I figure if I'm going to go cutesy by using "heart" as a verb, I might as well go all the way and eschew capitals. Really Chabon is a better influence than that.
Wonder Boys. Holy mother of god, what a great book. It reminded me of Richard Russo's Straight Man because of its vaguely academic setting with a creative writing professor and of Russo's Nobody's Fool because it was such a fantastic book. Not as good: the minor characters don't leap from the page the way, say, Ralph does in Fool, and also just not, but pretty damn good. The entire tuba side story cracked me up, not least because I am not above being haunted by inanimate objects. Also, the word tuba.
I have to stop watching "Buffy" if it's going to make me say "also" and "not so much" and especially "not so much with the [x]" quite so fucking much.
I'm swearing more than I usually let myself because I've been up since 3. I'm going to lie and date this the 13th, but I'm writing it Friday morning at 6:50. It's what I wrote from 3 to 6:30 that's pissing me right the fuck off and has been for the past week.
Anyway, a word with whose overuse I am by contrast completely comfortable.
What is the meaning of the name Feld to Chabon? Didn't an editor say, during Summerland, "Look, you already used this name in Wonder Boys, though for a minor little character who only cameos"? I like how he described someone's reading level as having not progressed past comic books, because that's what the character saying so would think.
I have to ask CKC if she's ever read any Chabon, if Pittsburgh meant enough to her during four years at CMU to give him a try.
To be honest, one reason I woke at 3 is that I was asleep by 9. Six hours is not so much. Again with the "not so much." "Again" being another Buffyism. Christ. Anyway, the book I started before I fell asleep was Mysteries of Pittsburgh.
No exercise for me Thursday no sirree. At lunch Tex drove me to the post office and I mailed, finally, Ella Minnow Pea to PLT, because I think that was his reason to give it to me (so he could borrow it) and the Marie Antoinette biography to Molly, because it's about time I passed along some book karma, and Girl Scout cookies to my sister and Haitch. (Surprise, Haitch. But don't get all happy. I forgot your favorite.) After work RDC and his coworker came back from their long ditch-digging day and we went to the Tattered Cover and the Fourth Story where I ate my weight in lamb tagliatelle.
This coworker, who needs an alias, was great company despite that he doesn't understand "Peanuts." (I would call him, in protest, Peanut, but that is Nisou's and my nickname for each other.) I honestly cannot recall why, before we even left the house, I gleefully exclaimed, "Randy's going down!" one of my favorite "Far Side" captions, but on Wednesday I titled an entry "cat fud" so if I'm better about maybe not quoting "Breakfast Club" as much these days, quotes in general are not extinct from my repetoire. Anyway, he described someone as interesting despite her liking "Garfield." He proceeded to class Garfield, Family Circus, and Peanuts together, and I stopped him in his tracks. In mid-sentence, probably. We agreed on Calvin and Hobbes, Doonesbury, and Bloom County, so at least he's not going to hell. Perhaps an outer circle for the Peanuts slight.
"It's my coloring book, and I'll color the bunnies any way I like."
Snoopy said this to Woodstock, but it's a useful principle to stick to in life in general.
I'm going lie again and date this Thursday despite writing this Friday morning. I mention the lack of exercise yesterday because it's going to lack again today unless I get my ass in gear and on my bike in four minutes. Let's take a poll of how likely that is, shall we?