The Sheila Variations

Survey

Another survey from RTG. Fun.

1. If you were a writer, what kinds of books would you write?

I have written a novel. It hasn't been sold yet, but it does exist. No more on that, I'm superstitious about talking about it too much. I guess the books I'd like to write would be - well, they'd probably be love stories - but they'd be love stories in the context of large actual events. Large events (like wars, or national crises, or even just - the first man on the moon)have a way of clarifying who we are as human beings, who we are to one another. I like to mix that stuff up. For example: the way I fell in love with that guy at that party during the endless election recount of 2000. That would make a good story.

2. Do you expect to ever be famous in your lifetime? If yes, what do you expect to be famous for?

I'm superstitious about this question.

[I changed my answers to # 3 and 4. For joking purposes.]

3. Say something liberal.

I think that limping one-eyed Inuits need their civil rights protected by enormous government legislation.

4. Say something conservative.

Ah, stop your whining. Get over it. Life's rough. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. I yearn for the good old days when I was growing up - when people were DECENT and MORAL.

5. What did you dream about last night?

I think it was about John Patrick Shanley. Sigh.

6. What have you read this week? Include everything: magazines, emails, blogs, books, etc.

I finished Great Expectations. I also read Garson Kanin's marvelous book Tracy and Hepburn. I'm also reading Miracle at Philadelphia, and still working on Carnage and Culture.

7. Tell me about your worst date ever.

I went on a date with a guy who could not speak above a whisper. Literally. I spent the whole date leaning across the table saying, "Huh?" "What?" He also was already so far along the path of being in love with me - like, he was already married to me in his mind - and we had never met. It was an online dating thing, and ... Frankly, it felt like I was the stereotypical guy in the situation and he was the stereotypical girl. I was trying to be noncommital, and he was already talking about a wedding he wanted to take me to in November. NOVEMBER?? Our date was in August, for God's sake!! It was our first date and you're givin' me November????? At one point, he realized his own behavior and spoke to himself, AS I was sitting there. He whispered, "Joe, calm down. This doesn't have to be settled tonight." Uhm - no shit, Sherlock, it's our first date!! CHILL. And then there was the whisper thing. He was the quietest talker I have ever heard in my life. An hour into the date, I had had it. I said, "Listen. I am no longer going to ask you to speak up." It was that quiet! When I said that, I saw a flicker of anguish pass through his eyes and I then got a brief flash of him later that night, weeping like a wildebeast into his pillow. He was fragile. He had just gotten out of a mental institution. So - in a way - I give him credit, for trying to put himself out there, and all that ... but not on my watch!! I actually haven't had that many bad dates, but this one was dreadful. I couldn't wait for it to end. At the end of the evening, he whispered, "Can I kiss you?" I said, firmly, "No. I'm really shy." hahaha

8. Name three of your bad habits and three of your good habits.

Bad:
I procrastinate.
I bite my nails.
I dwell on regrets.

Good:
I write every day.
I write Thank You notes.
The last "good habit" is ... I don't know how to describe it, but here goes. Other people might call it a bad habit, but I would vehemently disagree. It has to do with my "obsessions": My Cary Grant passion, my Bogart mania ... I treat these obsessions like a job. I work at them. I commit to them. This is one of my ways of taking care of myself. I know people (dear friends) who do not leave room in their lives for a passionate escape. They don't leave room for self-pleasing entertainment, and their psychologies suffer as a result. They never do anything just cause it's FUN, or just for the hell of it. And so they don't know how to enjoy their leisure time... If they have an afternoon free, they don't know what to do with themselves. I am able to take care of myself. In a fun and exciting way. I LOVE this about me. I'm lonely, I'm the first to admit it. I'm a lonely person - BUT. I am able to manage it, and able to fill up my life with enjoyable pastimes. I enjoy my own company. I make SURE that I enjoy my own company (and the company of my obsessions). This probably sounds insane. I should write more about it. I think it's kind of interesting. I hope I never lose this childlike quality that I have - of getting crazy passionate about something and tossing myself into it, heart and soul.

9. Tell me something you're very proud of.

The one-woman show I wrote.

10. Give me a piece of wisdom that I should pass on to Parker Grace (who is now twelve weeks old).

Don't ever give up. Life is worth living. You sometimes have to WAIT for things to make sense. Don't give up.

Posted by sheila