amusing, read it ALL
And please please PLEASE read this entry by Mr. Fliven, which had me shrieking with laughter for a solid 15 minutes. It was the middle of the night and my parents were not pleased, but it was totally worth it.
Posted by madchen at 08:15 PM | Comments (0)October 20, 2006
Books I Read in October
New Total: 101+
A Taste of the Sweet Apple
by Jo Anna Holt-Watson
From Publishers Weekly: Despite some uneven writing and wandering storytelling, this memoir is frequently touching and laugh-out-loud funny. The titular "sweet apple" refers to chewing tobacco, which a six-year-old Watson yearned for when she was a hell-raising tomboy on her father's Kentucky tobacco farm in the summer of 1942. She adored farm manager Joe Collins, who taught her how to test the soil by eating it, plant seedlings from a tobacco setter, chew tobacco and spit. He rescued her when she was stranded in a tree house and put out the fire when, in a rage, she shoved matches between her buck teeth and lit them. Watson inherited her temper from her father and grandfather, who were both prone to intermittent rages. Although Watson's parents loved her and each other, "we just never knew when things might come to a boil," and when life at home got dangerous, it was Joe Collins and Eva Belle, the cook, to whom Watson ran. The strongest aftertaste from this rhapsody about life on a Woodford County tobacco farm, with its horses, blooming crabapple tree, timeless summer and ubiquitous cigars, cigarettes and chewing tobacco, is of the heartfelt, old-fashioned loyalty of the hired help, and Watson's gratitude to them for holding things together when her family threatened to fall apart.
My Review: This was a strange sort of read--something definitely "authentic"--there was no professional ghostwriting here. It was like a book we would have been assigned in 6th grade, with enough discussion material (domestic violence, race relations, the "poor South", etc.), but not too much to get overly excited about.
----------
I Capture the Castle
by Dodie Smith
From Amazon.com: Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain wants to become a writer. Trouble is, she's the daughter of a once-famous author with a severe case of writer's block. Her family--beautiful sister Rose, brooding father James, ethereal stepmother Topaz--is barely scraping by in a crumbling English castle they leased when times were good. Now there's very little furniture, hardly any food, and just a few pages of notebook paper left to write on. Bravely making the best of things, Cassandra gets hold of a journal and begins her literary apprenticeship by refusing to face the facts. She writes, "I have just remarked to Rose that our situation is really rather romantic, two girls in this strange and lonely house. She replied that she saw nothing romantic about being shut up in a crumbling ruin surrounded by a sea of mud." Rose longs for suitors and new tea dresses while Cassandra scorns romance: "I know all about the facts of life. And I don't think much of them." But romantic isolation comes to an end both for the family and for Cassandra's heart when the wealthy, adventurous Cotton family takes over the nearby estate. Cassandra is a witty, pensive, observant heroine, just the right voice for chronicling the perilous cusp of adulthood. Some people have compared I Capture the Castle to the novels of Jane Austen, and it's just as well-plotted and witty. But the Mortmains are more bohemian--as much like the Addams Family as like any of Austen's characters. Dodie Smith, author of 101 Dalmations, wrote this novel in 1948. And though the story is set in the 1930s, it still feels fresh, and well deserves its reputation as a modern classic.
My Review: I loved this book--it felt like a mix between the E. Nesbit books and Jane Austen. I was immediately hooked by the narrator, who--as J.K. Rowling puts it, is "one of the most charismatic narrators I've ever met"--and was delighted to find that it defied a specific genre and managed to mix in "contemporary young adult" with "classic Bronte" with a touch of "Umberto Ecco". Quite lovely indeed.
Posted by madchen at 11:44 PM | Comments (0)October 18, 2006
Chipper
I have just purchased my tickets to China. I'll only be there for 5 nights, but I plan to make the most of it--especially since I have gotten signs that I may be back in December for a repeat performance of the Big Idea Workshop.
So, all my dear readers who've traveled to China--what's the best thing to do in Shanghai? (We'll save the rest of the country for another trip...)
Yippee!
Posted by madchen at 01:56 AM | Comments (1)October 17, 2006
The Wisdom of CinderJanie
First, a bit of context.
Last weekend, in preparation for a guest's visit, I needed to clean the bathroom. With everything going on (working 18+ hours a day managing the Big Idea, trying to manage a social life, etc.), I needed to make the most of my manpower, lest I have to crawl under the unwashed covers and cry. To I turned to a child.
I convinced Janie to "play Cinderella". She would be CinderJanie and clean the bathroom floor, and I would be her sister and clean the bathtub while I took a shower. She took to the idea like a duck to water, making me wonder why I hadn't thought about this tactic before.
[scrubbing the floor] "What should I do after I'm done with this?"
[scrubbing the tub] Well, CinderJanie, perhaps you could go make some outfits for your mice friends, or go sing to yourself in the attic.
"No! I mean, what OTHER jobs should I do?"
Well, you could go rub Grandad's smelly feet…
"And?"
And then you could give the cats a bath…
"And THEN?"
And then you could wash and fold all of my laundry.
"That is a LOT of work!"
Well, CinderJanie, you have a very hard life.
"You do too, CinderJen. We BOTH have very hard lives."
Yes, CinderJanie, we do.
[Incidentally, my bathroom floor has never looked so clean.]
October 11, 2006
Qustions I Have Been Dying To Ask, But Never Will
Remember when after a year you finally told me you loved me and that you thought we would be together forever, and then three days later sent that email breaking up with me and saying I shouldn't try to contact you—how do you live with yourself?
Are you aware that you've lost all professional credibility with your overly emotional tone and tendency to blow off deadlines and promises to your partners, and that people now roll their eyes when your name comes into the conversation?
So about the other night, do you cheat on your wife often, or only with me?
I admire your boldness, but do you know how ridiculous you look trying to imitate the latest fashions?
I know that you love him and have spent years invested in this relationship, but do you really see your marriage lasting?
Would you prefer to know that I'm faking it, or continue living on in blissful ignorance?
October 10, 2006
PMS to the Rescue
You know there are those days that just seem crappy from beginning to end? I'm in the middle of one right now.
First off, I've been exhausted all day--even after getting a very solid 8 hours of sleep the night before. I actually laid down in my bed this afternoon (a working-from-home perk I am ever so grateful for) and tried to take a nap but the sleep just wouldn't come. Instead, I lay there fretting about the work I *could* be doing during this short respite. So up I got, and back to the computer to try and achieve some level of productivity. It was a failed attempt.
Secondly, I found out that I came in "runner up" for a Big Idea award that would have netted me a whopping $10,000 for the business. Now I just get $500, which barely covers the cost of entering the contest. Sigh. I had already planned on how to spend the money, and now it's like they've ripped a giant check from my hot little fingers--all while laughing mercilessly.
Third, once again our internet is on the fritz and I was cut off TWICE with no notice, causing me to lose precious work-in-progress and preventing me from doing any Big Idea stuff for a good hour. And, dear reader, I desperately need all the hours I can get--190 to be precise (just to make up for the $9,500 so ceremoniously revoked from my mental bank account).
Fourth, I'm feeling stressed and Mr. Music is just making it worse. As far as I can tell, he's perfect in every "boyfriend" way--except that I'm not feeling the boyfriend spark. In fact, the more he acts like a boyfriend, the more I want to run away and never come back. I can't deal with the "good morning email", the "good afternoon, how is your day going? email" and the "anything happen in the last 10 minutes? evening phone call". IT'S JUST TOO MUCH. And of course, because I am a stupid, stupid girl, I have gotten myself committed to a weekend away with Mr. Music during the first part of November. Normally, a mini-getaway would be be a lovely thing to concentrate on, but NOT THIS TIME.
Fifth, I just found out that a bunch of the information I completed for a Big Idea client just disappeared off their database, meaning I had to spend more than an hour going back and re-inputting the data. Curses! All I really want to do is crawl under my blankets with a book and call it a day. But no, there are 190 hours of extra work to find, because I WILL GET THAT $9,500 IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO.
Sixth, my car is still at the mechanics, getting the last touches of one THOUSAND dollars worth of repairs. At last count, I have $47 in my checking account, so it's anyone's guess how I will pay that bill, let alone the visa bill that comes due in two weeks. Gosh, I wish I had a nice check for $10,000 in the mail. Wouldn't that be nice? The car will supposedly be ready for pick-up sometime tomorrow, which would be fine except that I find myself with no way to get myself to the mechanics in any sort of reasonable time, especially since I have work commitments in the morning, a conference call around noon, no transportation in the afternoon, and a softball game in the evening.
And WHY IS IT SO GODDAMNED HOT? It's the middle of October and I'm SWEATING over the computer. And I have hours of work left to do. And I haven't even STARTED on the massive China project that is due at the end of October and who knows when I'll have time to get it completed and oh my goodness they are never going to have me back and I will miss my one chance to see China in all its glory!
Thank you, hormones, for this lovely day.
Posted by madchen at 07:41 PM | Comments (0)October 09, 2006
A Lady and a Crack Whore
This past weekend was my 10-year high school reunion. I hadn't given it much thought, throwing on a new shirt at the last minute while Mr. Bad Apologies looked on with despair. Twelve of us met up for dinner beforehand, where we relived the good old days and re-read our superlatives from senior year.
Best feet: Ms. Write Again Soon
Most likely to skip class: Ms. Write Again Soon
Most likely to cry for hours over nothing in particular, just because the day seems very sad: Ms. Write Again Soon
It was a rough year, people.
Anyway, the reunion itself was delightful and I was shocked to see how many people I remembered (and who remembered me). It was an open bar, and I took full advantage of it. By the end of the night I had a serious case of beer goggles (really, wine-plus-shots-of-somthing-called-red-snapper-goggles), and found myself looking around and thinking, hmmm. Apparently I wasn't the only one sporting a cider visor, since someone looked at the me and thought "wow, there is an attractive girl I would like to get with".
October 03, 2006
From the Mixed Up Files of Ms. Write Again Soon
In the last 48 hours I have been more productive than I ever thought possible and dear reader, I thought a LOT was possible. In fact, as I sit here now, at a mere 10 p.m. at night, I have literally crossed the last thing off my to-do list. I assure you, it was a very long list, one that began before my trip to Seattle in August and just kept growing. As I bore down on my orange pen of accomplishment and drew a thick line through the final task I mentally whispered take that, to-do list, take that.
But that's not really my point. I'd like to discuss last night's major feat, which was switching the summer and winter clothing in my closet. I realize for my male readers that this will seem like the work of a moment (or possibly not even a moment if you have an all-season wardrobe). To you who disbelieve the momentousness of this task, let me just point out that I have FORTY-THREE pairs of shoes. I know this because I counted them yesterday.
One of my favorite things about October is the ritual switching of clothing. I want to run down the streets swinging a bell, loudly proclaim "hear ye, hear ye, bring out your tank tops!", and pile all unnecessary clothing into a wheelbarrow to be unceremoniously burned at the outskirts of town. Sort of like the Black Death, but more chipper.
(Another favorite thing about October is the beautiful lighting. No matter what time of day, the skies seem bluer than a Tiffany's box and the sunlight glows like burnished copper. Plus, have you seen how good I look in the autumn afternoon, dressed in my newly unpacked sweaters and one of my many, many pairs of shoes?)
Again I digress, but dear reader I promise I shall soon get to the point, and here it is: October weather is a funny thing. I was quite delighted to pull on my favorite pair of flannel pajama-bottoms this afternoon when I got home--the red ones with the little white reindeers, a sure sign that Christmas is approaching. Paired with a t-shirt, it was the perfect outfit for an evening of working on the Big Idea and watching Adaptation (fabulous, by the way).
God, apparently, was displeased with my devil-may-care attitude towards the changing seasons and its ramifications for my wardrobe. To reprimand my behavior, he sent 4 mosquitos to bite me on various body parts, including one on the dead center of my cleavage.
WTF? How is it possible to wear flannel AND get mosquito bites at the same time? I shall write a stern letter of reprimand. And keep my fingers crossed that the first frost comes soon.
Posted by madchen at 10:02 PM | Comments (5)October 02, 2006
Why I'm Never Eating Anything Again
"Aunt Jen, Aunt Jen, come over here!"
Why?
"I have a secret to tell you...come HERE!"
Ok, what?
[whispers] "In that outfit, you look PREGNANT!" [shrieks and runs up the stairs]
Fantastic.
Posted by madchen at 12:53 AM | Comments (2)
