Stranger Than Fiction

  

   There are many famous stories of mine that I am asked to re-tell over and over again.  Humorous, ridiculous, even fabulous anecdotes and experiences that I have had in my crazy life.  Some of my friends even know my stories by heart because they've heard them so many times, and, according to them they never cease to be funny.  Some of the magical & absurd situations I've found myself in you just couldn't make up. That's why I have decided to write them all down.   It's always been a fantasy of mine to write a book of non-fiction stories like David Sedaris or Chelsea Handler  and I'm determined to make that fantasy a reality.
     I have been fortunate enough to meet and befriend many amazingly talented, creative and beautiful people in my life and have even traveled the globe with some of them.  My Mom and stepdad lived in Mogadishu, Somalia - as in, a-country-in-Africa-most-people-barely-even-know-exists - for 2 years when I was a freshman in college.  I got to go there not once, but twice and the second time I lived there for the whole summer.  Not too typical a stay abroad.  Traveling is so important because it ignites the powers of perception and observation.  When you always walk or drive down the same streets you stop noticing things and it all becomes familiar and routine.  Try walking down the dirt "streets" of Mogadishu and I dare you not to notice how completely different everything is around you.  Being in an unfamiliar place forces you to rely on your senses in a more profound way.
     Several years back a group of 10 of my friends all planned and actually managed to go on an amazing trip to Costa Rica.  Most of my friends were coming from NY and I was flying from LA.  Somehow, I got the dates wrong and ended up arriving 3 days before all my friends were scheduled to get there.  It ended up being the biggest blessing.  I read 2 books and seemingly out of the blue got really motivated to write.  I started journaling and even penned my 1st story while sitting on a glorious beach, adjacent to the jungle, all by myself, no one around for miles.  I recently looked back on that journal and the thing that I wrote right before the story was "there's no reason why I couldn't be a published author, in fact, I'd be quite good at it."  That entry was dated 2/15/09 and I just now, this year, started writing down my stories again.
     The creative process has always been a bit of a struggle for me.  Finding motivation is usually pretty easy but the follow through is where I always get stuck.  Thus, the 5 year gap in writing.  Part of the reason I started this blog was to practice getting my words out there regularly and also, when I have a reason beyond myself to complete tasks I always step up.  Committing to a weekly blog and knowing that people may actually be reading this gives me the motivation to make sure I don't slack.  Funny, too, how just the act of putting words down on paper or on a computer screen makes me feel so much more in touch with myself and the world around me.
     I allude to some of the things that I am writing about in my book in this blog but the stories that I am compiling will still, mostly, be a surprise to people that don't know me well.  Also, I figure if I put it out there that I'm working on this project then you guys and the universe will hold me accountable for completing it.  The thing is that it feels so good to do that it doesn't even really matter  if anyone ever reads it - the act of completing it will be a victory for me and who knows how that feeling will color my future.


Top photo: Matt & I with the legendary Phyllis Diller taken on the magical day we got to spend at her house shortly before she passed away.