The Weekend of ME

My brain keeps making these drastic 180 degree spins and it's making me dizzy. But good things first.

My birthday weekend and day were pretty great. On Friday, the boy and I went to our friends as usual and we ended up at the usual hipster bar that has slightly better music (INXS, Twisted Sister, and Bon Jovi all made an appearance) than the others. The bars and nightclubs close at 2 am here and one of the last songs was Lady Gaga's, "Bad Romance." My friend, who is very tall and noticeable, just stated moshing to it for fun. You know what moshing is right? When you throw yourself around to music at concerts and get others doing it too? Well, halfway through the song the entire bar decided this was the best thing ever and joined in. A tidal wave of Red Bull hit me and the table we were at was pushed from the middle of the floor to up against the wall. It was insane. And hilarious. My friend got escorted out even though he really didn't instigate anything bad, it was the rest of the people taking it too far, but since he's so tall he kind of stands out and it was easy to blame him. Luckily, he's allowed back in next time.

Saturday, Elliot went to a concert which I didn't really feel like attending. I was going to spend the night reading my friend's script. He's out in L.A. and is slowly making headway in the "business," and wanted my feedback for his new draft. Through some happy interference though, I wasn't left alone all night. A few friends came over and we spent the night lazily watching delicious food shows until we couldn't take it anymore and ordered Thai food and then cheesecake. They all left (un)comfortably full and after a really nice low-key night.

I spent Sunday at home with Elliot, reading the aforementioned script and making notes, and we discovered Housesitter starring Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin was available for free and since Elliot had never seen it, we settled down to watch. It's one of those silly '90s comedies that make you feel all happy and content and it was so nice to curl up and watch it. Even Egglet our kitty jumped up and snuggled in between us. The clock struck midnight in the middle of the movie and we paused so that I could open my birthday presents.

My boyfriend has amazing taste. He got me three books I can't wait to read, a silly t-shirt from this Japanese label we both loved when we were there (it has a cartoon monkey with a red cape and fangs trying to catch a floating dagger), and a trench coat and fedora. Yes, that's right. He got me a coat that fits so well, tight on top and flaring out in a full bottom, with a cool hat and proclaimed every classy lady needs this outfit. I agree. Now I can be a 40s dame. He even made sure the model wearing the hat ad curly hair so that it would look good on me.

On the day of, I got so many emails, texts, and Facebook messages, it was overwhelming. I've never felt so loved and touched and I appreciated every single one of them. I had lunch with Elliot in Chinatown (mm delicious pho) and we spent the day at home watching this weird anime called the Tatami Galaxy. My friends had organized a dinner at an Indian restaurant for later but I was a little blue because Elliot had to go back to Austin.

I admit I got a little teary-eyed when I said bye and then promptly started cleaning and putting away things because I am Monica from Friends and I clean when I'm anxious. I trudged to dinner, still a little down, and it was pouring down rain. There was a small group of us there and while we were waiting for appetizers I felt a big smack on my cheek. I looked up to see Elliot's grinning face! He had tricked me and was back for good, no more Austin. Haha, he totally got me and I had a delightful rest of my night which culminated with drinks and ice cream at my apartment while we all watched Death Becomes Her.

Again, thank you to everyone who made this day so nice for me. I tend not to have good birthdays and this was exactly what I wanted. Thank you so much.

But then comes the day after and I woke up with a cold. The rest of this week I've been feeling kind of yucky from the cold and from other stuff on my mind. I keep applying to places that never respond even when I send follow-ups and I'd really like more work from my literary agency but they haven't responded to my email today either. I should be happy that I'm not "struggling" per se, that I can spend this time writing but my head feels so empty and at the same time clogged (both because I'm sick and metaphorically) that I can't bring myself to do much. I hope this funk passes with my cold and I can get going on my book. I'm starting to outline how I want it to play out and I emailed my agency asking if I can start submitting things in January when I'll have been with them for a year. I always need a basic outline before writing because even if I don't stick entirely to it, it feels safe to have that "skeleton."

I was thinking about writing a letter to Christopher Moore. He's the most active of the authors I enjoy and because of Facebook's new features, I get updates from him. It might help to hear from someone who is a writer and how to handle the long days that seem to stretch on forever.

Also, I wrote a really long piece about how Bon Jovi has been in and out of my life since I was seven years old and it got posted on MetalSucks. This link will take you to it.