Working in a bookstore, you see almost everything. Really, working retail, you see almost everything, but book retail in and of itself seems to have its own unique set of... 'customer challenges' to overcome.
I love the people who come in and say, "I'm looking for a book-- it was on one of your tables somewhere up front there about 3 months ago and it was blue. What was it?" I love people who come in and say, "I saw a book on the news this morning. I don't know the title, I don't know the author, and I don't really know what it was about, but it looked interesting." I love the people who come in and say, "I'm looking for a particular book, but all I know about it is that it has the word 'The' in the title." I love the people who are completely surprised that you, as a bookseller, haven't actually read every single book in the store. And I love the people who come in looking for a book that they don't really want to read.
I'm not talking about kids in school, either. Believe me, I remember being in high school and being assigned book after book after book to read for my Honors English classes. You'd think, as an avid reader, that that would have been a joyous assignment for me, but really, it bred me to loathe certain works or certain authors. And I loathed them for nothing other than the sheer fact that I was being forced to read them at a point in time where I either a) couldn't really connect to what I was reading, or b) was so completely bogged down with schoolwork and extra-curriculars that I simply didn't have the time to sit and decipher 300+ pages of text for theme, symbolism, metaphors, etc, etc, etc. And most of the time, there was a lot of both a and b going on. I will freely admit that Cliffs Notes became my best friends. They got me through Great Expectations, The Once and Future King, The Scarlet Letter, Walden, Julius Caesar...
It's not that I didn't try to actually read them-- I did. I really did want to delve into these classics and become immersed in them, but I very easily got bogged down in the language, or in the endless pages of dry and boring narrative, and the book quickly lost my interest. I remember only a few books that I really enjoyed being made to read: Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler, Tara Road by Maeve Binchy, Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut.... and I think that's it. I remember the projects I had to do in my Junior year, though, where I had to pick a piece of classic literature, not from any set list, but just something that I wanted to read (teacher approved, of course), and do a creative project about it. I chose Pygmalion, Green Mansions, Breakfast at Tiffany's (notice the Audrey Hepburn theme there), and To Kill a Mockingbird.
QUESTION: What was the difference between these classics and the ones that I simply couldn't seem to get through?
ANSWER: That I wanted to read them.
Now, I am not advocating taking reading assignments out of the school. Quite the contrary. I think making kids read is a good thing. Otherwise, many of them would simply choose not to do it at all and then where would society be? Do I think that kids should have a bit more choice in their reading curriculum? Definitely. It made English assignments a lot more fun for me. Do I think classics should go by the wayside? Absolutely not! They are classics for a reason and deserve to be read and studied. Some people actually enjoy them. Should they be taught differently? Well... that might help. Because let me tell you, if I was reading The Great Gatsby simply to engross myself in the story rather than committing 'murder of enjoyment of a novel by means of forced over-analysis', I'll bet you any money that I would have liked it more. Or liked it at all. (Note to teachers: discussion after reading= good. Worksheets to be filled out as you're reading= bad. And now they make kids highlight in 5 different colors and take notes in the margins and practically desecrate the book in the process of reading!)
But the point I'm trying to make here (in a long, roundabout way) is that there are so many adults out there who are looking for books... books that no one is forcing them to read, that they have some interest in-- interest enough it inquire about them at the bookstore-- but that they don't have any desire in actually reading.
For instance, the man who asked me if we had Cormac McCarthy's No Country For Old Men and after I found it for him, asked me if we instead had it in graphic novel form because he had been watching the movie and really liked it, but somehow missed the ending and just wanted to see how the story wrapped up. Or the people who come in looking for audio books because they have no desire to actually sit down and read a book-- they just want the story recited to them. All of the fun and none of the work.
Don't get me wrong-- I love audio books. I mean, have you heard the ones for the Harry Potter series? Jim Dale, who narrates them, uses HUNDREDS of fantastic and unique character voices. I have never heard a book come so alive on tape. In fact, I've been listening to HP & the Deathly Hallows in the car for the past week or so. They're a great form of entertainment during the times when I literally cannot read at the moment: behind the wheel, or running at the gym.
But there is nothing like actually sitting down and reading a book-- using your imagination to envision the world that the author has created, instead of letting someone else interpret that world for you. As a book lover, I just don't understand the desire to gravitate away from the traditional printed page. I know that any interest in reading is good interest. Would I rather have someone listen to an audio book or read a graphic novel than not read a book in any form at all? 100% of course. But why are some people so determined to shy away from the actual novel? Where did this come from? Is this a recent thing? Has the invention of the graphic novel and the rise of the audio book possibly hurt the traditional novel format? I don't have any sort of an answer to that, but customers like the ones I mentioned certainly make me wonder, make me think.
Or is it because they were forced to read books that were uninteresting to them in their early school years? Did that tarnish their enjoyment of reading later on? I've loved books from the time I was born, but it certainly did for me, at least in some ways. Give me anything with any period language in it and my eyes glaze over. However, I still have Emma, The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Oliver Twist sitting on my bookshelf, waiting for me to read them... someday... No promises about how soon that's actually going to happen. I still do want to read them, though, so I guess I'm probably a little atypical. Maybe my own experiences don't really figure into answering this.
I'd love to ask these people where this aversion to actual books comes from. Were they not big readers to begin with? Did Dickens and all his 'paid by the word' description scare them away? Was War and Peace too intimidating because you could probably use it to fill in the space of any missing bricks on your house? Did they start reading The Jungle, thinking it was about exotic animals and safaris only to find that the animals in question weren't lions but cows, and that they would never again be able to look at a hamburger in the same way again?
Or is it plain and simple laziness? Are Cliff and his notes somewhat to blame? Have we become such a 'quick fix' society that we automatically look for the easiest way out? To those of us who enjoy reading, that idea is simply ludicrous. But to those for whom reading is somewhat of a chore...
I had to keep myself from laughing the other day at the high school student who asked me if we had Cliffs Notes for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. Read the book, I told them. Not only because, no, Cliff has not taken notes on that yet, but because it was good. I read it all in one night. You'll probably like it. You're lucky you get to read that instead of, oh, say... The Awakening, like I had to read in high school. Of course, when I was that age, on the search for Cliffs Notes for Moby Dick (which they do have, thank God, and which, yes, I know, would be incredibly hard to read in one night), if a bookseller had said the same thing to me, I probably would have hurt them.
And, I swear, if anyone today comes in and asks for Cliffs Notes for any Jodi Picoult novel, I will seriously have to hurt them too.
:)
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Artsy Fartsies
One of my teachers has consistently told me during my blue times that "artsy fartsies" are the people who get rejected the most, due to the very nature of our careers, and yet, we are the people who feel the pain of rejection the deepest. We take things to heart, the hearts we wear our on our sleeves.
Nothing could be more true.
I have become accustomed to rejection-- after all, I am an actress. People think that actors and actresses' jobs are working in their preferred medium, but really, auditioning is the job. The project you get is the payoff, the icing on the cake. In good times, I would be going on 3 to 4 auditions a week, maybe even more. In current times, when theatres are cutting budgets and tending to cast more within their 'pools' rather than holding auditions, that number is significantly less, and because of that, the auditions become even more valuable. Not only that, but as I have progressed in my career, I've stopped auditioning for anything and everything that comes along, but have become more choosy about what I go out for, auditioning only for the projects that look like they would really be a good fit for me, personally or professionally, and most importantly, the things that I really WANT to spend my time on.
That means the rejection is all the harder. Not only am I being rejected, I am being rejected from the things I most want to do.
I'm not complaining-- I know that this is the life I've chosen for myself and the rejection just comes along with the territory. And I can handle it. Really, I can. I am a big believer in the saying, 'Everything happens for a reason'. And I do believe that. It's just that sometimes... the reason isn't all that apparent. And sometimes, it doesn't matter if there's a reason for what happens; it just plain sucks.
I don't get blue about losing parts all that often. That's because I try to remind myself that there are other things around the bend. Another audition next week. Another show that's coming up that I want to do. But sometimes, when I have no auditions on the immediate horizon, when there are no other shows going up in the near future that I am interested in, when I lose a show that I love, or a role that I'm dying to play, or when it's a production that I would sell my soul to the devil to be in... I get in a total funk when things don't go my way. And even though I know that I must have some modicum of talent-- I've done professional theatre, I get called in for good shows with good companies based on things they've seen me do-- I admit... I start to doubt myself.
And I know that I shouldn't. I know that I shouldn't let the business get to me like that. After all, I chose to live this crazy life. It was my decision, and I knew what I was getting myself into when I started down this path. But I can't help it. It does get to me. Does that mean that I ever consider quitting? No. Absolutely not. That's because performing is my life- I eat, sleep and breathe it. It's what I love to do more than anything. It defines me. And without it-- if something ever happened where I couldn't do it anymore-- I would be completely lost. I will feel like I have lost my identity. But I let it get into my head and I start to wonder, "What's wrong with me?" It becomes personal, even though so much of what goes on in the casting process, I know, isn't.
I let it hurt me more than it probably should. I get a case of what Holly Golightly called "The Mean Reds". I lock myself in my room. I either don't eat or eat too much (usually the latter). There is usually a significant amount of crying and an even more significant amount of moping. I sleep. I don't want to talk to anyone and if my family dares try to ask me questions or even worse, hold a conversation, I snap at them. Basically, it's like a major bout of depression. I don't know how long it will last, but it makes going about my day to day life a chore. It's an effort to drag myself out of the solace of my room to do the things that need to be done, like going to work or to a doctors appointment or whatever may be on my to-do list. I basically go into mourning. It's stupid, I know. To get depressed about something that to most people, seems so trivial. But to us artsy fartsies, one blow like that can feel like the whole world has come crashing down around us.
And that feeling lasts for awhile, sometimes a few days, sometimes longer. And then it's over. I move on. If I wasn't always able to do that at some point, I would start to think that I had major problems and needed some professional help. But somehow, something always comes along that pulls me up, even if it's just the ability to finally shift my mindset from 'poor me' to 'I'll show you.' I'll work harder, I'll climb the ladder, I'll be important someday. Someday, I'll prove to you that I'm good enough. Sometimes, that's all I have to get me through the mean red periods. The thought of the future, of what I want to be, of where I want to be, of what I want to do with the rest of my life.
Sometimes, it really sucks to feel so deeply. My lows are really low, but on the other hand, my highs are really high. Because my emotions run so deep, I am able to empathize well with other people. I can be a good sounding board for my friends and my family during their rough times because I can put myself in their shoes and really understand what they're going through. It probably makes me a much better actress and a much better writer because I am able to pour all that emotion into the characters I create on the stage and on the page.
But at times like these, it just makes me ache all over.
Boy, I guess it's a good thing I don't date very much, isn't it? All these artsy fartsy highs and lows wading though the murky waters of the dating pool...
Nothing could be more true.
I have become accustomed to rejection-- after all, I am an actress. People think that actors and actresses' jobs are working in their preferred medium, but really, auditioning is the job. The project you get is the payoff, the icing on the cake. In good times, I would be going on 3 to 4 auditions a week, maybe even more. In current times, when theatres are cutting budgets and tending to cast more within their 'pools' rather than holding auditions, that number is significantly less, and because of that, the auditions become even more valuable. Not only that, but as I have progressed in my career, I've stopped auditioning for anything and everything that comes along, but have become more choosy about what I go out for, auditioning only for the projects that look like they would really be a good fit for me, personally or professionally, and most importantly, the things that I really WANT to spend my time on.
That means the rejection is all the harder. Not only am I being rejected, I am being rejected from the things I most want to do.
I'm not complaining-- I know that this is the life I've chosen for myself and the rejection just comes along with the territory. And I can handle it. Really, I can. I am a big believer in the saying, 'Everything happens for a reason'. And I do believe that. It's just that sometimes... the reason isn't all that apparent. And sometimes, it doesn't matter if there's a reason for what happens; it just plain sucks.
I don't get blue about losing parts all that often. That's because I try to remind myself that there are other things around the bend. Another audition next week. Another show that's coming up that I want to do. But sometimes, when I have no auditions on the immediate horizon, when there are no other shows going up in the near future that I am interested in, when I lose a show that I love, or a role that I'm dying to play, or when it's a production that I would sell my soul to the devil to be in... I get in a total funk when things don't go my way. And even though I know that I must have some modicum of talent-- I've done professional theatre, I get called in for good shows with good companies based on things they've seen me do-- I admit... I start to doubt myself.
And I know that I shouldn't. I know that I shouldn't let the business get to me like that. After all, I chose to live this crazy life. It was my decision, and I knew what I was getting myself into when I started down this path. But I can't help it. It does get to me. Does that mean that I ever consider quitting? No. Absolutely not. That's because performing is my life- I eat, sleep and breathe it. It's what I love to do more than anything. It defines me. And without it-- if something ever happened where I couldn't do it anymore-- I would be completely lost. I will feel like I have lost my identity. But I let it get into my head and I start to wonder, "What's wrong with me?" It becomes personal, even though so much of what goes on in the casting process, I know, isn't.
I let it hurt me more than it probably should. I get a case of what Holly Golightly called "The Mean Reds". I lock myself in my room. I either don't eat or eat too much (usually the latter). There is usually a significant amount of crying and an even more significant amount of moping. I sleep. I don't want to talk to anyone and if my family dares try to ask me questions or even worse, hold a conversation, I snap at them. Basically, it's like a major bout of depression. I don't know how long it will last, but it makes going about my day to day life a chore. It's an effort to drag myself out of the solace of my room to do the things that need to be done, like going to work or to a doctors appointment or whatever may be on my to-do list. I basically go into mourning. It's stupid, I know. To get depressed about something that to most people, seems so trivial. But to us artsy fartsies, one blow like that can feel like the whole world has come crashing down around us.
And that feeling lasts for awhile, sometimes a few days, sometimes longer. And then it's over. I move on. If I wasn't always able to do that at some point, I would start to think that I had major problems and needed some professional help. But somehow, something always comes along that pulls me up, even if it's just the ability to finally shift my mindset from 'poor me' to 'I'll show you.' I'll work harder, I'll climb the ladder, I'll be important someday. Someday, I'll prove to you that I'm good enough. Sometimes, that's all I have to get me through the mean red periods. The thought of the future, of what I want to be, of where I want to be, of what I want to do with the rest of my life.
Sometimes, it really sucks to feel so deeply. My lows are really low, but on the other hand, my highs are really high. Because my emotions run so deep, I am able to empathize well with other people. I can be a good sounding board for my friends and my family during their rough times because I can put myself in their shoes and really understand what they're going through. It probably makes me a much better actress and a much better writer because I am able to pour all that emotion into the characters I create on the stage and on the page.
But at times like these, it just makes me ache all over.
Boy, I guess it's a good thing I don't date very much, isn't it? All these artsy fartsy highs and lows wading though the murky waters of the dating pool...
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
What's a writer to write about?
So, in typical Jeny fashion, I start this wonderful new blog, then get busy and don't update in a few days... I fear that this may become a trend... But, one of the reasons I wanted to create a blog was to keep myself writing, especially on the days when, in the course of working on my novel, the writers block hits me head on. So, I will persevere and make it a goal- a promise to anyone reading, really- to be more on the ball here...
One of the main fears I had when first thinking about blogging is that no one would care about what I wrote. It's so much different being a novelist. Then, you're telling a story. And even though it is YOUR story, it's actually not. The story belongs to your characters. It is their lives that you are transposing on to the page and therefore, so much easier to believe that what they have to share with the world is worthwhile. Meanwhile, me sitting here at my laptop and pounding out my thoughts and stories and ideas seems so... naked. That's right. I feel naked. Exposed. I no longer have the comfy quilt of my characters and their lives to hide behind. This is just me. And sometimes, I fear that 'just me' isn't interesting enough. I'm not always witty. I'm not always incredibly insightful. I'm not inherently funny. I can have my moments of sarcasm, but sometimes, that's about as entertaining as it's going to get.
And along these lines, I've had issues about coming up with blog topics. What do I write about each day? A blog is almost like a very public diary. What do I dare compose, not forgetting that everything posted here goes straight out into the infinite universe and is available indefinitely for anyone and everyone to see? Things posted online can make or break a person. It's a little daunting, I must say.
So, I guess we are on this wild ride together, dear readers... whoever you are... if, indeed, there are any of you out there... These are new waters for both of us- me sharing my random musings and you venturing into my world. I hope that I do not fail you.
One of the main fears I had when first thinking about blogging is that no one would care about what I wrote. It's so much different being a novelist. Then, you're telling a story. And even though it is YOUR story, it's actually not. The story belongs to your characters. It is their lives that you are transposing on to the page and therefore, so much easier to believe that what they have to share with the world is worthwhile. Meanwhile, me sitting here at my laptop and pounding out my thoughts and stories and ideas seems so... naked. That's right. I feel naked. Exposed. I no longer have the comfy quilt of my characters and their lives to hide behind. This is just me. And sometimes, I fear that 'just me' isn't interesting enough. I'm not always witty. I'm not always incredibly insightful. I'm not inherently funny. I can have my moments of sarcasm, but sometimes, that's about as entertaining as it's going to get.
And along these lines, I've had issues about coming up with blog topics. What do I write about each day? A blog is almost like a very public diary. What do I dare compose, not forgetting that everything posted here goes straight out into the infinite universe and is available indefinitely for anyone and everyone to see? Things posted online can make or break a person. It's a little daunting, I must say.
So, I guess we are on this wild ride together, dear readers... whoever you are... if, indeed, there are any of you out there... These are new waters for both of us- me sharing my random musings and you venturing into my world. I hope that I do not fail you.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
About Me
Well, I've decided to start a blog. It's something I've thought about doing for awhile now, but I always thought, "Who would actually care enough to read something like that?". Well, I don't know, but I'm putting it out there anyway, if for nothing else, to get myself writing more. And, if people happen to enjoy reading it, well, BONUS!
So, I assume that most people who will be reading these first few posts are going to be people who already know me in some way, shape or form, but if, for some reason, you are new to the life of Jeny, let me share some little tidbits about myself...
TOP TEN THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT JENY....
1) I work as an actress and a singer who works retail to help pay the bills. I live in the suburbs of Chicago, so most of my performances are in the greater Chicagoland area, but I am hoping to make the move to NYC to pursue my dream of performing on Broadway sometime in the near future.
2) I am also a writer. I've been working my first novel for almost 11 years now. The first draft was supposed to be my college project, but between classes and homework and performing and my job, it took me 5 years to finish and it was a tome. I've re-written the book many times and am currently on what I think may be the last major overhaul before I start attempting the publishing journey. Stay tuned...
3) I am a huge theatre geek. I love musical theatre- mostly performing in it, of course, but watching it as well. Favorite show: SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE by Stephen Sondheim. Others on the top of the list: INTO THE WOODS, GYPSY, ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, MY FAIR LADY, THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Favorite role I've ever played: 'Dot/Marie' in SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE with 'Annie Oakley' (twice) in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN coming in in second place. Role I most want to play: 'Dot/Marie' again. I could very easily and happily do that show forever.
4) If you didn't notice a trend with the above list of musicals, let me point it out: I am quite possibly one of the biggest Bernadette Peters fans you will ever meet. She has been my inspiration since I first saw her star in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN in 1999. She completely changed my life that day. Experiencing firsthand what power a phenomenal performance can have on an audience member made me start to view theatre and acting in a completely different way. I have since seen her in concert and on Broadway over 30 times. I not only admire her professionally, but also personally. She is an incredibly gracious woman, and is a dedicated advocate for saving shelter animals, which is a cause that is close to my heart as well.
5) There are some other celebrities that I look up to. I have been a big Lucille Ball fan since I was in the 6th grade (although I'm not telling you how many years ago that was!). In reading about her, I discovered that her daughter, Lucie Arnaz, does musical theatre. So, I went out and got one of Lucie's albums, was thoroughly awestruck, and instantly became a huge Lucie Arnaz fan as well. Then came Audrey Hepburn and Gilda Radner. And when I became an X-Files fan, Gillian Anderson. Each of these ladies is so very different and yet, each of them so admirable in so many ways.
6) I have always been a huge reader, although now that I am writing a novel, I don't have as much time to read other peoples novels as I would like. There is one writer, however, for whom I drop everything whenever her latest book comes out: Jodi Picoult. Talk about a phenomenal person. Not only is she the greatest writer to have ever walked the face of the Earth, she is also one of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. I have been reading her books since 2002 and followed her around on all her Chicago book tour stops since then. I think everyone should be reading her books. Everyone. Go get one now. You can thank me later.
7) I have Celiac Disease, which means than I cannot eat gluten. That's wheat, rye, barley and oats (but depending on who you listen to, oats are debatable). You don't realize how many everyday food items have flour (wheat) in them until you can't eat them anymore. I don't intend for this blog to be about gluten intolerance, but I have a feeling it may come up from time to time, just because I have only known I have it for about 7 months now, and I am still trying to learn how to negotiate the world with substantial food allergies. It's also sort of become a mission of mine to educate the masses about Celiac Disease, simply because it's much more common than people realize... like 1 in every 133 people common. I'm not going to preach, rest assured, but sometimes, I may attempt to inform, should the need arise...
8) I am a scrapbooker. There, I've said it. I've outed myself. I am a crafty person. I have always been big on chronicling my life in photographs, so the scrapbooking thing seems to come hand in hand with the camera bug. It has sort of become an addiction. My house is cluttered with all things scrapbooky. I have paper for scrapbook pages that I might possibly make many years from now for my future children. Because you know, if you see cute paper, you'd better get it because when you want it... 20 years from now... it may not be there. It's highly illogical, I know, but on the bright side, I have a plethora of options right at my fingertips for any project I may undertake.
9) I am an old soul. Someone once described me as 'the most vintage girl you will ever meet' and I think that's a fairly accurate description. I always have been drawn to the classics and I think I always will be. I also tend to be a little old-fashioned in my morals and values and the way that I view the world. That is, most of the time, but definitely not always...
10) What to write for a #10? I have to say, finding one more thing to tell you about myself is pretty hard right now. I guess that's because what I've written so far really sums up my life and my mentality... me in a nutshell, really, pretty thoroughly. So, I guess #10 is kind of up to you to figure out. Take what you will from my writings and ramblings and you decide on what should be my final definitive statement. Of course, that's going to require you to keep reading. And I hope that you will.
<3,
Jen
So, I assume that most people who will be reading these first few posts are going to be people who already know me in some way, shape or form, but if, for some reason, you are new to the life of Jeny, let me share some little tidbits about myself...
TOP TEN THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT JENY....
1) I work as an actress and a singer who works retail to help pay the bills. I live in the suburbs of Chicago, so most of my performances are in the greater Chicagoland area, but I am hoping to make the move to NYC to pursue my dream of performing on Broadway sometime in the near future.
2) I am also a writer. I've been working my first novel for almost 11 years now. The first draft was supposed to be my college project, but between classes and homework and performing and my job, it took me 5 years to finish and it was a tome. I've re-written the book many times and am currently on what I think may be the last major overhaul before I start attempting the publishing journey. Stay tuned...
3) I am a huge theatre geek. I love musical theatre- mostly performing in it, of course, but watching it as well. Favorite show: SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE by Stephen Sondheim. Others on the top of the list: INTO THE WOODS, GYPSY, ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, MY FAIR LADY, THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Favorite role I've ever played: 'Dot/Marie' in SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE with 'Annie Oakley' (twice) in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN coming in in second place. Role I most want to play: 'Dot/Marie' again. I could very easily and happily do that show forever.
4) If you didn't notice a trend with the above list of musicals, let me point it out: I am quite possibly one of the biggest Bernadette Peters fans you will ever meet. She has been my inspiration since I first saw her star in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN in 1999. She completely changed my life that day. Experiencing firsthand what power a phenomenal performance can have on an audience member made me start to view theatre and acting in a completely different way. I have since seen her in concert and on Broadway over 30 times. I not only admire her professionally, but also personally. She is an incredibly gracious woman, and is a dedicated advocate for saving shelter animals, which is a cause that is close to my heart as well.
5) There are some other celebrities that I look up to. I have been a big Lucille Ball fan since I was in the 6th grade (although I'm not telling you how many years ago that was!). In reading about her, I discovered that her daughter, Lucie Arnaz, does musical theatre. So, I went out and got one of Lucie's albums, was thoroughly awestruck, and instantly became a huge Lucie Arnaz fan as well. Then came Audrey Hepburn and Gilda Radner. And when I became an X-Files fan, Gillian Anderson. Each of these ladies is so very different and yet, each of them so admirable in so many ways.
6) I have always been a huge reader, although now that I am writing a novel, I don't have as much time to read other peoples novels as I would like. There is one writer, however, for whom I drop everything whenever her latest book comes out: Jodi Picoult. Talk about a phenomenal person. Not only is she the greatest writer to have ever walked the face of the Earth, she is also one of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. I have been reading her books since 2002 and followed her around on all her Chicago book tour stops since then. I think everyone should be reading her books. Everyone. Go get one now. You can thank me later.
7) I have Celiac Disease, which means than I cannot eat gluten. That's wheat, rye, barley and oats (but depending on who you listen to, oats are debatable). You don't realize how many everyday food items have flour (wheat) in them until you can't eat them anymore. I don't intend for this blog to be about gluten intolerance, but I have a feeling it may come up from time to time, just because I have only known I have it for about 7 months now, and I am still trying to learn how to negotiate the world with substantial food allergies. It's also sort of become a mission of mine to educate the masses about Celiac Disease, simply because it's much more common than people realize... like 1 in every 133 people common. I'm not going to preach, rest assured, but sometimes, I may attempt to inform, should the need arise...
8) I am a scrapbooker. There, I've said it. I've outed myself. I am a crafty person. I have always been big on chronicling my life in photographs, so the scrapbooking thing seems to come hand in hand with the camera bug. It has sort of become an addiction. My house is cluttered with all things scrapbooky. I have paper for scrapbook pages that I might possibly make many years from now for my future children. Because you know, if you see cute paper, you'd better get it because when you want it... 20 years from now... it may not be there. It's highly illogical, I know, but on the bright side, I have a plethora of options right at my fingertips for any project I may undertake.
9) I am an old soul. Someone once described me as 'the most vintage girl you will ever meet' and I think that's a fairly accurate description. I always have been drawn to the classics and I think I always will be. I also tend to be a little old-fashioned in my morals and values and the way that I view the world. That is, most of the time, but definitely not always...
10) What to write for a #10? I have to say, finding one more thing to tell you about myself is pretty hard right now. I guess that's because what I've written so far really sums up my life and my mentality... me in a nutshell, really, pretty thoroughly. So, I guess #10 is kind of up to you to figure out. Take what you will from my writings and ramblings and you decide on what should be my final definitive statement. Of course, that's going to require you to keep reading. And I hope that you will.
<3,
Jen
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