Month: July 2006

I was at the Farmer’s Market in Union Square, and there was a table full of peaches, and I thought they might be good, but I stood there staring at them for I don’t know how long. I was actually intimidated by the peaches. I don’t know how to pick peaches and I was chickening out. Can you believe it? So stupid. Scared of picking peaches. Finally, I just took three. The first three I laid my hands on, no picking involved.

Well, I had the first one last night and GOD IT WAS DELICIOUS. What have I been missing all my life?? Because of this debilitating fruit picking fear.

7/8
Went to the gym.
Learned I could reboot the web server remotely.
Got to work on my speech.
PEACHES, the ending of The 40-Year-Old Virgin when they sing and dance to Aquarious, finding the blog about French Bulldogs.

I’ve been invited to give the keynote address to a cold case investigation organization next month. I’m honored, and I’m terrified. But I can’t put it off any longer, I must put together a speech. Actually, I can’t even really do that. After giving a ton, I realized that I suck at giving speeches, and I do better if I improvise. So, what I do is make a list that looks like this:

Tell this story.
Talk about this concept.
Tell this story.
And this story.
Tell this joke.

It’s nerve wracking to get up in front of a bunch of people with just that, but if I go with a speech I will get tongue-tied, talk like a robot, lose my place, try to make jokes about losing my place, possibly cry. It’s the only way.

This is me giving a speech at my last book party.

Missing Photo! A photograph was here! Don’t know where it went!

7/7

Backed up computers.
Added weekly post on Restless blog early.
Second to last doctor appointment done.
The 24/7 feeds for Big Brother are on, free Oil of Olay samples in the mail, remembered that Balducci;s exists.

My friend Ellen has a great blog called Excellent Walker. She did this thing that I like and want to use. At the end of her most recent entry, she posted where she walked that day and the type was smaller and in italics, like an aside.

I thought from time to time I would include entries from this journal I keep, and talked about here, where I list three things I did that day, and three things that made me happy (try not to be ill at the thought of it — it’s not as bad as it sounds).

Like so:

7/5
Good work gearing up for this chapter.
Dropped off shoes to be returned.
Emailed Jackie about the paperback cover for my blog.

Rice pudding, finding good quotes for book, turning off AC because it’s not so FREAKING hot.

Not, bad, right? Okay, not such an exciting day, but they can’t all be spent performing at Summerstage in Central Park! This is the writer’s life. When all the interviews and research is done you’re home, or wherever you write, day after day after day … writing.

While waiting for the fireworks to begin, I took a shot of the Empire State Building. It looks a lot further away in this photograph then it does in reality. Pretty though, huh? Sometimes I feel like the luckiest person in the world.

It used to be my roof would be filled with people on the 4th of July, along with every other roof. This year, there were three people on my roof, and only one other roof had people (they had a bagpipes player, though, so they ruled, although bagpipes are so bittersweet). But that’s it. What happened to everyone? Every year there are fewer and fewer people. Where are the drunken young people??

I don’t really have a great camera, so my fireworks shots were not great. I live all the way on the west side, on the Hudson, and the fireworks are launched from the East River.

I love Flickr!

There’s a ton of photos of us at Summerstage, but of course I’m uploading a couple with ME in the picture! In this one you can see my teeny tiny head, right to the right of the trombone player’s hip. Man those guys were fun. I say again, I love Balkan Beat Box.

Here I am, leaning back, hovering in the shade, waiting to go on. That’s me in the sunglasses. I’m wearing my newly chosen red sneakers!