//New York City
The Book of Regrets
“This dick in front of me…accused JH of making him miss his dinner.”
The Hodg reads from his new book, More Information Than You Require
10:35pm Paul
somebody got contacts today
and that somebody is me
haircut tomorrow
i’ll be like a new man
10:36pm Cari
Woo!
Sexy time for the Paul!
How short are you going or what style?
10:36pm Paul
pretty short
but it’ll just look like when i got here
10:36pm Cari
I think I’m an alcoholic because this week, I feel like I really need alcohol.
Like if I don’t get some at night I want to curl up into a ball and cease myself.
Also, the cigs don’t help.
I never saw you when you got here.
I met John Hodgman tonight.
10:37pm Paul
[snipped]
oh nice
10:38pm Cari
I couldn’t afford his book but now I think I should have made him sign my address book or something.
Then it turns out my friend, with whom I did not stand in line, totally is like his drinking buddy and they all chatted for like 15 minutes.
Now I’m thinking I should have gone back up there and partaken.
Tonight has been very regretful for me…i.e. full of regrets.
I just feel all outside of everything.
And a black hole of what not to do.
Sorry to vent.
10:40pm Paul
s’okay
10:40pm Cari
It’s like we met for a nice chat and I just vomited my angst all over your nice new xmas sweater.
10:40pm Paul
i never liked this sweater
even though it’s new
10:40pm Cari
Well, you can still give it to a homeless person.
He or she won’t mind.
Might not even notice.
Now it’s like I vomited all over the homeless.
10:42pm Paul
way to go, cari
it’s not a big deal
it’s just john hodgeman
you’ll meet better celebrities than that
[snipped]
10:45pm Cari
[snipped]
it’s not the celebrity, it’s that he’s really funny, and nice and I like him.
And I have nothing funny or original to offer spur of the moment.
If I could write him an email, maybe something would surprise me.
But you can’t send emails at book signings.
10:49pm Paul
right
most people don’t do well in those situations
so don’t beat yourself up
10:50pm Cari
I just don’t want to be one of those assholes who asks what their favorite cereal is.
Or this dick in front of me who accused JH of making him miss his dinner.
And JH was pretty gracious all things considered, and said he’d come from a taping (The Daily Show) so he hadn’t eaten dinner either, and did that guy want to stay and sign all these people’s books so JH could go eat a steak?
Hahaha, that was awesome.
It wouldn’t have mattered if I hadn’t been feeling so unmoored this week.
Free Shows for New Yorkers
“Thank Jeebus!”
There’s so much amazing music happening this summer. Thank Jeebus! Here’s a list of free shows happening in New York City. Not listed are kick-ass shows of the unfree variety, to wit, Spoon and Built to Spill.
Of the free shows, I want to see: Sonic Youth w/ The Feelies, The Breeders, Fiery Furnaces, Liars w/ Fuck Buttons, Feist, Blonde Redhead, Battles w/ Black Dice and Gang Gang Dance, Santogold and Aesop Rock.
be better
I have just been catching up with my friend Laura’s life by reading her LiveJournal. It used to be that when she and I were (frequently) mutually unsociable, I would keep up with her doings and happenings online. It saved a lot of time when we finally did meet up for cupcakes and knitting. I’ve been remiss for the past year or so, really I had not read her LJ since before she moved to Chicago, before she married Josh (who seems amazingly good for and to her, and is nice to boot).
Laura was the one I spent my summers with barhopping on the Lower East Side when I was 25 or so. Then we barhopped year round when she moved here after graduating from Northwestern. Because I’ve lost all my pictures I have to ask her if she still has those Polaroid scans of The Glitter Van, which was this van covered entirely with gold sequins that we kept seeing parked on Avenue A. Laura is the one with supreme taste in fashion and music. The one who knew where the cool shit was happening and could get us in or knew someone who knew someone.
There was also a time when this guy with a huge white and orange boa chased us from Thompkins Square Park into a bodega and back out again. I am pretty sure that Laura was running first from the snake and then the guy, while I was running from a guy who would chase girls because I don’t mind snakes. I would gladly take the snake over the guy. The lesson we took from that adventure was never run into a bodega expecting people to help you because they could care less who or what is chasing you down an aisle. Even though snakes and other animals really shouldn’t be allowed in establishments where food is being prepared and sold.
Then we briefly lived together when I broke up with Aaron; I was subletting her room while she went on tour with some band friends. Wow, that was lifetimes ago. Zenas, Lief(?), Alec, John, (my current roommate) Erica. In my mind I think of that as The Supercore Years, when Supercore was still a cafe and not a restaurant. A few months later I met Shawn and we dated for the next two years. I moved in with the dying lady and her cat Natasha, then moved in with Shawn, then moved to where I live now…with Erica.
Laura is kind of my “mental health” friend, in that I never had to explain to her my bouts of depression or my unsociable phases. She completely understood it. Things like that are hard to understand if you have no personal sense of it. So when she said she plans to move back to New York City in a year or so, I felt so happy. I’ve never been to Chicago, and I’m sure it would be fun to visit (I plan to go to her wedding) but it feels a million miles away. I mean, I never even made it to Boston to see Anna and Ira, who are busy being parents and homeowners.
Now that I’m focused on creative projects and bettering my life, I have also resolved to be a better friend and to socialize more. I’ve already re-established my friendship with Richard, and plan to see much more of Lynne and maybe even throw some cocktail/dinner/Gatsby tea parties. So, it’s good to know I will have a chance to spend more time with Laura and Josh. It seems like great things are coming and I am excited to be able to share them with people I’ve known for years and years. I also need to reconnect with Todd and Genevie and their son Sebastian.
All of these thoughts came while reading Laura’s LJ entry about her and Josh getting the words “be better” tattooed on their wrists after a really amazing and sweet person Laura knew when she lived here died. He was one of those people who made the world a better place just by being his caring and involved self, and reading the entry gave me some perspective on the crazy and stupid minutiae with which I’ve entangled myself.
The person I have a crush on is taken and overly complicated. The person who has a crush on me will get over it. This is a time for revelations and enjoyment, not for drama and distractions. So, thank you Laura, for your thoughtful insights. Context is everything. Lastly, thank you for the genius phrase, “an Alzheimer’s medication made from daffodils”. This will be part of the first line of my first novel.
Now listening to:
Now reading:
//RECENT
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And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
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- The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
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//FROM THE ARCHIVES
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