You're So Money

Ok, so I totally need to write some actual entry here, and I will, just as soon as I get through reading all the other sites I have to look at every day, and checking in on my exciting kidnapping plot in my online game. So, in the meantime, as referred to me by Hissyfit, I present unto you Trent, from Swingers, performs an Exorcism.

Rock on with your bad self.

Gimme money! (for a good cause)

It's the dog days of summer, and with the balmy fall weather nearly upon us (say it ain't so!), I've gone and signed up for not one but TWO upcoming events. On September 18th, I'll be undertaking my second Danskin triathlon, and followed quickly by the Avon Walk on October 1st and 2nd. Yikes!
I don't want to use this blog to ask for money, so I won't, but if you're curious about what the causes are about, and other exciting stuff like that, please, read on.

The Danskin Triathlon
Once again, I'm part of Team Reluctant Divas raising money on behalf of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. This year, we're taking part in the New York area event, which is located in Sandy Hook, NJ. Please head over here to read more about our team's progress, and note the link on the left side of the page to make an online donation. If you're interested more in helping cancer victims recover than boosting research funds, check out Casting for Recovery or follow the link on the Divas' page again. Casting For Recovery provides fly fishing retreats at locations around the United States, specifically designed for women who have or have had breast cancer, and enhances the lives of breast cancer survivors by offering no-cost retreats tailored to promote and support mental and physical healing, shared experiences, and the hope that comes from learning new skills. A cause worthy of the Divas!

Avon Walk
My second event (and third this year) is the two-day Avon Walk around NYC the weekend of October 1st and 2nd. Covering nearly forty miles and most of Manhattan, I'll be walking with my friend Matt, who recently lost his mom Shirley to cancer, as well as in memory of my friend Roseleen's mom Sheila. To help me along the way, please follow this link. Thanksfor reading through this, and let me know if you have any questions. Or just feel free to tell me I'm crazy.

OneWord shout out

Something quick, because HT posted it and I think I love it.

One Word.

Go there. Write something. Come back and post it to the comments.

[Edited 9/10/05 to take advantage of Blogger's comments]

Two Sides to Shopping

So I had a couple of interesting shopping experiences in the last few days that I felt like sharing with my little internet community.

Yesterday, in one of those lucky strokes of genius that reminded me why I love my job, I headed down to Midtown Comics in lunchtime to pick up a graphic novel published by a guy I'm meeting with today. The store is on the second floor above a film developer and a deli, and is accessible through an elevator in the photo place. But it's pretty clearly marked, and totally bright and clean, so in I go, and up I head.

Now, I knew what I was looking for, what precisely I needed, so on coming out of the elevator into the big room filled with shelves and shleves of books, its entire walls covered with single issues, I headed right to the cashier and asked for the book I wanted. He called over another guy to help me find it, which we did -- the last one they had in stock -- and then I did a little browsing of my own.

I'm by no means a comic book expert, but in the last few months of so I've read a fair number, mostly in graphic novel form, since I read too quickly to be satisfied with single issues, and I hate waiting for conclusions. So as I browsed, I noted a number of books I'd read, checked out what else was available in that series, poked around some of the most popular names (yum... Wolverine), and glanced around me at the other shoppers.

All men. Each and every one of them. And now, granted, I think it's a pretty safe assumption that yes, the majority of comic book readers are male, but even in the very midst of midtown, on a Tuesday lunchtime (and a late lunch at that), the guys at the comic book store looked like... well, like guys at a comic book store. I didn't notice any suit clad bankers sneaking out for their much needed fix of Spider-Man, or lawyers slipping a classic Batman comic into their leather briefcase. For the most part, it was casually-clad guys with messenger bags and personal numbers they recited when they brought their purchases up to the register that got them free stuff. I felt like I'd sneaked into their secret hideout, an oasis from midtown stuffiness.

Then, on my way back to work, I remembered another store I'd been in this weekend, where I felt a complimentary vibe. (No puns intended.) Wandering around the Lower East Side looking for a specific dress shop with two girlfriends, we hit the previously named Toys in Babeland, now just Babeland. Which is just what it sounds like -- toys for girls. Adult toys. And, well, I found it interesting to compare my two shopping experiences.

At Babeland, I was surrounded by other women, not the only one in the room. And despite the titilating nature of their products, the shopgirls at Babeland were friendly, eager to help, offering advice if wanted. At the comic book shop, there was more of a sense of privacy -- like this was a very personal thing, shopping for comics, and we're going to leave you alone so as not to disturb you. Which, in comparison... funny.

At Babeland too, I had to admit I was a little bit familiar with their stock. I have a couple toys of my own, and have a writerly interest in some of the reading material they stock. So there too, I felt like I could look around, see what I was familar with, maybe take a peek at some similar products, picking them up and flicking them on, or paging through them.

Again, there were areas in the store where I was completely out of my element, but going in with a couple of friends was easier than being somewhere alone -- one of us could pick something up or point it out with a "do you believe this?" or "so how does this work?" -- that I didn't do at the comic book shop. And in both places, I have to wonder how different the experience might be if I went shopping with a partner -- someone to point me towards the best stories to read, or wanted to try some of the toys with me.

I think the conclusion I'm going for here was an examination of the various social tropes attached to both types of shops. One is cool and trendy, located in a hip downtown area, and there's a certain cache to knowing where it is, and sharing stories with your friends about what you have from there, or what you've heard. And the other, for all the success of movie adaptations, is still a refuge, in some sense, of the socially awkward. Yes, I know, geeks are cool now, and I take great pride in being "a geek's dream girl," as one fellow gamer termed me.

But I'm not rushing out and telling everyone I know about either of my shopping trips. One because it's personal, and one because it's private, and in the long run, despite all the differences between them, it's the same thing.

Does that make any sense? Discuss among yourselves. I have to get ready for my comic book meeting.

Spell - Drink - Read!

Yesterday was my twin sisters' birthday, and to celebrate, a bunch of us went out to dinner at John's Pizzeria and out to see "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee' musical, which was very funny. And started at 7pm, so I got to cut out of work early to make dinner, and was home in time for The Daily Show. Last night, I had drinks with a friend from my days of swinging swords around, and caught up with her for a while. And today, I'm trying to press through a bunch of submissions I have to read for work, plus selections for my writers group, and keep up a steady stream of chatter with my internet admirers.

I tell you, I'm a busy girl.

Issues with a blog

Here's the thing with putting your diary online (well, a thing, at least):

People read it.

And sure, yeah, that's kinda the point, but once you've given the web address to folks, you never know when they'll check back to see what you're up to, and what you're thinking about. Because sometimes... you're thinking about them. And all your very girly self-doubting, overthinking, over-analysis is suddenly done very much in public. And so maybe then you feel weird about posting a "gee, did I do something wrong, why isn't he writing to me, is he ever going to come to see me, did I just do the exact same stupid thing I did earlier this year AGAIN?" entry. Totally hypothetical, of course.

And then comes the crushing depression of a Monday. *sigh*

Assorted odds and ends

This summer's just flying past, isn't it? I don't even have something exciting to write about, and yet the time still manages to fly by. At least now I'll be able to take a week off to enjoy some of it -- since I don't have to save up all my vacation time for Europe in October, I can enjoy a summer week at the beach, or in the city, or... elsewhere. Enjoying other stuff.

I'm pretty much over being upset about not getting to take those two weeks off -- it's hard to stay mad when you get the reasons why, even if you think they're stupid, and especially when other things with work seem to be going so well. Had a meeting with the Senior Partner and a possible new author, and afterwards, the SP said to me, basically, if I wanted to sign her I should go ahead. I really like her nonfiction work -- and never thought I'd want to represent nonfiction, but it does fit into my "single girl in the city" niche of chick lit, to some degree.

And things on the children's front are going REALLY well too. Had lunch on Monday with an editor at S&S with his own imprint to fill, sent him a book, and he's already written back to say he's "really intrigued." Yay! Let the deals start rolling in!

In my own writing, I got some very helpful comments from my writers group on an extensive outline for a YA novel I wrote some time ago, which I'm now excited about working on again, and I have an editor interested in reading my YA superhero chick lit. Not at all based on CoH experiences, of course. Totally original. Yuppers!

*grins*

That's all for now. Oh, except for this. It's not out yet in the US, though it is in the UK. Schmoopie, want to pick it up for me? I know one of the contributors, and have been persuaded to help add to her royalties!