Mr. Happy is a "Good Good Driver"

So, a few weeks ago my brother, Mr. Happy, came to town to take the road test for his driver's licence on my car. It didn't go very well, but not because of anything he did.

See, Mr. Happy used to have a driver's licence, but that was a long, long time ago (13 years) in a galaxy far, far away (known as Pennsylvania). He's had to jump through some administrative and financial hoops to get the permission necessary to get a licence out here, but he cleared the last hurdle in December. He couldn't take his test in San Fran because all of his friends up there have standard/stick-shifts so he made plans to come here. He came down on a Saturday and we had a lovely weekend (Saturday: BBQ at our friends' house and then a sushi dinner; Sunday: lunch at Mozza, the Giant's big win and then the best Mexican in the Valley). On Monday morning we woke up, went to the DMV, and as it turns out, low and behold, someone (possibly me) had been driving around without proof of insurance or registration. It seems I had thrown them out. Mr. Happy was not allowed to take his test.

This was not a pretty scene nor one of my prouder moments. I consider myself dependable and would certainly have never sped all the way to SF and back last month if I knew I were driving without a registration card!

Mr. Happy had to go back to SF without a licence and I had to wallow in shame and self-pity for the next few days.

But Mr. Happy came back this weekend and I managed to have all of my paperwork in order. We had another nice visit (dinner at Vitello's, a visit with his college roommate, yummy gelato at the Gelato Bar) and though the rain was coming down in sheets, and he bit it in the parking lot outside of Starbucks on the morning of his test and he had to go to the DMV in Simi Valley (good suggestion K!) with a wet a$$, he passed with flying colors! Apparently he and the examiner talked about soccer the whole time (both are Zidane fans!) and Mr. Happy was a "good good driver" (see below).

Mr. Happy wasn't able to get out of town Friday night because of the rain (so he treated us to another sushi dinner!), but he did make it out Saturday morning. Upon his arrival in SF he promptly bought a car and shortly thereafter he headed up to Tahoe for some snowboarding. So today Mr. Happy is truly happy and I'm happy for him.

Although the events of a few weeks ago are not actually funny yet (Humor = Tragedy + Time) he did send a friend of ours an email that said: "Turns out I don't have to kill Jamie, I passed."

Mission Accomplished!

If you've ever had an extended conversation with me about 80's TV shows (and seriously, who among you hasn't?!) there is a good chance I have asked you if you remember a show with a "cool aunt," a "niece and nephew," and an "ice cream parlor." And, if we've had this conversation, there is a 100% chance you have said to me, "I have no idea what you are talking about." And, if you're my husband, the conversation most likely ended with you telling me that (a) I'm crazy, (b) I probably made it up, or (c) both.

So imagine my surprise when "the cool aunt" walked into the party we were at last night. I was so surprised I almost threw up. As "the cool aunt" came over to hug L hello I whispered to SMS, "Remember that show you don't think exists? (And of course he knew exactly what I was talking about.) That's her!"

I was positively giddy...and I really thought I might throw up. As we sat down and L made the introductions I couldn't control myself. While "the cool aunt" and SMS talked about sick kitties I whispered to L that I had to know what the show was. L told her I had a question for her. I explained that I had seen her in a show that no one else seemed to remember. I described it to her and she said "It's The New Gidget!" It made my night, hell, it made my decade. I have been blathering on about this show to SMS for 10 years and now we have proof that it really existed. It was like scrathcing an itch I hadn't been able to reach for a decade!

My new friend Caryn told me she was going to send me some episodes -- then we're going to get down to business trying to figure out why this show made such an impression on me!


If I ever had any doubt about moving to LA, it has been put to rest. Now that this mystery has been cleared up, I should probably find a job!

6 months = 100 posts

I keep meaning to post, I really do, but everytime I log onto my account it tells me that I have posted 99 times and for some reason that has really freaked me out. So here we are - 6 months in LA and 99 posts down. I thought this one should be really special, but then I decided I didn't have the energy for something special. . .so how about something funny?!

Photo courtesy of K.

**UPDATE** False Alarm - this is post 99 - there was a draft of a post I decided not to post in the count. More Later.

Today's Man, Pt. 2

So, by now, many of you have seen Today's Man on PBS and many of you have taken the time to write. Thank you for that. I am writing back as quickly as I can, and I am sorry if it takes me longer than usual to respond.

For those of you who haven't seen it, I am in one scene of the documentary, towards the end. The filmmakers recorded a weekly check in meeting between me and Nicky, the "star" of the film, a young man with Asperger Syndrome.

I must say, it's been nice to hear from those of you who have seen it and nice to know that this piece has touched you. So many of you have written to say that you know people with Asperger Syndrome and I hope seeing the film has helped you glimpse inside their world. For those of you who missed it, or live somewhere it hasn't aired (like LA!), you can purchase a copy here. If you do live in LA, I think I'll be having people over to watch my copy of the DVD soon. Stay tuned.

There are two places I have found on the web where people have been responding publicly to the film: The Independent Lens site has a Talkback section and the film's website has a blog which has no "entries" per se but does have a comments section that people are utilizing.

I am getting mixed reviews on these sites. Some people refer to me as loving, some as condescending. One went as far as to say:

She seemed to be full of herself and took his eating at his desk, reading Seventeen magazine, and opening someone else's mail as a personal affront to her authority; a power struggle between an adult and a 5 year old.

I'd bet money she did not have kids of her own.

I'm not going to say I'm not hurt, because I am, but not in the way I would have been in the past. I don't feel the need to go on the site and defend myself (that's why I have a site of my own!) and I don't feel the need to deny this to the death. The fact is, I don't have kids of my own; I do hate it when people undermine my authority, and I could have done things differently. But I do feel confident that I did my best. I think in many ways I helped Nicky and I know he taught me a thing or two for which I am terribly grateful. And even the person who made the comment above went on to note that not everything that happened in our interaction made it to the film. She's right. My daily interactions with Nicky had high points and low points. The one in the film is pretty typical and pretty middle of the range. It is what it is.

But it certainly is strange to be a "public figure" even if on this small of a scale. I always thought I'd love it, now I'm not so sure. When people who don't know you speak about you as if they do, it can be very upsetting. I'm starting to feel bad for Britney Spears.

**UPDATE**
Today another person in the blog world registered their displeasure with me. It's getting harder and harder not to respond. Today it was:

His supervisor at MTC, all pursed lips and narrowed eyes, clearly lacked patience and understanding; I am surprised she didn't fake it better, knowing she was on camera.

Oh, if this man only knew the new levels of patience I discovered in myself while working with Nicky he would be very, very impressed. I know that Nicky and I were both trying our best every minute we were on the job. Our best wasn't always good enough, but we learned a lot from each other and no one was more disappointed when he had to leave MTC than the two of us. Oh well. I did have to stop myself from posting a comment on the PBS site tonight, but I fought the good fight and won. For now, I'll save my rantings for Ralph's.

High Comedy (The Found Edition!)

Excessive and absurd uses of quotations are two of my favorite grammar faux pas.



I'm pretty convinced I don't want to eat here:



Though I may not mind eating here:

#1 Sign You Have Too Much Time On Your Hands...

. . .You drive 140 miles to crash a math conference!


I had a blast in San Diego!

Seriously, what's the point of being unemployed in LA if you don't jump in the car and drive to San Diego to see a good friend?! And what's the point of driving along the coast if you don't stop at a vista point or two:




















Last night D and I ate Indian food, went to a skit that addressed the implications of teaching Math and the Environment, had sushi with a bunch of University of Colorado math geeks who were decidedly un-geeky and stopped by the Ghirardelli Chocolate Shop.

Today we went to Coronado where we had a yummy breakfast at a cafe. We spent the rest of the day at Hotel del Coronado, hanging out on the beach, eating lunch on the sun deck and shopping. It was yet another bittersweet day for me in a couple of ways: whenever I'm with my college friends I remember how much I miss them AND when I was a kid my parents went to Hotel del Coronado and came back with some great pictures. I took my own version today, but I'm no Cohen Sr.

Just In Case You Were Wondering....

....this is what I am up to this week....

Monday

• Having lunch with a former colleague
• Therapy
• Babysitting

Tuesday

• Appointment at the Genius Bar at the Mac store to get a new laptop battery and make sure the iPhone is really, truly up and running;
• Then I'm off to San Diego to see a college friend who magically appeared in town

Wednesday

• Hanging out in San Diego

Thursday

• A handy-woman is coming over to help me do some stuff around the apartment
• Then dinner with K (who is due in 5 weeks!)

Friday

• Laundry, Laundry, Laundry

Saturday

• Mr. Happy comes to town

Sunday

• Lunch at Mozza
• Giants Game (on tape-delay, please don't text during the game!)

Needless to say, I've got a lot going on and I'm really excited about the week. Will fit in some job searching and hope to hear back from the good interview I had before the holidays.

Still working with Citibank on our customer service issue, but hopefully it will resolve itself sooner rather than later. All other customer service issues from this weekend seem to be uncer control, though I won't get back the hours I spent on hold...

Pictures from San Diego forthcoming for sure. And any ideas of what to do there are more than welcome, just click on "comments" and point me in the right direction!

Programming Note

Please make sure to watch Today's Man on Independent Lens this month. Independent Lens can be seen on PBS (each PBS station sets its own schedule and it's notoriously hard to figure out when things are going to be on, but it premiers on Tuesday, January 8 and it will be on in various markets over the next few weeks). I have seen Today's Man and it is wonderful - I also make an appearance in the film, so this marks my national television debut! Sort of fitting just a few months after moving to LaLaLand!

More about the movie:

Nicky Gottlieb was a child of extraordinary talents and odd behavior. At age 21, he was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, a high functioning form of autism.

TODAY'S MAN follows Nicky over the course of six years as he struggles to leave the safety of his family's home and find his own place in the world.

You can read more about my impressions of the film here.

New Year - New Phone!

SMS got us both iPhones this past week so we have been very busy learning about them/playing with them. This means we are no longer Verizon customers (sorry Mom, L, Cousin Andrew and all my other Verzion friends!) and though we pretty much loved Verizon and were sorry to leave them, we are very excited about all the iPhone goodies!

The week was not all fun and games and new toys though...

• I got bad news about my back (though I'm not publishing the exact diagnosis because I heard a great NPR story on how insurance companies can use internet research to deny you coverage - a pretty obvious but unfortunate consequence of this technology);
  
• I fell into the hell that is the customer service rabbit hole at 3pm on Thursday and haven't quite climbed out yet (I spent hours and hours on the phone arguing with Citibank, Verizon, AT&T, Mac, and Time Warner Cable dealing with 3 unrelated problems, only 1 of which has been completely fixed at this point); and
  
• The Steelers just lost a heart-breaker to the Jags...I have to say, for the most of the game we didn't play like we deserved to win, however we came back with a vengeance only to loose in the last minute. I hope they keep Tomlin, not just because he's cute (which he is), but because I really like his demeanor on the sidelines. I think he made some questionable calls, but I hope they give him some time to work out the kinks. And I hope Big Dumb Ben gets his stuff together!!!

So that's the brief update from here. Hope you are all well in the New Year!