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Birthday Girl Goes People Watching
My birthday is tomorrow; and as with birthdays, everyone uses these things as a reason to eat and celebrate. It’s not a landmark birthday (still got a few years before the next landmark), but being I’ve managed to make it another year without deleting myself from the Darwinian gene pool with any massive feats of stupidity, I guess that’s as good a reason to celebrate as any.
Today though is Mardi Gras, which is all about the stupidity. Well, not really, but being some of the most incriminating and stupid photos of me feature this holiday, I could make a good argument. It’s apparently the one time of year I like to imitate a drunk sorority girl. However, this year I have no intention of showing my naked boobs to complete strangers. Not that the ta-tas aren’t looking good. I’ve been doing the chest track during BodyPump religiously. They’re perky for their age, thank you. No, it’s just I plan to have a low-key night of crawfish and raw oysters, beer and laughs. Nothing crazy; and definitely no, “Hey driver, drive these” re-enactments. Not even for purposes of quoting Talladega Nights in public for the hilarity of it. Just a birthday’s eve of non-nude festivities to ring in the New Year of Hellion, and then a whole day to myself.
My writing assignment for my birthday is to do that “Live your life” rule where you can’t write anything if you’re not doing stuff that can be written about. And you can find a lot of freaky stuff to write about on Mardi Gras. I mean, I’m not the only person going around, imitating Talladega Nights. And though I loathe crowded places, I don’t mind it if I’m with Holly because she won’t let the rude, crazy people spill too much beer on me. She’s a good mentor for a reluctant hero. She loves to point out crazy people for us to mock. I’m going to observe; I’m going to have fun; and I’m going to play the “What if” game as I drink—because the answers get a lot funnier after about three beers. Like, “What if you didn’t shoot Ben? What if you cut his brake lines and drove his car off a cliff?” Though I have to say, none of us were drunk when this suggestion was made.
I had to reiterate that I have no desire to be the next Nicholas Sparks.
So, what are you favorite “live your life” things to do? Have you recently written anything that was directly from a conversation or situation in real life? Anyone else going to party it up tonight and eat raw oysters? Sin, you gotta come by and do the Talladega Nights bit….
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63 comments:
mmmm....raw oysters.
No I'm not living it up tonight. I'm a very boring person, that likes nothing more than to hide in her house and write and clean and watch the kids all day! LOL Shame I can't do that all day, every day. Alas, I must work.
Have I written anything from direct interaction from anyone? Not sure. I bet I've based characters on real life people and don't even realize it! LOL. Actually, I know I have! LOL
I'm more like Tiff. I used to love nothing more than being out and about on these drink it up holidays. Mardi Gras, Cinco de Mayo, St. Patty's Day. But these days I'm a little more low key.
I might make something Mardi Gras related for dinner and that's probably as close as I'll get. And since that something will probably be alcoholic, I'm not sure that counts as cooking....
I'm sure I've used life experiences for my writing, though. I'm just not sure who or where. Movies have been giving me a lot of inspiration lately.
Now that I think about it, I have never celebrated Mardi Gras. Even back when I was drinking like everyday was Mardi Gras. LOL! No beads for me. The only thing I'll be doing tonight is walking on the treadmill while I watch Bones.
I'm sure I've written things that have come from conversations, but usually it's more how I wish the conversation would have gone. That whole "think of a great comeback two days later" thing.
Tiff, I don't care if you use me in your stories. So long as I'm thinner...and you give me a name that isn't horrendous like the one I was saddled with. And if I get to have lots and lots of sex.
I don't mean the "live your life" thing today. Lord, if this were a regular Tuesday for me, I'd go to the library after work (FOLDERS) and then go home, eat some noodles of some kind, watch some TV as I ate, then get ready for bed. Going out on a "schoolnight" is WEIRD. It's only because I have tomorrow off.
"...and since that something will probably be alchoholic...": THAT'S MY GIRL! Go Marnee!
We don't do Cinco de Mayo much--though Sin and I occasionally will use this as a reason to eat cheese. Though this Cinco de Mayo, I'll be on a plane going to see Terri. Beach and water here I come!
I do love St. Patty's Day though...I always feel more Irish than Mardi Gras-ish. Corned beef and cabbage is home food. So we will probably party up St. Patty's Day too. Or I'll at least cook corned beef and cabbage. *LOL*
OMG It's finally here!! Kim Harrison's newest novel came out today. I'm not doing anything but reading as soon as I can get out of this office. *fan squealing*
I just realized Cinco de Mayo is also Greg's birthday. Maybe I'll get him to come over and bring his friend that night you get here. LOL! A little deja vu....
It is White Witch, Black Curse. I dunno if that's a Clint Eastwood-esque title or not.
Today is my BFF's birthday. I'm trying to wait until I know she might be up for me to call her and sing her happy birthday in Spanish- as it is custom for us to do to one another. She's a lucky little wench. The day off. The book to read. Mardi Gras. She's got it all today. And cake.
Sin - LOL! What Clint Eastwood-esque name did she use this time?
Hellie - I love St. Patty's day. My in-laws make boiled ham, cabbage, and potatoes, and we drink Baileys (appropriate) and Guinness, and listen to Ruby Murray.
It's all cool with me because I'm really Irish all by myself and they're really Irish all by themselves. My kiddo is one giant mood swing.
I used to love Mardi Gras. Nevermind I was usually drunk anyway, but this gave me an excuse to get excessive drunk and dance on the dry bar at the Vu.
Not that I didn't dance on the dry bar any other night. Mardi Gras is a different kind of bar dancing.
And I do not like oysters.
Terri, I've taken conversations I've had and made them funnier. *LOL* Or worse. *LOL* You know, an argument that could have gone a LOT worse than if I didn't cop out of it in mid-stride. (After all, I loathe confrontation and will more likely leave a room than have an argument.) Not my characters though. They'll say the nasty thing if provoked. They'll say the thing I say in my head when I replay the argument later.
Terri, my honey would wring your neck if you did that. Not that I've told him about Mike. Which reminds me, I should probably delete his number from my phone. I mean, not that I'd ever call him, but you never know when you might need the expertise of a fishing chef from Virginia whose good with his hands.
Don't worry: I'll eat your share of raw oysters.
Sin, glad the new book is out. Sorry you have to be at work though instead of with BFF, so you can read and squeal together in fan girl delight.
That doesn't sound like a very Clint Eastwood name to me.
And you're right: Mardi Gras bar dancing is much different. There's more boob flashing, beads and feathers floating around.
It was just an idea.... LOL!
You have his number? 8)
The good thing is my kiddo will be around this time, so we can't get into too much trouble. I'm just sooooo looking forward to relaxing by the beach.
I would like to put forth that even though last time there was no kid, I didn't get into too much trouble then with the Mike guy. JUST in case anyone else is reading these comments.
LOL! No, you didn't get into any trouble. You drank a bit and were entertaining to watch (hello..picture on bar!), but you stayed out of trouble.
It's too bad we couldn't throw in one extra day this time to head up to Williamsburg. You're going to miss the chance to see Jack again. LOL!
Or George, or whatever name he's going by now.
*sighs* God, he was pretty to look at. I bet he still is.
(I still need to develop those pictures. Hell.)
Kathy: what's H2O? *LOL*
That's okay. No need to repeat. Williamsburg was a PERFECT day (which I only said it was about 8 billion times)--and trying to recapture it and repeat it would only make me unhappy. It wouldn't work again. I don't think I could appreciate it as much if Tiffany weren't there, giving the weather report every 7 minutes. "It's hot." and "I think it's hotter than it was a few minutes ago; how do you all stand this?"
I'm still trying to figure out how the fishing chef happened. It was because we immediately started talking about cooking, didn't we? That, and the rum. I'm such a sucker when you bring up cooking.
Oysters... nuff said. :P
Partay like its Mardi Gras! (Oh! Don't forget to drink some high quality H2o too.)
LOL! But just think, this time it would be May instead of August. Much better time to be walking around up there. And I can't remember the name he was using the last time I saw him. I just know he was riding a horse down the main street getting folks riled for the revolution. And looking quite dapper while doing it. LOL!
I'm pretty sure we don't have any H2O on this ship. Around it, yet. On it, no.
Sorry, I was channeling Adam Sandler's The Waterboy. :( (Apparently, not well. LOL)
Billy Madison is still one of my favorite movies. Adam Sandler is such a dork.
I just watched the Waterboy this weekend.
"Gatorade."
"No! h2o."
"Water sucks. Water sucks. It really really sucks. Water sucks...."
*evil roaring from deep within*
Sin - Have you seen Bedtime Stories? Sandler is hit or miss with me, but I really liked that one. He didn't play an over-the-top idiot, which is when I like him. LOL! Very Wedding Singer or Big Daddy kind of character.
I didn't watch Waterboy. (I still have no desire to see Waterboy.) But I do love him in Billy Madison. *LOL* That movie is just funny. I'm sorry I missed the Adam Sandler quote, Kathy...*LOL* I do think he's a funny actor though...so keep trying...I'll get one of his quotes eventually.
I want to see Bedtime Stories! That one looked funny!
I love Adam Sandler, aside from Spanglish... Blech! The Waterboy is sooo funny and pokes fun at all things Creole/Cajun.
"My momma says... My mamma says..." LOL!!!
I haven't watched a new Sandler movie since Big Daddy.
"My Mama says that alligators are ornery because they got all them teeth and no toothbrush."
I saw Waterboy but a loooooong time ago. LOL! Kathy Bates was awesome as his mom.
I tried to watch Punch Drunk Love, but I'm pretty sure it requires you take acid to understand it. I gave up.
I'm not going to implement myself, but I must say, even twisted on something other than life doesn't give you enough understanding for that movie.
Its a good thing I decided not to watch that one, then. :D
Did you watch the Oscar's? If so, what did you think of Ben Stiller's schtick complete with facial hair and gum? LOL!
Kathy, I saw the picture, but didn't see the whole schtick. I think it was as tasteless as a Britney Spears joke after she shaved her head. Fortunately since I doubt Joaquin Phoenix owns a TV or watches anything as crass as the Oscars, he probably wasn't offended.
I'm not a Stiller fan, but I liked the schtick. I'm of the club who thinks this Pheonix thing is a hoax for the movie he and his bro-in-law Casey Affleck are making. Sort of a funny documentary, likely poking fun at how you can manipulate the media. So I don't see him as the same as Brit when she had her melt down.
I did think they should have done it with a different award. It kind of took away from the category and the nominees a bit. But it was funny and he did it very well. Even stuck the gum on the podium. LOL!
I love this blog! It's the only place I know where people start out talking about writing and Mardi Gras and end up talking about Adam Sandler's movie roles. I think I had a relevant comment to make, but I've forgotten what it was. LOL!
Joaquin, I'm most certain, is a VERY smart man. He lost his brother, River, to addiction, and it's my opinion that he wouldn't be doing this without an alterior motive. With Affleck following him around, it's a safe bet he's trying to hoax the media. I'll bet the forthcoming movie on the subject will be quite revealing about our society today and what we value. I don't think Joaquin would throw his acting career away without reason. IMHO, it's about time someone showed the media up.
Turning this subject back around to writing, Janga. LOL! We must remember never to read a book by its cover! ;)
Oh, darn! I could have said it better this way...
My mama said never to read a book by its cover. ;)
My mama said read your post before hitting send... :(
Never judge a book by its cover. Geez! What a day already. ;)
Wow, Janga, I haven't seen that tangent ruler in a long time. :)
LOL!
What were we talking about again?
Janga: *LOL* I'm glad you love us, you really love us! (Sorry, having a different Oscar's moment.) All your comments are relevant...or at least illuminating, so comment away. :)
Hmmm. I wasn't aware he was in league with another actor and they were doing a documentary. Or a mockumentary. Or whatever. It's possible. In which case, kudos to them...that's rather amusing. In a completely demented sort of way.
That can totally backfire on their ass.
I don't like the media as much as anyone. (And don't get me started about the 3 days I worked in the journalism department here--bloody journalists....) But the media is tied with the public--it's almost like conjoined twins you can't separate because it will kill one of them (I wonder which one actually??)--so if poke fun of ONE of those, you're poking fun at BOTH of them. Because the media is putting out information that unfortunately the public seems to gallop to the supermarket lines to read, gossip about at water coolers, email their friends about. We all know it's TWISTED information and the likelihood of it being right is like 1%...
So it's possible the public would laugh at the media being "shamed" if that's what the trick is about. But at the same time, isn't it shaming the public for gossiping about it: is he or isn't he? Et al....
The movie is just supposed to be about his transition into rapping, but since he looks more like a stoned Yentl (sp?), my guess is it's all a joke. Of some sort. I guess we won't know until it's all over. But I do think several in Hollywood are in on the joke, which is why we're not seeing "The Pheonix Intervention" banner all over the papers.
Wow, late to the party, again! Blasted pole problems still lurking at the home slip... No phone and no interent! I be goin' insane!
No raw oysters, please. But me DH can have mine. My local radio station is playing nothing but New Orleans inspired music today, quite the party.
I need rum, desperately. Where is that hoo...?
Live my life writing...constantly. Don't know how many times I rewrite those visits with the MIL... therapy, pure therapy!
Chance - It can be cheap therapy. I have fun naming the idiots or the bad guys after people I don't like. In fact, I'm working on changing the name of a character I do like because of a person in real life I DO NOT like anymore.
None of my characters are named Mike. With good reason.
And I'm so glad another of my crew mates also rewrites dialogue. *LOL* It's very therapuetic.
Terri, I agree. It IS odd there has not been a Phoenix Intervention staged yet.
The name stuff is interesting... I go crazy picking names and find I repeat a lot of what I think of as old fashioned names. You know, like James, Timothy, Andrew, Patrick. And I prefer the entire name, no Jim, Tim, Andy, Pat... And I seem to use a lot of alliteration...Thomas and Tabitha, Markus and Melany...
I think I shorten things. Maybe. Depends on the character. I have one that is a simple guy and his name is Joe. And I don't mean simple as in not very bright. I mean simple as in no frills. What you see is what you get and what you get is a down-to-Earth boat captain who doesn't need the big city to be happy. So he's just Joe.
But, my heroine's BFF is Miranda and it wouldn't work to shorten it. She's plenty of frills and the full name with a rolling of the "r" fits her personality.
Terrio, there was talk about "why isn't there an intervention", "why is such a great actor throwing it all away", "this is just too zany to be real". I didn't see Leno but he was on it recently looking bored and... boring.
Hellion, I agree about the media thing. The public buys the trashy gossip mags and then wonders why celebrities are stalked by paparazzi. Celebrities put themselves in situations then question why they aren't left alone.
Case in point, the lady who just had eight babies. You can't write this stuff!! LOL!
Yeah, same with my heroine. It's Miranda. Though when a friend has a baby and names her Miranda, my Miranda states she'll call her Randy so that there be no confusion. And in an alternate to my alternate, she's known as Randy.
I sorta liked the mythology around the name.
Chance - I'm bad about looking stuff up. I have no idea what the mythology is around the name Miranda. It just fit my character. They pretty much show up with their names. Which is helpful.
Kathy - I don't know about Leno, but I saw parts of the Letterman thing. He was quiet and didn't say much and almost offensive. Dave complained about him chewing gum so he took it out and stuck it to the desk. You could tell that he was pissing off Dave, but at the end when they were going to commercial, he took of the glasses and whispered something in Dave's ear. I think he let him in on the joke.
I hate that tabloid mags sell so well. I really could care less what happens to Paris or how much Lindsey ate today.
Oh, my bad. It must have been Letterman. LOL! That sounds right. My DH said he'd angered the host.
2nd Chance: I love character names and really get into their meanings. In fact, I'll not chose a name unless it is a reflection on my character. ;)
I have to agree with Janga. I knew we were talking about Mardi Gras. Don't celebrate it. I hate crowds of people, especially crowds of people drinking. They make me crazy. Don't do St. Patty's for the same reason.
We're having marinated steak tonight with sauteed mushrooms and crispy onions on rolls with fries and beans. Yum.
I try not to have life imitate my *cough* *cough* art but one of my story ideas did come from real life. I haven't written it yet but it'll take place in Italy and feature a chef (I know I'll drop the theme once I get them out of my system) who works for an eccentric couple for the six months out of the year live in Italy and who insist she cook in a separate house on the property and bring the food up the 'big house'.
A friend of mine interviewed for exactly that job except it was stateside. The newly divorced groundskeeper also lives on the property - in RL and in my mind's eye. I can't wait to dive into that one.
Then it's off chefs for me and onto....something else, I'm sure.
As to Adam Sandler, I loved his stand up from his pre-SNL days. I am always surprised at how much I like his movies. I keep expecting him to be an ass in each one but he isn't (for the most part).
Did I catch everything? Names? Names are hard for me because I keep thinking someone I know will think I'm writing about them. Crazy? Yes. Real? Absolutely!
Santa, you don't have to be "off chefs" just because of two books. It can be your thing...like SEP's thing is football players. :)
I'm all about food. Keep on the chefs!
Have I written anything from real life, lately? Umm, no. That would have required me to have written anything at all. I'm not going there right now.
Not celebrating mardi gras, just making chicken and dumplings for dinner. And honestly, I have never been drunk. That's right, never been drunk. There is a good reason, though. I tend to start laughing, when I've had very little to drink. I laugh and laugh and laugh and cannot stop.
Di
Di - Come sit on the slacker couch with me, darling. We'll drink extra hoohas and pretend we're getting things done.
Oh, and bring the dumplins!
Di, I've never really been drunk either. Anything past two drinks and I either get sick or fall asleep. :)
I said in the Joaquin discussion on the Originals' blog that the new identity bit reminds me of the Garth Brooks/Chris Gaines game.
I think on some level our lives inevitably supply the material from which we weave our fiction. When I wrote the black moment in TLWH, I wrote never having experienced sending the man I love away. But I also wrote with personal knowledge of loss and grief so great that they knot the stomach and leave the you struggling to push sufficient air into the lungs. I know what Emily Dickinson meant when she wrote
Pain has an element of blank;
It cannot recollect
When it began, or if there was
A time when it was not.
It has no future but itself,
Its infinite realms contain
Its past, enlightened to perceive
New periods of pain.
Those memories are in my heart and in my head. I can't write about loss without their entering the thought stream that yields the words on the page.
Oh how I love Emily Dickinson.
I can remember the first time I read her and even at a young age I remember the words meaning so much. She was a wonderful poet. The best.
I'd love to warm the slacker couch with you, Terri. Pretending to get things done, I can do that. (I have 2 baskets of laundry that need folding right next to me.) I Will absolutely provide the dumplings.
Janga, I have never sent THE man I love off, but I have seen my little brother off to warzones 3 times in 5 years. I can only imagine the pain of that loss. On the other hand, there is nothing better than that first hug when he would come home.
I just want to say that the "Momma" comments had me thinking of the story I Love You, Stinky face. I just read it to my nephew this weekend, and on every page he said "But Mama, but Mama". He loved the story as much as I do.
Di
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