Phantom Tollbooth Documentary!

I can't even begin to express how excited I am for this.  This book made me fall in love with language and fantasy in equal parts, and has taught me that being curious is always way more fun than feigning boredom.

Foxfield 2k8

What do you get when debauchery and bacchanal meet southern frivolity? If you guessed Foxfield, you'd be right. The weekend started off in an RV RPV (Recreational Party Vehicle) with my friend Tim dutifully at the helm. Our crew--over 10 deep--hurtled down the highway at lightning speed, headed for the fair hills of Virginia wine country. Within minutes, the sink was piled high with beer cans and the floor sticky with a deadly combination of soda, beer and dirt. But it mattered not to our team of RPV-ers and we all enjoyed the good food(from Aggie, natch!) good music(EP release party for new Timputer/Heckbot/Garretron joint) and good company. Unfortunately, even traveling at what felt like a lightning pace, the RPV was still confined by the laws of physics, and our grand plans to hit up multiple wineries ended up being scratched in favor of 1 winery and an early arrival in C-Ville. Thus, we disembarked at Barboursville, slightly worse for wear and not fully in control of our mental faculties. Fortunately for us, the grounds were pristine and the weather beautiful, so we took our wine and hullabaloo outside. Post-wine toasts and boasts, we piled back in the RPV for the final leg of the journey. +/-

There are no words for seeing Charlottesville again for the first time after a long absence. It triggers in you a profound feeling of ecstasy and almost childlike glee, and all you want to do is shout and sing and dance and smile. We arrive at my friend Dolores' unbelievable downtown apartment, drop our stuff, and then head off into the night to dance to 6 Day Bender, eat Christian's Pizza, and reunite with old friends on Elliewood. The next day, from what I remember was incredible. Since I spent most of the day time travelling, I'll just list off the highlights-- Sun, dresses, mimosas, limo, Sparxx, bums, public urination, random adventures in C-ville 'burbs, crazy walkers, drunk walkers, angry walkers, onlookers--"it's Britney, betch!"--pick up trucks, unbelievably--a horse!, flask pulls, waves of seersucker and frills, old friends, new friends, creepy friends, drinks, hugs, laughs, more drinks, less memory, ominous clouds, scattered rain, pouring rain, running for cover to the RV, brownouts, stale air, revived energy, food at Three, drinks at Coupes, escape, more drinks, old crushes, taxi rides to nowhere, hotels, sin, love, nursing hangovers, Fellini's, RPV pickups, solemn drive on 29----WHAM! Back to reality. Can't wait to do it all over again next year.

Closing Time Pt. I

True Life: I quit.

So in all the books, movies and tv shows I've spent a sizeable chunk of my life consuming, I've never come across any good lessons on how to quit your job. Sure, I've learned a lot of useful knowlege: not to watch suspicious looking VHS tapes, how to act around boys, and that there's nothing you can't do if you have a Swiss Army Knife, a roll of duct tape, and your wits. However, when it comes to something as dull and practical as quitting, I was at a complete loss.

I have a real problem taking normal, every day situations and blowing them up into insurmountable obstacles of anxiety and stress--what I've dubbed "the Felicity complex". For those of you who used to watch the WB show, you know exactly what I mean. I gotta start taking my cue from Clint--shoot from the hip and don't hesitate.

So, even without the life lessons from my friends and mentors in Imaginationland, I managed to buck up and quit. Turns out, not shockingly, it wasn't such a big deal. Everyone was really supportive and sympathetic, and none of my worst-case scenarios came true. I think "My First Resignation" experience has constituted an induction into the adult world, whether I like it or not.

Cheers to moving onwards and upwards!

Nancy Kerrigan skates again!

Well, not really. But she, T. Harding and K. Yamaguchi did make an appearance Saturday night for the fabulous "it used to be cool" party. As did Gwen Stefani, BUM athletics and Big Dog t-shirts, spiked hair, and backward hats. Overall, the lack of costume ingenuity was disappointing at best, but it did make the figure skating trio shine even brighter. I really hope the dearth in dress-up Saturday night is not representative of adult attitudes toward costume parties. Costuming is like a get out of jail free card. Its an excuse to adopt another persona and not answer for your actions. Even if you're not quite adopting the personality of your character, everyone will pretty much forgive what you do anyway. I'll be sad if being a grown up means no more pretend because I don't think I'll ever grow out of playing dress-up.

Patience is a Virtue I Need to Learn.

Does it ever feel like you're rushing through your life to get to the next big thing? I hear myself saying "Tomorrow I will.." or "I can't wait until..." or "when I'm in older..." but rarely, rarely, do I take it a day at a time. Unfortunately, as those who know me can attest to, patience has never been a virtue of mine. I'm an impatient fool who longs for instant gratification--how do I learn to appreciate the wait?! I'm worried that one day I'll turn around and come face to face with a mirror and see myself, 30, with little more than 10 years of a rushed adulthood behind her. I'll be a successful film producer--fingers crossed!--who's misplaced her most precious commodity: time. I love my friends, my family, my life in DC, but I still feel like I'm cruising on autopilot, waiting for the signal to switch it off and begin my life. I fear an existence backed up by nothing but words--by "should'ves" and "could'ves" and other such conditionals that drip with longing and regret. How do I live in the now and not in the when? Maybe its this era, this "ME" generation, thats affected my thinking. We're so used to everything on the spot. Processes that used to take hours or minutes now take seconds, and the whole span of human knowledge is at our fingertips. It's like I'm running a race against my peers but none of us see the coffin sitting at the finish line. Why do we all feel like we're going to be left behind if we're not constantly transforming, moving forward, preparing for something? Maybe the Luddites have a point. Life was sweeter before technology complicated it.