verbatim

Three Things

1. When I was listing things I wouldn't be doing on my 50th birthday, I forgot to mention another one: Just as I was about to click "BUY" for tickets to see my beloved Avett Brothers a few days after my birthday, I checked the calendar one more time and realized that it's the same night as Julie's spelling bee. Which I missed last year because Pete and I had a meeting with the rabbi about his Bar Mitzvah. And which she won even though I wasn't there to see her! So, no, I can't miss the spelling bee, but apparently I can miss the Avett Brothers concert. Wah!

2. Grace has been very lonely (read: meowy) ever since we had to put Mr. Jones down, so we are in the market for a couple of kittens to keep her company! Unfortunately, the shelter doesn't have any now. The woman there told me that they rarely get them at this time of year, but from June to October they get 10–15 a day! So we will have to wait a little longer.

3. A few weeks ago I had a minor parenting dilemma involving Steph. I normally pay for all her "necessary" clothes, shoes, etc., as well as plenty of not-so-necessary items. But certain things I am not willing to buy, usually because they are either too junky or too expensive, and those have to come out of her own pocket. So she wanted these shoes that I deemed totally frivolous—they're pricey, flimsy, and covered in glitter that you just know is going to fall off (all over the house...). She decided that she really, really wanted them, so she saved up and bought them. The next day she wore them to school, locked them up in her gym locker, came back from gym, and found that they'd been stolen! She could see that the rest of her stuff had been rifled through, but nothing else was missing. She was devastated. And I was in a quandary. She hadn't been irresponsible in any way, so it was not her fault that they were gone (we still don't know how someone got into her locked locker, but it's not the first time we've heard of this). But on the other hand, I had already told her that there was no way I was paying $50 for sparkly slip-ons in the first place. What to do? I waited a week while she talked about saving up her money again for a new pair, and then I caved and told her I'd replace them for her. What would you have done?

49.9

So next month I will have a birthday. A really, really big birthday. No, not that one, the really big one after that. Yeah.

Some years ago a friend hit that same milestone and threw herself a party. She made the guest list, chose the food and drink, even hired a pianist for her living room piano. It was exactly the kind of party she wanted because she made it so. I decided then that I would do the same thing for myself when the time came. But then a few months ago it dawned on me that my birthday falls just about 6 weeks before Pete's Bar Mitzvah, which means that (a) we will be sitting in the dark eating beans out of a can while the bills roll in, and (b) I will have long since reached mental and emotional capacity in terms of party planning. So there went that idea.

I know lots of women who have planned fun weekend getaways with a group of friends to a spa or New York City or even Wine Country, but I don't have a group of friends like that. Also, see part (a) above.

I briefly considered combining work with pleasure and sending myself to the ACES conference in New Orleans. I've never gone (to either the conference or New Orleans), I know several editors who are going (and would get a chance to meet more while there), and who knows—maybe I could learn a thing or two about my profession in between the beignets and jambalaya. But it's during the week and I have the kids to cart around to school and activities, as well as some of my own commitments already on the calendar. If I really want to go some year, I should do it when I can think about it in advance and make all the appropriate arrangements.

So that leaves me with no real plans for my big birthday, other than spending the day with the kids and having dinner out with Andy. Which will be nice, but somehow doesn't smack of "half a century." Any ideas?

Interviewees

Last week both Steph and Pete had their first experience being interviewed, and both did great!

Pete was applying to the Counselor-in-Training program at the summer camp where he has gone since he was 4. The 13- to 15-year-olds can participate in the CIT program, which is not a real job but more of a transition from camper to counselor. (To wit: Not only does Pete not get paid, but we pay for him to go!) Anyhow, the CITs always seem to be having a blast—they spend most of their time with the younger kids, developing their leadership skills, but they also have some fun CIT-only day trips and overnights. 

Pete had to fill out a pretty challenging application form, complete with essay questions about "significant life experiences" and such, and get two non-family personal references. He worked really hard on the application and I was very proud of him. 

After the application process came the personal interview, which must have gone well because he was told that he was "in" as soon as it was over! (In truth, when I scheduled the interview, the person I spoke to on the phone said that based on his application and the fact that they've known him for nearly 10 years, short of his announcing "I secretly hate kids" during the interview, he was a shoo-in.) 

As for Steph, one good thing that has come out of her hospitalizations is that she discovered the Child Life Specialist position and thinks that might be something she'd like to do when she grows up. She mentioned it to her guidance counselor, who suggested she look into volunteer opportunities at the hospital so she can get a feel for what it's like to work there—and get some relevant experience. What a great idea! 

Steph also had to provide references and fill out an application, although hers didn't have any tricky essay questions. Like Pete, she was told she got in right on the spot after her interview! She knew she would be unable to work on the pediatric ward because you have to be 16 years old, so she will be working once a week on a regular ward and once a week in the gift ship. That cracked me up, because I should've known I could count on Steph to find a way to volunteer at a hospital and end up getting to arrange jewelry and balloons and flowers and stuffed animals! She has her orientation and training this week, so we don't know exactly what her responsibilities will be on the ward, but I think it will be things like helping patients order their meals, getting them pillows or magazines, telling the nurse if they have a problem, and so on. 

When Pete had his interview, I told him he couldn't just wear any old Nike T-shirt, but the only other kind of shirt he has is a button-down oxford, and it was about 70° that day. So we borrowed a polo shirt from a friend, and Steph laughed because she knows he doesn't like polos. Well ... come to find out that her uniform for the hospital is tan pants and a black polo! So off we went to L.L. Bean yesterday to buy the least fashionable items in her wardrobe. Pete got the last laugh there, I think.

I am really proud of my kids and eager to see how they do in their new endeavors.

Link Dump!

If you follow me on Twitter, you've probably seen most of these: 

Here is every social media site perfectly summarized.

The user manual for this Samsung phone is so clever!

I'd seen some but not all of these photos of famous people you might or might not have ever expected to see together. Look at Paul Newman and Clint Eastwood! So young!

Finally! Cats as fonts.

Hu's on first? A modernization of the classic Abbott & Costello bit.

Seems everyone's had one of those "What ___ Really Do" created for them, and at last here's one for editors. (And here's one for cats.)

If you enjoy this Chaucer/Old Spice mashup, I think we would get along swell.

Here's a tricky quiz: See if you can tell whether these famous logos are facing the right way or not. I scored 70%.

You must watch this year's winner of the Oscar for best animated short film (it's only 15 minutes): The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

And, while we're at it, watch this brief (3 minutes) video about those famous "Keep Calm and Carry On" posters in England—and at the end see what is perhaps the most wonderful bookstore anywhere.

And one last video: Totally awesome footage of beachgoers in Brazil who help about 30 beached dolphins get back out to sea. I was clapping and almost crying at the end.

Dear President Obama: I'm Sorry

OMG! Pantone tarts!

I only just discovered Better World Books, thanks to an Eversave voucher. They sell new and used books. For every book they sell, they donate one to someone in need. They ship for free (although you're given the option of contributing toward a carbon offset—for my order it was $0.19). I goofed on something while I was checking out, and the live chat customer service rep was helpful and pleasant. I will definitely be back.

Free Reading

Guess what? I did not work this weekend—not even one minute! I played lots of games with Julie and took her to the library, I cooked actual meals, and I read a few months' worth of New York Times Book Reviews. Ahhh!

And, believe it or not, I read a book that was not required reading for my book group! (Remember when that was a weekly occurrence, and not something that called for any fanfare? Sigh.) I was delighted to discover that there was an Ann Patchett novel that I hadn't read—her first, in fact, The Patron Saint of Liars. The reason it took me so long to realize this was that I had mixed up the title with one by Maile Meloy called Liars and Saints, which I did read. So whenever someone asked if I'd read Patron Saint of Liars, I thought I had. Wrong! Yay!

No surprise, I loved this book. I just adore the way Patchett creates characters and stories and uses language. Although this was her first novel, it didn't feel debut-ish at all—indeed, if I'd read it when it first came out, I'd have been dying for her to write another (as I always am now).

This is the story of a home for unwed mothers in Kentucky back in the '60s. It's housed in an old hotel and run by a bunch of nuns, some nice and some not so much. Rose drives all the way from California in her husband's Dodge, not having told him that she was pregnant or that she was leaving. She's that way. And that is all I'll tell you, except that the story is told from three different characters' points of view, so you get a different perspective on things with each section. It's a wonderful read.

The ending was not tidy enough for me, but endings rarely are. I was left wondering a lot, but that allows me to imagine what I hope will happen and then assume that it will.

Anyone else out there read this? What did you think?

Kickstart the Arts!

Kickstarter is one of those things that, for me, went from "What? Never heard of it!" to "It's everywhere I look now!" in the space of about a week. In case you are still in the former group, it's a tool that lets people fund their arts projects online, little by little. Imagine a street busker accepting change and bills in his violin case from passersby; this is the cyber version.

Here's how it works: A person or group wants to start a particular arts (music, film, design, whatever) project but needs some financial backing. They initiate a Kickstarter project and spread the word via email, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Every Kickstarter project has a goal (a certain amount of money) and a deadline. If the goal isn't met by the deadline, no money changes hands at all. If the goal is met, the money from all of the pledgers goes to the person or group so they can make their dream project a reality! You can pledge as little as or as much as you want. Each level of pledge comes with some sort of project-related incentive—for instance, a free copy of the forthcoming book, a thank-you in the liner notes of the CD, and so on.

The first project I pledged to support was a literary magazine dreamed up by Twitter pal Brian White (whom I actually met in person at a tweet-up), an editor at the Boston Globe. He had noticed that there aren't any all-fiction magazines out there anymore, and he wanted to do something about it. I can't wait for the first issue!

The second project was from Ze Frank, who, much to my delight, has decided to resurrect "The Show," which he did for a full year back in 2006. I loved-loved-loved it and have missed it ever since. So yay, it's coming back! Not surprisingly, since I am hardly the only fan, Ze is doing really well with the fund-raising; he says that if he makes it to $1 billion he will buy Greece and carpet the entire country.

And the third project I helped fund was from old friend Scott Feldstein, who is not only a major tech geek and an awesome photographer, but it turns out he also plays a mean bass. He joined up with the "trip-hop" duo Endless Blue and they are hoping to put out a CD of cover songs—and this will allow them to pay the licensing fees involved. (Watch the video to hear some of their music.)

So, now that I've mentioned Kickstarter to you, I bet you'll start seeing it around too. Or you can go browse the site and see what people are cooking up in art, food, publishing, fashion, and more—you can even search geographically if you'd prefer to fund something in your neck of the woods.

Book Group

Book group convened chez moi the other night to discuss Just Kids, Patti Smith's memoir of her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe in the early '70s. I should say from the outset that I'm not a fan of Patti Smith, never was, and I can't say I know all that much about poetry or photography or really any of the art that Patti and Robert were pursuing in those days. However, I did very much enjoy the window into that world—the Chelsea Hotel, Max's Kansas City, and chance encounters with the likes of Alan Ginsberg, Jimi Hendrix, and so on.

I certainly didn't think the book was well-written enough to have earned it a National Book Award. In fact, I found the writing downright pedestrian. But I still enjoyed the story and was able to tolerate all the name-dropping and not-entirely-believable scenarios. The reactions in our group ranged from really enjoying it to just tolerating it enough to finish it.

I was fascinated by some of Smith's stories, although I felt that she was at times coyly holding back and at other times perhaps emebellishing a bit. I loved hearing about Sam Shepard and Janis Joplin and all the others, back when the New York artsy scene was an intimate place that seemingly welcomed all. It reminded me of Jacques Pépin's story of arriving in New York in the early '60s and within a few months meeting Julia Child, James Beard, and Craig Claiborne—the three luminaries of the entire food world at the time—because that was how small and accessible it was at the time. In Patti and Robert's day, you could show up in New York without a dime to your name and find your place.

I can't really imagine anyone all that much older or younger than I am enjoying this book, because it does seem to be a tiny slice of life from that era. I remember seeing Patti Smith on Saturday Night Live; I remember when Robert Mapplethorpe's name first became known outside of New York art circles. I loved looking at the photos of them when they were indeed "just kids."

Next month we will meet to discuss The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht.

Marching Right Along

I used to beat up on myself if I missed a single day of blogging, and now I've gotten to the point where I blogged only twice in all of February. I've noticed that a lot of my favorite blogs are showing up in my Google Reader less frequently, so maybe it is indeed the case, as some have said, that blogs are on the way out—or at least personal blogs. The only blogs I can think of that still show up daily (or nearly so) are those that are focused on a particular topic.

Anyhow, for those of you who are still out there, here's a bit of this and that from my life.

It finally snowed! But only about an inch or two, and now it's just raining. The reason I knew it would snow is that I finally returned Pete's still-unworn snow boots. You see, Pete now has man-size feet, so his shoes and boots are really expensive, but he's still growing so they don't even fit him for very long! So every time I looked at that big box of big boots, still with their tags on, I got annoyed. On Monday I finally went back to the store with my receipt. They weren't happy about it ("If we had to take back all the boots we sold just because it didn't snow, we'd be out of business!") but they did give me a merchandise credit. And that is why it snowed: because Pete has no boots to wear. You see, I am in charge of the Weather Department at Murphy's Law Headquarters.

Speaking of Pete, have I even told you that his Bar Mitzvah is this June? I am not nearly as on the ball with this one as I was with Steph's. I just ordered invitations, though, so I can cross that off my list.

Thank you to everyone who has asked about Andy's recovery. He is still using a cane and still in a fair amount of pain, but I do think that progress is being made. At every appointment the surgeon has said that he is pleased and that Andy is exactly where he expected him to be considering all the complicating factors involved in that stupid knee. So he's continuing with the physical therapy and we're hoping he will turn the corner one of these days.

Oh, this just in: I signed up for three sessions of mindfulness meditation in an attempt to cure (or at least alleviate) my Busy Brain Syndrome. I've tried this sort of thing before with no luck, but perhaps this particular instructor will guide me to a way that works for me. I am eager to find peace.

I hope you are all well. I do love to hear from you via comments, emails, and tweets if you are so inclined.