the slack daily

My Top Ten Awesome List of 2009

According to the RULES OF THE INTERNET I am supposed to make a TOP TEN LIST at the end of the year. So I thought I'd better make a list in case I get fined or something.

The Top Ten Things That Made My Year More Awesome:

1. Friends of Tom.
   Caissie, Matt, Lisa Jane Persky, Andy Zax, Kiemzi, Scratchbomb, Justsheano are all people I want to fold up into a neat little square and tuck them in my purse. As I was saying to someone at the ham party a couple of nights ago, I'm a fan of Tom Scharpling and the Best Show on WFMU, but I was a fan of his fans of his show first.


2. Super talented people who I got to know better.
   Ben Acker, half of the writing team that created The Thrilling Adventure & Supernatural Suspense Hour. Lisa Jane Persky, (shut up, it's my list, I can add people twice) photographer, actress, writer, maker of ham.  Andy Zax, storyteller, music geek, and GRAMMY NOMINEE for Best Historical Album. Mike Holmes, actor, and writer of the upcoming theater adaptation of Forbidden Zone. Chia Evers, writer and Viable Paradise fellow. Steve Marmel, all around funnyguy and HuffPo blogger.


3. Super talented people who I don't KNOWknow, but who made my life a funnier place.
   Paul F. Tompkins, Tom Scharpling, Janie Haddad, Sara J. Benincasa, April Richardson, James Urbaniak, Jon Wurster. Your unbridled hilarity made me ruin something this year, whether it was my screen from a spit-take, or dinner. The bill will be forthcoming.


4. My husband's family.
   Like my own, they make me laugh and they make me cry and they make me want to pull my hair out, but I know they'll always have my back and feed me dinner.


5. Older SlackBrother J.
   Brother is doin' it for himself, yo. Beat the Cooler was released for the iPhone, and he's got plenty of more things in the hopper. Let's hear it for second acts.


6. Second Acts.
   I got my own this year. I have a pile of writing to get through (TWO pilots, a spec, a spec screenplay, a novel, and an animated pitch, all in various states of outlinedness.


7. My crew.
   If we have shared a drink, you are part of my crew. (I'm easy, you should know that by now.) We're not America's Next Top Dance Crew...yet.


8. Daisy J Dog.
   Not only is she the greatest dog in the planet, but she is the funniest dog on Twitter.


9. My husband.
   It hasn't been the easiest year, but it's been the easiest year to be married to him. As I said earlier this year, I highly suggest you find a Will of your own. You just can't have mine.


10. You.
    People say no one reads blogs anymore. But here you are. Thank you.

Honorable Mention: This photo of Captain Kirk holding an enormous dildo. Because it's a photo of Captain Kirk holding an enormous dildo!

Note: BetheMarriage is returning in 2010! Same day, NEW TIME!  5-6pm PST every Saturday night! Stay tuned for more details...

Remembering Dad of Boy.

In case you missed last night's special BetheMarriage, you can catch it here:

Once again, thank you to all who came, watched, and participated in the chat room. Will and I are endlessly grateful.

Right now the house smells of garlic and basil.  Meatballs and sausage are simmering on the stove. Wine is out and the table is set.

We'll see some of you shortly.

A Special BetheMarriage...

This Saturday night, Will and I are bringing back BetheMarriage at a special time to honor Dad of Boy with an hour (or more) of toasts and tales like these.

Join us at 6pm PST (that's 9pm Eastern) on Saturday, November 7th for BetheMarriage: Remembering Dad of Boy.

(He would have loved that he was our greatest source of material.)

Thank you all for your kindness, and we'll see you on Saturday night!

3:33am

That's when the phone rang. I heard it, somewhere deep inside my brain. The movement of Will fumbling for his phone, the sharp intake of breath, the okay...and I knew. I didn't know who or when but I knew it was bad, and I was reaching for my glasses and my phone and almost walked out of the still-dark bedroom to grab my laptop to begin making arrangements when I realized that I hadn't said anything. I turned to him and reach out.

I'm sorry.

We made coffee and phone calls and flight reservations.

We needed something to do.

Will you come? he asked.

Of course, I said.

Dear Dad of Boy,

Thank you for being the best father-in-law a girl could have.

Love,

Nina

SlackDad & Dad of Boy, at our wedding.

Happy Birthday...NOW EAT YOUR SOUP.

Today is younger slackbrother j.'s birthday.  He turned 30.

This is weird for me, as I'm five years older and still not totally convinced he can drive.  Or vote.  Or legally purchase alcohol.

This was meant to be a post on the odd nature of seeing your siblings grow up, the oh-so-tangible nature of time as evidenced in another human being who you have known from the very moment they came to be.  But instead, it's going to be the story of what happened at his birthday dinner.

Younger slackbrother j. do something low-key and cheapish, so we agreed to meet at our favorite Chinese Restaurant, which is a few blocks away from the Detective Agency.   The place was packed, but there was a small table in the corner next to a window.  We grabbed menus and the waitress came by to take our order.  Will loves Egg Drop Soup, so he ordered a large bowl for the table.  The waitress shut her notepad and ran off.

We figured she was busy and would return to take our drink order.

She returned a few minutes later with a big bowl...or Hot and Sour Soup. 

I'm sorry, Will told her, we didn't order that.  We ordered Egg Drop Soup.

You didn't order this? she asked.

No, we ordered Egg Drop Soup.

Oh, you'll like this.  She began to ladle the soup into smaller bowls and handed them out to us.

I'm sure it's good, he continued, but we want Egg Drop Soup.  That's what we ordered.

Okay, she replied, but you eat this first.  I'll bring you a half order of Egg Drop Soup.

Will looked at me, confused. But I don't want this.

I interjected as politely and clearly as I could.  Ma'am, we ordered Egg Drop Soup. 

The Hot and Sour is good, she told me.  I won't charge you.  You'll have the Hot and Sour.

Her Jedi Mind Tricks weren't going to work on me. I vowed to stay strong.

We want Egg Drop Soup.  A full order of Egg Drop Soup, so there'll be some to take home.

Fine.  Egg Drop Soup.  She sighed and left.

Will turned to me.  Since when did ordering become a negotiation?

Thankfully the rest of our meal went off without a hitch.  Except I discovered later that the Egg Drop Soup didn't make it into the bag of leftovers we took home. 

(Neither did the Hot and Sour.)

Happy Birthday younger slackbrother j!

Family Ties.

I made peace with my haircut

and Will and I were off to his family reunion, as it was the first time in ages that all of his siblings - six including him - were to be in one place at one time since, well, forever.  It was also the first time that I met his extended family (as well as two brothers) since we had gotten married.  When it took us nearly 25 minutes to get ten feet in the door of the American Legion Hall on Friday night, I excused myself and ran straight to the bar to fetch us drinks to get us the rest of the way in.  There were great aunts and great uncles and cousins and second cousins and kids and grandkids and girlfriends and exes of cousins and parents and in Goodfellas-style, they were all named Maria or Annie or Billy.  Finally I told someone I was just going to point and talk if I wanted to address someone.

 
The SlackParents were invited to the party, so they made the trek from the midwest and showed up (even when Will gave them slightly wrong directions!)  At one point, I see SlackDad talking to a couple and SlackMom dancing with some guy in a tank top.

Uh, who's that? I ask Will.

No idea, he responds.  Ask my dad.

I find Dad of Boy.  Who's that?

He pokes his head in the hall.  Oh, that's Joey Tequila.  He's a friend of mine. (beat) Your mom shouldn't be dancing with him.

I went in and rescued her and asked the SlackParents the next day what had transpired.

Oh, there was this guy that kept motioning to your ma that she should come dance with him, SlackDad said. 

So you just sent her? I asked.

What? He just looked like he wanted to have a good time.

So you sent your wife.

Exactly!

There are many more stories, of course, like how we nearly got into a fight at the airport while waiting in line and our time at the Marz Bar and subway rides not taken, but there was also Albert's Pizza and hanging out in the backyard with Sister and Brother of Boy and their boyfriend/girlfriends, there were crab cakes and shopping with SlackMom and getting to pour the coffee at Grandma's and a classic Dad of Boy breakfast and WFAN on the radio in our bright blue rented Chevy Aveo that we listened to while sipping Dunkin Donuts coffee and taking the Will Personal History Tour.  There were in-jokes and drama and bullshitting and storytelling and moments where I wanted to strangle people and moments where I'm sure they wanted to strangle me, I'm both happy to be home and yet at the same time I miss them.  And that's how I know that they're not just Will's family. 

Me and BetheSister.

They're my family, too.