“Laughter is the sensation of feeling good all over and showing it principally in one place.” ~Josh Billings
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- Photo via Laurie White (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rubyshoes/)
This day wasn’t supposed to be this way. I was to be half way across the country when this photo was taken. Sitting in a window seat, possibly passed out, stomach full of shitty airport food that would give me the…wait for it…shits. Instead I was in Ocean Beach. Doing this. With them. Instead, feeling those end of BlogHer pangs and a full on hangover, I decided to stay that extra night. Perhaps if I stayed it wouldn’t be over? Those four days go so quickly don’t they? On Wednesday night you find yourself texting to see who wants a quick nightcap and on Friday you can’t move three feet without hugging, stopping, chatting. “How are the kids?” “How was the move?” we catch up and say “see you later” in hopes that there will be a later. The later is comes well after 11 with cheeseburgers and way too many drinks. I always want to say goodbye properly but I never do. It’s a rush and at once everyone who is there is now gone. So one more night, I told myself. On the way back to my room I spotted a party, saw Laurie at the bar and busted out with my bravado, and “Don’t you know who I am?” Of course it was the Clever Girls so I was welcomed with open arms and open bar. At the end I thought I might be intruding on Sarah and Laurie’s final day in San Diego. I casually asked of their plans and they mentioned something about Ocean Beach. I briefly hesitated because…I don’t know…even though I had just pulled the “I’m Heather fucking Barmore” card, I felt like they were inviting me out of pity. I went along anyway for it couldn’t be that bad to put away beers for the afternoon, eat fish tacos and walk out to what seemed to be the end of the world.
In the first 30 minutes I laughed so hard that I ended up with a painful headache. I was afraid to laugh again because of the pounding and the way my cheeks felt as if they were pulled taut across my face. I clenched my stomach and I wouldn’t allow Laurie to speak unless I had finished a full sip. We returned back to the Marriott, which was now largely empty but there were familiar faces. I told Deb how the afternoon had went. How I laughed more than I had in ages and how I thought my death would be eminent or at least the vomiting up of aforementioned fish tacos because I could not stop. And she replied with this: “That’s good. It should hurt to be that happy.” It did and I was. Thanks for the adventure ladies.
Photo via Laurie White (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rubyshoes/)
Third time’s a charm: The Life List
“Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.” ~Danny Kaye
I had a sudden whim to redo my Life List or at least look it over to see what it is I really want to actually do before I die. It’s inevitable to change one’s mind or to rethink the future as one gets older. I don’t know…I found it time for a once over, collaborate with myself, move forward, see what I want out of this little life of mine. This will be the third version of this list. What can I say? Things change, people change.*
1. Finish my book proposal
2. Write an actual book
3. Cross-country antiquing trip
4. Visit all 50 States**
5. Buy my very own car
6. Write an article for Vanity Fair
7. Re-learn to ride a horse
8. Spa weekend in Arizona
9. At least make a vague attempt to be organized
10. Hire a house cleaner for regular cleaning
11. Ocean kayak down the east coast
12. Learn to dress myself for my body type.
13. Visit the White House
14. Play golf in Dubai
15. Host a dinner party
16. Run for office
17. Learn to sew***
18. Attend the State of the Union
19. Design and make a dress
20. Become a parent
21. Have a ladies weekend on Martha’s Vineyard
22. Learn to play the guitar
23. Turn my apartment into a home
24. Run a 10K
25. Run a half marathon****
26. Run a full marathon
27. Go to the Superbowl
28. Sundance film festival
29. Full spa day – facial, massage, mani, pedi*****
30. Learn to fence
31. Own property
32. Attend a football game in every stadium in the country
33. Speak at SXSW******
34. Learn to snowboard
35. Visit Canada more often
36. Tour New York State
37. Write more about politics
38. Tour southeast Asia
39. Capetown and Johannesburg, South Africa
40. Carnivale in Rio
41. Mardi Gras in New Orleans
42. Have high tea in London
43. Become a licensed pilot
44. Attend a session of parliament in London
45. Be my own boss
46. Be a more vocal proponent of women in politics
47. Learn to make sushi
48. Dublin with Chris and Susan
49. Visit Brussels – home of the EU
50. Make a holiday meal with all of the fixin’s
51. Another weekend in Paris
52. Live abroad for a year
53. Be debt free
54. Read Pride and Prejudice
55. Attend Wimbledon
56. Have an actual week long staycation
57. Wear real red lipstick
58. See the pyramids
59. Fall in love again
60. Visit Tel Aviv
61. Write a book about my father’s life growing up in the south during the Civil Rights Movement
62. Make the perfect key lime pie
63. Throw a huge 30th birthday bash
64. Understand bipolar disorder
65. Become certified in SCUBA diving
66. Read the 100 Best Novels according to Modern Library
67. Make my bed everyday
68. Take individual portraits of my family
69. Take a photo a day for 100 days
70. Be a tourist in Washington, DC.
71. See the 100 Greatest Movies of all time according to AFI
72. A yearly trip to Europe
73. Wine tasting in the Finger Lakes
74. Be a talking head on CNN or MSNBC
75. Once I become a parent, take said child or children to Disneyworld
76. Take a trip with Peg to Prague, Vienna and Amsterdam
77. Throw someone a surprise party
78. Be the subject of a Buodoir photophoot
79. Hug Idris Elba
80. Make a pie crust from scratch
81. Learn to hem a pair of pants
82. A bra fitting every year
83. Plan a romantic weekend getaway
84. Adopt a dog
85. Attend New York Fashion Week and Fashion’s Night Out
86. A beach trip in Cantabria
87. Run a political/social good boot camp for women
88. Provide a scholarship for a young woman majoring in political science
89. Take my child(ren) to enjoy the holiday lights in NYC
90. Interview Diane Ravitch for Poliogue
91. Ice Skate at Rockefeller Center
92. Give a TED talk
93. Get styled by a professional stylist
94. Take a real – turn off the phone – vacation every year
95. Observe the Supreme Court
96. Have a garden
97. Visit Central High School in Little Rock
98. Go to the Olympics
99. Learn to change a tire
100. Get my skin under control
*I was also inspired by Eden’s post where she mentioned her list for 2012.
**States left to experience: Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, Wyoming
***As in purchase a sewing machine. See also; guess who’s been watching way too much Project Runway??
****You can read about that travesty here
*****I got this idea from Allison Czarnecki. Best idea ever.
******Hey! You can vote for me to speak in 2012 right here. So handy.