I finally finished my book tour and have managed to
get myself down from three giant piles of sh$t on my desk to one, which I am
working on. So, if I owe you an email, I'm getting there. I started my UCLA
Class, and that is going well– the students are awesome so far, and we're
making good progress on their projects. Even though this photo is of the San Francisco book signing, I thought it was funny so I decided to put it up.
get myself down from three giant piles of sh$t on my desk to one, which I am
working on. So, if I owe you an email, I'm getting there. I started my UCLA
Class, and that is going well– the students are awesome so far, and we're
making good progress on their projects. Even though this photo is of the San Francisco book signing, I thought it was funny so I decided to put it up.
I've been a little more diligent about updating
Facebook just because it's easier, but just for fun, let me re-cap the book
signing that was last Friday in Palm Desert. I should probably preface this by
saying that it is very, VERY hot there now. Like, 108 degrees at 5:30 in the
evening hot, which makes people in the desert go a tiny bit crazy. I can attest
to this because I grew up there. And even though that is the case, I don't know
if you can really ever prepare yourself for that kind of hotness– the hotness
that wears you out before you even get from your air-conditioned car to your
air-conditioned house. Actually, in high school I had a car whose A/C didn't
work, and I was constantly getting burned on the steering wheel and the seats.
For real. Getting burned by the seats of the car. That's how hot.
Facebook just because it's easier, but just for fun, let me re-cap the book
signing that was last Friday in Palm Desert. I should probably preface this by
saying that it is very, VERY hot there now. Like, 108 degrees at 5:30 in the
evening hot, which makes people in the desert go a tiny bit crazy. I can attest
to this because I grew up there. And even though that is the case, I don't know
if you can really ever prepare yourself for that kind of hotness– the hotness
that wears you out before you even get from your air-conditioned car to your
air-conditioned house. Actually, in high school I had a car whose A/C didn't
work, and I was constantly getting burned on the steering wheel and the seats.
For real. Getting burned by the seats of the car. That's how hot.
Anyhow, I arrived in the desert a few hours before
the signing, and tried to keep myself from dying of heat exhaustion before 6:00
pm, which was no easy task. Fortunately there were already some people I knew
there right when it started, so I didn't even have time for the "is anyone going
to show up?" nervousness that always precedes an event. Actually, people showed
up from 6:00 until about 8:30, which was just awesome. Alot of cool people were
in town for a high school reunion (not mine), so they came as well, and it was
totally nice to see everyone again.
the signing, and tried to keep myself from dying of heat exhaustion before 6:00
pm, which was no easy task. Fortunately there were already some people I knew
there right when it started, so I didn't even have time for the "is anyone going
to show up?" nervousness that always precedes an event. Actually, people showed
up from 6:00 until about 8:30, which was just awesome. Alot of cool people were
in town for a high school reunion (not mine), so they came as well, and it was
totally nice to see everyone again.
But, back to the heat crazy. The first person I
might have put into this category actually ended up buying a book, so I feel
guilty slandering her when she is now one of my readers. For that reason, I
will write up a little note about that and put it on Facebook for those who are
interested. You can also leave a comment if you'd like to hear the story but
are not my FB friend.
might have put into this category actually ended up buying a book, so I feel
guilty slandering her when she is now one of my readers. For that reason, I
will write up a little note about that and put it on Facebook for those who are
interested. You can also leave a comment if you'd like to hear the story but
are not my FB friend.
Next up: a guy who brought me a hand-written note,
but DID NOT buy a book, so game on! He was an older man who had read about me
in the paper, and it seemed like he wanted me to do something for a charitable
event he was putting together (at least this is what I could derive from the
hodge-podge of inclusions in the envelope, one of which was a semi-obscene
business card), and he called himself "Tijuana Joe." He wore a seersucker shirt
and a white fedora, and when I asked him if he was going to buy a book, he said
"No, I don't have time to read, I'm a man on the go." This went on as my
friends and some other people from the bookstore looked on, like "What is going
on here?"
but DID NOT buy a book, so game on! He was an older man who had read about me
in the paper, and it seemed like he wanted me to do something for a charitable
event he was putting together (at least this is what I could derive from the
hodge-podge of inclusions in the envelope, one of which was a semi-obscene
business card), and he called himself "Tijuana Joe." He wore a seersucker shirt
and a white fedora, and when I asked him if he was going to buy a book, he said
"No, I don't have time to read, I'm a man on the go." This went on as my
friends and some other people from the bookstore looked on, like "What is going
on here?"
I also had a few random elderly people wander over
and ask "What kind of book is this?" and when they heard it was fiction, they
told me they only like to read books on real things that really happened, like
wars, which is no surprise because my grandma tells me the same thing. Is it a
thing that when you get old, you don't want to read made-up stories anymore?
I'd think it would be the opposite, that the older you get, the more experiences
you've had, and the more you want to see things that come out of people's
imaginations. But, what do I know? I'm not old, I don't have a fedora, and I
don't really care for books on wars or Hitler.
and ask "What kind of book is this?" and when they heard it was fiction, they
told me they only like to read books on real things that really happened, like
wars, which is no surprise because my grandma tells me the same thing. Is it a
thing that when you get old, you don't want to read made-up stories anymore?
I'd think it would be the opposite, that the older you get, the more experiences
you've had, and the more you want to see things that come out of people's
imaginations. But, what do I know? I'm not old, I don't have a fedora, and I
don't really care for books on wars or Hitler.
Next, I spent a few days hanging out at a high
school reunion that wasn't mine, which was totally fun and interesting. I knew some
of the people (and in fact, I went there with my friends), but it was pretty
amazing to me how everyone from high school falls into the same patterns, even
after 20 years. Same people hanging out together, and for the most part, people
looked the same. I'm not saying that because I'm trying to say I look the same,
but it was kind of crazy how "the same" everyone actually looked, like barely
any time had passed. I remember my mom going to her high school reunions, and I
also remember the pictures and that the people seemed totally old. Maybe it's a
matter of perspective, or maybe it's that with the healthy food and the face
cream and the hormones the drinking water, we're all just living longer and
looking younger. That part was pretty amazing to me though.
school reunion that wasn't mine, which was totally fun and interesting. I knew some
of the people (and in fact, I went there with my friends), but it was pretty
amazing to me how everyone from high school falls into the same patterns, even
after 20 years. Same people hanging out together, and for the most part, people
looked the same. I'm not saying that because I'm trying to say I look the same,
but it was kind of crazy how "the same" everyone actually looked, like barely
any time had passed. I remember my mom going to her high school reunions, and I
also remember the pictures and that the people seemed totally old. Maybe it's a
matter of perspective, or maybe it's that with the healthy food and the face
cream and the hormones the drinking water, we're all just living longer and
looking younger. That part was pretty amazing to me though.
Oh, I should also mention that it is a very, very
bad idea to take a totally black Prius to the desert during the summer. Also
pretty amazing is just how hot the inside of that thing can get when you park it
in the sun and it's 113 degrees outside, then you make your friends ride in the
back seat when they are wearing their fancy reunion clothes. Sorry Lisa and Brett!
bad idea to take a totally black Prius to the desert during the summer. Also
pretty amazing is just how hot the inside of that thing can get when you park it
in the sun and it's 113 degrees outside, then you make your friends ride in the
back seat when they are wearing their fancy reunion clothes. Sorry Lisa and Brett!