Trying to make my "interests" interesting... (or that time I wrote a lot about myself)

I was just looking at my Facebook profile, and realized I updated my "interests" somewhat recently. Some of them are a little odd. Some are heavily connected to the TV pilot I'm working on, actually a surprising amount (and the last batch of interests also had a large influence on the script, now that I think of it). Some are really obvious and require no further explanation, but I figure why not share a little bit more about these interests... not that you care, because you probably don't, but I'm indulging my narcissistic side a little more than usual today. Pretend you find it endearing or something. Now, in no particular order...

sweet'n'sour sauce
The greatest thing McDonald's ever created. Especially good with Chicken McNuggets or French Fries. These are the only things I will ever order at McDonald's. And I always ask for extra sweet'n'sour sauce because you never know when you might be craving it, and surprisingly, it also tastes good with Morningstar Farms fake chicken nuggets.

my animal spirit god
I'm convinced I have one and maybe I've even seen it before. Maybe not. They're tricky that way.

tv on dvd
This doesn't need explanation beyond my opinion that this might be the greatest thing since sliced bread. Although I am not sure sliced bread is all that great. Sure, it's convenient... but what's the origin of this saying? Anyone? But yeah, TV shows on DVD are just really fantastic.

astronaut ice cream
This shit is crazy. Crazy delicious. (Also crazy). I love it so much it's become a major plot point in the TV pilot I am writing.

the silver lining
There's one of these in everything and I like finding it. Cheesy? Probably. But I mean it. Finding the silver lining in things has been pretty helpful in getting me through the bad stuff in life.

fig newtons
I fucking love fig newtons. Always have.

gender neutral first names
My mom's name was Palmer, it's also my middle name, and I have to say that in the years after she passed away I really considered going by Palmer. But I'm much more of an Annie. Actually I am much more of a Stamos. In general, I love gender neutral first names because they are often old-fashioned and different - and I don't know... fun. Although names like Pat suck. Perhaps I should revise this to unique gender neutral first names...

aquariums
Sometimes an aquarium can make me so happy my heart hearts. Truly. The Boston Aquarium is my favorite aquarium. There's a nostalgic component here, sure, but also... I love fishies. I think that if I had either been better at science, or more willing to work harder at it, then I would have ended up a marine biologist. And yes, I love aquariums so much that they are another major plot point in my TV pilot work-in-progress.

Maine
duh.

freedom
I love freedom. Both in the ironic and non-ironic sense. If you don't understand what I mean, you clearly love freedom as well, but only in the non-ironic sense, which is unfortunate for you.

insensitivity
This is something I excel in, at least by Hollywood standards. Thus, it is of great interest to me.

theme songs
I love theme songs - from movie themes to TV themes, to personal theme songs. Everyone should have a theme song. Mine changes on the regular.

manu chao
Probably my favorite band. In the history of music. Bold claim? Yes. But I feel strongly about this.

local ads
who doesn't love a budget local ad? Oh man, there used to be some GREAT ones growing up in Maine, many with excellent jingles about local geography.

dudes
This interest is twofold: (1) I, like most heterosexual women, like guys - so that's sort of a no-brainer and (2) I love guys who are dudes in the total dudetastic sense of being a dude - and I love hanging with dudes. Dudes are awesome. Chicks who are dudelike are also awesome.

the toaster oven
A great invention. You can accomplish so much with a toaster oven. My roommate Becca is a culinary genius with ours.

good hair days
Never underestimate the value of a good hair day. My hair, in my opinion, is one of my best features, however I am so incredibly lazy when it comes to my hair that when I've got a good hair day happening it does a whole lot for my ego. Also, my hair is so terrifying when I wake up in the morning (and this has also inspired a moment in that TV pilot), that when I actually get it calmed down, it feels like a real accomplishment. It's the little things.

EEK!

Annnnnnnnnnnd I just had another minor freakout when I realized that I only posted 33 times in February. That is the least amount of posting per month since I started posting regularly.

EEK.

No good, I tell you, no good.

From henceforth, I commit to a minimum of TWO POSTS A DAY! (Weekends not included). I am already on a role, as this is a gratuitous post to make #4 for this lovely Tuesday (and because I am feeling particularly self-indulgent/verbose today, expect more to follow).

And now, what I think my animal spirit god looks like*:



*In case you were wondering, I googled "native american wolf" and that fine lassie just HAPPENED to be in the picture. Or maybe she's the Native American version of me. I haven't decided yet. I want it on a t-shirt though. Okay yeah that's me. I have great hair.

HIVES: Further Evidence That I am Doomed to a Long-term Existence as a 12 Year Old

I had a weird allergic reaction to a pair of pants this morning. Seriously. I broke out into hives.

Yes, hives.

Hives.

Like... all over my ass (seriously). And my knee caps, my belly button, my thighs...

And eventually they spread. But really the redness and itchyness spread and I legit had a freak allergy attack and fucking HIVES.

I am not at all kidding. Not at all. It was insane. And you know something, contrary to popular belief, breaking out in hives SUCKS. (Actually I don’t even know if it is popular belief, but I am going to go with that belief that is like braces logic—you know, when you were a kid you kind of wanted braces because of the idea of it, even though in reality they suck; well it was kind of like that. Like you always hear kids say “I got hives” and you are like, huh, hives. I kinda want hives one of these days. BUT YOU DON’T. THEY SUCK. FUCK HIVES.)

Here’s what happened:

Foolishly, on Wednesday I agreed to a Friday morning workout with my trainer, which I never do, but I was so jazzed we changed our time to 6:30 am (as opposed to 6 am, which required me to wake up at 5:30 am, which BLOWS) and I was all about it, even though I had a sense I was probably going to go out Thursday night. So anyway, I woke up this morning around 6:05 am and wanted to murder someone. Really. I woke up and my alarm is set to play Cat Stevens’ “Morning Has Broken” (because I am both unoriginal and corny) and thought, who can I blame for this and subsequently murder?

But then I snoozed two 5-minute sets and felt well enough to get out of bed. So I got my ass ready for the gym, threw on the last remaining clean pair of socks and workout pants I could fine (t-shirt supply is always in abundance) and sleep-walked to my car and drove to the gym, arriving 10 minutes late as intended. (Sometimes I like to show up late to my training sessions as kind of a big FUCK YOU to my trainer who is dumb as rocks—he spelled marathon “marithon” our first day, among other things—and generally a person I dislike beyond his kickass training capabilities. And it reminds both him and me that he works for me and I can do what I want which is kind of awesome because in all other aspects of my life I am just hanging onto the lowest ladder rung. No, I don’t have any issues. None at all.)

We did a little bit more low-key workout because I bitched about how tired I was from going out last night (went to a SWEET comedy show featuring the dudes from Human Giant, and others—it was AWESOME), and like 45 minutes into it I started just itching a lot. Mostly my quads, but my shins and kneecaps and other places. I absent-mindedly just thought it was because it’s so dry out and whatever, but the itching was only increasing. I was scratching my leg later when I was stretching, and pulled up my pants a little bit to discover that on my kneecap there were all these really weird looking bumps. I quickly headed to the locker room to change for the showers and stripped out of my workout clothes to discover huge fucking HIVES all over my ass and midriff (well really mostly up to where the pants stopped, so just below my belly button). IT WAS NUTS. My legs were also bright red and itching like MAD and I had a crazy chill and was kind of starting to freak out because my ass/lower half of my body looked like I was a bad PSA for nut allergy or meth usage or something. I sped through the shower and got dressed and raced home, to pop a Benadryl and some cortisone cream, and pray to my animal spirit god that he would save me.

I guess it was allergies because the Benadryl definitely worked. The hives have gone down. Still pretty itchy though. Gonna go see the doctor later anyway to maybe get a cortisone shot, but really what I want to know is:

WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED

And again, apologies for the recent spike in profanity but I am so weirded out by this whole situation. I mean, who the hell gets hives around 7 am on a Friday? HAH I guess the same person who just two weeks ago broke her retainer eating an apple. I mean between the orthodontic issues and the freak allergy attacks—I belong in middle school.

HIVES ON MY ASS

I’ll leave you with that.

OH AND I AM NEVER FUCKING WEARING THOSE PANTS AGAIN (even though they were clean and had been washed in the same load as a pair of pants I wore to work out Wednesday morning and there were NO HIVES WITH THOSE OTHER PANTS. SERIOUSLY WHAT THE FUCK).

Finally, what you've all been waiting for!

Well folks, I know I've been somewhat ambiguously referencing my trip to Pahrump to Nevada, and now I am going to shed a little light on that journey. Not a lot of light, because we were asked by those above us specifically not to blog about the experience (hah, me not blog? Right).

Anyway, I went to Pahrump after work Friday night with my friend Alexander, the intention of our purpose was to volunteer with the Barack Obama Campaign for Change (I think we aren't supposed to blog about it because they don't want to draw attention to the fact that Californians are headed to Nevada to volunteer, however, isn't this A common knowledge? and B entirely not surprising? When you are an Obama supporter in a blue state it's only natural that a real volunteer opportunity might only be found in the swing state next door).

Pahrump is located just on the border of California and Nevada, surrounded by the mountains and desert that comprise Death Valley. It's a desert town just an hour northwest of Las Vegas--not desert town in the sense that Shoshone "the gateway to Death Valley" is, with a grand population of 67 people, because in fact, Pahrump is anywhere from 30,000 to 40,000 people.

It was a long drive Friday night, and for the last hour and a half or so, the only thing that really kept me driving was listening to The Audacity of Hope book on tape, read by Senator Obama himself. Sure, this paints an incredible hilarious picture--two idealistic kids from California driving to Nevada to canvas for a presidential campaign, listening to that inspiring leader all the way there... but you know what? It totally worked. Not only did it help me stay awake on those desert roads, but it was both inspiring and informative. Also good to keep me level because I felt like I was driving through Mars. And at one point I saw a dog in the middle of the road in the middle of NOWHERE, which really means I saw either (1) a coyote or (2) my animal spirit god (I am hoping it was choice 2, because an animal spirit god is a much rarer find then one of those darn coyotes).

That night we stayed at one of the Casino-Hotel-RV-"Resorts" in town, which was really just an over-priced place to crash, and were up early Saturday morning to discover that Pahrump, not a very exciting place on its own, was surrounded by the most beautiful and dramatic mountains all around. It was truly spectacular. While admiring the view, we had a more difficult time admiring any breakfast opportunities, with our final stop being the one Starbucks in town, located inside the grocery store.

The campaign headquarters were a modest affair, all the other volunteers, both locals and others who had traveled various differences, were kind people from all walks of life. It was heartening and encouraging to be around so many others who also shared such a strong belief in one cause.

Canvassing is an interesting experience. It sort of requires a no-fear attitude. I mean you are knocking on doors, interrupting people at their homes. By the end of the day (a total of two canvassing shifts) we had knocked on 77 doors and spoken to something like 45 people. It was fascinating. Just about everyone was friendly, even McCain supporters, and some people really wanted to engage with us, while others expressed frustration at yet another campaign volunteer showing up on their doorstep. I realized it must be exhausting to live in a swing state right now. You are constantly being inundated with information, people, propaganda, etc. However, must of the people of Pahrump were polite and courteous and we appreciated that.

For lunch we ate delicious barbecue at Walter's BBQ & Maverick's Saloon (ahh yes, MAVERICKS!) and at one point we also stopped to get a drink of water and a coke (or as our feisty bartender called it, pop) and a separate BBQ joint. It was fun talking to our bartender, a woman who I could only describe as being full of piss and vinegar, a McCain Palin lover because she was sick of men running the country and thought "Palin was so fun" and she wanted to see a woman in power. She pointedly asked me how I felt about men running the country, and to be honest, as a woman, I am okay with it--for me it boils down to the individual. Obama is someone who could cross party lines, reach out to people everywhere, and maybe dial down some of the polarization that has overcome the country.

The most bizarre experience of the whole day was when at one house we stopped by, the very old woman who lived there asked us to please come inside where we realized we might get stuck for hours because she was so excited to show someone all her stuffed animal birds, paintings of Jesus, lampshades, flower arrangements, and countless other tchatchkies (does anyone know how to spell this? Please advise). She was simultaneously crazy, sad, and the most other-worldly being I've ever met. It was really something.

We drove home Saturday night, but not without somehow managing to encounter car trouble. We pulled over in the road leading out of Death Valley (aka Mars, home of my spirit animal god) so Alexander could take a leak and we could check out the desert at night--which is incredible and I am not sure I've ever seen so many stars in the sky. Of course, we managed to get my car completely buried in the sand, so much so that the front end was so buried in we couldn't move anywhere and Triple A had to come dig us out. Ah, adventure.

We got back to LA, finally, and after the requisite late night In-N-Out stop, around 1:30 am. I was exhausted. But it was worth it, if not to canvas for Obama, but just to go to a different part of the country, to step outside the LA bubble, and the bubble I've become accustomed to, and to talk to people and get to know a community somewhere else. It was both rewarding and insightful.

Here's hoping that on election day, those 5 electoral votes from Nevada will go blue. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, Pahrump!

One final note, apparently we were only about a half hour from Area 51 and Roswell. Shit yes, next time I am going hunting for aliens. Maybe that's what my spirit god was--AN ALIEN. No but really, I thought that crazy late night desert drive was a secret transport to another planet or something. It was extraterrestrial, that's for sure.