Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Hm. How in the world could someone swipe that many pumpkins? Is the
garden perhaps not anywhere near a house?
  

    
Adriana: Yay!  I'll be waiting by the phone... er, monitor.

Glenn: Wasn't it just gorgeous there?  You met someone who knows
Michelle?!?  Wow.  Everybody sing: "It's a small world after all..." 
<runs and ducks from flying pumpkins thrown her way>

Christy: Yep.  The entire crew.  They were the nicest, most inspiring
people.  The medical crew member had EIGHT Ph.D.'s and an M.D.

> I could make a joke about wondering how October fell in love with
you

*giggle*  But... no more love this year.  Please.  However, a bouquet
of really gorgeous fall leaves would be lovely, since we don't really
get many of those in L.A. and I love them.

*sigh*  I miss fall.

L.A. weather forecasters: the most overpaid weather-persons in the
world: "Oh, look!  It's 75 degrees and gorgeous!  Again!"

However, it's actually about 65 and overcast today.

-Pam
who's not *really* looking forward to experiencing the weather in
Minneapolis at the end of October... brrrr!
  

    
what i wouldn't do for some fall...
  

    
Future Bible Heroes are interview over at the Onion's AVClub
http://www.theonionavclub.com/avclub3838/justify3838.html - for those
of you who care.

Pamela - I just had 9 rolls of film developed and realized that I
rarely took a picture of the cities in NZ.  It was the countryside that
got me.  I've decided that taking the time to drive on the left was
worth it, although it left me confused in the car on my first day back
here.
  

    
Adriana: Did you get fall in New Mexico (I think)?  Or are you
remembering New York?

Glenn: Yeah... the countryside was stunning.  And I remember being in
a *panic* when I first got back, and kept thinking that we were going
to be hit any moment by oncoming cars in the wrong lane.  Maybe you get
used to it with exposure, though, 'cause when we got back from a month
in the UK/Ireland, I didn't seem to have any problem readjusting.  Of
course, driving with Irish drivers is nearly the same experience as
driving on L.A. freeways, except the roads are different sizes. 
(Yikes!  Those people are *mad*!)
  

    
Martha -- I wish I watched it. It would have informed the visit. The
only West Wing space I really got to look at was the VP's office, which
they said doesn't really show up on the TV show. Do they have
presidential M&Ms on the TV show?


Meg -- I loved it. 

Mary -- it's the working cheap in London that's the hardest bit...


Glen -- Great Future Bible Heroes link!
  

    
The VP has only a marginal presence on the West Wing show.  A recurring,
rather than regular, character, who doesn't work closely with the
President's people.  Never noticed M&M's; the fictional Pres doesn't seem
like an M&M guy.
  

    
Apparently presidential gift candy-boxes are a tradition going back at
least to Reagan's jelly-beans. 

Didn't BBC America used to show things that weren't CHANGING ROOMS or
SO GRAHAM NORTON or PYTHON? I used to turn it on and watch things. Now
it just seems to be those things over and over. How odd.
  

    
They have Manchild and Coupling too.  And Ground Force.
  

    
Pam - I think the fact that I went from a NZ rental car to a LA rental
car (instead of back to my own car) played a part in failing to
readjust.  I took one night to stop in LA on my way back to decrease
the east bound jet lag.
  

    
Whee!  Dan's in Chicago!

Dan--just heard from Tara & Maure--we're on for tomorrow.  Yay!
  

    
Meg - Maggie.. hrm.. doesn't sound familar. I might know her face,
though.

Chicago weather is great today!
I'd write, but I'm off to Second City!
  

    
Pam- Yes, actually, Albuquerque has very lovely seasons.  Fall turns
the aspen trees into a million tongues of flame.  Sweaters and hot
chocolate and hot air balloons ensue.  Snow comes in the winter,
especially to the mountains.  It's ... oh god, I'm waxing nostalgic
about New Mexico.  I'm running a fever, that must be the reason.  
  

    
Whee! I'm back! Wisconsin and Minnesota were all kinds of gorgeous. We
couldn't have timed the trip better to see the turning of the leaves
in all their splendor. At one point we went up about a million stairs
(okay, we were only about 5 or 6 storeys up, but it felt like more) in
the park at Copper Falls and saw nothing but treetops for miles in all
directions. So beauteous! Er, if I think of it, I'll post a photo of
the view on my website so all who miss seasons can view it. :)

Mary (1585) - The boy is from Minneapolis, but his parents are both
from rather rural parts of Wisconsin (think of the movie *Fargo* -
well, close to that)

Glen (1595) - Eep! Jenn's probably the last person from that group
who'd I'd expect to remember me. The world is just shrinking! As for
the Tim Tams, if you'd have waited until after lunch, you'd just be
that much more full and possibly sick from eating too much. :D

Erynn - Yay for being published! Let us all know where to look when
it's up.

So, good news and bad and indifferent. Bad: I'm not going to World
Fantasy after all. Indifferent: I'm going to miss my high school
10-year reunion that I wasn't sure I wanted to attend in the first
place because... Good: of the wedding rehearsal of one of my dearest
friends. I get to be in the wedding too - and the best part is that
she's not picking out scary bridesmaid dresses, just a color (harmless
royal blue), so I can make my own silly dress!

squeaks, who meant to be offline for 2 hours by now...
  

    
squeaks, don't think a thing of your high school reunion.  i just put
out a lot of trouble to go to mine and it was an extreme letdown.  i
guess it just depends on what you were looking for to begin with.  
  

    
I was actually very pleasantly surprised by my 10 year reunion--I had
a blast.  Then again, I left Mississippi, and I think people were
curious to see "how I'd turned out".  My 20th (eek!) is next spring,
and I think I want to go.....

Hey, Neil--do English schools have reunions?  I remember you saying
that they don't have graduation ceremonies.  If they do, have you been
to any of yours?  What about college reunions?  Do they have them?

Mary (apparently playing sociologist for the day)
  

    
Adriana:  That sounds gorgeous.  I love Aspens.  Fall used to make me
deliriously happy back in Illinois.  And... I'm sick, too.  Ick. :-p 
Prayers to Brigid that we're both better soon!

Michelle: I am so utterly and completely bummed that you're not coming
to WFC.  It's simply not to be borne.  Hock something on Ebay!  Sell a
relative!  Win the lottery!  Or just do what I'm doing and go into
complete financial denial, and come anyway.  I'll miss you.

All and sundry: My pagan group has been working for months to plan and
host a camping festival this weekend, up in the Santa Ynez mountains. 
I'm just about to run off and go play.  Wish us luck!
  

    
Mary slipped.

Well, my 5th year reunion was held in the local *bowling alley and
bar*, so... I just haven't been back since.
  

    
ooh, bowling - a sport that it's easy to be really bad at - with the people
who laughed at you and challenged your self-esteem in high school.  Great
combination.   On the other hand, I guess the bad beer is supposed to make
you forget about how you're making a fool of yourself with the bowling ball.

My 10 year reunion is coming up, and it's at some presumably nice-ish hotel
(my memory is pretty fuzzy, and it's not even in our hometown, but in a town
maybe 25 minutes away which I mostly remember going to because it was at the
time the nearest big multiplex movie theater) and the costs are in
accordance with it being a catered dinner with an open bar at an upscale
hotel.  I'm going, but with limited expectations.  I figure people could
always surprise me and have turned into someone interesting in the ensuing
10 years, or they could not, and either way, at least I went to one.
  

    
I've always wanted to go to mine but never found out when and where
they were before they'd happened. See, my high school closed for good a
few short years after I left and there were racial problems which made
the reunions risky then by the time it was ok to have them, the
organization wasn't there. And I'm apparently on nobody's list. I did
find the website one of the alumns made and signed in but he keeps
putting my email addy as being with AOL instead of the Well so I don't
guess I'll get an invite for any either. We shall see.
  

    
Adriana - Don't feel so bad, we wax nostalgic about Los Cuates, the
Frontier and Hurricane's, when we think about Albuquerque. I spent 3
years there, and I got to hate living there, but I miss the desert, the
"monsoon" season, and the FOOD! I've been having friends bring me
frozen Bueno green chile when they come to visit, because we can't get
it here. There aren't even any authentic NM cuisine restraunts here
(Left of Albuquerque is a SHAM!)

We went to my husband's 10 year reunion this year, which was surreal
and fun. Mine is next year, and I definately want to go and see how
people turned out. There are a few friends to catch up with, and I want
to see what the less desirable people (read: JERKS) turned out like.
It would be great to see that they've turned into worthwhile people.
  

    
OK, my cat Sebastian just came & climbed on the keyboard, so I think
he wants to post.  Most likely something about how Mom makes him eat
*cat food* for Chrissakes, and how there's not nearly enough petting
going on around here.  He's horribly neglected, you know.  Berlioz just
sits quietly and plans the revolution.


Pamela--have a great time.  It sounds lovely!

Speaking of lovely, it must be mentioned that Dan is.  Just lovely. 
We took him to Borders and caused him to spend money...bwaaahaaahaaa! 
All part of our evil plan to make him read!  Bwaaahaaahaaa!

I think we want to adopt him, too, but we gotta ask Mom.  She let us
keep Maure, so maybe we can talk her into it........

I think the coolest thing about my reunion was that the two biggest
wallflowers in our class had really bloomed and were successful,
outgoing, fun people.  And the jerks had really mellowed. 
  

    
http://i.xanga.com/Maure/dtmcmd.jpg
http://i.xanga.com/Maure/t/ddt.jpg

Two quick pictures from tonight. I don't know whether or not those
links will work, but we'll see I guess. Dan is very fun, and I think he
might have given himself whiplash trying to look at everyone who was
talking at the same time. 

My ten year reunion will be in 2005. I don't really feel any way about
it, except that it's probably too much effort, and I won't go because
I have something else to do, like laundry, or a chess game, or the
cable man will be coming. 

I get to be the "mystery reader" close to Halloween for Mom's first
grade class, and I'm reading Scary Godmother books. I am so excited.

Pamela, luck! Have a marvelous time, as I know you will. 

Adriana,  I have this lamentable fascination with Adam Sandler. I just
love him. I know how incredibly stupid he is, but he makes me laugh.
It's one of my character flaws, I think. I can't wait to see Punch
Drunk Love.
  

    

Dan may or may not need to read more, but he needs to read to us more.
  

    
Great photos. Glad to see the unusual suspects out in force.

I don't think English schools have class reunions, and if they do I'm
still on the wrong continent.

...

Had an enormously pleasant evening with Michael Chabon -- gave him a
copy of Are YOU Dave Gorman? along with some other stuff. Could have
carried on talking all night, but sent him off to his hotel as he has
the early morning signing tour airport pickup. It is a wonderful thing
not to be on tour.