Coming Up For Air.

It's just 10:15am. The beginning of my last work day for the year. It will be quiet in here today.

I was in the studio all day Thursday and Friday. Two more songs to get basic tracks for, and then we can start with the everything else. No more sessions until the second week of January, but there's a lot of listening and assessing to do.

My melancholy mood has lifted, a bit.

Scene and Structure, while chock-full of helpful information, is proving to be a difficult read. I also picked up Orson Scott Card's amazing Characters and Viewpoint (from the same series). I'm only on page 50, but this book has me asking serious questions about my plot and characters. There is a *lot* of work to do to make this story fly.

I saw Brazil on Wednesday, and now officially *love* Terry Gilliam. *Beautiful* movie. All about the internal, and the eternal. Replayed the movie with his commentary immediately after watching it the first time, and I'm glad I did. I feel a kinship of sorts with Terry, American Anglophile that he is. Michael Palin also shocked me with his performance: he was tall, handsome, and dangerous. *Very* different from his Python persona.

I know already that it will break my heart to watch Lost in La Mancha. But I will do it. Just to watch Creative Spirit in action.

That's something I need to see these days.

jules

It's Five-A-Em And I'm Wired.

I'm not even sleepy.

I have to go to work in four and a half hours, and I'm still having trouble getting to bed.

The neighbors put twinkly lights on the fire escape right outside my bedroom window. The lights have been flashing nonstop for three days now. A cat sleeps in my lap. I'm having trouble focusing on Scene and Structure.

A strange time to be posting, perhaps.

All kinds of questions are coming up about the novel. A tremendous amount of research still needs to be done, character sketching, map making. The question sprung foward at the moment is: Could my character do what I need him to do?

Could he?

He's mentally unstable, or he's not.

If he is, then he could have done all the actions that set up the story, but there's no way he'd make it through the ordeal that comprises the meat of the novel.

If he's not, he could get himself through the novel okay, but there's suddenly no twist at the end.

*sigh*

I'll try to sleep on it. Or meditate on it to the blinking of the lights outside my window.

j.

Merry Christmas.

Hey there. Merry Christmas to you.

I hope you're celebrating well.

I have a case of the holiday blahs, for all the usual reasons why one would feel down at this time of year. It's okay, though. I was ready for the blahs this year (as opposed to last year, when they completely blindsided me). There's plenty to do.

I'm working on a new scarf. It's not looking too good right now, but I'm going to finish it anyway. I have not yet figured out how to elegantly change from one color to another, nor can I get the ribbed portions of my scarf to not shrink in.

I've finished Conflict, Action and Suspense and am starting on Scene and Structure, trying to cram as much technique in as possible before I pick the novel back up again in a few days. I printed both NaNoNovels at work yesterday, all 324 pages.

Have to work tomorrow. That's okay. I'm hoping it will be a quiet day at the office. Perfect for online shopping. I stored away a little cash for self retail gratification.

jules

Sigh.

It's nearly 2pm on the last day of my weekend. Soon I will have to get out of bed.

My search for DSL is making me depressed. Verizon DSL, reasonably affordable, is not available in my area, and hasn't been for the last two years I've been asking for it. Optimum Online is. Why, oh why, will it cost me $600 a year for a fast connection? Is that reasonable? It feels like there are quite a few other things I can do with $600 a year. And if a company is providing my phone service (i.e., Verizon), they should be able to offer me DSL as well. Especially when their DSL is less than half the yearly cost of that other company.

*sigh*

Finished Gerald's Game last night. Do women *always* have to go insane to get their lives in order? Even with the slightly redemptive ending, the story made me a little sad.

I have another to replace on my book list - I found out that Jack London's To Build A Fire is only a short story.

I had been getting more and more excited about revising my NaNoNovel. It occurred to me that it might be nice, talking over the finer points of my novel with someone, to try to hash out some delicate points. It occurred that it also might be nice to have someone to read the first few chapters when they're done, just to get a qualified outside opinion on them. I went over to the critique section on NaNoPubYe, and it seemed like there were only a bunch of newbies like me, asking for time from experienced writers who have no time to give.

After a few comments from the NaNo Singles Lounge, something became apparent to me. Most people have trusted readers, in friends or relatives they knew already. Most people just "know someone". It is in these areas of life that I am at a disadvantage - I almost *never* just "know someone". Makes me feel a little melancholy and stifled.

*sigh*

No need to go too far down that road now. The new chapters aren't even written yet.

I may get a small Christmas tree, and perhaps some twinkly lights to go on it.

Mom said there was a box for me in town, perhaps containing a gift inside.

Oo!

jules

Operation Santa Complete. (or, My Life Keeps Getting Saved in Myriad, Strange, Unexpected Ways.)

It's almost 2:45pm, and my legs hurt.

Not in a "was doing exercise at the gym" kind of way, more in a "was mowing the lawn yesterday and am now discovering muscles I didn't know I had" kind of way. The tight, uneven, ornery pain in my legs is solely due to the fact that I was on my feet Christmas shopping yesterday. For about five hours.

This is my first year doing Operation Santa. At the James Farley Post Office (the big one on 33rd street) they get hundreds of thousands of letters a year from kids addressed to Santa Claus, asking for things they want for Christmas. #78 of my 101 is to participate in volunteer activities - Operation Santa is ideal for that purpose.

I went in last week, signed my name on a register, and perused letters from kids until I found a few to answer (you can get up to 6). From what I observed, there were a high proportion of 12 year olds asking for ipods and playstations. But, the letters that caught my attention were from single parents of 3 and 4 year olds. Gift-giving was always *huge* at Christmastime in my house growing up, and my heart fissures a little to think that there are young children who won't receive anything this year.

So, I chose three letters. One from a family of two sisters, three and four, one from a three year old boy, and the other from a four year old girl. I designated yesterday, Tuesday, as the shopping day. Had looked through the Sunday Times sales papers, got some idea of where I would go and what I would buy when I got there. Left home around noon yesterday, fresh and excited.

By 3pm, my head was completely scrambled.

I hate shopping on the best of days. Stores, especially the large ones, make my brain feel like it's been tossed into a blender on the "chop" setting. Started at Old Navy. Spent a hour and a half there in the children's section, trying to figure out which way was up. By the time I got to the toy section at Kmart, nothing was making sense anymore, and my throbbing feet were protesting every step. (Thank god for Mom, whose good advice got me out of there at a decent hour).

I took the subway to my office, where I could spread out in a warm environment and wrap presents to my heart's content. I was done wrapping around 12:30am (yes, after midnight), which was *way* past my heart's content.

I woke up this morning still sore, *dreading* getting all these big, awkward boxes onto a cart and rolling them three blocks away to the post office (boo, hiss to whomever closed the post office next door). Left the house at 9:30am (*really* early for me to be out of the house on a non-work day). Got to the office around 10am, finished all the wrapping and packaging and addressing at 11:30am, when my colleague suggested:

"Why don't you send them through our internal UPS shipping system?"

I always thought it too much trouble to figure out how to use our internal UPS shipping system. But I did today, and it *saved* *my* *butt*. I spent a half hour at a computer, printed airbills to stick on the packages and left them in our company mailroom. Everything will arrive on time.

And I *didn't* have to wait for hours in a post office line.

Amazing. All of life will be different now.

I do have a few cards I still need to send off to family, but for the most part, Christmas is done.

Whew.

Onto the next thing...

One week from tomorrow I have a recording session. This week is all about getting ready for that session, and preparing to pull the novel out again in January. I'm reading Conflict, Action and Suspense right now. I may go poke around the NaNoPubYe website and start asking questions.

After a nap.

jules

A Late Afternoon Monday Post.

Woah, I'm still tired.

It's late afternoon Monday. Sunday was *nuts* at work (I was there again on my own), and I reached home at 11pm last night *incredibly* wiped out. Slept until an embarrasing 11am.

Today I've had my mind squarely on Christmas. My immediate family will get gifts, mostly bought online. I'll tell you all about my journey into Operation Santa tomorrow. I plan on shopping for Operation Santa tomorrow, and sending all of Christmas off through the post early Wednesday. A bit of coordination and planning is required, but that's no problem. I'm a list-making machine.

It will be nice to have the gift-sending out of the way.

I'm feeling schizophrenic these days, having too many things I could focus on at any one time. If I'm knitting, I'd rather be reading. If I'm reading, I'd rather be playing music. My head is darting from one thing to another. Add caffeine to that and I'm a little brown jumping bean. There are about three weeks of emails to answer.

It has been good to read more lately. The Information was sharply written, but the ending left me scratching my head. And a little angry, to be honest. I'm all for stream-of-conscious expression. But The Information suddenly drops its carefully crafted plot and descends into dropped hints and gobbledygook. It's just not clear what *happened*. I'm a little disappointed.

Sexing the Cherry was good, a little fairy-tale-ish. I wonder if Jeanette Winterson means her writing to be an obvious comment on the sexes. Lots of good, surprisingly good, quotes that left me clutching my chest on the subway.

"A man or woman sunk in dreams that cannot be spoken, about a life they do not possess, comes suddenly to a door in the wall. They open it. Beyond the door is that life and a man or a woman to whom it is already natural. It may not be possessions they want, it may very well be the lack of them, but the secret life is suddenly revealed. This is their true home and this is their beloved.

I may be cynical when I say that very rarely is the beloved more than a shaping spirit for the lover's dreams. And perhaps such a thing is enough. To be a muse may be enough. The pain is when the dreams change, as they do, as they must. Suddenly the enchanted city fades and you are left alone again in the windy desert. As for your beloved, she didn't understand you. The truth is, you never understood yourself."

I can't lie, this pinged on the relationship I ditched in September.

Jeanette curiously echoes many of my own thoughts through her characters. Like this one:

"The Buddhists say there are 149 ways to God. I'm not looking for God, only for myself, and that is far more complicated. God has had a great deal written about Him; nothing has been written about me. God is bigger...easier to find, even in the dark. I could be anywhere, and since I can't describe myself I can't ask for help. We are alone in this quest...I have met a great many pilgrims on their way towards God and I wonder why they have chosen to look for him rather than themselves.

Perhaps I'm missing the point - perhaps whilst looking for someone else you might come across yourself unexpectedly, in a garden somewhere or on a moutain watching the rain. But they don't seem to care about who they are. Some of them have told me that the very point of searching for God is to forget about oneself, to lose oneself for ever. But it is not difficult to lose onself, or is it the ego they are talking about, the hollow, screaming cadaver that has no spirit within it?

I think that cadaver is only the ideal self run mad, and if the other life, the secret life, could be found and brought home, then a person might live in peace and have no need for God. After all, He has no need for us, being complete."

I started Stephen King's Gerald's Game (unable to find Winston Ochse's Scarecrow Gods anywhere) on the way home. It's been great to get exposed to all these different writing styles, and try to figure out how I fit in between them. If at all.

Food now. Can I tell you a secret? I *love* brussel sprouts. I like them a little bit crunchy even, steamed and then fried a little.

Going to go make some.

yum,

jules

Robbie Said:

(regarding the first draft)

"Don't worry about what's on paper. It's guaranteed to make you feel sick to your stomach...and inspire you to make it better."

Here is this evening's timetable:

10:00am-7:30pm
Boring, busy work stuff, except for chat with Sis, who is cooking up her own 101 in 1001.

7:30pm
Robbie's Fantastic Editing Post goes live.

My eyes glaze over. I have visions of my novel, in drugstore paperback. Must get editing books.

Must.
Become.
Decent.
Author.

Now.

7:35pm
I called Borders and confirmed the location of a few of the books mentioned.

Time to act.

7:40pm
I drop what I am doing and go to Borders. In the middle of a job. Didn't tell anyone I was going.

7:50pm
Arrive at Borders. Futz around for a bit, find a few of the books, nice salesperson found the last, Scene & Structure, provoking a grateful, if loud, cry from me. Picked up a few short-story magazines (Tin House and Granta) as well.

8:15pm
Get back to the office with my heavy Borders bag, head so mired in the novel and its polishing that it's hard to do the work I have to do before the end of my shift. In fact, my shift has ended, and I *still* haven't done what I need to do.

Ah, well. Tomorrow is another day.

I haven't touched the novel since November 30th. I don't plan on looking at my novel again until January 1. But I know I want to shine it up and make it pretty, pretty enough for other folks to read.

And, as a fortunate coincidence, I got a note tonight from Big V, my knowledgeable, sensitive, *amazing* medical resource who I was fortunate enough to meet through the NaNo board. I have more questions for Big V that I have not yet compiled and fired.

Now
I will call my ride home. I will read The Elements of Style, and continue to knit a big burgundy hat.

101 — I Made This.

Hey, y'all. Check this out:

I took my first knitting lesson last Monday, with Raashida at Knit New York. Turns out, KNY is its own little world, a knitcrafter's *paradise*. It's quite bright and spacious, with skeins of yarn in friendly colored batches lining the walls from floor to ceiling. There is also an *amazing* array of pastries, teas and sweets that you can sticky your fingers with while yarncrafting.

I felt like a camel trying to shell an oyster while getting my first knitting lesson. Raashida got me through the basics, in about an hour. It wasn't until I bought my own skein of yarn and started making the hat that I found my rythym. I had the majority of the rows done last night, and went in tonight to learn how to finish off the hat. I got a few lovely comments on it while finishing the last few rows. Once this first inaugural hat was finished, I got more yarn to make a hat that I can actually wear (my hair is, um, quite aggressive, so I need a bigger hat than most people). I got a lovely burgundy-colored yarn for it, and have plans to create a matching scarf. I also bought my very own copy of Stitch 'N Bitch.

I am feeling an increased sense of power, holding the idea of making things I can design myself, for myself. At least, that's #66 crossed off the list.

Sexing the Cherry is a luscious read. Nearly done with it, there are a couple of juicy bits I'll have to share with you next post.

Netflix has done its thing and sent me Election. Will get that in tomorrow.

Life is sweet.

jules

101 — Wardrobe.

79. Throw all my old clothes away.
I have needed to do this forever, to chuck out all the clothes I no longer wear. I’m going to get some garbage bags today.

80. Get a tailored suit made.
It sounds so decadent, no? Having a suit made just for me. And maybe it won’t be a suit, maybe it will be a dress. And maybe I know who will make it, already…hm…

81. Beef up my wardrobe with 6 nice outfits.
82. Get 5 nice pairs of shoes.
83. A nice jewelry collection: 5 necklaces, bracelets, earrings, scarves.
My wardrobe *definitely* needs an update. I’ve never felt comfortable spending a lot of money on clothes or shoes. But, at the same time, I notice how much better I feel when I’m wearing cute stuff. I have been *digging* my new necklace.

84. Buy some patterned stockings.
I think patterned tights are really funky. But, I’ve never owned a pair. A few weeks ago, en route from some place to another (Was it Penn Station?), I came across a stocking shop. I am *kicking* myself for not making a note of where I was.

Up From The Underground.

Howdy, Folks, out there in the ether.

Sorry to be away for so long. My album sessions started Monday. I was sucked into the album vortex until 10pm tonight, when I came home, made myself a turkey burger, and finally felt like I could exhale for the first time in days.

It has not been an easy week.

Sitting in front of a microphone with a guitar in my hand has brought up *all* my stuff, my yucky psychological stuff. At once. I'm working through it, though. We are recording in a space that's actually in a (sometimes noisy) rehearsal studio, so there have been a few things to negotiate. But, we've gotten down buildable versions of seven songs, as of this writing. I get a week and a half off, and then we try to get the other half of the basic tracks for the record down in two days.

I am exhausted.

I love my producers.

They are polar opposites of each other, almost. They are good friends, but have very different ways of working on music, and it has been such a growth exercise to watch them working it all out, and to work it out with them. They are talented, conscientious men, my fellow soldiers in a difficult task. I am lucky to have them.

Did I mention that I *love* my producers?

*big smile*

I have also been whittling away at my 101 in the few spare hours I've had. I finished The Information and started Jeanette Winterson's Sexing the Cherry. My next book will be Weston Ochse's Scarecrow Gods, since he was kind enough to leave a comment on the blog (thank you, Weston!).

And, I'll have something to show you tomorrow, and another thing to cross off the list....

:)

jules

Asked. And Received.

Words are formative, aren't they?

Almost instantly after lamenting that I had spent the entire day at home, I received a message from my friends Jill and Paul, visiting from Philadelphia for the day. I met them and Jodi in Manhattan, at Merchants, a favorite Chelsea haunt of mine. The below-stairs working fireplace, with appetizers and great chat, was *just* the thing.

Got to see Jodi's swank studio apartment a few blocks away. Jodi's got a lot of great music. And she had a spare Sunday New York Times.

I swear, *someone* listens when I speak.

All my ducks are in a row for my meeting with Producers #1 and #2 today. CDs burned, calendars created. I'm nervous, people. It begins *today*.

jules

Succumbing To Symmetry.

Okay, so, I did it.

I succumbed to symmetry and added three more books to my books list. So that's 75 books to read (and 75 movies). I am a sucker for symmetry. And maybe now you know a *leetle* too much about my personality.

The three books I added are all Bram Stoker Award Winners for First Novels (the Bram Stoker Awards are given for horror/supernatural writing, as per wikipedia, "fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle or horrify the reader"). The novel I'm writing is probably psychological horror, so I thought it'd be good research to look at what other first novelists in the genre are doing.

It's twenty minutes to six and I'm getting a little depressed. There's something that makes me a little depressed when I spend all day in the house, like I've wasted a day of my life. Even though I fully intended to lay here all day. I had a barely coherent conversation with Producer #1 (remind me never to call someone on the phone before I'm fully awake) and we're meeting to start work on my album a day early. I.e., tomorrow.

jules

Under The Duvet. On A Sunday.

I'm home from work today and deep into The Information. This guy sends me running to the dictionary every page. I just had to share this sentence with you:

On the table, untouched, there stood a basket of sauce-glued nachos, and heavily cooling tortilla, as inert as an organ on a medical tray.

I stared at this sentence for several minutes before I could move on.

It's cold, and will be hard to extricate myself from the blankets today. I've got snacks by my bedside and a good book in hand, no one will hear from me before mid-day tomorrow. I *should* go to the street and get a New York Times, having said I would search its pages once a month for an event to get me out into the world.

The temperature easily freezes away my guilt, however. I have no problem pulling the covers up to my chin and happily allowing Martin Amis to slice me up with his metaphors until the sun goes down.

Every day AshWalker's blog counfounds me a little more. The Twang of the Void snakes to the most curious corners of pop/internet/New York culture. How does he find this stuff?

KMP's sig on the NaNo Singles forum contains this quote:

"One crowded hour of glorious life is worth an age without a name." --William Travis

Isn't that lovely? One crowded hour of glorious life. It's like music.

jules

What A Great Book.

I've started Martin Amis's The Information.

This guy's writing is amazing. Smart. I really get the "show, don't tell" thing with what he's doing. Snappy, snide, pulling from the ether. The book is about a down-and-out writer's jealousy towards another, a friend who he deems to be less talented. Amis really takes me down there. There's a gem sentence on every page.

And I'm on chapter 2.

I can't help thinking about the thing I just wrote that is striving to be a novel.

*sigh*

Anyhow, more later. With the book done, I feel my mind freeing up so I can concentrate more on 101.

But, what to get Mom for Christmas?

j.

101 — A Cool, Cold Day.

What a cool day. In spite of the freezing coldness.

I finally finished all my musical charts, and took my files to work to get printed.

I don't mind being at work when I don't have to be there. It was nice to see my weekday co-workers, who I haven't seen for three weeks now. Anyhow, I made my Album Book. It's beautiful, to see all the songs for my album compiled into one place, with a beautiful wire binding.

Dropped the book off with producer #2. Got more questions and concerns from him, and lovely chat. We start work in earnest next week, and I'm so excited it's hard to keep myself still.

Knit New York is tucked away in a little basement level shop not too far away from my beloved Union Square. I walked there, fully intent on signing up for the group class on Wednesday the 20th. However, I was told by Raashida there that the private classes are a little cheaper and more flexible, so I signed up for a private lesson on Monday the 18th. I'll learn knitting *and* purling, whatever that is!

I'm going to make a hat!

On my way out of HSBC, I saw Olga, a Municipal Liaison for National Novel Writing Month in Brooklyn. She was out with her friend Erika, and asked me to go shopping at the Union Square Christmas Kiosks with them.

I like the idea of the kiosks, but have avoided them for the past couple of years for fear of that claustrophobia endemic in popular New York shopping locations at Christmastime. I'm glad I let Olga lead me over there - it was such a cold day that the kiosks weren't too crowded. And, I found some beautiful items. I bought a necklace and a pair of earrings, for much more money than I would usually spend on jewelry. But, I love them. They're very classy.

Olga, Erika, and I then took our freezing fingers and toes to the Max Brenner, where they had hot chocolates, I had coffee. Max Brenner is a very, very dangerous place. There are huge vats of chocolate, peanut butter, hazelnut praline, and other delicious things, just sitting there. On a less disciplined day, I'd be...never mind. Shouldn't think about it.

Netflix came through for me, I now have Holy Smoke.

woot,

jules

101 — God Bless Netflix.

I crossed one thing off my list yesterday - I got a Netflix subscription.

I signed up for the "one movie at a time," though, which goes against all my tendencies towards gluttony. This way I can pace myself. I dumped half of my movie list into my queue, and Holy Smoke is on its way to me. Right now.

I also found Knit New York. I'm going to take a beginner's knitting class on Wednesday.

Three more charts, boys and girls. I've got an appointment with producer #2 tomorrow, have to hand over a copy of the book.

Things are looking up.

jules

101 — List of 75 Movies.

1. Taxi Driver
2. Barton Fink
3. Brazil (12/28/06)
4. Holy Smoke (12/09/06)
5. Blood Simple
6. Gods and Monsters
7. Election (12/18/06)
8. 12 Angry Men (01/20/07)
9. Dr. Strangelove
10. Midnight Express
11. Being There
12. Thelma and Louise
13. Y Tu Mama Tambien
14. Talk to Her
15. Sling Blade
16. Vera Drake
17. Before Sunrise
18. Naked (1/10/07)
19. Mulholland Drive
20. Citizen Kane
21. Casablanca
22. On the Waterfront
23. Schindler’s List
24. Sunset Boulevard
25. All About Eve
26. Chinatown
27. North by Northwest
28. The Manchurian Candidate
29. Garden State
30. The Fisher King
31. Life is Beautiful
32. Rear Window
33. Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte
34. The French Connection
35. The Great Train Robbery
36. The Bicycle Thief
37. Rashomon
38. 8 ½
39. Antonia’s Line
40. All About My Mother
41. Drowning by Numbers
42. Four Eyed Monsters
43. Diabolique
44. Central Station
45. Amores Perros
46. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
47. Through A Glass Darkly
48. Seven Samurai
49. City of God
50. Stalker
51. The Conformist
52. Wild Strawberries
53. Five Easy Pieces
54. Paris, Texas
55. After Hours
56. Apocalypse Now
57. Bad Timing
58. Eat Drink Man Woman
59. The Kiss of the Spider Woman
60. In The Realm of the Senses
61. Ordinary People
62. The Remains of the Day
63. A River Runs through It
64. The Running, Jumping and Standing Still Film
65. Shall We Dance
66. The Verdict
67. A Zed and Two Noughts
68. Umberto D
69. Husbands
70. Don’t Look Now
71. The Long Good Friday
72. Withnail and I
73. The Italian Job
74. The Commitments
75. Elizabeth

101 — List of 75 Books.

I've spent all day compiling this list, instead of working on my charts.

Hee hee.

1. RABBIT IS RICH by John Updike
2. A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce
3. LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov
4. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee
5. GRAVITY'S RAINBOW by Thomas Pynchon
6. THE SOUND AND THE FURY by William Faulkner
7. THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.D. Salinger
8. NATIVE SON by Richard Wright
9. INVISIBLE MAN by Ralph Ellison
10. THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy
11. THE END OF THE AFFAIR by Graham Greene
12. LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding
13. THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck
14. CATCH-22 by Joseph Heller
15. TROPIC OF CANCER by Henry Miller
16. WATERSHIP DOWN by Richard Adams
17. THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE by James M. Cain
18. GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN by James Baldwin
19. THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers
20. THE WAPSHOT CHRONICLES by John Cheever
21. HEART OF DARKNESS by Joseph Conrad
22. THE INFORMATION by Martin Amis (12/14/06)
23. THE TIME TRAVELERS WIFE by Audrey Niffenegger
24. BELOVED by Toni Morrison
25. OF HUMAN BONDAGE by W. Somerset Maugham
26. NAKED LUNCH by William S. Burroughs
27. THE SUN ALSO RISES by Ernest Hemingway
28. THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD by Zora Neale Hurston
29. DELIVERANCE by James Dickey
30. THE BIG SLEEP by Raymond Chandler
31. A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY by John Irving
32. THE STAND by Stephen King
33. MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN by Salman Rushdie
34. DEATH COMES FOR THE ARCHBISHOP by Willa Cather
35. THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER by Tom Clancy
36. NORWEGIAN WOOD by Haruki Murakami
37. LIGHT IN AUGUST by William Faulkner
38. SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES by Ray Bradbury
39. GRIFFIN AND SABINE by Nick Bantock (1/20/07)
40. HUMBOLDT'S GIFT by Saul Bellow
41. A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES by John Kennedy Toole (1/23/07)
42. THE BELL JAR by Sylvia Plath
43. GERALD’S GAME by Stephen King (12/22/06)
44. UBIK by Philip K. Dick
45. SPARES by Michael Marshall Smith
46. TO THE LIGHTHOUSE by Virginia Woolf
47. THE DOOR INTO SUMMER by Robert Heinlein
48. PERFUME by Patrick Suskind (1/18/07)
49. THE DAY OF THE LOCUST by Nathanael West
50. GODBODY by Theodore Sturgeon
51. SEXING THE CHERRY by Jeanette Winterson (12/16/06)
52. THE PASSION by Jeanette Winterson (2/3/07)
53. A PERFECT CRIME by Peter Abrahams
54. A WALK IN THE WOODS by Bill Bryson
55. THE POISONWOOD BIBLE by Barbara Kingsolver
56. THE LIAR’S CLUB by Mary Karr
57. THE FIRM by John Grisham
58. THE GOLD COAST by Nelson DeMille
59. THE WOMAN WHO WALKED INTO DOORS by Roddy Doyle
60. WHITE NOISE by Don DeLillo
61. JONATHAN STRANGE & MR. NORRELL by Susanna Clarke
62. ... AND CALL ME CONRAD (AKA THIS IMMORTAL) by Roger Zelazny
63. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF RED by Anne Carson
64. NEUROMANCER by William Gibson
65. THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS (REMEMBERING TOMORROW) by Ursula K. Le Guin
66. WHITE TEETH: A NOVEL by Zadie Smith
67. THE HARMONY SILK FACTORY by Tash Aw
68. COME TO GRIEF by Dick Francis
69. BONES by Jan Burke
70. PURPLE HIBISCUS: A NOVEL by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi
71. THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald
72. ON THE ROAD by Jack Kerouac
73. THE LOVELY BONES by Alice Sebold
74. THE RISING by Brian Keene
75. PORTNOY'S COMPLAINT by Philip Roth

101 — Personal Care

1. Go for a makeup lesson.
When my friend Nancy got married a few years ago, and as a part of the festivities we both went for a makeup lesson at Bloomingdale’s. It was good to sit there with someone and have them tell me exactly what to do with all the fancy powders and brushes, and what colors to use. I don’t usually wear a lot of makeup, but it would be nice to have a refresher course on how to use all that stuff.

2. Go to dentist.
I haven’t been for a while, because I hate going. But I need to go. In spite of all those scary metal things.

3. Get some fancy underthings from Victoria’s Secret.
I’m excited about this one. Vicky’s Secret is normally a little too – um, *pink* for me. But I’m giving myself a day to be a girly girl and get some frilly underwear.

4. Get a full body massage.
I’ve only had one full body massage in my life. It was great. But I still have a huge knot in my neck. I’m going to get that sucker worked out.

5. Get a new perfume.
A few years ago, my above-mentioned friend Nancy gave me a bottle of Flirt by Prescriptives. I don’t usually wear perfume and it took me a while to get into wearing it, but it was nice having a scent. When the bottle she gave me ran out, Prescriptives was no longer making Flirt. I’ve always told myself I would brave the mirrored, scented jungles of Macy’s and find another scent, but, as department stores make me nauseous, I haven’t yet done it.

6. Get a new hairstyle.
I’ve wanted to do this for a while, find a good stylist and get a nice funky cut.

7. Get a face-cleansing system.
Again, I’ve resisted doing this, but New York winters wear my skin out. Especially if I plan on wearing more makeup, I need to have a system I use consistently for cleaning it off.

8. Draft a will.
I hate thinking I won’t be here one day. But, when I’m gone, it will be nice to know that all my stuff is going to go where I want it to.

9. Get a manicure once a week for 2 months.
Manicures are something I’ll do for myself once in a while. But it will be interesting to have nice nails consistently over a period of time.

10. Have a birthday celebration.
I haven’t had an honest-to-goodness birthday party since I was twelve. I’ve always been kind-of sheepish about asking people to come out for my birthday. Next year (August) I will lose that fear and have a real party. In a bar or something.

11. Make 5 apologies I’m hesitant to make.
Oo. I need more practice saying I’m sorry.

12. Cook for myself for 1 month.
At my last job, Romel bet me fifty dollars I couldn’t cook for myself and not order out for thirty days. I did it, and liked having the control over what I put in my mouth. That was years ago – I’ve gotten really lazy with cooking for myself. I always eat healthier and feel better when I do.

13. Get a pedicure every 2 weeks for 3 months.
See #9. I get pedis once in a while, but then I let months go by before going again. It will be nice to have pretty toes for an extended period of time.

14. Be on time everywhere for a week.
Heh, heh. I’m almost never on time anywhere. I lose so much energy stressing out when I’m late, and in apologies. It will be nice to spend a week of my life without losing that energy.

Whew.

I was supposed to be finishing my charts today.

Instead, I've spent all day customizing my website for 101 in 1001. I think I'm all set.

It was interesting to come up with this list. There are a few things that I might have included that I decided not to. Daily journaling, for example. I've done morning pages for years, and originally had it on this list. But, I decided not to include it. Writing can be a big escape mechanism of mine. I tried to fill the list with "get out in the world and do things" items.

So, I'll be throwing up some random comments about each item in the list over time, and crossing them off the list when they're done.

Eight more charts to do before tomorrow. *sigh*

jules

101.

I'm still working on my 101 list.

Was a busy day at work, and my head is only now just settling, the list is mostly finished, with a little polishing.

The most pressing business is...charts. I need to make musical charts for all the songs I want done for my album. This process is making me cranky. I don't know the keys and chords in many of my songs (I'm not a trained musician), and I feel like a fussy baby, wanting to throw all these papers in the air and throw a tantrum at the same time.

Anyhow....

I'm off work for the week, lots to do...

Na - No Wait!

I didn't post on my blog for a whole day yesterday, no frantic typing to increase my word count.

*sigh*

I went to the TGIO Party at Bar 9 briefly. I wasn't expecting such a hero's welcome. I walked in, and immediately everyone started shouting "MVP! MVP!" I got covered in "winnie McWinnerpants" stickers, and got a shot of jagermeister. I met some great people, and then had to rush off to the East Village to do some backup singing with a friend of mine.

I was happy to hear that we plastered Boston, now they've got to do something for us.

Yay!

Wow, that was something. I'm so happy I found NaNo. I signed up for NaNoPubYe, and as soon as I figure out NaNo_year (friggin' LiveJournal! I don't know how it works!), I'll think about doing that as well.

I'll be reorganizing the blog today for my 101 in 1001. On to the next!

jules