The Big Weekend

Quotes by Mario Vargas Llosa,
Peruvian novelist and politician (1936- ):

"Writing a book is a very lonely business. You are
totally cut off from the rest of the world,
submerged in your obsessions and memories."

"No matter how ephemeral it is, a novel is something,
while despair is nothing."

"There is an incompatibility between
literary creation and political activity."

I have a rather long to-do list for the weekend. Today is going to be the day I need to get a lot of things done, because the next two days are going to be crazy.

Tomorrow is my birthday. The Big 4-0. Whee. My presents from my parents came in the mail yesterday, and despite 39 years' worth of upbringing that should have prevented me from opening them, I did it anyway. I told Mother and Dad on the phone last night when I called to thank them that the way I see it, I'm almost 40 years old, and if I get a present and I want to open it, I'm going to open it. I may die between now and Friday, I said, and then I would've missed the chance to enjoy my gifts.

I love what they got me - this cute little red slicker-type rain jacket with navy and white trim. Very chic. Not something I would have picked out for myself, which makes it a perfect gift. They also sent me a little mad money, because as my mother put it, "Every little girl should have some money of her own." I'm gonna buy me a new pair of jeans ...

Saturday is also a special day. First, it's my parents' wedding anniversary. I used to get a kick (still do, sometimes) out of telling people I was born the day before my parents got married. That'll lift a few eyebrows, let me tell you. I smile and clarify it, of course, by saying they were married five years earlier. So, this year they are celebrating 45 years of marriage. Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! (I'll say it again Saturday.)

Saturday is also Big Brother Brett's birthday. His debut novel, The Cleaner, will be out in June, part of the onslaught of Killer Year releases of 2007. I think about this and get all tingly inside. It's good stuff, trust me.

Waiting in line. With the advent of my 40th birthday, there is an item on the to-do list that must be accomplished either today or tomorrow - the renewing of the driver's license. And it's probably about time I had a new picture taken, considering the one that's on my license now was taken when I was 30. I've changed a bit since then. Not much, but a bit. New glasses. The hair's darker (with a few hints of gray which I've earned over the years).

I was quite successful in surprising the WMVR yesterday for her birthday. She's been telling me for over 10 years that no one can ever surprise her. Yesterday, I did it. I was in town for a breakfast meeting, and afterward I popped into Kroger and picked up a wrap of fresh-cut flowers, a card, and a pound of butter. Then I drove to her apartment and called her from the street. The conversation went something like this:

"Hi." (She knew it was me thanks to caller ID.)

"Oh, good, you're home, because I have a surprise for your birthday."

"You do?"

"Uh-huh. Come let me in."

"What? Okay."

She laughed and she cried and she laughed some more. And yes, she got her nose buttered ...

My lovely and talented critique partner and I are going to shed our writer personas tomorrow and enjoy an evening out with our hubbies to celebrate my reaching the end of another decade of life. Saturday night is The Tall One's basketball banquet.

See? Told you we had a big weekend planned.

Today, I must run what errands I can get accomplished between now and work-time, and try to slip in a little writing somewhere along the way.

Let's Do Lunch! We're ready to go with another interview, and I'm really excited about this one. My guest in the Lunch Room tomorrow will be the very charming (and very tall) Mark Arsenault, author of Grave Writer, the first in his new series. I hope you'll stop by!

=) JB