Daily affirmations of a word mercenary
Tidbits from Iowa:
Recommended Movie: “Best in Show”
Food: Punkin with whip cream, and some citrus cranberry sauce on top
Museum: Chicago Institute of Art
Music: “Shoefly pie, and apple pie doudy” (both of which we had on Thanksgiving)
In other news, I’m gearing up to really git shit togetha. Job interview Tuesday, work for FPC hopefully as well, lining up to write a sex column for some website called “Night Vibes.” Can I get my career together while living in a town known for state jobs and organic farmers? We’ll see!
Hello from Iowa City! Not only is there actually Internet here, but they have a cable modem and a brand new computer. Wow!
Travels to Iowa were fine–Dre was a little hung over for our early morning flight yesterday (after diner on Tuesday, he learned that Raverbooks has been canabalized by its parent company, thus he was drunk Tuesday night), but we made it to O’Hare with no problems, drove the 5 hours to Andreas’ mom’s house, and are now enjoying Iowa City! Not as cold here as I would have thought. The smells of punkin’ pie are delightful!
Today is my (hopefully) last day at Amazon. I won’t quit writing for them if I can’t find other work, but, just in time, I got a call from Sara Trilling at Creative Assets (my agency) saying that they wanted to hire me to do marketing/PR writing for them. Well, well, well! She said I could possibly do 3/4 time, some offsite work–hmm! Sounds delectable to me.
In other news, Andreas and I are heading to Iowa tomorrow. I won’t have access to a computer (I don’t think) so don’t expect updates. I’m worried I’m going to be very cold in Iowa City, but I’ll figure something out.
Yesterday was my father’s 58th birthday–good lands! Does that mean I’m getting old too? I like my dad too much for him to die any time soon.
It’s one of those Saturdays I hate. When I was a child, my least favorite kind of Saturday was the kind that was sunny, cold, and involved housework. This is one of those days. Sun is shining, but it’s feezing outside, and housework beckons. I am ignoring it.
Scott Haapala (a photographer for Lotus, and incredibly cute friend of mine) commented to me the other day “How can you know the right thing to do and NOT do it?” As you might have guessed, he’s both a philosophy major and a complete boyscout, but despite his peachy-complexioned morals, his question has merit, even for those of us who are, shall we say, less than boyscouts.
Just indulged in the guilty pleasure of seeing “Charlie’s Angels.” I hate to admit it, but it was totally fun. Clear to see how “The Matrix” permanently changed action films.
In other news, today I got a call from a guy checking references (one of my writers had applied for a job) and was like “Do you know anyone else who would be interested in Web Producing content for a youth-oriented lifestyle site?” I was like “Um, me??” I would like to find a way to get away from Amazon…
Now is the time when I admit something some of you already know: I have a musical skeleton in my closet. Ok, so I edit a national electronic music magazine. This you know. Let’s walk through my MP3s…William Orbit “Ruby Heart,” Tosca “Fuck Dub,” Cheb i Sabbah “Divine Passtime,” Christina Aguilara “Come On Over (remix),” N’Sync “Sailing - Christopher Cross cover,” Destiny’s Child “Bugaboo.” Uh you see my issue? My music ranges from epic classical electronica, dubby smoker’s delight, Indian-influenced house beats, and then sheer, unadulterated SHITE! What can I say? I know all the words to The Backstreet Boys “Shape of My Heart.” I know that Christina’s voice is better than Britney’s. I have an MP3 of “The Thong Song,” for fooksake (although it IS a 2step remix–forgive me a little on that one.)
Yes, I have a weakness (besides being a loud-mouth) and the name of the weakness is “POP MUSIC.”
I’ve been in Seattle for the last couple days, first doing work for Forrest-Pruzan, and today for Amazon. It’s been a good visit–last night I went down to Contour with N and Owen to watch Eddie and Scott spin. N and I hit the dance floor, and she start doing the bump with me, ramming her tiny little butt against my somewhat more ample one. Getting in the spirit of things, I poked my ass up in the air, pointed it at her, and bumped to my hearts content.
Unfortunately, she had shimmied out of the way, and I found myself madly grinding my butt against some surpised young man on the uncrowded dancefloor. I almost fell over I was laughing so hard. I apologized profusely to the poor young man who’d been victim to my bumping. He was laughing almost as hard as I was, but it definitely got the night off to a great start, and I was laughing solidly until I went to bed at 3am.
Do you like to play with words? I do.
Another late night last night, but for a cause, damnit, for a cause: today I’m heading up to Seattle to meet with the ENTROSians, then visit with dear TC, then head to a White Trash/High Class drunken houseparty at Owen & Scott’s. I’ve got my trashy outfit ready–when I put on the cowboy boots, daisy duke cut-offs, halter top that looks like a red hanky, and cowboy hat, I looked in the mirror and did not recognize myself. Those were my dreadlocks hanging out from under the hat, but that was the limit of my self-recognition.
Andreas is still in LA–I think he and Dot were going to head up to her parents’ cabin somewhere in the mountains. Nice! I know they’re having a great time.
And so, all is well in the land of soy milk and honey.
You know, in my enjoyment of being social and having a bedmate, I always seem to forget that my nights home alone are frequently my favorites. Last night I wrote six Amazon product reviews for the Kitchen/Housewares department (one hairdryer, two irons, three Dirt Devil hand vac things), sent two invoices, haggled through more Lotus stuff (God, feels like a neverending battle, sometimes), and watched West Wing (which wasn’t nearly as interesting as real life politics, this week).
Ever seen Sissy Fight? You’ll love it.
Hey there. I'm Ariel Meadow Stallings, a native Seattleite who's written my way up and down the Left Coast. Electrolicious is where I post daily randomata, but I also write for a living. My first book, Offbeat Bride, is in bookstores now.