Chapters (21)
- Cover Page
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Table of Contents
- Bright Young Things campus of Clarkwell College, graduation in the town of Clarksville, somewhere upstate, 1990
- Cool Days open mike night at Kafka-fe, after band "2 Much" plays, 1991
- New on the Scene utside in front of Club Hush, for a film screening party of Kill Fee, 1993 o
- Single in the City at a French bistro, 1995
- Hangover brunch, the morning after, 1995
- Natural Health a chance meeting at Jasper’s Yoga Studio, 1996
- The Fat Flush ’90s in the foyer of a friend’s renovated brownstone, 1997
- Art Stars at Bonwyck Gallery, 1998
- Inner Odyssey the Burning Man festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, 1999
- Life After Death facedown in the dirt of the desert, next morning, 1999
- Loyal Companions catching up at the dog run, 2000 catching up at the dog run, 2000
- In the Real World a run-in at the ShopShape magazine launch party sponsored by Senor Strawberry Liqueur, early 2001
- Wartime spotted at Kinko's, late 2001
- Office Job in the cafeteria of the Conde Nast building, 2003
- Settling a yard sale on an obscure block in the outer borough, 2003
- Starting Over in a remote village tavern on the farmlands of New Zealand, 2004
- Epilogue a gathering of friends
And . . . when I'm not busy keeping Breaker in line (Ha! Ha!) I've been, you know doin' my stuff. . . Me? I've been good. Well actually better than good. I mean, so much so that it's kind of scary. You know everyone's been talking about how hard the economy has been for them? Frankly, I am finding it cleansing. It's just a time for me to really focus on what I really want to do, instead of those flush '90s years when I was so busy buying key property and launching my handbag business. I mean I can't complain about the big bucks I made, but I think I am finally doing what I love. It's so fulfilling to work ten hours a day doing something that you love, you know? And of course I just saved tons of money. Now I have the time for focusing on my art, taking up the guitar again, seeing old Silicon Alley pals . . .
Here, Breaker, play with your dried hog bone! Play with your dried hog bone! Good boy Breaker!
And it's sort of going pretty well. I mean it's one of those things where you visualize your dreams and they can happen, even in these uncertain times. It all started coming together for me last fall. Oh, at that party I saw you at. Remember how you were tired and went home early? Well it ended up being a crazy night! I ran into my friend on the street who was on her way to Ess Jess and Matthew's party for Mos Def. It was just a little party, at their house. I got talked into going, even though I was so tired (like you were!) and ready to just go home and finish my Whitney Studio Program application (I got in!) and I flopped down on the couch next to Edie Falco of all people. Of course I totally had to suppress gushing to her how about much I respect her work as an actress and how I have loved her even from her beginning days as a stage actress Off Broadway. We were talking about how she's really worried that there are no roles for older women.
"Don't you have a boyfriend?" she asked.
I said "Yes, but I'm unusual that way, especially in this city.
And she just got really honest and said "I'm going to end up alone, but it's fine since I'm financially independent." It was just so funny. I thought of you because I know how much you want that financial part. It was just so funny. She's just so cool. Anyway we all ended up playing this extremely fun French improv parlor game, where you have to write down a story and people act it out. Mos and I did this hilarious but very political scene written by this amazing woman Suzan, who has the hottest play on Broadway right now. It was a short hip-hop interpretation of the Koran. Very controversial.