30 Day Challenge

So my previous post regarding blog tag seemed to garner a lot of interest. I guess I've led a varied enough existence to have some interesting stories, but I have a terrible memory and am not the greatest storyteller in the world, so its tough for me to relate past events in any kind of meaningful way.

However, as a result of the torrent of feedback (and by torrent I mean three people told me I was sort of cool--for me that's a torrent), I have decided to challenge myself to write at least one or two semi-interesting facts from my past every day for 30 days. This will probably be of little to no interest to anyone, but I find it to be an good reason to have to scrutinize my past for things that are not horribly boring and then relay them to my eight or nine readers in an understandable or reasonably enertaining way. Plus it will make me write in this long neglected journal every single day. Fruitless and self indulgent exercise you say? Most definitely. But as those adjectives are cornerstones of my very existence I feel that I am completely justified. (If you don't believe me, I made a house out of paper clips instead of finishing my freelance project WHILE drinking an entire bottle of Perrier Jouet champagne the other day. Don't tell me I'm not fruitless and self-indulgent.) I start today off with the following tidbits:

-I was once punched in the face so hard that my jaw broke in two places.

When I was 19 a cab driver mistakenly seemed to think that I was trying to get out of paying a fare. After a protracted argument, we ended up on my doorstep where he hauled off and hit me so hard that my mouth started bleeding immediately. He then got in his cab and drove off. Due to a brutal combination of shock, stupidity, and drunkenness (some things never change), I didn't get the taxi license number so he never got caught. I, on the other hand, endured being in the hospital for three days, having my teeth wired together, and the inability to eat anything solid for six weeks. It was probably the skinniest I have ever been (hey, there's always a bright side).

-I was an extra in the film Krush Groove.

When I was in junior high I decided I wanted to be an actress. I immediately went to the newsstand and bought a copy of "Backstage". How I knew what this was or how to get it is beyond me, but clearly I was a resourceful child. I then found an open call for a film seeking extras, went to it by myself (and I think by cutting school) and got "cast". How an 11 year old unaccompanied minor managed to get herself hired for a film is beyond me, but I did. I think the pay was something like $30 per day plus lunch. When you are 11 this seems like a HUGE amount of money. Plus I worked on a film set! So exciting! I am pretty sure I somehow coerced my parents into letting me cut school (they were not big fans of this "acting career" of mine -- a harbinger of things to come). I also vaguely remember that in that pre-cell phone era, my parents seriously freaked out because they didn't really know where I was and why I was gone for a 12 or 13 hour work day - I think they thought that I would be gone for a few hours to do the whole thing. I worked two days -- one up at Columbia University and the other at a concert hall where I spent an entire day watching Sheila E., Run DMC, the Fat Boys, and Kurtis Blow do concerts. Plus they bought us McDonald's for lunch. I think I can seriously say that on that day I was the coolest 11 year old alive.

I suspect that as time goes on these entries will get a lot more boring or a lot more personal.

Giant Puppets

Puppets are amazing. Especially the 50 foot puppet featured in the video below. Truly amazing.

Five Things You Don't Know About Me

My friend Rosemary Stevens has tagged me (in this game of blog tag) to tell you five things you don't know about me. After careful consideration I have come up with the following:

1-I Used To Be a Rock n Roll Groupie. Sort of.

Yes, it's true, I have spent my fair share of time partying with major rock stars. I categorize myself as a half-groupie since I never slept with anyone (which I half-heartedly regret. At the time I thought I was filled with integrity, now I realize I could have had an amazing "I slept with Axl Rose" story.) At 18 I worked in a bunch of rock bars in NYC, including the infamous Scrap Bar, the stomping ground for the major rock bands of the day, giving me All Access to some of the heavy hitters of the rock and metal bonanza of the early 90s. I have played pool with Metallica, eaten breakfast with Alice In Chains, jumped in a hot tub at a Guns n Roses party, done shots with Chris Robinson and Joey Ramone, slow danced with the crazy guitarist from Faith No More, sat on Lemmy's lap in a crowded car driving down the LES, was in a Monster Magnet video, rode in Siouxsie's limo, and have had more backstage passes and been to more backstage parties then I can count. If you are curious you can ask me more about these escapades in person. My life was once exciting. (sigh)

2-I Don't Know How to Ride a Bike or Drive a Car.

One of the consequences of an Urban NYC Upbringing. My parents never bought me a bike and there is no driver's ed in schools here. (My parents only owned a car up until I was about 12.) And to follow your inevitable next question, yes, I do know how to swim. (Weirdly, the NYC public education system placed a particular emphasis on water skills when I was growing up.) Thus far I have only driven one time in a parking lot in Queens.

3-I was a Dancer.

I danced from the age of six or seven and performed regularly as a kid. I took class six days a week. I quit at age thirteen, just in time for my metabolism to change so I could blossom into my awkward chubby adolescence.

4-English is my third language.

I was born in London and moved to Dusseldorf, Germany at the age of 1. My parents, who are American, were curious to know whether my first words would be English or German since I was regularly exposed to both. (Question answered when I touched the stove and yelled "hice" -- "hot" in German. A common first word for stupid children everywhere.) We regularly went to France on vacation and I started speaking French as well. I didn't start speaking English until we moved to NYC when I was five years old. I then promptly forgot all of my previously spoken languages.

5-I once lived with a nudist.

At 18 I lived for a brief period in San Francisco and ended up living on Haight Street with a closeted goth dude whose name esapes me, and a 40 year old nudist speed freak named Randall. I would come home to find him naked on his hands and knees in the bathroom scrubbing the floor with a toothbrush. (The plus side to speed is that your house stays VERY clean). Randall also had a penchant for inviting the homeless street kids from Haight Street into our apartment and going downstairs to borrow cups of sugar from the neighbors. While high. And naked. We got evicted-- I kept the letter from our landlord describing why we were getting evicted for years. The list of complaints against us (meaning Randall) was nothing short of hilarious.

I have decided to tag Tony Carnevale and Jackie Clarke as well as my west coast counterparts:

Eric Appel, Julie Brister, Sean Conroy, and Chad Carter.

Further favorable portents....

One of my favorite things to do is to take evening walks through the city observing the late night quiet. This was really effective in SoHo where I grew up -- Before it became the Eurotrash bar capital of the world there was nothing there but art galleries which closed by 7pm which would render the neighborhood completely desolate.
I now live in Brooklyn, and I go on late night walks less often (since I work nights and don't come home until 2am as it is), but I still really love it. (Especially with the addition of my ipod shuffle--Thanks JP!)
I was restless last night and I thought a nice start to my year would be to walk around and also scrounge up some food since I had nothing in the house. I took an hour long walk through Park Slope and then stopped at my local diner where I frequently pick up dinner or lunch to go since I never have food in the house and my weird hours make cooking next to impossible. I ordered the totally self-indulgent grilled cheese with bacon and tomato and talked to the old Greek counter guy while I waited. When my order came he refused my money and wished me a happy new year.
This year is looking up already.

Auspicious Beginnings

My New Year's Eve was fraught with both pleasure and intrigue: I got kissed, bitten (really HARD!), held my friend's hair back while she got sick, received some very nice and meaningful compliments, shook hands with an amazon supermodel, and got text messaged by a celebrity.

All in all, things bode interesting for 2007.