June 9, 2005
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I e-mailed the first ten chapters to my teacher tonight, as my “portfolio.” I can’t imagine how people really send work out; how it could ever feel really done. But I’m glad to have gone through this dry run because I made a lot of progress in a hurry.
Now I’m without a class Wed night and the hospital is offering a drumming class. It’s free and I could bring my drum so I don’t see why not.
Today was hectic because, in addition to turning the work in, I ended up having to rent a U-haul truck to pick up a table I’d made a bid on over the weekend. When my daughter and I took our two “rigs” over there the table top was too large to fit either of our vehicles. Hers is a Jeep and mine is a Blazer. That’s why I used “rig.” Men correct me and say “truck.” But that’s misleading. So is “car.” So $60 and two trips later my deal wasn’t such a deal. I got a game table with a reversible top. I liked the shape and color and price. The fact that it’s for games is beside the point.
So I celebrated my completed work and my new table (I’ve been fretting over how I’d get it here) and went to the Chinese bar where I met a new friend, a woman Pharmacist. She was talking about her boss, and I found him intriguing. He is married but now they’ve moved his LESBIAN sister in there. When I was nonplussed she repeated the word a little louder, waiting for a response. The company Christmas party was held at his new fancy house but he couldn’t afford to have Christmas lights because his regular electric bill was so high. And she said twice how his yard was as big as a park. But what really got me was when she was talking about how he’s embarrassed about his father; how every time he comes over he does something like get blood on the carpet or somehow dirty up the place. It’s all white: rugs, walls, everything. So she’s talking and I’m wishing I had a pen and paper. I want to know what the guy looks like. And I’m thinking how, besides being eccentric, now I’ve become almost voyeuristic about certain people who fall into the category of weird. Like I don’t even want to know normal people any more; that it’s all about how it will read. I was freakin’ myself out so I left
Then it was so warm I went for a walk down by the river and a guy tried to pick me up. At least that’s what I thought at first. He was standing on the bridge admiring the water when I walked by. He smiled and I said, “hi” and then later he found me sitting on a bench down by the water. He joined me and it was then I realized he wanted to practice his English. Delightful man. He’s Chinese and he cooks at a restaurant in Salem. Drives all that ways. He only has one eye. There was an accident in the restaurant; something about chemicals. The left eye is fairly disfigured; closed and burned. And his teeth are a mess. But he’s a beautiful man. And it was a beautiful night.
Comments (12)
the state of one’s teeth is one of the most pronounced class markers in the US – and even on trips home chinese who are not relatively wealthy haven’t qestern quality dental care available to them.
congratulations on completing and handing in the writing. and on your successful acquisition of the table as well. it sounds quite interesting.
ah, walks by water… i made it down to the edge of the beach a block away yesterday for the first time since buppy died, not to the water, but at least to the edge of the sand. i’m considering trying to make it to the water in the next couple of weeks or so, but allergy season has hit with sucn a vengance that may remain only a dream. i envy you the freedom you have to go and walk by the river.
category of the wierd? love ‘em, and am forced to include yours truly in that category. lol.
I think that’s what makes it do-able sometimes, is just taking mental notes, distancing yourself from certain brands of weirdness just enough to grasp them. Otherwise, especially when it’d familial weirdness it can just be too painful, too off-putting to absorb.
Thanks about what you said, which was an ego-boost for sure. Pretty sure I don’t deserve it but I’ll enjoy it for a bit anyway.
I get all turned around by the proper naming of these things but wouldn’t “we” be some kind of first person plural or collective? It’s a really tough voice to warm up to though. And yes – you never do feel like you’re done. But sometimes you’re just tired of twiddling with it and have to send it off. When it gets rejected, you can fiddle with it some more!
I am so glad you shared about the fellow on the bench. I know it is scary at times but I have met some really cool people by being open to them. Cheers.
I’m taking mental notes of the strange people I meet every day. Some of it isn’t useful but a great deal of it is. I never write it down, but just store it upstairs. When I need it, it all comes spilling back.
The boss character I have in my work-in-progress (almost done!) is a amalgam of all the editors I’ve ever had at newspapers. I just took all the eccentricities and put them in one man. Everyone says he works really well, because he seems so human. (Unlike the God-like figures you see in something like the Watergate movie–spaced on the name.)
Thanks for telling me about Office Confidential. I posted a comment over there and we’ll see if we get a dialog going.
Hope the HenLit blog and list work out.
Lynn
Hey, I love the way you write about daily life – it’s always more than daily life too, there’s a sense of what a blessing it all is, and a sense of your enjoyment of the people you meet, spend time with – I feel like I’m visiting a rich garden when I come here, it’s loving, fragrant, sometimes a few weeds, but not usually, and the flowers are ordinary but extraordinary. Through the characters you write about, you describe all of us, the way anyone could meet us, and we feel honoured in the compassionate and kind way you have of portraying us! That’s a gift, and an attitude that is as spiritually masterful as any guru… *hugs
What a cool post! And thanks, for letting me peek into those other lives with you. It’s why I love working in customer service… Although I never judge those I work for/with, I do often think about the kinds of lives they lead and what makes them think/feel/do the things they do. I love it when I have a story line mapped out in my head and one of my “characters” plays right into it! lol! I have to be careful about what I write, though…since so many people have divulged their secrets to me… I’d hate for someone to think I was writing about him or her. (And it’s amazing how many “secrets” are the same, no??)
I like the Chinese guy, too…and you, for taking the time to appreciate him.
I love you…GFW
BTW…you look gooood in leather! GFW
^^^ you do! i’ll take the job if offered it and worry about my coping skills later, but he asked the question and i wondered about my answer… nice to see you doing something with your writing!
and you are out so much… meeting all kinds of interesting people!
I see it on film with a voice over narration.
I notice teeth a lot, sometimes to the exclusion of all else. It’s almost sad, but it’s how I was raised. Odd that.
I find that when I let myself relax a little in situations like that, let go of the freaked out sort of kneejerk response which isn’t so much fear as anxiety about me and maybe my abilties to relate to total strangers, especially total strangers who may seem a little out of the ordinary, I usually end up enjoying myself.
And did you do the bread class?
Great character sketches. And one second-hand at that. One or both is bound to show up in a piece of yours sooner or later I think. Also, the comment about normal. Perhaps none of us are normal–that’s just what people see on the surface. You’re looking inward.
RYC: I think they are just being careful because they’ve had trouble with spammers before. Yahoo is like that. A lot of list owners have taken extraordinary means to keep spammers out.
Lynn