Jen: This is probably the only song about killing people by making them dance really hard
Jaime: Eh. What about “Hang the DJ?”
Jen: Oh, good point. But that’s the DJ dying.
Jaime: Yeah. But it’s still death and dancing.

We thought up some more songs that fit the theme. Are we missing any?

“Murder on the dance floor” by Sophie Ellis-Bextor

“Panic” by The Smiths (Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ!)

“Heads Will Roll” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs

“Disco Inferno” by The Trammps

“Death of Disco Dancer” by The Smiths

The jury’s still out on “Killing Me Softly” – it’s killing someone with music, but there’s no dancing involved…

First things first: straight to Burma Superstar for some Samusa soup

Almond croissant & soy latte on Fillmore

Driving to Reno

Mermaid Jaime at the wild seafood joint

Crazy bar with fantastic cover band that moved from Rick Springfield to Usher to Rolling Stones to GaGa like it was nothing

Goodbye, sunny Reno!

I chose this picture because it shows Jaime in in all of her Jaimeness — smilling and laughing at the joke. Le Refuge des Fondues, the restaurant we were at, served you wine in bottles. I’ve read that it’s to get around taxes on alcohol served in stemware, but really I think it’s just to see how ridiculous one can make a tourist act.

a photo of your best friend

Jaime is a good sport, November 2001

Through the magic of the blog, you can read what I wrote about our Paris trip in kind of real time. Neat, huh?

Still, it’s been nice to be without a signal. We still do some tiny screen, iPhone browsing when it’s neccesary, but by and large we’re kind of tuned out while at home. I’m spending much less of my free time faffing around online, which is a good thing. I thought I’d read more books, but actually I’m spending more time spacing out and napping – not something about which I’ll complain. Why am I typing Edwardian-style? I’m going back in time because I am so unused to this contraption with keys.

My break is almost over and I’m about to start a chat shift. I wonder if I’ll be a little slow – haven’t done this in a week or so! The dear old Library has been closed for a week due to budget cuts – our second unpaid Furlough in as many years. I didn’t mind it too much – took a quick trip down to visit Jaime in San Francisco and then Sky and I went on a little camping jaunt. The first few days were hard, though – walking to a dentist appointment I saw people waiting outside the library or walking up to the doors and reading the signs. As a patron I was dissappointed several times during the week when I went to go place a hold on something I’d heard about. I hope the budget gets some magical treatment so the Library doesn’t have to do this again next year.

Salty black licorice is delicious!

Oof! Time to go be a virtual librarian once again. I will leave you with a photo of what I’ll be popping into my mouth as I type: salty black licorice. I visited Miette while in San Francisco, and bought a nice large bag of these.

I didn’t get the sunshiney Valhalla I’d expected since it rained 90% of the time I was there, but that was fine. I caught some sunshine my first morning there as we drank boozy coffee on the huge porch. When it did rain, it was often in big, gusty sheets; watching the rain pound the water outside the window was fun, but seeing the poor birdies trying to fly against the wind wasn’t so great. Poor seagulls.

We had some excellent meals, including a lunch at the new branch of Burma Superstar which was just blocks from Jaime’s place! We also had some heavenly burritos and some ridiculously delicious french macaroons.

We watched two scary movies: Orphan and Paranormal Activity. We watched Orphan because it featured our mutual movie boyfriend Peter Sarsgaard. The plot to this one was fun and creative and I enjoyed that they took the time to build up a good story with interesting characters. Paranormal Activity wasn’t half as scary as I’d set it up to be, but it did give me the willies in a few spots. We also watched Up in the Air. I found it kinda depressing, but there were some interesting moments.

The last night I was there we stopped by the house of a friend of Jaime’s: we had some lovely wine (okay a lot of lovely wine) and hung out with the couple and their 9-year-old son who RULED. So often kids are left at home when parents go to visit or put down to sleep in a bedroom when company is over, but this family had their son hanging out with us for most of the evening. It was so fun – we played Spongebob SORRY! and drew pictures and giggled and played hide and seek. Seeing a well adjusted kid enjoying time with his parents yet letting them be adults and have conversations was pretty awesome.

We had plans to visit San Francisco and maybe drop in on some friends, but Monday morning we both woke with awful hangovers. I guess we aren’t 23 anymore. The storm was raging outside so we ordered pizza delivery and sat around chatting. We never left the 94501 zip code and I’m not one bit sorry. It felt like old times when we both lived in the city – back then we didn’t spend our time jetting from place to place trying to mark things off of a list. We just talked. Slept in. Read books together.

I came home, feeling a bit lonely but happy to see Sky. Then I was in Jury Duty for 2 days and got the worst haircut of my life. Both those things will have to wait for another post…

Our new little place is very cozy. Have I mentioned that yet? Cozy, cozy cozy! I get home in the evening and the radiators are popping and the cats are purring and I make some tea on our awesome-fast-gas range. I settle in with a book or maybe take a bath. The world is my oyster. Sky loves it in the mornings because he has something to watch (traffic, clouds, birds) while he drinks his morning coffee and it’s not cold and dark at all in the morning. The lights are cheery and the floor is warm.

I’ve been in touch with my sister a lot more than usual after our little sister vacation. That makes me happy. It always takes me a bit of time to get reacclimated to people I haven’t seen for awhile, including, sadly my family sometimes. So it’s been nice to keep in contact – easier to talk about small things and have a rapport. I’ve also been talking to Jaime more – or she’s been good at hassling me so that happens. I still fall too easily into being hermity, sometimes. I’m lucky to have a bestie who doesn’t let that happen too often.

We’re going to Chicago for Thanksgiving and I can’t wait! The last time I visited I was about 12 years old, so I don’t remember much of anything. This weekend my mom recalled how when she was little, they would drive up to Michigan for Thanksgiving, and on their way home they would always be sure to hit Chicago in the late evening. That way they could drive along State Street with little to no traffic and check out all of the pretty sparkly Christmas lights and store displays. I promised my mom I’d take a walk there and give her a report. I hope it snows (but only in the middle of the week so it doesn’t affect our flights).

Sky’s taking his first licensing exam today – it’s 4 hours long! Wish him good thoughts and a clear mind, okay?

Where I will be spending most of my vacation

I think I'm the only person who remembers this movie

*Do you see that Madonna reference I snuck in there? You get up again, over and over?

I haven’t listened to ‘Over the Ocean’ since Jaime and I saw Low play at Union Chapel in Islington. It was a gorgeous foggy night – the kind where every bit of sky is that deep mauve color, lit up by London lights. We were all packed into this amazing old church, sitting in wooden pews and looking way up through the windows at the pinky purple sky. You could almost hear the band breathing down on the pulpit. I was surreptitiously crying when they started to play this song – partly because the moment was so perfect, partly because it was a song I listened to frequently in my little garden flat when I was feeling lonely and missing Jaime, my parents, Elizabeth, everyone.

I haven’t listened to this song since; I didn’t do it on purpose, but something in my head must have kept me from putting this CD in the player for 18 months.

I cannot believe how my life has changed in the last 1.5 years. My person changed very significantly while I was abroad. I came back feeling like a stranger. Since then, my life has molded around the new Jen. I’m so pleased to see that some really important things (and more significantly, people) have remained constant.

So things are going well here in 2003. In London I thought “The next time a company goes belly up I’m going back to school. That’s it.” – Check. I also thought “I will never again go 8 months at a time without a hug.” – Check. I thought “I know now what true sadness and hopelessness feel like. I’ve seen the edge of what I can withstand and I made it. I’m not going to be scared of what can happen anymore.” – Check. I thought to myself “I need to let those I love know they are loved and how and why.” – (hopefully) Check. My last major revelation? “I’m completely certain who I am as a person now; I know what I want and who I want. Now I am ready to look for my bookend guy.” – Check. Check. Check.

Way to go Low, I opened up LiveJournal only to brag that I got straight A’s (I did! I did!) and instead I end up waxing theoretical and self-help booky. Sorry about that.