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Madly

2001 was a pretty big year in my life. I bought my house on Greenmount and vowed to get rid of old baggage that blocked my happiness. I met Bill in the fall when we both began working for the Baltimore arts journal Link. We had met a few times, but I didn't have a strong impression of him until we spent the day dismantling the Link office and moving it into a storage unit. We lugged boxes of the journal and talked nonstop about art, music, and movies. I got a crush on him and was excited when we made plans to see David Lynch's Mulholland Drive. I wasn't sure if it was a "real" date, but he brought me a small Howard Finster painting!! We talked for hours after the movie and I was smitten by his sweet charm and deep intellect (he also wore the best floral vintage shirts!) Soon after we began dating and we have been together since. It hasn't always been easy, but I love him madly and I'm happy that I have such a fabulous husband!

For the past three years, Bill and I endured a long-distance relationship between Baltimore and Murfreesboro, Tennessee. I decided to give up the commute and this fall we're packing up the pets, icons, and lots of books to relocate to Los Angeles. It's my first adventure with a partner and I'm excited to see how our future may unfold on the sunny coast!

images from Madly

Family

There are six people in my immediate family, my father Delmar, my mother Maryellen and my three younger sisters, Pam, Angie, and Lisa. Growing up, we didn't have scheduled family time, but every so often we'd play Parcheesi or put a puzzle together. My sisters and I would become obsessed by working the puzzle and stayed up late to finish, often fighting over who got to put in the last piece. My sisters and I also loved to play the Catalog Game. We created the game which centered on the cherished Sears catalog. At the start of the game, each person had a cabin in the woods and nothing else. One would close their eyes, flip through the pages and slap their hand down on a random page, where one's hand landed would dictate their lot. We were always laughing riotously at the absurd twists of fate. I remember  getting pantyhose and a vacuum cleaner, when I really wanted a Barbie Styling Head (not practical, but we were always aiming for toys over appliances.) 

On Monday evening I did a puzzle with Pam and Lisa (we also had a some help from my Dad's cat Jaggers.) As could be predicted, Pam and I became obsessed by completing the puzzle and finished it before we went to bed.

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Vice

I eat too much sugar, curse often and sometimes drink more than I can reasonably handle. Even so, my worst vice is the NICOTINE! I am horrified to admit that I've smoked for nearly twenty years. I call myself a closet smoker, though many have witnessed my indulgence. I'm not one of those people who can say "I love smoking" though I do think it looks cool (see Marc Jacob's taking a drag.) Growing up I despised smoking. My father is a chain smoker and like many kids growing up in the 60s and 70s, I experienced my lot of smoke filled car rides with the windows shut tight. As a young person I was adamant in my distaste for the habit and I still hate the brown smell of my parents house.

Though I had resisted peer pressure throughout my college years, I fell into the nicotine pit in my mid-twenties. I was at a cross-roads in my life and lit up a cigarette on a pensive walk home from work one chilly Autumn night. At first I smoked a pack a month, relishing the quiet introspective moments of smoking. As time wore on, my intake increased and the habit became a way to "relax." While science shows that smoking is a stimulant, it always gave me the sense of a break from my focused mania.

I've tried to quit smoking on several occasions, and have failed. In the past year I was able to quit for seven months with the aid of Chantix.  Despite the nausea and wild flying dreams, it worked much better than anything I've tired in the past, but a stressful period in the fall derailed my plan. I quit smoking three weeks ago, once again with Chantix. I've slipped once, but I'm hopeful that I can finally break my nicotine addiction.

images from Vice