And again back, not quite a month. Shamed into trying harder in part by the conversation at Dodie's last workshop/party at Minnette's fabulous diggs.

Tempted a little by first Thursday but too hot to dress and look lovely enough and even a little by the Asian Museum Burning Man Tea House fest, I instead did a modest bit of Pilates and meandered home to catch up on things like this.

Still adjusting to my new job and hours and such I find my writing time more readily available offline and old fashioned in notebooks (adorable Japanese notebooks which are a serious fetische for me). All of which is fine for my stories and poetry but very behind the pace of a blog.

Especially by the time I get around to transcribing/posting. Could be weeks or longer. After work and the gym or what have you and cooking dinner (yes obsessive local organic slow food with often complicated variations of my own inventing) there is very little time to be boring and sit at the computer. Especially with a boyfriend I actually rather enjoy spending time with and having conversation with.

And so all the endless excuses and explanations. Not so very interesting and not really of consequence.

But rather than transcribing my 8/22/08 notebook entry entitled Package It Up: Blogging on Paper. So counter intuitive and yet here it is... I will write briefly about the that experience and then move on to the truly recent.

On 8/22, the extraordinary Jennifer Blowdryer hosted a totally fun reading event at Dog Eared Books in which my workshop buddy Stephen Boyer read and someone I did not know of before Brontez read along with Jennifer and a poet MK Chavez (whom I loved too and have to chase down to read).

I loved Jennifer's reading of the new version of The World's Laziest Secretary but I think she was wrong about the illustrations, the original ones are better but only now and not probably when they were new. Glad I got this brief visit with the rapidly slimming rising M. Blowdryer as see was booked up and then back to New York before I knew what happened.

So Stephen was lovely of course but he feels like a kid brother chasing many of the insane party pranks I did (and well yes, sometimes, still pursue). But Brontez was a surprising breath of fresh air and a flirticious delight before during and afterward. I only wish he would make more of Fag School #3 (sold out everywhere!).

And so then on to last night.

An incomplete gathering (Dodie, Minette, Emily, Maize, Anne, Drew, Masha, and Stephen) but lots of fun local and sustainable food (was this a reference to the Slow Food Nation event? Minette wore here apron...) Of course we are all converted one way or another. Emily who nearly went with Coco or Drew who loves the food hates the people or Dodie with her love hate of Rainbow...

A dive into deep dish pizza, some serious vodka and wine and we were off. Between the garden and view and the feast and wine and our determined good mood we managed to have a lovely party and read a little too.

Despite my anxiety and ongoing frustration with my place (or lack there of) in the experimental writing scene, I found an incredibly warm welcome for my latest work from the group and felt a shared empathy of frustration with Dodie and the limits of the scene, no matter how exceptional it may be.