Let’s see, I got to see Matthew Zapruder and Seattle’s own Peter Pereira read at the festive Copper Canyon open house the other night. The reading was so crowded I couldn’t even see my six-foot-four husband sneak in the back of the room at the beginning, so I didn’t know he was there! I came away with some new books and a broadside and really enjoyed the reading itself – Peter read new work (which was really good!) and though I’d seen Matthew read a couple of times, this was his best reading yet.
Then yesterday we spent eight hours downtown shopping, from giant superstore Uwajimaya (notebooks, stuffed Japanese characters like Totoro and some new baby seal character, cranes in glass bulbs, so much eye candy! and actual candy!) to Nordstrom and their discount sister The Rack, and I think I actually set foot in about twenty other stores, bookstores, kitchen stores, but now I am done done done! I do love getting people presents, but…sometimes I wish I was one of those people who did everything by e-commerce.
I still have work waiting for me (another re-write of my essay, stress stress) but I was tagged by Karen W. to reveal seven crazy things about myself, so even though in general I don’t go for these meme things, I can’t risk the wrath of Karen!
–I lack the enzymes or something to process alcohol, so I can’t drink, not even a half-glass of wine. And sunlight? Pretty much a no-go as well. And garlic. So, I could very well be a vampire. Except I don’t really like blood. Even bloody meat makes me squeamish. Anyway, all those Sandals resort ads this time of year are like an evil parody of things I can’t do – tan, drink margaritas, etc. Sad. I am not, however, allergic to dairy, wheat, nuts or strawberries, or animals. So, it could be worse!
–I grew up on a farm with chickens and horses and like 20 roaming dogs and cats and acres of strawberries and used to do farm chores like gathering eggs and mucking stalls and currycombing and everything. Moving to the suburbs was very painful after that.
–When I was growing up my mother didn’t encourage me to wear pink or feminine clothes, because she didn’t think it was feminist (possibly also because she was encouraging me to wear my brother’s hand-me-down’s as well.) This may explain the amount of pink in my closet.
–I still get excited about the concept of XML.
–My single favorite Christmas present of all time was when my little brother tracked down a in-box lost toy (called a Nyamy kitten) that I was so upset someone stole at girl-scout camp when I was eight, that was only made for six months in 1980 because I believe it is stuffed with hazardous materials. It has a treasured spot in my home, with all its highly flammable parts and everything. (It actually has a warning tag that read: “danger – stuffed with iron filings.”)