Archive for September, 2008
September 29, 2008
Holly and I took a little vacation last week.
We had our getaway all planed out, but we still hadn’t settled on a destination, even though my mother-in-law had arrived and it was the morning we were supposed to leave. I wasn’t looking forward to the long drive but had been lobbying half-heartedly for somewhere in Oregon, perhaps Ashland or somewhere along the coast. Holly suggested a few of our past haunts: Portland, or north to British Columbia. We even considered a little college town just before the Canadian boarder.
With the clock ticking, we finally settled on Seattle, which sounds like desperation but ended up feeling like a whole new town without the kids. We saw a show at the Paramount (Phantom of the Opera), did a reading at Eliott Bay Book Company and saw an exhibit at a local art school. Plus lots of good food and long walks.
I remember my mom and dad taking a trip on their own when I was about 7 or 8. When they got back, I asked Mom if she missed us. I fully expected her to tell me how badly she missed me and all my siblings, but instead she just looked at me for what seemed like a very long time.
Finally she said, “Yeah. I missed you.” I knew there was something she wasn’t telling me, but I couldn’t imagine her enjoying herself on her own. I completely understand that long silence now.
Here is Holly on the Harbor steps. I love those posts on the left, which somehow make the picture.
Me hanging out at the Lusty Lady. Rome may be burning, but the Lady still has a sense of humor.
Posted in family | 2 Comments »
Tags: family, Harbor steps, Lusty Lady, photography, pike place market, Post Alley, seattle, vacation
September 23, 2008
When Dan Jones of the New York Times called about publishing one of my stories for Modern Love, I was delighted. I was also determined not to let him know I had a drug history. Dan had emailed me that he thought my story might work well for Father’s Day and wanted to discuss it more by phone. I immediately thought: Don’t tell him about the drugs. He’ll think you’re a loser. But then when he called, we talked for less than five minutes before my drug history came up.
It went something like this:
“So if your son was in Pennsylvania with your ex-wife, what were you doing in New York City?” Dan asked.
I chuckled demurely. Lying seemed like a bad idea.
“Well,” I said taking a deep breath. “That’s another story.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in writing | 5 Comments »
Tags: creative nonfiction, Dan Jones, drug history, heroin, lies, memoir, Modern Love, New York Times, published, recovery, truth, writing
September 19, 2008
I went to the company meeting yesterday. Steve Ballmer reminds me of one of the uncles on my mother’s side of the family. He talks loud, has a good sense of humor, and plenty of passion. I can easily imagine him sitting at the kitchen table with a bottle of beer and a red face, discussing the Rollers’ upcoming fate, deriding the coaches, or extolling teams from the past.
I like the new advertising campaign. I got my first PC in the early 90s. It was a 386, with so little RAM you could count it on your fingertips. What a step up from my electronic typewriter! When I installed Windows 3.11, I remember getting a cramp in my shoulder trying to figure out how to operate the mouse.
Now I find I can’t get by without at least three PCs at home. I have four at work (not counting virtual machines). Sometimes Holly says she wants a Mac. She thinks everything will be easier if she gets a Mac.
I tell her, You don’t want a Mac.
She may be right. Everything may very well be easier on a Mac, but when things go wrong (as we all know they must), I will not be able to help.
Why?
Becasue I’m a PC!
Posted in technology | 4 Comments »
Tags: computers, I'm a PC!, PC vs. Mac, Steve Ballmer, technology
September 16, 2008
The stock market news is making me crazy.
I know that every ten years or so there is a big scandal and the market is rocked. In the 80s, it was Michael Milken and junk bonds. I was using drugs and cheering for the system to come tumbling down. In the 90s, it was Enron. I had no money, didn’t care. But now I have a house. I just got a raise. I have a stake, people!
I keep asking Holly if I should withdrawal all our money from the bank. She says, Do whatever.
But where would we put it? Tomorrow my goal is to stop watching the news. And stock tickers.
Posted in me | 1 Comment »
Tags: scandal, stock market, sundry fears
September 15, 2008
I saw this and laughed.
I had a head cold all weekend long, but this was an enjoyable two hours. It’s a black comedy where every character is either a liar, a fuckup, or both. The whole movie seems like a big setup for the last scene in the CIA director’s office, which was – by far – the funniest bit in the whole movie.
In other news, the teachers strike is over and the kids are back in school. Hooray!
I am home hoping my head will drain and reading Theo Pauline Nextor’s divorce memoir, How to Sleep Alone in a King-Size Bed. I took a class with Theo at the UW. Her current memoir started out as a Modern Love essay.
Perhaps that’s a good omen.
Posted in movies | 2 Comments »
Tags: black comedy, Brad Pitt, Burn After Reading, George Clooney, Joel and Ethan Coen, John Malkovich, movies
September 13, 2008
Don Cheadle gives a fine performance, but this is a weak movie. It could have been a fine drama or an intense thriller, but its bizarre ending widely misses the mark for both.
Samir (Cheadle) is a devout Muslim who infiltrates a terrorist group. It’s rare these days to find a Muslim hero in a leading role, so this is great, interesting. But there are far too many scenes where the point seems to be that not all Muslims are murderous extremists. It’s awkward and uncomfortable, like the movie is meant to be Islamic sensitivity training.
The thriller portion of the plot is by the numbers, but good. At one point, Samir loses contact with the American authorities helping him and it seems like the movie is going to turn into an excellent thriller. One scene in particular where Samir is left out in the cold made me sit up in my seat. But this tension never comes to much.
The close is just terrible: it’s too amoral to make for a satisfying resolution to the drama and too silly to work for the thriller.
Posted in movies | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, movies, Traitor
September 3, 2008
Today is the second day of the teacher’s strike. To try to appease the back to school gods, I have posted another excerpt from my coming-of-age memoir. Everyone has a story about facing the generation gap with their parents: this one is mine. I hope you like it.
Slacks
Coming down the third floor stairs, I hear Mom call to me from inside her bedroom. I have been looking for ways to make up with her, so I quickly poke my head into the room and find her sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Listen,” she says to me with no preamble. “I got no money for your school clothes this year.”
I look at her confused. Lack of money is always a complaint, but this comment seems uncomfortably targeted towards me.
“I’m buying for all the others,” Mom says. “You get your dad to take care of you.”
“Dad?” I ask, panic in my voice. I have been avoiding Dad since my failed attempt to steal the car radio from his van, but that’s not what alarms me.
To read the rest of the story, click here.
Posted in memoir | 1 Comment »
Tags: generation gap, my memoir, Slacks, writing
September 2, 2008
Woo, woo!
William Bradley from The Ethical Exhibitionist nominated Present Tense for an award/meme thingy. I’m always a little amazed intelligent people are willing to admit to reading this site. Thanks, Bradley! I’m going to nominate a few of the sites I enjoy a little later this afternoon or possibly later this week. Until then, this honor is all mine!
The big news this morning is the teachers strike. Aaron and Kennedy are home with Holly, when they should be in school. I saw all the teachers out in picket lines this morning on the drive into work. If you toot your horn, they all raise their signs and cheer.
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
