first day of high school

2010_RED_CAMARO_00155827087245497255827 I don’t know why I remembered this (actually, because I’m working on the book), but the first day of school, I was dropped off at the entrance in a crazy red sports car because my neighbor at my new house was a popular girl and her mother insisted she drop us both of us. Patrick Marquez, a fifth grade contemporary, lost his mind when I came out of the car. “Tina Lee!” he said, “In a red camaro!” (Or whatever it was. Cars are not my forte.) The girl had perfectly feathered hair, perfect makeup — things I kind of thought were a waste of time (but now that I work in corporate america, I realize, that stuff actually really counts). She was probably not a bad person, horrified her mother had her paired off with a socially-less desirable 7th grader. My rides to school did not last much longer after the first day, but I was happier for it. I didn’t really like how public those drop-offs were and what I remember from high school is a 30-minute walk where I’d meet my best friend at her house and we’d laugh the whole way to school. Those times were great.

ice cream

ice-cream-cones

First Son was making some pretend ice cream.This just entails giving out fake cones out to people and some mixing beforehand. It’s all mime.
ME: I’ll take a rainbow ice cream, please.
FIRST SON: Here you go.
ME: Thanks, mmm delicious. Why don’t you make one for Ima [what he calls my mom]?
FIRST SON: What kind, Ima?
IMA: Yellow.
FIRST SON: Here you go.
ME: How’s it taste?
IMA: Ugh, it’s too sweet.
(pause)
ME: Really? That’s what you choose to say? About imaginary ice cream?

habits of hobbits

hight134 before it goes by too quickly, right now, Twin Boy is really into stirring. If he seems troubled, just give him a plastic spoon and small cup and he will occupy himself stirring. Um, he also like biting me.Twin Girl absolutely loves wearing sunglasses. You put a pair on her, she take a moment to adjust her gaze and then she smiles beatifically. First Son is also awesome. He’s into a cartoon “Peppa Pig,” singing, the Wiggles, singing a song he named “Bananas of the Night,” puzzles, knock knock jokes. Are you kidding me? Co-workers keep telling me it goes by quickly. I can’t tell, though I do on occasion notice how much larger each of them are in my arms.

jason bateman

images Last night, Becca said she was tired of the fake Jason Bateman fans, that she’s been a fan since Silver Spoons, and I like dropped my jaw. I love it. It’s exactly like when she went off on Gwyneth Paltrow for being fluent in Spanish, and it’s just further proof she is not a droid doing human recon work. She’s actually a human. Wear your freak flag proudly, my friends.

hunter s thompson

huntersthompson I went to a three-year-old birthday party and announced my secret to parenthood: the right balance of hydration, caffeination, and inebriation. I think some dads actually applauded. Then the host said I sounded like Hunter S. Thompson. I was totally zinged. Deserved. I came in with a lot of self-important bravado and was introduced to my inner douche-nozzle.

two days in new york

img-julie-delpy-2-days-in-new-york_152851353097 When I’m low, I think what would make me happier? in the most recent spirit snafu, the sentence in my head was “What if I were Julie Delphy? Would be happy?” She is extremely successful, world-renown, and yet like not too famous as to get overwhelmed, and she writes, directs, etc. — and she’s French. Like that seems like the perfect recipe for happiness, right? i rented this movie on Amazon and it’s not bad, very indie. It’s possible her mother passed away, because the protagonist’s mother’s death is kind of an undercurrent, and I thought, it is so wonderful to be a writer. I am so lucky I write. You can make up whatever you need, you put events you don’t understand in your life, that overwhelm you, and you put it in a story and make it all meaningful. It is such a pain in the arse, but what a gift too.

winona ryder

Winona-Ryder-winona-ryder-14604875-524-794 This was a cool interview I just read with this former child star. When I was growing up, I actually found her annoying — beautiful but clueless about her privilege, not quite truthful in her acting. I may have been more critical because she was personally into alternative culture, considered my turf (by me) in high school. I think in the 90s, she briefly dated Beck, which enraged my friend Alex, the way the fact Gwyneth Paltrow speaks flawless Spanish pisses my friend Becca off. It is like a really specific annoying.

But in this interview, after all of Winona Ryder’s troubles (a long break from acting and the fame scene, after caught shoplifting with a lot of prescription drugs on her), she is slowly breaking into acting again and there is something very humble about her presence (I don’t know if it’s reflected in her acting), more mature, so I find her very appealing in this interview. Plus, she is sooooo of a certain era. She says her hero was Maude in “Harold and Maude.” How long has it been since you heard that title? She seems like she’s in this retro bubble. I thought the whole business side was fascinating. When she was a kid, she was considered ugly by Hollywood standards and was regularly told by casting directors to quit, because she was far too ugly. She credits her parents and Tim Burton for these kinds of comments to just roll off and not crush her ego.

cordelia

1265601-cordelia-022411CordeliaHighSchool When I read King Lear in high school, Cordelia bugged the crap out of me. She was the youngest daughter, the one King Lear loved the most, and she adored him right back. He holds a contest for his daughters to compete on who could say how much they loved him the best, in order to settle the matter of his will. Regan and Goneril tore it up, laying it on extra thick, but Cordelia remained completely mute. Enraged, Dad gives her the boot and gives the other two evil sisters his power and land…I was always like DUDE, OPEN YOUR MOUTH! But then, there would be no play I suppose. So if I hate this, y ou’d think I was pretty gabby (which…I am) but the work world, I have turned into a Cordelia!!! So bad! I am really uncomfortable going for the jugular or saying stuff I don’t really agree with, but I’m trying to learn. Corporate America likes Regan and Goneril! Business Don’ts: Don’t Be the OFfice Cordelia. Thank you.

prom and prejudice

I met this lovely writer at a Christmas party and never got around to posting this. She’s written a bunch of YA books and l ives off of writing. I told her I was very impressed at how much she’s accomplished, especially when I can’t bear to write. My own YA attempt is on draft number five. Surely, that means, give up (except not really). She told me quite sternly-in-a-friendly- way that it takes a lot of time and revision to figure out how you write a book and that her first took 17 drafts. That made me feel, oddly, inspired. Anyway, I’ve read almost all her books. Prom and Prejudice is my favorite; the way Shakespeare elevates actors, Austen just elevates writers. Her books hit that right YA formula — enough plot to keep you guessing, delayed romantic gratification, and a female protagonist who carries the modern writer’s feminist intentions.