"But Let's Not Kid Ourselves..."

What a week!  I got to see John Darnielle and the Mountain Goats, view unobstructed.  This song does not appear to be on any album. It made me a little teary.

So freaking cool. That dude! That. dude.

I met Margaret Atwood!! In my dream, she was 4 feet tall and got real chatty with me at a surprise cocktail event. I felt stunned and honored to be having the conversation but did not entirely understand what she was saying, so I did a lot of smiling and nodding. In real life, she is taller than 4 feet (but not by all that much) and has a very wicked wit and sense of humor. I hope to be one tenth as witchy when I grow up. Oh hell, let's start now. (It's good to have resolutions!)  She signed my copy of The Blind Assassin and I told her (in my one pre-rehearsed conversation topic) that I make all my suitors read it. "How's that working for you?" she asked. "I'm dating that one," I said. "He responded with the appropriate enthusiasm."

You can tweet her and she might even tweet you back. Ms. Atwood loves her t-pals.

On the flip side, Maurice Sendak, total grouch!  (In the most delightful way, as evidenced in this interview with Stephen Colbert... stick with it, the last few seconds are gold.) Go away, t-pals. And take your g-damn e-books with you.

A handful of other new year updates:

1. I quit smoking (again) (again, again). I did not make a resolution, I just did it. Back in August, I thought "I should probably stop doing this by the end of the year" and I stopped right away and then started again when some people told me I should not quit just yet (bizarre, I know) and then January rolled around so I stopped. That feels about right. My phone says 19 days but it is full of LIES because I think it did not start counting until day 3. Ohhhh, phone. Don't you know anything? Days 1-3 are the worst. Those are the only days to count. All the rest are whatever. When I am tempted, I remind myself that if I don't start up again I will not have to deal with any more Days 1-3. So, I don't start up again.

2. Josh was here and now he is in Zurich for the week, which might as well be on another planet. We send each other telegrams from the future and the past.

3. I am trying to get back into healthy eating habits. Last week, in a mid-January Most-Depressing-Day-of-the-Year lunch break, I abandoned all hope and succumbed to a lunch break "bottom" consisting of a bacon cheeseburger with onion rings and a chocolate shake. Oh God, was it good. And, there is nowhere to go from there but up. Today, I had a salad with steak dressing.  Baby steps!