Vaycay
I'm leaving for Tennessee early tomorrow morning (Tuesday 7/15), and will be back in New York Sunday the 27th at night. I will have email, but probably scant time to reply to it! See you soon.
The Best Song in the World
"Indiana Wants Me" by R. Dean Taylor.
**
Also: I am patiently awaiting the YouTube clips of the Jon Bon Jovi show last night in Central Park. Of course it's easy to surmise that the whole crowd was women in their 40s and 50s with Aqua Net hair and acid-wash jeans, but I'm sure that was not really the case. I caught Beth Orton last night in Brooklyn and I have absolutely no doubt Bon Jovi was better.
Best Summer Ever
I am having the best summer ever. That is all.
Major Day
Today, 7/9/08, I will attempt to walk eight dogs, then go to WHFR to let Ashley in and then do my own show, take a deep breath, and then head to the Ding Dong to DJ there for the rest of the night. Whether I will be alive tomorrow remains to be seen.
Please please please stop by the Ding Dong Lounge tonight if you can! I had a lot of fun there on Sunday, and this will be my last night there for at least two weeks. It's a non-pretentious, cozy scene -- pool table, good beers, good music.
Sara Lives!
This afternoon, when I checked my mail, I scared everyone in the lobby by whooping so loudly that my whoop echoed throughout the building. My contributor copy of Alligator Juniper has arrived! I will promote this achievement especially shamelessly, because I am especially proud of it.
This fine journal out of Prescott, Arizona is one of the greatest around for both emerging and established writers. Last winter they called for submissions for a special section on genre blur (that which cannot be easily classified as "definitely a poem," "definitely a memoir," etc.), and I submitted my story/essay "The Collected Works of Sara Ruiz," which had seen about a hundred revisions. That it was accepted is heartwarming to me, considering I was ready to completely give up on this piece when I sent it. Since then it's become one of my favorite things I've ever done, a brave little soldier. Besides all the "me" business, this issue of this particular journal is crammed to the gills with poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and photography by great people. (I don't say that just because I'm in there twice.*) The winners of the annual writing and photography contests are among us, lookin' good.
Check out Alligator Juniper's homepage here, and/or go here to order AJ 2008.
___
*At this year's AWP conference, AJ sponsored a six-word story contest. They chose my six-word story as one of the finalists.
A Question For Friends Who Get Emails From Me
Do you think I need to cool it with the exclamation points?
Yay The Ding Dong
My DJ engagement went well -- at least, I think when people say they want to marry you for your record collection that means it went well. And I'll be there again this Wednesday the 9th after my WHFR show, so please do stop in! Maybe you can meet the guy who was super-proud when he identified "Hang On Sloopy" from the opening drumroll. Something I noticed: when people dance in front of the DJ booth it makes the record skip.
The Boyfriend Game
Sarah Seigel and I play the Boyfriend Game when we are in crowds, as we were yesterday during a rock show in Battery Park. Here is how you play the Boyfriend Game: choose an unsavory-looking boy or man, indicate him to your partner, and make up a story that explains why it's important/awkward/sad/joyous for the two of you to be meeting here today. Viz:
"Your boyfriend needs help with his suspenders! You should go over there and fix his suspenders for him. Actually, tell him he doesn't need them, his pants are tight enough already. Wow, those pants are like painted on! I can see now why he's you're boyfriend."
"What does your boyfriend's T-shirt say? 'If The Music's Too Loud, You're Too Old'? Oh no, he's here with his wife. That must be awful for you. I'm sorry."
"Your boyfriend is wearing the neckerchief you gave him for his birthday! Do you think that means he wants to get back together? I know you've been keeping up with him on the emo message boards, but maybe you should actually talk to him."
"Oh wow, how does it feel to see your boyfriend again since he got pregnant? He's really far along now. But is it yours? Do you know yet?"
And on and on. It should be noted that the Boyfriend Game is not always limited to people; one of the best boyfriends Sarah ever gave me was the Pizza Hut P'Zone.
Oh, and speaking of clothing and pizza: this morning on the subway I saw a guy wearing the BEST shirt I have maybe EVER seen. I didn't even see the front of it and I still think so. The back featured a drawing of a slice of pizza and the legend "Enjoy pizza it's a slice of life!" [sic] I loved it so much. I almost offered to trade shirts with him, but I was wearing my new WFMU shirt I bought yesterday at the show so I didn't.
Summah!
I finally bought my plane ticket for the Sewanee conference. This means that I can get excited about it! Here I go: yaaaaaayyyyyy!
This will be my first vacation since last August, and I'm looking forward to it ardently. I leave next Tuesday the 15th -- the time between then and now will probably be packed with energetic notebook-scribbling and changes of heart about which piece to read at my scholar reading. It's going to be great to meet new people, get new advice about my stories, and go swimming.
Not that July 4th weekend is going to be a wash, of course: I'll be at Sonic Youth/Feelies at Battery Park tomorrow (yay), a barbecue in Montclair NJ Saturday (yay), and the Ding Dong Sunday (see below). In the past I've always preferred spring to summer, but this summer is changing all that with its singular awesomeness.
