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Fri., Aug. 30, 2002 Britophile Am I:
I blame Monthy Python and The Young Ones entirely for my obsession with British pop culture. And Duran Duran and Culture Club as well. And the cartoon Danger Mouse. And quite possibly everything to do with punk music and fashion. For the past few years my Britophile side lay dormant, that was until I discovered BBC America on my Tivo. And then the British invasion began all over again. Soon I became an avid viewer of Homefront, Ground Force, Changing Rooms, So Graham Norton, etc.
MORE FUN: Send a Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen Ecard Fantasy Laurence -- meet his lookalike! A contestant on Changing Rooms reveals what the show is really like behind the scenes! Handy Andy is a prima donna? The craftmanship is shoddy at best? Paranoia and deception everywhere? Oh my.
Thurs., Aug. 29, 2002 Yea, I'm Corin!:
Take the Which Sleater-Kinney Girl Are You?
Tues., Aug. 27, 2002 Still Trying to Please the Folks: Next week I go back to college for the first time in 7 years to learn something totally different -- Horticulture. I've been a writer all my life, and I don't forsee changing that. I know I will continue to write, but I also want to give this idea of garden design and landscaping a try as well. I've had my career pretty much picked since I was 10, so changing my path is a bit daunting and scary. Needless to say, I could use all the emotional support I can get from family and friends. My pals and boyfriend have all been encouraging and think it's great that I'm looking at other career options besides the dotcom world that is obviously no longer paying off. They think it's only natural that I start another career in a field I love - gardening. If you could see where I live you'd understand -- I have over 60 houseplants inside and a thriving container garden outside. My mom completely understands my need to change career directions. She's done it so many times it's either an art form or a consistent run of bad luck. Regardless, she agrees that I should pursue my passions and the money will follow. My dad on the other hand is another story. He's the kind of guy who's been with the same company for 25+ years and thinks job hopping is immature and irresponsible. I have the distinct feeling that he's not thrilled with my quest for knowledge. He probably thinks I'm not trying hard enough to find an editor or writing gig. But the truth of the matter is that I've been working my butt off for the last year (since my last layoff) applying for ANY writing job in Northern California. But the job market is flooded with writers like myself who all worked for seemingly prosperous dotcom startups that went belly up for various reasons. So when you're competing with 800 people who have the same, or more impressive resume as opposed to 18 people, you can pretty much forget seeing the inside of an interviewing room. Granted, I've been doing freelance and contract work for various Web sites that manage to still stay afloat, and you might see my byline from time to time in a few national magazines. But I still don't have a 9-5 desk job, and for that I think I'm disappointing my dad. I know that I shouldn't care so much about what my parents may think about my choice of employment, or decision to go back to college. I pay my own bills, don't have any debts, take care of myself, etc. But I guess deep down inside I want my dad to be proud of me like he was when I first got hired at a big dotcom company. Or when I was worth loads of money on paper thanks to rising stocks. Now that I'm in the same financial boat as I was when I first got out of college and I may be drastically changing my job search, I feel like I let Dad down. And when I chat with him on the phone every week, I can tell in his voice that he wishes I'd drop the horticulture job idea, and get back to mailing my resume to the likes of Apple and Lycos. Maybe one of these days I'll stop caring so much about what I assume my father thinks of me, and concentrate on what I think of me. I am 30 after all.
Thurs., Aug. 22, 2002 Which Peanuts Character Are You?:
Tues., Aug. 20, 2002 Helpful Hint of the Day: I don't recommend taking 2 Tylenol PM pills at 4:30 am when you can't get to sleep. I woke up at 10 am and have been trying to keep my eyes open by drinking copious amounts of Mt. Dew. I've been a zombie all day.
Fri., Aug. 16, 2002 What I Did Today:
Thurs., Aug. 15, 2002 Looking for a lost friend: When I was a relatively new kid at school, a girl named Jennifer Mills came up to me on the bus and started chatting with me. I was pretty shy, but she thought it was cool I would lug around an old acoustic guitar with me in ninth grade for lessons every day. She soon became one of my best friends all through jr. high and high school. We would spend pretty much every Friday night at a coffeehouse or flipping through Sassy magazine in her living room. She stood by me when my folks didn't understand my obsession with wearing all black, or shaving one side of my head to be "punk." We gave each other advice about relationships, school and parents. We even went to school dances together as each other's dates. Even though we went to different colleges (me at Univer. of Colorado at Boulder and her at Puget Sound) we still kept in touch and remained close. It wasn't until I moved to San Francisco years later and she came for a visit that I managed to ruin a lifelong friendship. I can't explain my behavior other than things were going down the drain for me at work and I think I may have been having a mini-freakout. So when she came to visit, I made poor Jen stay at a youth hostel instead of my couch. I was distant and probably incredibly bitchy. That was around 1996. And I still regret my childish behavior to this day. I've made numerous attempts to beg for forgiveness: letters, phone calls, messages through mutual pals. But alas, nothing has worked. So today I did what any nerdy, guilty girl would do; I went on Goggle.com and searched for ANY info about Jennifer Mills online. All I found was an obscure photo of her at a desk where I learned she is the manager at the Bank of America Gallery in Seattle. Right on! She was always the art expert and I'm thrilled she got to pursue a career in something I know she loves. I wish I had her email address or a way to contact her so I could resume my plea for forgiveness. Jen was one of the closest people in my life, a sister really, and I screwed up our friendship. And I guess for that, I'll always be looking for snippets about her online just so I know she's having a grand time and pursuing her love for art. *sigh*
Tues., Aug. 13, 2002 I'm Famous!: Apparently an interview with me yammering on and on about Bettie Page is in the latest issue Entertainment Weekly magazine. The article is in the issue currently on newsstands (#667, Aug. 16, 2002). The cover features Spider-Man and VIn Diesel with the line "Don't Believe Your Eyes: 10 Movie Magic Secrets." You'll find the piece, written by Ben Spier, in the Digital section on page 74.
Let me know what you think of it. I still need to pick up a copy! More fun:
Sun., Aug. 11, 2002 The Kindness of a Stranger: Today I spent the entire day packing up the rest of my crap in the apartment and I scrubbed, mopped and vacuumed. As I was putting a box of free stuff on the sidewalk, a woman walked up to me and asked me if I had more stuff to give away. Heck yeah I did! I ended up giving her sacks full of toys, games, kids books plus a vacuum, a hula hoop, a bookcase, a VCR and a color TV. In return, she helped me pack my car with the remainder of my stuff and also donated 2 Borders Books cards to my ever-growing book addiction. While we were moving stuff around, I found out that her name is June Speaker and that she's an artist and filmmaker. June even made a documentary movie called The Gift That Keeps on Giving about giving up one of her kidneys to her sister. Wow. So I was more than happy to give her a free TV, VCR, vacuum and various toys/fun stuff. The most I ever gave my brother was a headache. Speaking of my brother, he's getting married! He called me while I was cleaning up my apartment, and gave me the news. Very cool. Now I have to think of the best gift to give him for a wedding present. I hope he doesn't need a kidney anytime soon. It was a hectic day, but after June's help and a quick visit by some hauling guys working on a Sunday evening (whew), I managed to get the last of my stuff out of the house and clean it for the next occupants. I loved that apartment more than most people should appreciate an urban dwelling. I gave some snazzy dinner parties there. I wrote a book proposal merely on how I decorated the place. And I went through 4 relationships while I was living at 4160 20th St. I was sad to leave, but excited about my new life outside the city. I can't wait to start college again and get my hands dirty learning about plants. Goodbye San Francisco; Hello mountain living!
Wed., Aug. 7, 2002
I'm a Kooky Caricature!: When the professional illustrator Ric Machin offered to draw a caricature of me for Grrl.com I couldn't resist. I love his work and I was curious to see which body parts he'd choose to focus on just from the original photo. I get giggle fits every time I see this illustration of me. And I think my boyfriend is slightly emotionally scarred (or is that scared?) from it. What do you think? More fun stuff: Another caricature of me from Backwash.com.
Celebrity Caricature in America
Sun., Aug. 4, 2002 Mad for Mint and Brimming with Basil: While some people choose to grow a container of common mint, I take it a tad further and plant 8 different kinds: peppermint, spearimint, apple, orange, ginger, lime, pineapple and catmint. I'm the same way with all my herbs. I can't just pick one variety, I tend to pick them all. I 've been growing five types of basil, three types of sage and two kinds of thyme. I suppose I'm just overly enthusisatic about herbs. I've been avidly studying not only how to grow and harvest herbs, but their history and magical properties. It's interesting to learn that basil was once scorned as an evil plant because people believed it was a breeding ground for scorpions. Oh, and if you rub basil leaves on your skin it keeps away flies and mosquitoes. Good thing I also have a ton of basil. If I ever get sick of pesto sauce I can always keep the insects away. If you have any good recipes using basil, or mint for that matter, feel free to post them on the message board!
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