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Friday, November 28, 2003 ( 3:28 PM ) Girl Detective Envy I saw a friend last weekend who I hadn't seen in some time. She's an author and was at a book event, so we were frequently interrupted, but managed to get in some quality talk nonetheless. I'm only somewhat ashamed to admit it, but I am jealous of this friend. She writes like a dream. She has not only had her books (plural!) published, but they've won swanky AND meaningful awards. And she's able to make a living from being a writer, so she gave up her day job a while back and is now a Writer, full stop. Oh, and in case you're wondering, she's a nice person, too. Funny, smart. As I mentioned, I'm envious. Yet she was frank about how grueling her schedule is of late, and how her writing career has impacted her personal life. When I left, I was still envious, wrapped in visions that one day too I would be signing and chatting at a book event, with my books (though I've only yet written one, and there's an assload of editing yet to do on it) arrayed in front of me. And there's the problem. Because it's imaginary, it doesn't have to conform to real life. She was honest about the give and take in her life, yet I was mooning dreamily on the idea of the good stuff in my life plus the good stuff in hers. Silly, but as long as I can keep things in context--that wishful thinking is just that--then I'm OK. But when I let the wishful thinking bloom into unrealistic life expectations, that's when things can get dangerous. And the fact that I have to go back to work on Monday after many weeks off of maternity leave is not helping, to be sure. | Thursday, November 13, 2003 ( 3:53 PM ) Girl Detective T.V., oh T.V., why hast thou forsaken me? Each year I look forward to that wonderful annual event--the Entertainment Weekly guide to the fall television season. This year it coincided with my giving birth, so I had a nervous week in which I thought I'd missed it, but then snatched it up with delight one day at Barnes & Noble. As in years past, I devoured the descriptions, day by day. But with each day, my appetite became less. The pages I earmarked, both for new and returning shows, were few and half-hearted. And now, part way through the season, I feel abandoned by my old friend television, in this time when I could use it most. As an exhausted new mom with a frequently feeding baby I long for the delightful brief escape of T.V. Instead, I met again and again with disappointment. The new season of Angel? Dreadful. The long, barely intelligible speeches that the characters vomited up made me cringe. Karen Sisco? I am overly distracted by the too careful styling job on Carla Gugino's thin and normally wavy hair. Yes, she's a hottie, but that's not good hair. Oh, and the show? Boring, predictable, and featuring a curious and somewhat disturbing relationship with her father. Tru Calling? Ugh. Overdetermined and strangely unclever. The Handler? I love Joey Pants, but its cheesey, predictable stories only made me long wistfully for one of my all time favorite cancelled shows, EZ Streets. Ultimately I'm left with two returning shows: Scrubs, which in its third season is showing nothing new but is still funnier than just about anything else and The Simpsons, which can still make me laugh. And the only new show I find worth watching? Arrested Development. Here's hoping that a good, weird comedy does not go the way of the Tick. Two falls I had to limit what I watched so TV didn't get out of control. Perhaps one day there will be shows again to tempt me. Till then, I'm kill some time with Sesame Street and What Not to Wear. | |
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