Sep 16, 2005 | Uncategorized
I admit it, I google people. When someone tells me something about himself, I google him to see what comes up. I hate it when someone tells me things, wonderful things, and I type in a name and get–nothing. This happened recently. I googled myself to double check the accuracy of the method. Yep, I get things on me, though there are some things (my romantic suspense novella) that don't appear, so I know the method isn't foolproof. But I thought I'd get something on this person. Nope, nothing. Did he fib? Maybe.
But, if you follow Miss Snark at all, you know that she will google you if you query her and say wonderful things about yourself. She will check for accuracy, and if those wonderful things don't appear, she'll cross you off as a desperate, dishonest writer. And she ain't the only one. Apparently, this is somewhat common in New York, especially if you claim fantastical things that can be checked out with ease.
Never say you were once shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize if you aren't a) Irish or a citizen of the Commonwealth (whatever that means), and b) it ain't true. Don't say I didn't tell you. 🙂
Sep 15, 2005 | Uncategorized
Last night was writers' group at Borders. I haven't been in three weeks (or is it two?) for various reasons. It's always refreshing, though, to meet up with other writers and realize again that you aren't the only one who toils away, who has bad days and good days, or bad months and good months as the case may be. I am in a bad month. Don't know why, precisely, but I've found that often you just have to let the muse be for a while. She doesn't want to work, but she's always paying attention and gathering stuff for later use.
I finally broke down and bought Donald Maass's Writing the Breakout Novel. As if I don't have enough writing books. I also bought The Resilient Writer by Catherine Wald, creator of rejectioncollection.com. I can always use a book that tells me how [Insert Famous Writer] got rejected 1200 times before selling that first novel that went on to win a Nobel Prize and sell a gazillion copies (it's my fantasy, don't argue with it).
I barely have time to read the books I already own, but that doesn't stop me from buying more. I am currently reading Ann Patchett's Bel Canto in between thesis reading. I'm going through a literary phase at the moment, probably because of the saturation with Virginia Woolf.
Another thought I've had lately, as I make the rounds, is whether the people who consistently appear on certain blogs (I mean innumerable times over the course of a day) ever write anything or if they just wish they did. Then again, maybe they are like me and the muse is on hiatus for a while. One day, they'll stop appearing and then I'll wonder if they've been hit by a car or if they've had the one-in-a-million idea that won't let them go until they finish the book. And then a year or two later they'll pop back in and announce that they just landed a big agent and their book went to auction. That's what's so cool about being a writer: you always have a chance to write and sell THE ONE, the book that makes all the difference, the book that makes the umpteen manuscripts under your bed into the University of Writing and makes it all worthwhile. Too cool.
Sep 14, 2005 | Uncategorized |
I'm not late on purpose. I thought I wouldn't talk about this, but then I've seen a few posts on various blogs, and it made me think that I ought to give my own thoughts on that day. I was living in Germany when it happened. Mike was deployed to Italy, working some sort of Bosnian air operation that I forget the name of at the moment. On Sep 10, I took a train from Vicenza, Italy, back to Landstuhl, Germany. I got home around 9PM, visited with the kitties, turned on the heat (Germany was pretty cold compared to Italy!), and got in bed with a book. Miss Kitty and Thumper joined me and we went to sleep happy.
Sep 11 was a Tuesday. I went to meet my friend Cynthia at Ramstein Air Base for coffee. We typically had our coffee, browsed the books, and either went grocery shopping together or split up. That day, when we left the bookstore, a group of people were gathered around the television in the coffee shop. Cynthia and I parted ways outside the store and I went to the commissary for groceries. Twenty minutes later, Cyn calls me from her house and tells me that a plane has flown into the World Trade Center.
As the phone calls begin–Mom, Cyn again, me trying to call Mike in Italy–I manuever the shopping cart to a spot where I can hear the news on the speakers in the bread aisle. I don't remember what I heard, but I remember turning to another person there, a guy in uniform, and saying the first thing that came to mind (I am ashamed of this, but it's true): “We need to turn Afghanistan into a parking lot.”
“Damn straight,” he said.
See, those of us who are military (active duty, spouses, civilians, contractors, etc) knew who did it. When I talk to friends here in Hawaii about that day, they all say they had no idea who could have done such a thing when it happened. But the military knew. Why? Khobar Towers, the USS Cole, the Kenyan Embassy. We knew it and we knew where he was and our gut reaction was to hit him hard and right that instant. Makes me sound like a right-wing hawk, doesn't it? And I am so NOT right-wing or a hawk. In fact, I was glad that Bush took his time to strike once I got over the initial shock. He didn't take his time because they were trying to find out who did it, either, which is what folks thought then, but he took his time because they had to get the assets to the theater. It took three or four weeks (forget exactly the timeline) to move the military and equipment into place to launch a strike. You not only have to be able to launch, but to sustain, which is why Navy ships and cruise missiles weren't going to be enough. We periodically bombed Baghdad throughout the 90s, but the assets were in place to do so. Operation Northern Watch and all that.
I finished my shopping and left the base. Just in time, it turned out, because the base went to Threatcon Delta. That means nothing gets on or off the base. By the time I got home, a drive of 20 minutes, Ramstein was in lockdown. I remained in my house for the next few days, glued to CNN and on the phone with my mother (who lived 60 miles away and worked at another base). I don't remember how long it took me to find Mike, but I know I barely heard from him for days, maybe a week or two. He was at a NATO base, but even they were locked down and working hard. (The Threatcon eased to Charlie Plus, which meant traffic could come and go, but security measures were time consuming and lines were loooooong.)
The next time I went to the base, the gate looked like Princess Di's funeral. Flowers and candles were piled against the brick, offerings of support and sympathy from the Germans. The local paper had a headline that literally translated to “It Hurts the Heart.” The days and weeks after changed the world. We can never go back to that almost-innocent world that existed before the planes hit the towers and the Pentagon and the PA field. We've had to come to grips with the fact that there are people in this world who will sacrifice their lives to achieve a goal, people who believe that in taking others with them, they are fighting for justice for their fellow Muslims. Fortunately, most Muslims do not feel this way. They are not represented by the fanatics who perpetrate evil acts, though it is easy to think so. I try to always remember that the acts of a few should not condemn the many and so I feel ashamed of my initial reaction, my words about Afghanistan.
T.E. Lawrence said, in Seven Pillars of Wisdom (1926), about the Wahabis (Bin Laden and the Saudis are followers of Wahabism):
The Wahabis […] had imposed their strict rules on easy Kasim. In Kasim there was but little coffee-hospitality, much prayer and fasting, no tobacco, no artistic dalliance with women, no silk clothes, no gold and silver head-ropes or ornaments. Everything was forcibly pious or forcibly puritanical.
It was a natural phenomenon, this periodic rise at intervals of little more than a century, of ascetic creeds in Central Arabia. Always the votaries found their neighbours' beliefs cluttered with inessential things, which became impious in the hot imagination of their preachers. Again and again they had arisen, had taken possession, soul and body, of the tribes, and had dashed themselves to pieces on the urban Semites, merchants and concupiscent men of the world. About their comfortable possessions the new creeds ebbed and flowed like the tides of the changing seasons, each movement with the seeds of early death in its excess of rightness. Doubtless they must recur so long as the causes–sun, moon, wind, acting in the emptiness of open spaces, weigh without check on the unhurried and uncumbered minds of the desert-dwellers. (148)
Ultimately, however, the people who died that day did not deserve to do so, and certainly not at the hands of fanatics. I hope Lawrence was right and that the seeds of its own destruction are contained in fanatical interpretations of Islam. Islam is a decent religion, with decent people and decent traditions. I hope they can exorcise the evil element from their midst.
Sep 13, 2005 | Uncategorized
Yesterday, my friend Mark got his new car and wanted to drive somewhere. So, he picked me and Mike up and we went to Ala Moana. Our plan was to go to dinner, and we opted for the food court of the mall. Honestly, I know that sounds bad, but you can't believe the yummy food available in this food court. Mark and I had kalua pig with rice and salad. Mike had roasted chicken with rice, mac salad, and green beans. Amazingly good local-style food at a mall price.
After dinner, we decided to go to T&C Surf Company for Reef slippahs. Mark is still new here, but he needs Reefs. Soon. Reefs are awesome. They cost a lot for a pair of flip-flops ($25-$40), but they are great. Arch support (I need that) and comfy cushiony bottoms (unlike cheap slippers that you can get for a couple of bucks in any ABC store or K-Mart). After we finished looking at Reefs (not as big a variety as Nordstrom carries), we strolled through the mall, carried on by the scent of the Honolulu Coffee Company. They have a great big roaster in the front of the store. A guy was dumping in buckets of beans at the top and then letting them out into a big centrifuge-like thing that swept the beans around and around.
Also, in the category of small world, Mark ran into someone he knows from Pennsylvania who now lives in Honolulu and works at this store. Frank got us a couple of cups of Kona blend to sample (100% Kona is better, but more expensive than blends). Mike abstained since he wanted to fall asleep easily at bedtime. I don't usually drink coffee in the evening, but I did this time (and I had no problem falling asleep later). We sat down near the roaster and watched the guy dump beans into the big funnel at the top, empty the roasted beans into the centrifuge, and sweep his hands through searching for twigs and other small detritus (Mike will so tease me about using this word–it's a joke with us).
Mike is amazing in that he can strike up a conversation with anyone and they actually like talking to him. The somewhat surly man at the roaster turned out to be a very friendly Italian from Sicily once Mike got him going. We discussed Italy, the places we'd been and loved, the awesome food, the Italian friendliness, the la dolce vita of Italian life. Our new Italian friend lives in Honolulu for a combination of reasons involving marriage to an American and compulsory military service in Italy. I didn't get the whole thing straightened out in my head before it was time to leave.
We said goodbye to the Italian and to Frank and popped back into the coolness of the night air flowing through the open-air mall. The coffee shop was hot, the roaster going at a steamy 400 degrees, and I was glad to feel the breeze again. After a trip to my favorite mall store–Williams-Sonoma–we headed to the parking lot and back home again.
Not a big adventure for a Monday night, but one that reminds me how small this world really is sometimes. You can always find a way to connect with people, whether it's shared experience or a shared want. We are all alike. Humanity crosses borders. Nationalism does not. In the words of the Dalai Lama:
Whenever I meet people, I always approach them from the standpoint of the most basic things we have in common. We each have a physical structure, a mind, emotions. We are all born in the same way, and we all die. All of us want happiness and do not want to suffer. Looking at others from this standpoint rather than emphasizing secondary differences such as the fact I am Tibetan, or a different color, religion, or cultural background, allows me to have a feeling that I am meeting someone just the same as me.
We want to connect with others, I think. The Italian wanted us to know that he thought America was great. America has military bases around the world, he said, but Italy has the Catholic Church. There is a piece of America in many countries, and a piece of Italy too. He thought that was cool. Our two countries share an experience, though America is far greater in might. He didn't seem to mind that thought. When we left, he was singing along with the Andrea Bocelli song coming over the speakers. Indeed, I envied him that. I can only enjoy the sound, while he can enjoy both sound and meaning.
Sep 12, 2005 | Uncategorized |
Here it is, the famous From Here to Eternity beach! That scene was pretty racy for 1953, but heck, I'd have rolled around in the surf with Burt Lancaster too. 🙂 Why they chose to film on that particular beach, I don't know. It's nearly impossible to get to. You have to hike down a steep trail–imagine doing that with film equipment, actors, etc. On the other hand, since they were supposed to be having an affair, this is definitely an isolated location. Her husband wasn't about to find them here, believe me. Ha!
Soon, the whales will return to Hawaii, and this is a good location to spot them from. They swim in the channel between Oahu and Molokai, among other places. You can see their breach for miles. The first time I ever saw a whale was right after I arrived and we took a whale watching cruise on the Star of Honolulu. They guaranteed we'd see whales and we did. It was only a mama and baby, but still a great sight. I have since seen them from the top of Diamondhead too. They looked pretty little from that distance.
For ono grinds, stop at this shrimp shack across from Turtle Bay resort on the Northeast corner of Oahu. The tables are grouped under pop-up awnings, and a lazy brindle dog named Blackie wags her tail as she saunters around looking for anyone who'll pet her. Mike and I stopped on impulse and shared a plate of garlic shrimp. The shrimp were swimming in butter, the garlic so sweet you'll eat it even without the shrimp. For $11, you get a plate of shrimp with rice and salad. They cooked them several different ways, but we opted for garlic. Wow, amazing stuff. After we polished off the shrimp, Mike bought a carved bone necklace from a man who had set up shop under one of the awnings. He was a nice guy, very talented. Then we got back in the Jeep and continued on our way. I'd forgotten that shrimp farming goes on near Turtle Bay until we passed the low pools of water, but that certainly explained the taste. The shrimp was sweet and fresh and melted in the mouth.
I haven't forgotten Nimitz! Here he is doing what kittens do best: getting into things. He's turning into a handful. He pings off the walls. He flies across the furniture. He bangs into things and doesn't even blink. He's adorable, but he's work. My other cat, Thumper, is old and quiet and not really happy about this turn of events. I think we'll all be glad when Nimmy gets a bit calmer. On the other hand, he sure is a hoot.
Currently reading:
The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf (still, and I need to finish it soon)
Music:
Sarah Brightman
Today's agenda: laundry, grocery shopping, and coaxing the muse out of hiding.
