Buddha Steps In? - Thursday, May 26, 2007

OneL, Weens, Mamalisa and I went down to Chinatown for a dim sum lunch on Thursday. We've been trying to find a day when we weren't all too busy for almost two years. It takes about 15 minutes to get downtown from Toluca Lake if the traffic's good, but one can never really count on that. Finally made it back to the Golden Dragon.

On our way out, some one suggested that I take a photo of the 4 1/2 foot tall happy Buddha in the lobby. (He looks a lot like the white porcelain one in my yard at home.) Later, Weens pointed out that the minute or so we spent doing that put us in exactly the right place at the right time a few seconds later.

We walked from the dim restaurant onto the bright street. I paused to snap another photo, thinking that this guy, who sits atop the Phoenix Bakery--reminded me of a Chinese Big Boy.


We started moving toward the parking lot when a woman in her sixties cried out for help, "Catch her!" An elderly woman, presumably her mother, was collapsing right there on the street. Mamalisa was quick and caught her under the arms. All of us were trying to support the tiny woman, but even her slight 90 or so pounds was difficult as she was completely slack.

The daughter asked for a chair, so I ran back into the restaurant, grabbed a chair, and said to the hostess, "I'm taking this outside. Someone's in trouble." She followed me out and offered to call 911. The daughter explained that they'd just come from the doctor, and her mother just needed a few minutes.

If I were a better photographer--but maybe less of a person--I would have snapped a shot of the woman sitting in the ornate chair on the sidewalk.

Weens suggested that the moment we spent with the Buddha changed our timing in a positive way.

Better Than A Silk Purse - Wednesday 4/25/2007

Luna was here on Tuesday. She had a brand new pig-shaped chew toy, which she almost immediately started pulling the stuffing out of. I sewed up the pig's back, but after we played with it for a little while, the ears came off!

The next morning I found the ears arranged like a heart on the edge of my desk!

Weens saw more than sow's ears.

Roadside Memorial #2 - Tuesday 4/24/2007

Do you need to know the context of this photograph for it to be interesting? The weeds and the combination of articles make it feel intimate to me, even though I was standing along the fairly well traveled Sierra Highway (north of Vasquez Canyon Road).


Dara Folsom was 18. This is a fairly straight stretch of Sierra Highway. I wonder what happened.


I found a photo of Dara on a myspace page by Googling her name. There's a boy in the photo with her, and they look happy. The boy's name on the file isn't Andrew, whose last name is illegible on the second marker. The young woman who posted the photograph has graduated from high school and moved south.

You can't see it here, but the earth between the road and these memorials was bulldozed fairly recently, and there's a battered license plate still in the frame nearby. Seems possible that it has been there these past 2 1/2 years and was recently uncovered by the bulldozing.

Oh... Yo Yo Doh. - Monday 4/23/2007

It was a blue sky day in the world and in my tiny tiny mind.

I went to lunch with people I work with on CSI: Miami (clearance co-ordinator, script co-ordinator and CBS lawyer). This tradtion was started when the previous clearance co-ordinator and I decided to get together for lunch and even though she's gone now, we've kept it up. It's fun because we all talk or email just about daily but otherwise never see each other.

This kind of tradition is rare, because most shows don't last long enough for them to get started. Sometimes I get to meet my contacts at Christmas or wrap parties, which is fun but also more stressful. [There's a whole long post in me about dressing for this sort of thing...but later.]

We went to La Piazza at The Grove. You'll just have to imagine what a perfectly lovely day it was. I arrived a little early, poked around at Crate & Barrel (where I refrained from buying the dozen or so gadgets and little bowls I fondled), and didn't take a photograph.

We had a two hour lunch during which we talked about the show, censorship, the CSI franchise, Paris, and my novel. I didn't feel like a complete fraud talking about my unsold first novel and the second one that I set aside after about 150 pages to do NaNoWriMo, and my progress on the NaNoWriMo novel. Last week I was so frustrated that I would have. This week, I found I actually had some helpful things to say to the script coordinator when he asked if he could pick my brain for info about novel writing, after lunch.

I had my camera with me and OneL had asked me to get a picture of my co-lunchers since she covers the show when I'm out and the CBS lawyer also handles CSI: New York, which she works on (and CSI Classic as we call it around the office--Weens does that one), but-- Yeah, you got it. I forgot to take a photograph.

So, here's your consolation prize. A shot of the clear blue sky above my driveway. [shrugs] You take what you can get some days.

Out Write Nice Afternoon - Sunday 4/22/2007

Sunday afternoon I went to Panera in Palmdale for some writing time. I was all satisfied with myself for having helped Hydra clean the house and having found 3 books at Barnes and Noble that I was willing to bring home. Unfortunately, not the new Walter Mosley book This Year You Write Your Novel, which I stood and read parts of in the store. (Not to say that the slim volume is not worth purchasing, I just went elsewhere with my money.)

Meantime, if you write check out the amazing NPR interview with Walter Mosley. It's inspiring and interesting, and he's written 25 books, about half of which I've read and enjoyed. His point of view on writing resonates with me. (Thanks to the Elegant E and Tomasina for recommending it!)

Back to the books for a moment. I picked up two novels (The History of Love by Nicole Krauss and This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M. Homes) so I'll have something to read on the plane on my vacay- vacay- vacation! The cashier enthused about The History of Love, which I'd heard from my writing group was good and didn't want to wait any longer to borrow. I'm enjoying it a lot. Also bought What Would Your Character Do? by Eric Maisel and Ann Maisel. I like writing books and this looks like a fun way to explore characters.

Okay, go ahead. Do it. You know you want to. You want to click on the picture and see what you can read in my notebook. You think I might be writing about you, don't you?

Well, I might be.

But I'm probably thinking about the themes for my novel, which is temporarily titled Basura Canyon.

Tujunga Dam - Saturday 4/21/2007

I keep hearing that this year is one of the driest on record for Los Angeles County. We drove Big Tujunga Canyon home from errands on Saturday and passed the Tujunga Dam. Levels are low.

So Much Depends... Friday 4/20/2007

upon a red tomato in a blue bowl


With apologies to William Carlos Williams.