Published!

It happened! In the dark of night, somewhere in a Washington, D.C. suburb, the December 10, 2012 issue of USA Today rolled off the presses and I became a published author. Everyone has been so nice and complementary about the column and I just really want to thank you all for taking the time to read my thoughts. You don't know how happy it makes me to hear that something I wrote made you laugh when you were having a bad day. As I keep writing, I am getting more focused on the main purpose and goal of this blog and I think it's just to look at the brighter side of things. Yes, it sucks to have a sick kid and to jump the curb in your minivan, but you can find something, some little kernel of humor in even a sucky situation.

To that point, the Girl is home sick with an ear infection today, so there's been no time to dress up in a beret, striped shirt, and a scarf, and go around acting like a real writer. (Plus, I think that I may be thinking of a how a mime dresses.)

The kids' pediatrician was actually flooded, so we ended up going to the urgent care where I got the strep antibiotic that could have offed me, but luckily did not.  The Girl got four prescriptions that we took to the Publix pharmacy, which gave me a chance to buy a print version of the newspaper. I was so excited to get home and look at the article. Sweetly, the Girl asked me if she could read it. Tickled and thrilled, I proudly opened it up to page 8A and the Girl leaned over the paper:

The Girl: Gah, Mom. I can't even read the first sentence. This is so boring. Is it for grown-ups? Does this paper have comics?

It was truly the perfect reaction. She's not exactly my audience, so that's okay. On the plus side, USA Today has a crossword puzzle that will make you feel like a freaking genius. Thank you again for all the nice comments you've sent me. I really appreciate it!

  

News and Updates

It's been an exiting weekend for us here at Out Went the Light. You realize, of course, that by "us" I mean me, my laptop, and a pile of laundry. First of all, the K and his band, The Happy Enchiladas had their public debut last night at Anthony's Pizza in Scottdale. For locals, have you ever been to Anthony's Pizza? It's just past Your DeKalb Farmer's Market on the right. For New Jersians, this was the first time since I left the Garden State that I thought, "Is this place a legit business?" I'm sure it's totally fine and they make all their money on First Communion parties, but let's just say for a restaurant and bar built on a former lumber yard, they seemed to have particularly large freezer.

The Enchiladas opened for another band that was playing for free and essentially everyone there was a friend or family member of members of one of the two bands. There was this one guy, who I like to call Dale Jr. (for reasons that should become obvious when you look at the picture below), who didn't seem to be friends with anyone but the sound guy, who's name was Mike, appropriately.

The whole band was very relaxed and seemed to be having a good time. They played great and it was fun to listen to them. The main act was a three-piece group and I realized that I'm officially too old to see live music with a drum kit. I was wishing for some earplugs. Here's a picture of the Enchiladas performing. Apologizes to Jill who said she hated the picture and to Sara who looks like she's getting impaled by the mike:

Happy Enciladas: (L to R) the K, Sara, Jill, and David

In other news, I have an update on jean washing. I mentioned Anderson Cooper's shower jean washing technique to our babysitter and she said that this is a real thing! So, I Googled and came up with an article in the Wall Street Journal, no less, in which a Levis executive says he washes his jeans every six months and when he does wash them, he immerses them in a bathtub of water. So, it's not exactly the way Andy described, but the infrequent washing is endorsed and not washing in a washing machine. I couldn't find any support for washing the pants while wearing them. I'm not surprised because there is nothing worse than trying to take off wet jeans. Except for maybe that hilarious scene from "Friends" when Ross gets hot in the leather pants and calls Joey for advice. Don't pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about. Why are people are embarrassed to admit that they like "Friends" and Coldplay? I'm going on record as saying that there are some very funny episodes of Friends and Coldplay has some catchy songs.

Finally, some big personal news...I'm supposed to be published tomorrow in USA Today! Yes, it's true! I'm super excited that hotel guests across the country will sip their Royal Cup Coffee and skim my little piece on the crazy holiday catalogues I've received. I say "supposed to be" because I'm convinced that something will go awry and I'll get bumped or they'll realize I'm just humming the words and faking it and that I'm not a real writer. They'll come to my house with laptops a-blazing, shouting, "the jig is up! We know the last thing you published was in your high school literary magazine!" So, should the publication come to pass, I will link to it in tomorrow's post. Hope you all had a great weekend!