We live in a society that stalks celebrities, puts them on pedestals and under microscopes, and weaves tales about their lives that are either enthralling or mundane. So, it’s always strange when I see those celebrities in my own environment, like the time Drew Barrymore sat behind me at a movie, the Iron & Wine […]

As I predicted, there was a lot of giggling this weekend with Lorraine in town. We also did a lot of eating, walking and napping. A weekend highlight had to be lying on lounge chairs at the Standard Hotel rooftop, telling stories and staring at the sky. Another was the halibut. *** My narrative has […]

1. I wiped the maganda.org homepage clean, and it felt unbelievably good. I will be re-doing it sometime soon, or maybe I won’t. Maybe it will be weeks before I look at it again. That’s okay, too. It’s just a web site. 2. I am testing out Flickr and so far so good. I have […]

The days are zooming by. This morning, I stepped outside surprised that clouds hung low and a chill filled the air. I was still dressed for summer. I’m excited for autumn, for corduroy and denim and sweaters and tights. For cuddling and cocoa. For falling leaves. For turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes. For the […]

I am glowing with pride right now, because I just discovered that not one but both of my brothers are winners in this year’s Communication Arts Interactive Annual. We may be missing the doctor and lawyer genes, but hot damn, our art gene makes up for it. Congratulations, Tom & Ricky. You inspire me. P.S. […]

I am trying to find a balance between work and play, between here and there, between the way things are and the way I want them to be. I am trying not to give myself unrealistic expectations, but at the same time I am trying to push myself to do/give/be more. I am trying to […]

Thank you to all you kind and lovely souls who have sent little and huge pieces of mail over the past month or two. I went to my p.o. box this morning and walked away with an armful of beautiful thick envelopes and packages. I felt like the most popular girl at the post office. […]

On Friday night, Rama and I saw Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at the LA County Museum of Art. As part of a month-long series, the museum held the screening outside on the lawn. The weather has been gorgeous, especially in the evenings, and I’ve always loved that movie, so I knew I just […]

I am still surprised at how easily I move from belly-aching laughter to heart-stinging tears. Good luck to my dear Sidra as she begins a new adventure in San Francisco. I won’t miss you, because I will be visiting often — and soon.

I played treasure hunt in my old bedroom yesterday and I found so much good stuff: Classroom-passed notes and letters from crushes, Madonna cassettes and embarrassingly bad mixed tapes, clippings of magazine-published poetry and a folder of dot-matrix printouts. I could have easily spent hours digging through the treasures, remembering tidbits of my childhood, alternately […]