jane for short

moving

2003-12-15T14:02:00.000-08:00

I'm switching off blogspot's servers and can be found again at janeforshort.net.

agency

2003-12-11T12:30:00.000-08:00

I might decide to be a literary agent after all. If you've written a book, I want to read it. Unless it's about sports. Or killing. Or babies. Or cars. Or war. But if it's about something else, and especially if it's fiction, I'd like to read it. Email me at janeforshort.net.

work xmas party

2003-12-10T14:55:00.000-08:00

My company Christmas party is tomorrow night, and like Kristin, I have no date. This is primarily in response to last year's work party date experience... I didn't really know anyone at work yet, and the person I brought with me didn't have much interest in being there, aside from keeping me company. We were also in the middle of a raw foods cleanse that prevented us from eating anything at

rosie thomas

2003-12-09T14:19:00.000-08:00

Tonight I'm going to see Rosie Thomas with Willo. Rosie Thomas was the first show Willo and I ever went to together. We'd never met, and in proper blind date fashion, we both had escape plans; if our designated rescuers got a call from our cell phones but there was no one there, they would know they should call us and claim an emergency so we'd have an excuse to leave. Luckily, neither of us set

kat hunter

2003-12-09T09:01:00.000-08:00

Is the best person to have late-night tea with.

last seen

2003-12-08T15:46:00.000-08:00

I'm in a fit of pre-birthday nostalgia. I wonder where people went. If you know where any of these people are, hook me up! Andrea Middleton: Last seen moving from Portland to St. Thomas, worked with me at Greenpeace. A poet. Teaches English as a Second Language to Spanish speakers. Casey Ray: First name actually Catherine. Grew up in Johnstown, PA, went to Penn State, last seen somewhere around

books by men

2003-12-08T11:09:00.000-08:00

When I finished The Mystery Roast, I wanted to read more novels by men about relationships; I was fascinated by the workings of the male mind in that book. That night while I waited for Doug to meet me for dinner, I browsed at Aardvark Books, and picked up a novel called Ever After by Edwardo Jackson. It wasn't quite what I expected. The jacket copy and the first page both seemed similar in

weekend highlights

2003-12-07T22:52:00.000-08:00

The heat works again. I interviewed 5 potential housemates, really liked two of them, liked another two, and was uninterested in one. Angus is home. Kat is home. Merlin and Madeline threw a fun party. The pet food store lady hit on me again. Sarah is home. Hillary is home, and we had noodles and soup at the Citrus Club. I was hungover a bit today. I forgot I was out of basil when I made Kristin

The Mystery Roast

2003-12-04T11:33:00.000-08:00

I finished a book last night called The Mystery Roast. It didn't grab me right away; I bought it from the remainder room at Stacey's to read on the train, and beginning it at lunch that day I thought to myself, "Well, this seems pretty well-written, but maybe not such a fascinating story." Oh, how wrong I was. Publishers Weekly says this about the book (because I hate writing synopses):During a

home sweet home

2003-12-03T16:21:00.000-08:00

I'll be looking for a new roommate sometime after the new year. Know anyone who's looking? Unrelated: the heat is broken again.

chronicle book recommendations

2003-12-02T15:44:00.000-08:00

Someone wrote and asked me if there were any books on sale that I would recommend. He also asked if I got a percentage or anything, like on Amazon Associates. No, I don't get anything for sending you to Chronicle. Chronicle's web site isn't that savvy, to be perfectly honest. Anyway. Here are some things we're selling that I think are kind of cool, or that have been popular: Robota, by

pretty cheap books

2003-12-02T10:58:00.000-08:00

Hi. My company, Chronicle Books, is running a special deal for two days starting today. Everything on the web site is 40% off. You don't need any special codes or anything. The deal goes through December 4th. We were all told we should share it with our friends and family. Well, you may not all be friends or family to me, but if you care enough to keep checking this page to see what I've written

diseased: AND

2003-11-30T09:58:00.000-08:00

I suffer from AND: Associative Nostalgia Disorder. Everything reminds me of something else. New people remind me of old friends. Bands remind me of other bands. Going to a restaurant reminds me of other times I was there. The primary (and unfortunate) symptom of this disorder is the sufferer's unbearable tendency to answer almost any statement or situation with, "And one time..." I know I should

as promised to my lame friend

2003-11-26T16:02:00.000-08:00

He was 5'9" tall, an inch shorter than usual due to being weighed down with embarrassment and contrition. He wore a buttoned-up denim jacket. He carried a midsize bag over his shoulder. His hair was mussed as if frustrated fingers had combed it repeatedly. He kept me waiting for an hour and a half at the House of Shields, and didn't even call to tell me he'd be late until an hour had already

flashback

2003-11-23T22:34:00.000-08:00

The other night I had the weirdest dream. I went back to work as an IA at SpireMedia. Except it was in San Francisco. And only three of the same people worked there. And my old boss Paul had become sort of an Obi-Wan Kenobi of design, and would materialize in the middle of a project to remind the visual designers to align, align, align. In the dream I couldn't figure out where everyone else I'd

scrabble

2003-11-23T21:53:00.000-08:00

Props to Rahul, who not only held his own when we played yesterday, but used all seven letters to spell "diagonal" toward the end of the game when such opportunities were slim. Good work.

ha ha

2003-11-22T09:38:00.000-08:00

Mac Eye for the Windows Guy. Via Brad.

heat

2003-11-20T17:22:00.000-08:00

We finally have heat again in our house, after two weeks without it. I believe this will lead to my resuming normal life. Everyone wants to know what I'm doing for Thanksgiving. I'm cleaning my house.

lonely street

2003-11-14T08:01:00.000-08:00

This song has been occupying my consciousness for the last week and a half. I hear it in my head all the time. Granted, it's catchy, and lord knows I love Pete Krebs and think he has one of the best voices ever, but I am getting to the point where I almost wish I could press next on my mental soundtrack. Listen to the song (click link above); isn't it catchy?

apologies in the same vein

2003-11-13T09:11:00.000-08:00

From age 23, to Karen, who was my best friend for a while. I don't know where she is these days. Dear Karen, I'm sorry that I slept with Brian. You said it was okay and that I should go for it, you said your crush on him was long time gone, and you had a boyfriend at the time. But our friendship disappeared shortly thereafter and I can only think that had something to do with it. So I'm sorry

apologies

2003-11-12T17:10:00.000-08:00

When I was a girl, I didn't know what to do with attention from boys. If I thought they liked me more than as a friend I would freak out and cut them out of my life. There are millions of reasons why I did this, not the least of which include fears of attachment, abandonment, and pregnancy. When I was 16 I met this guy at my first summer job who was a little older and going to Tufts. He worked on

Dear Merriam-Webster,

2003-11-11T08:24:00.000-08:00

Hi. I am writing to express my disappointment that McJobs was pulled from the new words section of your web site. Surely a cororate entity does not have control over the speech habits of millions of people. Your job is simply to report those speech habits; you're not determining how the speakers should use the words you report. Thus, McDonald's should have no legal complaint against you. As worst

new show

2003-11-11T07:22:00.000-08:00

Unlike most of America, I have never seen Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I would find it funny. I just don't have cable. I still won't have cable when Straight Plan for the Gay Man comes out, but I might have to ask someone to let me come over and see it, as it sounds hysterical.

crap!

2003-11-10T20:39:00.000-08:00

I hate it when a book that's supposed to be a fun/guilty-pleasure time-killer on the train turns into an analysis of all my fears and habits and bad choices and history. Any ex-boyfriend who still wonders what the fuck was wrong with me anyway, but knows the sun will likely rise in the west before I fess up to anything being wrong with me, could go and read Girls' Poker Night. It nails me dead-on

pants

2003-11-10T15:44:00.000-08:00

I am wearing bright blue corduroy pants today. They flare out at the lower leg more than I'd like, and they have a hammer loop on the left hip (I can't figure out why it's there). What was I thinking? Why did I buy these? I think I bought them because they reminded me of the Garanimals of my youth.

the last few days

2003-11-09T22:56:00.000-08:00

On Thursday I was to pick up Rahul at the BART station at 5:30ish. I was a bit early, so I pulled over on 24th (at Mission) in front of an alley to wait for him with my hazards and the radio on. 25 minutes later, just as he finally turned up (we didn't see each other for about 15 minutes) my battery died. My car battery. No go car. Thank you to Willo for coming to jumpstart me, and for taking me

my new motto

2003-11-06T16:59:00.000-08:00

"What'll it hurt?"

the week so far

2003-11-06T11:49:00.000-08:00

On Monday, Kristin came over. We had artichoke tortellini with tomato/red pepper sauce, vanilla ice cream with raspberries, and we watched Next Stop Wonderland (one of my favorite movies and the one I still think of as Hope Davis's best role). On Tuesday, Willo came over. I made salmon (in white wine, lemon, garlic and dill), green beans (with almonds, lemon, white wine, basil and oregano),

weekend update

2003-11-03T08:27:00.000-08:00

Janeforshort.net email works again. If you sent me mail between Tuesday and Saturday, I may not have received it. At work my department dressed up as Hula Honeys on Friday for the company-wide Halloween contest. We even gave a hula demonstration (possible b/c my boss is from Hawaii and knew a simple song and dance we could all do). We won the contest! Friday night I skipped all the

i'm not ignoring you...

2003-10-30T17:32:00.000-08:00

My mail is not working right this second, and if you emailed me today, I won't get it. Email me for now at tigersandcake.com.

busy

2003-10-30T15:23:00.000-08:00

Have been kind of sick lately. Also have a lot to do. Also supposed to find a grass skirt by tomorrow.

day/night

2003-10-28T21:58:00.000-08:00

I had the worst day. Actually, the day part was okay. Correction: I had the worst evening.

on the move

2003-10-28T14:14:00.000-08:00

If you're wondering why I haven't posted anything about the Phantom Planet/Ben Lee show, it's because it still makes me shiver just thinking about it, it was so good. In the meantime, an alert: I'm switching servers for me (janeforshort.net) and Sarah (smokeandashes.blogspot.com), so if our sites disappear briefly sometime in the next couple of days, don't be discouraged. They'll be right

sunday: pumpkin grill and carving

2003-10-27T07:59:00.000-08:00

On Sunday some people came over for pumpkin carving. It was a smaller gathering than usual, and of the eight people who came, only three were web people. Less than fifty percent! I think that's a first for a party at my house. Berndt, Carrie, Myrrisa and Russ did traditional jack o'lanterns. Rick did a Mr. T version. Willo outshone everyone by producing a White-Stripes-ish band scene. The rest of

Amazon follow-up

2003-10-24T15:46:00.000-07:00

However (see below), if you seach for "It is a truth universally acknowledged," Pride and Prejudice does not come up first. It is 9th on the list. It would be cool if the text search cross-referenced Bartlett's Quotations, so anything that was listed with an original quote would shoot to the top of the results when the quoted phrase was searched for.

Amazon's new thing

2003-10-23T08:46:00.000-07:00

Well, they did it: search inside the book is ready. I tried it by entering "oh happy dagger," and indeed, the first result was Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, followed by an excerpt where that text appears in the work. Pretty snazzy, Amazon.

oh happy dagger

2003-10-22T15:30:00.000-07:00

NPR : Elliot Smith Dead in Apparent Suicide. I used to see him for $5 in Portland pre-big-album. What a bummer that someone would feel the need to inflict a single stab wound to their chest as an exit strategy.

disaster averted

2003-10-21T15:37:00.000-07:00

A nice young man off craigslist is selling me tickets. Phew.

FUCK!!!

2003-10-20T19:46:00.000-07:00

I forgot to buy tickets to see Phantom Planet at Bottom of the Hill on Saturday. Can ANYONE get me tickets?

scary things you learn when talking about boys with your mom

2003-10-20T19:43:00.000-07:00

My mother likes Bon Jovi.

Rock & Roll Spelling Bee

2003-10-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, come to the Rock & Roll Spelling Bee, a fundraiser for National Novel Writing Month & Music in Schools Today, pitting local musicians against local music critics for mediocre prizes and minuscule amounts of fame and glory. Bands will play between rounds: Citizens Here and Abroad, Excuses For Skipping, Snowday, and Revenge! I'll be there, will you??

conversation we had to memorize in 9th grade spanish I

2003-10-17T14:29:00.000-07:00

-Hola, Mariana, Feliz Navidad. -Feliz Navidad, Paula. Que tal? -Hace sol y hace mucho calor. -Vamos a la playa! -Que bueno!

the secret language of waitresses

2003-10-17T14:22:00.000-07:00

Post removed b/c Doug is a pain the ass sometimes.