i interrupt my lauguishing L.A. recount with an emergency bulletin

I was just watching The Soup and they had a clip from The Secret Life of the American Teenager, some sitcom that kids these days are watching I guess that is APPARENTLY extreeeemely Life Goes On. Please observe what just made my brain implode in nine different ways. (Simone and Ryan, you're welcome.)

l.a. trip: the richard simmons segment

Last week I went to see The Hotrats play in LA, it's Gaz & Danny from Supergrass and they only do cover songs but they just toured and since it was Supergrass I had to go. Simone bought me a plane ticket as an early birthday present, yips! They played January 19th and the 21st and since the 19th was Lolly's 5th birthday I wasn't going to go down that day. But at the last minute I moved my flight up because Simone had been hanging out with Gaz and Danny and said I had to get my ass down there and so I had a birthday breakfast with Lolly and she didn't care one way or the other if I stayed the whole day or not since she was having a birthday thing on Sunday, and I was going to be back for that, so...see ya!

I'll start with the last thing that happened - on Saturday we went to work out with Richard Simmons because Simone and I LOVE him. Anyone can go work out with him, every Saturday morning he teaches a class at his studio (called Slimmons, hahaha) in Beverly Hills and it's only $12. He had a little sit-down chat session beforehand where we all sat criss-cross applesauce style around him while he sat on a chair and talked about his emotionally abusive father and how he forgave him and how forgiveness is key to moving on, and "how did you eat this week? Did you pay attention to your fat grams? Did you pay attention to your calories?" Zooey Deschanel walked in during this and he said "Hi! Hello!" (he says hi to everyone who walks in as if he knows them) and she went into the locker room and after she'd gone he stage-whispered "I just saw her in 500 Days of Summer, she had 80 costume changes and I changed costumes each time with her!" The class was completely packed and there was mercifully little room to move around too much, Simone said it's better that way cause you get really tired when there are fewer people and also he walks around in between you more and eggs you on. He turned on that Black Eyed Peas song about having a feeling that tonight's gonna be a good night, then he turned it down and screamed "I freaking love you all!" and then turned it way back up again. I was next to Zooey and she was picking everything up really easily, she must have taken years of dance lessons. During Single Ladies he walked around amidst everyone and flipped his hand around like Beyonce and pointed to his ring finger. He had us make a big circle and pulled people into the middle two by two to dance around with him and he picked me one of those times and it was horrifying! We did weights and then situps and he said "Look at the ceiling, don't look at me! I know I have a $700 tank top on, but look at the ceiling for now. Let me tell you, each of these Swarovski crystals cost 89 cents and when one falls off, I go looking for it." He said "Put your knees together but keep your feet apart, like a V. For virgin." and he had us do pelvic thrusts and while we were doing that he sang "I'm so lonely...so, so lonely...." Anyway, it was a riot. I talked to Zooey for a minute afterwards because she was there with Simone's friend Marilyn. I asked to see her ring and we talked about vintage jewelry. The end! More installments as I get time!

twig wallet

Let the record show that I want this wallet from Velouria. I just want everything at Velouria, actually.

david cross talking about the funniest thing he's ever seen

I'm in love with this story.

i fell

I think it is so funny when people fall and I got my ass handed to me yesterday, karmic retribution. I was running for my bus and it had been raining and I was skedaddling past a row of people and fell in the mud. I yelled "That did not just happen!" and two high school girls were staring with their mouths open in empathic horror. I intently did not look to see how many people had seen at the rush-hour intersection as the bus drove off. Drove off! I had run for nothing and my ass was coated with mud and the girls said "Do you have anywhere else to be?" and I said "Yeah...therapy." They said "At least you can discuss this with your therapist and she can support you!" I gimped onto the next bus with my muddy arse and after 45 muddy minutes on public transit I made it to therapist's office where we traded places and I sat on her leather chair and she sat on the upholstered couch.

Wish you could have seen it.

I watched this twice the other day so maybe I had it coming.

story group

I was part of this story group all last year (I mean 2008) and it was huge for me. Here are the details in case anyone is curious or interested in doing it, I can't recommend anything more highly.

Another Story Group is starting, and you are invited to join us in the journey. In the group we explore questions such as: How do the stories of your life impact who you are? What can you learn from your stories of tragedy and loss? What is the larger story that your life is telling?

The group is for people who want to reflect on the stories of their past, particularly painful stories, for the sake of learning to love more deeply. Our most painful stories involve disruption of relationships with parents, siblings, relatives, friends. In response to this, we learn to relate to people in ways that can be self-protective and harmful. This group is a powerful way to learn how your stories impact you and how you impact others. It’s an opportunity to create a community of people who will both encourage you and interact with you about the ways you are thwarting your own growth.

Here are some details....
Meetings: Mondays, 7 to 9 p.m., starting January 18, in Green Lake
Length: 14 weeks, with the option at the end of continuing
Cost: $40 per meeting
Participants: four to six people
Leaders: Trapper Lukaart and Lisa Fann
Reading: To Be Told by Dan Allender and To Be Told Workbook by Dan
Allender and Lisa Fann

If you are interested in joining us, send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you and, perhaps, walking for a little way with you on your journey.

Lisa Fann
206-784-5005
words@lisafann.com
www.lisafann.com

geoff dyer, a brit, ponders american habits and likes what he sees

This article was fascinating to me.