Monday, March 06, 2006

Don't Get Too Comfortable

This is what I am currently reading and it is hilarious. I almost avoided it because David Rakoff is a "new york writer" which is something I normally avoid like the plague. You know, the back of their books usually have words like "psychological" on them. But then I read the inside cover and it turns out he writes for This American Life which is my favorite. Also, he turns out to be very similar to me (except that I'm not male, gay or a new yorker). This is the excerpt which I totally identified with:
"Like most people, I like to think of myself as being spontaneous, ready for anything, fun. This is the evening's second hard-won insight: I am neither spontaneous nor ready for anything. I suspect that others would probably regard this news as about as momentous and surprising as when I decided to come out (which was about as momentous and surprising as if I had bravely announced to everyone that I had dark hair and opposable thumbs). I am no fun at all. In fact, I am anti-fun. Not as in anti-violence, but as in anti-matter. I am not so much against fun--although I suppose I kind of am--as I am the direct opposite of fun. I suck the fun out of a room. Or perhaps I'm just a different kind of fun; the kind that leaves one bereft of hope; the kind of fun that ends in tears."
I read this this weekend instead of going out. You may see what I mean.

4 comments:

deeb said...

Cali! That is a great description. I may have to get this one. I found the Mangoes book in "More Book Lust." I started the "Flame Trees of Thika" this weekend (also in More Book Lust), but didn't get too far. I was making cookies, cleaning my house and looking for a new apartment... no time to read.

Cali said...

I told mom I thought you were thinking of leaving the country, as all your books have a definate expatriate theme. I have been reading a few also as it is the middle of the semester and a good time of year for dreaming of vacation. I'm very jealous of Max and I talk to her frequently to try to piggy-back on the experience. Where are you moving?

deeb said...

Yeah, I haven't had a real vacation (oddly going back to Mid-Mo doesn't seem to count as a vacation) in a long time. I have a flight booked to Guadalajara, though!

If all the travel plans materialize, I may be able to go to Guadalajara, Copenhagen and Buenos Aires in this calendar year. We'll see if this actually happens.

The apartment is still in the same town and closer to the boyfriend's house - farther from work. You should come visit! Are you going to have a break between schools?

Cali said...

Jeremy has been dying to visit CA. He's never been even though his family has been several times. Sometime we are going to have to come. I want to do that amtrak deal where you can travel all over the state. Have you talked to anyone who has done that?
I think we are going to Mexico twice this summer. Cozumel and Puerto Vallerta. It's going to be a strange summer as we are traveling too much to get jobs.