Yesterday I was very blah for some reason. Coffee didn’t even do its trick! I ended up spending most of the day aimlessly surfing the internet, playing Words with Friends, and reading. The only productive things I did were yoga, reading and commenting on a couple of Nervous Breakdown pieces, finally getting together a free memoir shipment I still owed, as well as a submission to a magazine that accepts previously published works.
Here are a couple more exciting highlights.
More crazy Chinese mom craziness
In the fall I’ll be participating in a couple of readings in conjunction with this anthology I’m in. Exciting, right? So I shared the news with my mom during our call yesterday. But it wasn’t so easy.
Me: Remember that book I told you about? With my essay about Puo-puo.
Mom: Yes, yes.
[Thank God she remembers] Me: Well, the editor lives in Sonoma.
Mom: I don’t understand.
[Here we go] Me: You know what an editor is? The woman who put together the book. Well, she lives in the San Francisco area.
Mom, hesitatingly: Okay.
Me: Well, she arranged a couple of bookstore readings for those of us who also live in the Bay Area.
Mom: Okay.
Me: You know, a bookstore reading? We go to a bookstore and read from the book.
Mom: Okay.
Me: We go to a bookstore and read ALOUD from the book. To an audience. It’s like a speech, or a presentation. Except we’re just reading.
Mom: Oh! The whole book? That will take a long time.
Me [about to lose it]: No, Mom. We each get five minutes.
Mom: Oh. With a microphone?
Me: Why does that matter!
[At this point, MB comes in the room and wags his finger at me for being impatient with my mom]
Me: Yes, with a microphone.
Feeling bad, I called her back a few minutes later, and it turned out, my mother STILL didn’t get it.
Me: MB says I was too impatient with you.
Mom laughs: I never went to this kind of thing so I don’t know.
Me: I know, I know.
Mom: So you guys won’t go.
Me: Huh? Of course we’re going. I’m IN the reading, Mom! I’M one of the people doing the reading!
Mom: Oh! I thought you said the editor was.
Me: No, she’s just arranging it.
Mom: Oh! [Now she sounds excited.] That’s very good!
Yeesh.
Then I get this email from my dad:
Happy to know you’re gonna do a live presentation of your article.
First of all, since when does my father say “gonna”? Secondly: sigh.
I know, I know, they’re both very cute and sweet, but – SIGH.
SPICY!
Early yesterday evening MB and I decided to take a walk to lower Haight and check out Rosamunde Sausage Grill. He’s eaten there before and thought I would like it. And I did.
I got the beer sausage and the chicken habanero, and FUCK were they spicy. I expected them to be white person-spicy (ie, not), but they were killing me. My nose was running, and while I tried to be paleo and not eat the bun, I just had to or else die of spiciness. (Plus it was tasty.)
We had a very nice walk too. It was in the upper 50s, low 60s, and windy in some parts. It’s crazy that it’s July, and we were wearing jeans and jackets. Love Bay Area weather!
Today so far I’m feeling much more energetic. The coffee is working! My main project is to finish this next section of my novel. Must do it! It even takes precedence over working out.
Ohhhh exciting! Let me know when/where and I’ll come cheer you on :)
Totally! It’ll be late Sept/early Oct so few months away.