tavie.com

Last night at dinner, as we were leaving On the Border, bellies full of fajita salad, Gina and I both stopped dead in our tracks, staring at each other, mouths dropped open in delight, as over the loudspeakers came Michael Penn's voice-- and not "No Myth", oh no! We heard,

You cut me to the quick
with some kind of abandon
and I'm pouring over every word in my mind...

Yes, they were playing "This and That"!

Well, it was exciting. I'd never heard a non-No Myth song in a public place before (other than an Acoustic Vaudeville concert.)

Why are you in Tavie's head? 3:31 PM | shower me with attention

Ade calls reading things in blogs "learning by way of rumour". Never has this felt truer to me than today, when, from reading Goose's blog, I was able to skim between the lines sufficiently to surmise that Matt has chosen to go to Yale. (Mint Manor exploded with joy, as we often have conversations along the following lines:
"Well, any of the three-- Yale, Brown, or Harvard-- would be okay..."
"Yes, but I'd prefer Yale because it's closest."
"If Vassar is an option that would also be okay because it's about equidistant..."
"Yes, but I do think Yale would be the best."
"Yes, I choose Yale. Do we get a vote?")
thereby perpetuating the comforting, if pathetic, illusion that after the Wunderduo head off to college that we'll still be able to actually see them, pretend we know them, by way of visit and other such contact.

Therefore, I firmly set my foot down upon the notion of Chicago and crush it with my mustard-coloured hi-top-to-be. (Do I get a vote?)

Why are you in Tavie's head? 3:24 PM | shower me with attention

Friday, April 05, 2002

Do you know how difficult it is to find mustard-coloured Converse All Stars in size 7.5 (men's) online? It's impossible to find them in person, and nearly impossible online. But, thanks to this place, they are on their way. Praise baby jebus.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 9:21 PM | shower me with attention

Instead of seeing David Sedaris in Englewood this Sunday night, I will be in Westchester celebrating my uncle's 50th birthday.

I think you know what I say to that. (Hint: it's a palindrome. Other hint: backwards it spells "p-o-o-p".)

I'm at Mint Manor now, 'cause it's Thursday night and that's where I like to be, Thursday eve through Monday morn, unless otherwise called away.

I bought a pair of capri pants today so that my tattoo will be visible in the warm months. That's a fascinating fact and I'm so glad I shared it.

Gina and I watched the DVD-commentary of Same Guys, New Dresses and, consequently, I am quite worn out with constant laughter.

Why is it that I do not believe that overweight people are inherently unlovable, and yet the chief reason I do not love myself is because I am fat? That can't make sense. It should mean that I can't love fat people, and yet many of the people I love most in the world are overweight. It is puzzling to me. What is the meaning of this?

In my head now is Rush's "Time Stand Still". Really scary. I do an amusing imitation of the guy from Rush singing the words "time stand still". Well, amusing to me. Me and only me. Yet I keep doing it, just as I doggedly insisted on repeating that scene from Family Ties that amused me so last weekend, to the sound of crickets every time. ("You listen here, buster!" "Don't call me "buster", Keaton!" "I didn't call you Buster Keaton!") Because my most important audience... is me. Fatso.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 1:31 AM | shower me with attention

Thursday, April 04, 2002

It's twisted but altogether correct, in my mind, that my heart swells more with relief for the order of the world than pride for my Ivy League babies. Because I don't exagerrate in the slightest when I say that if those various and sundry prestigious institutions for some reason didn't "accept" (accept? beg! plead! offer candy and gifts!) them, those institutions would indeed have lost any credibility they may have had in my eyes. A Harvard diploma would be worth little more than a receipt from Mandee's. It honestly would.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 3:27 AM | shower me with attention

There's no sleep; there's none.

I wasted the hour I could have been watching Family Ties finishing Black House and trying to sleep. Now there's nothing on. I have Mel Gibson being Hamlet in the background, I think.

I think this is the most uncreative period of my life thus far. Certainly, I've never been terribly creative, but I think I'm at some sort of new low. None of my thoughts or sentences are original. All I say is "poop" and "Kids in the Hall rule". I don't care much right now but I think soon it will catch up to me.

I left my other books at Gina's and I can't find anything I feel like reading.

I have to go to the doctor tomorrow to get a new prescription. I hope I get up on time. Because, you know, if I don't, then I'll have no Effexor and that will be bad.

I'm trying to remember the last time I thought something new or drew a picture or something or made up a silly rhyme to pass the time. I'm even singing the same damn songs over and over again and it's getting really tiresome.

And then fire shot down from the sky...
or
There once was a boy named Pierre...
or
Was that me? Was that him? Did a Prince really kiss me?

Poop.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 3:16 AM | shower me with attention

Wednesday, April 03, 2002

Slow day.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 7:30 PM | shower me with attention

Tuesday, April 02, 2002

My mom is currently begging my sister to let Lily have some of Kirsten's chicken. Lily being the cat whom my mom claims not to love. It is the cutest damn thing. "But the Lily loves the chicken!" Mom pleads.

"Well, she's not getting it," insists hard-hearted Kirsten..

"But look, she wants some!" Mom sighs. "Look at her! Pleeeeease give her some chicken!"

And we wonder why they steal food off the table.

Anyway. My professor pushed back the midterm to April 11th. That's right. April 11th. The night I have tickets to see the Kids in Wallingford. I spent the whole class tense and grumpy, but learned at the end of class that it will indeed be possible for me to take a make-up exam. Hooray!

Why are you in Tavie's head? 9:15 PM | shower me with attention

sarah's new blog design is beautiful.

I want to learn how to use Illustrator.

There was something else but I forgot.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 6:52 PM | shower me with attention

I talked to Kitana on the phone today before my meds even kicked in when I woke up, so the day started positively, and got email from Ade who is on the road on her way back home in the midst of an April blizzard. I'm at school now about to take my midterm (I think it's today-- I really wish I could find my syllabus) and my back aches a bit but other than that I'm just sort of groggy and feeling thrown back into real life. Hopefully this feeling won't last long. Too much real life at one stretch is just no fun.

I just drank a cup of coffee faster than any person ever has in the history of coffee. I may yet throw up.

I have my San Francisco airline tickets.

I still haven't picked a volume/poet for my final paper. Suggestions? Please? Surely someone has a favourite "modern" (published before WWII) poet and can recommend a book of their poems for me to read and write about. Surely.

My friend Steph (non-Toronto, non-Texas, non-Roosevelt Island-- think of her as Erica-Steph, since the three of us met in kindergarten) turned 23 yesterday and, my friends, that is too old for someone to be turning. Aren't we all six years old? Huh?

Why are you in Tavie's head? 6:36 PM | shower me with attention

One of us, one of us, one of us...

Craig Northey is such a total fan. I can't help but love him. I would like to meet him, but wouldn't know what to say other than that. Oh, well.

I know what I need to be doing now, and that's studying, but I'm distracted. I am drinking milk. I think I am only going to drink milk from now on, because it robs me of my appetite. Good deal.

I am all achy today. I think that fall I took yesterday was worse than I thought; when I sit for prolonged periods my lower back hurts on the right side, and I can't lift my right leg for long without it hurting. So now it comes to this; I have complained about having the body of a 70-year-old woman, and now it appears I actually do have one. If it doesn't stop hurting I guess I'll need to have it checked out. Fuckety fuck, why don't I just take my knitting and my crosswords and my aching back and crawl into a grave.

But, no, I'd miss all the KITH shows then! So I won't until at least June.

Study, right. Study...

Why are you in Tavie's head? 3:07 PM | shower me with attention

Monday, April 01, 2002

First things first: I love Paul Bellini. I ordered his new CD months ago and had not yet received it. Today I finally came "home" from Mint Manor and found a package with the CD in it and an autographed picture inscribed, "Tunes for Tavie, Love, Paul Bellini". Mind you, I simply ordered it with a credit card, no little cutesy note or anything. But Mr Bellini made the great mental leap from "Octavia" to "Tavie" and knew it was me.

And, you know how I've been complaining lately about not finding pants that fit me properly? Mr Bellini addresses this very issue in a song on his CD. Brilliance.

Elsewise, I met Gina tonight and we went to see "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged", which my mom had gotten us tickets for. I saw it years ago and boy do I not remember it sucking so badly. We left at intermission. It was just a big pile of suck. Then we went to a restaurant that was utterly disappointing and moaned about not being with Kitana and Ade and Toronto Steph at the KITH show in Toronto. The evening was not entirely lost, however: Gina had bought me a JESUS ACTION FIGURE! It's so cool!! He's going to have all sorts of adventures! And, amusingly, Gina dropped a ketchup-y french fry down her cleavage at the snooty restaurant. That was fun.

I got an A- on that poetry paper, which is fine with me.

Midterm in linguistics tomorrow. It better be worth missing Toronto for.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 10:54 PM | shower me with attention

I love this time, when everyone is full of beautiful stories. I especially love serra's Mark tale. For, you know, Mark is god again.

I fell down Gina's stairs this morning. Scraped my thumb open on the carpet and banged my back. I am fine. The moral of the story is, always take the Gleemonex before navigating the stairs. Yes, I scared the cat.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 12:50 PM | shower me with attention

This is an approximation of the Linn dollie. In real life, the "Dunk Me" is embroidered on badly and the glasses are black pipe cleaners, and the blue shorts are more underwear-like. But this is pretty close.

Scott said she looked like a character from "Thunderbirds". He got all excited about that and started going through characters. And of course I was all excited because "Thunderbirds" is an inside joke for me and Ade. So he's going, "What's her name, Princess Marina! You know what I mean?" and I'm going, "I'm only familiar with the Dud and Pete parody" and Ade is off to the side going, "Superthunderstingcar!" and meanwhile Scott is sitting there holding this doll of Linn.

Chicken Tavie loves life.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 1:02 AM | shower me with attention

Sunday, March 31, 2002

I think I'm in love with this man. It's not even the KITH entries that did it; it was this.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 9:39 PM | shower me with attention

Every time I say the word "poop" Gina scolds me. I find that very funny.

The Kids in the Hall are gods.

Ummmmmmm. Blaaah. I wrote a long post on the newsgroup and I don't feel like talking about it anymore tonight. But I wanted to blog something else.

I can't believe how short our time with Ade and Kitana was. I miss them twice as much as I did before. There was this amazing moment last night in our hotel room where we're all just crowded around in a big loving heap, watching bonobos (chimp-like apes) at the zoo on the viewscreen of Ade's tiny little video camera. It was a perfect moment.

My other favourite moment was when we were picking up our tickets for the London show. It was late afternoon and there was that really lovely golden sunshine coming in the glass doors, and suddenly Mark was in front of us. He'd spotted us from in the theatre and had to come over to chat. And also, I can't be "mad" at him about the StarTV thing anymore because at the HMV signing he said, rather urgently, that he had to speak to me about something on the newsgroup.

"I didn't do it!" I said.

"Nononononononono, it's not that, I was misquoted on the newsgroup. I need to you to clear my name."

Although I was curious, at this point there were a hundred fans behind me with their time to have their DVDs signed growing perilously short, so I said, "Well.... email me," knowing full well that he would never remember to. But I'm going to ask him next time I see him, because I really want the name-clearing to be about that Star TV thing that we all had such fun bitching about recently.

Himelfarb exclaimed, "Tahvie!" when he saw me. I think he does it on purpose to piss me off. He's a funny man. (Did my dryness come across there?)

Oh. Gina is an amazing driver.

Cheryl took a picture of my tattoo but will she actually install the software for her digital camera so she can upload it?

I showed the tattoo to Crissy, which was really fun.

I didn't actually expect Matt to cry when he got his tattoo. Sheesh. And he's much braver than I, for his tattoo is much bigger than mine, from the sound of it. He's brave. I'm a big nelly bottom.

Big nelly bottom, big nelly bottom! Can you use that phrase as a verb? "Stop big nelly bottoming and come help me lift this amp!" Hm.

School tomorrow. Bleagh.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 9:19 PM | shower me with attention

I can't even talk about it; I'm in a cloud of happiness and that's all there is to it. I am a happy little cloud.

Why are you in Tavie's head? 7:43 PM | shower me with attention