1. “Thursdays with Igor” is going well. My new chapter one is done-ish. I am hoping this weekend to move from done-ish into done. Please send good mojo. I am not sure I believe in mojo but there are times in life when you are so aware of your own limitations that it is best to ask others for help.
2. I received in the mail a DVD of Spalding Grey’s Monster in a Box. I have a VHS of it in our storage unit but as it is back to being 100 degrees in Valencia I didn’t have the physical and emotional strength to hunt for Spalding in a Box( Get it? In a box!!!!:-). Monster in a Box is one of my favorite films on writing and I am using this DVD as a reward for when I actually move from done-ish to done with chapter one. If any of you have not seen Spalding’s monlogues, I suggest you see all of them immediately. He was a tremendous talent and I continue to grieve his loss.
3. Igor was especially on yesterday. There was no crying, profound insights, or unlocking of buried unconscious content. All he did was normalize introversion and for me that is something I need this to be done on a regular basis, kind of like an oil change. Every 1500 miles I need someone to remind me that I am not a freak for hating parties. It’s just that the U.S. culture is so extroverted that us book loving introverts can be made to feel like we are freaks for not wanting to go out, go to parties or make small talk (Tell me, are there people who love small talk? I judge not, I just want to know).
As it turns out Igor is an introvert too. He didn’t say that he was, rather he shared a story in which the obvious subtext was that he too suffers when in large groups and when real connection is not possible. It was a comfort to hear that I am not alone in my inability to enjoy parties.
Igor also spent some of the session talking about the importance of me preparing for when I go on book tours. He advised that I use every extroverted activity( groups where more than four or more meet) as a practice session for my book events. What I loved about this was not his brilliant idea of using BBQ’s of obligation as a practice session for when I am traveling and promoting the book, no, what I loved is that he seems to be certain that I will sell the book. He really and truly believes that one day I will be on a book tour. I love Igor!
4. I have been having really good hair days lately. I want to give credit to Jonathan’s Hydrating Mask and yet I feel that it may just be dumb luck. If I am wrong, and it turns out that it is Jonathan who should get the credit, I’ll let you know.
5. I had the best manicure of my life yesterday in Beverly Hills. It wasn’t that it was especially luxurious—there were no rose petals, orchid water, massages, or glasses of champagne to sip on as I waited( yes, I have had that manicure). It was just that this manicurist managed to make my nails look really good. Before meeting my nails best friend, Kitty, I thought I just had funky nail beds and that I was incapable of getting the shape I wanted. It turns out that my nails are perfectly capable of a good shape when placed in the right hands. Kitty is such a brilliant manicurist that she even picked out a nail colour that she though would best work with my nail bed. I had never heard of that before. My nails look so good that I cannot stop looking at them. I even have asked He-weasel to admire them at least five times. He is being a good sport and continuing to tell me how great they look. I fear if I ask again today he may grow weary.
Good hair, good Igor, and good nails. Can life get better than this? I dare not dream.
6. For the last couple of months I have been pretty much devoid of retail desires. I am not sure if it was depression or I just don’t need anything or if I was too busy to think about stuff or that lately J Crew has been too ruffly to make me want. Yesterday all that changed. Thanks to LPC at Privilege, I want these J Crew pencil skirts!!! Never before in my life have I wanted a peacock blue or orchid skirt. I do know that it is psychologically significant that I want these skirts. I would say that they reflect my current state of happy-ish-ness.Who am I and what happened to the me that had only black skirts??? As I have never owned these colors before I have no idea what to wear with them. Advice, please!
7. I finally got Lily her tutu. Pictures soon to come.
8. Starting in late October I am going to be spending every Wednesday in Santa Barbara. I love Santa Barbara and cannot wait to begin this weekly getaway. More news to come on this. For now all I can say is that I am pretty sure that my time in SB will help me deal with the other six days a week in Valencia.
9. I made Randal scream in silent terror. Trust me, it was all in good fun.
10. Lucky me, I am seeing ENC tomorrow. There will be shopping, lunching, and delightful conversation.
Please share something you are happy about. I’d love to share in your happy. I hope your weekend is highly hedonic and happy filled.
Swiss psychoanalyst, C. G. Jung believed that the psyche contained a self-regulatory tendency. He called this function of the psyche “compensation”. When one becomes too one-sided in their attitude or energy, the psyche in an attempt at establishing balance will induce an opposite or balancing action or attitude. For example, let’s say there was a weasel who was spending all her time writing a book and a proposal and when she wasn’t doing those things she blogged. After weeks and weeks of doing little other than studying and writing, this weasel woke one day, Monday for example, and could not bring herself to even touch her computer. She spent eight full hours on the couch wrapped in a down blanket and silently and thoughtlessly and happily sat through three episodes of the House-husbands of Hollywood and two episodes of the Kardashians—and accomplished nothing else of any intellectual or creative importance.
