Birthday Good Times

It was fun. It was swell.
And now it is back to the grind I go,
with the taste of vacation still on my lips.

Balloon Assassins

"Hee, hee, don't mind us, we mean you no harm. We are not filled with poison gas that will slay you when your back is turned..."

"We come in peace, we are ambassadors of birthday joy! We would never EVER tangle you up in our colorful rainbow tentacles and strangle the life out of you, OH NO!"
"Don't we fit in nicely? We are colorful and crazy like the rest of this kooky house! We have no immediate plans to explode into a fireball that will destroy the entire block, not today at least..."
"Why hello little furry creature, bonjour, ca va?"
"Do not look at us like that! We can see you polishing your razor sharp claws and licking your lips! Our soft bosoms tremble in fear! We are delicate flowers monsieur, be gentle with us!"

"Perhaps YOU will be more reasonable? Do you speak Balloon? Are you hearing what we are laying down canine creature? Wait, STOP JUMPING ON US, your wiggle butt will destroy our delicate balance!"

"STOP LOOKING AT US LIKE THAT!!? WE CANNOT TAKE THE PRESSURE! Our armpits are sweaty and our vision is blurring...YES, YES, IF YOU MUST KNOW, SINCE YOU ARE DRAGGING IT OUT OF US! We did come here to assassinate you with love and affection. THERE, are you happy!?!""There, there silly balloons, take your pills and float off to la la land. The wild flowers will make it all better, hush now...shhhhh..."

".....aodbaf,mnafzm....."

Thank you sweet Undead Molly (and her lovely parents too!) for the balloons and flowers and cards and ELEPHANT POO. My birthday month has officially begun and it is two weeks and counting til I turn 30 fucking 5. Man, how did I get so old so fast? Is it just me or does time fly like a bat out of hell with balloons up its butt???

And more importantly, WHAT ARE YOU GETTING ME!??

Happy Birfday Margot!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARGOT!!

I can't even imagine life without a big sister, in particular, THIS big sister. One who babysat me at a ridiculously young age, shuttling me around the New York City buses and finding her way to the Museum of Natural History when she was 9 and I was 4.

We would tromp through the dark halls of the gem room and hide behind the plush velvet seats, each playing our own games but never far from one another.

This same big sister brought me to see Blade Runner when I was a wee lass and introduced me to Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Arc and ET. She gave me roles in her radio show, NNBBS and parts in her short sci fi film. She played Barbies and paperdolls with me for hours and constructed elaborate plots which involved trials, beheadings and espionage.

This big sister introduced me to all my favorite authors, the Brontes, Stendhal, Balzac, Alice Munroe, Diana Wynne Jones. She read aloud to me for hours, often testing to see if I was still awake my repeating the word, "tomato, tomato, tomato." Every birthday and holiday means a slew of new books to read thanks to my sister.

We call her "The Memory" in our family because she remembers all the things that we forget.

For instance, "When did I see Gremlins for the first time Margot?"

"We saw it in Montreal and you had to pretend to be 16 to get in. Then we ate French onion soup, walked around the city and I got a cocktail!"

"Ahh, yes, I remember now."

My brain is not so good with dates and such, that is why I was born related to The Memory.

Today is my sister's birthday and it is a BIG one. She is not a big fan of birthdays so this will be brief. She is also not a big fan of smultz which puts me, her most smultzy sister, at a supreme disadvantage.

All these years of sobbing during romantic tear jerkers have prompted snorts and eye rolling from my sassy sister. Not that she does not like movies and TV: Buffy, Angel, Asian horror flix, KitH, she is addicted to pop culture in a variety of forms. This makes her an excellent movie reviewer and a good conversationalist (unless you are one of those snooty losers who disparages TV in which case, fuck off).

Margot loves her chubby kittens and my former cat Max the Slayer. Three cats is a lot to handle but she manages their variety of complaints, demands and personality quirks with aplomb.
Some points of interest about Dr Margot:

Graduated from Harvard with honors.
Attended school in Paris on a Fullbright scholarship.
Speaks French and German and reads Latin.
Got a PhD at Berkeley so you could call her Dr.
Yes, she is ridiculously smart you idiot.
Enjoys fashion and bright colors.
Loves pop culture and the boob tube.
Also starred in The Deadbeat Club.
Is funnier than you think.
Has a way with words.
Writes killer movie reviews for Seven Days.
Has two novels ready to go.
Will not give up, EVER.

I love you Margot! Thanks for letting me trail around after you all these years! xoxo Lil Evie

Happy 12th BDay 7 Days

Seven Days had an awesome pre-Art Hop party Friday, and I was there with my video camera to record the good times for posterity and snag some cool made to order t-shirts courtesy of Tick Tick.

Want to meet the editors/publishers/founders/superwomen of Seven Days, Pamela Polston and Paula Routly? Face to face and in "person"? Find out why they started this paper and how?

And while you're there, why not meet the rest of the eclectic 7 Days staffers and some of the well-wishing revelers. Grab a piece of crudité and stay a while.

Towards the end of the video, listen up for some van der Poll Dutch melodies. The apples do not fall far from the tree if you catch my drift...

Sigh, what a night! What a paper/media empire! Happy birthday ladies! I know you will survive the terrible teens with dignity and savoir faire!

Bugs, Birthdays and Butterflies

This bug is inhabiting my new bathtub. He is over an inch long and has many legs. I think the activity in the basement (asbestos removal) has forced him from his dank abode. This bug and I will have to do some serious negotiating because I love baths.




Yesterday was my 34th birthday. The morning was dark and stormy but soon the sun was poking through the clouds.

Suzanne brought sushi and a cake. Molly brought a baseball bat and a swell card. My family brought themselves and good times.

I wish the mini-break would never end. Having no internet access, cell reception or DVD burners felt awfully good. Me and Harry Potty got real close.

I soaked up as much atmosphere (see pics here) as I could and then...POP...back to reality....and big scary bugs.

Still, there are nice butterflies who follow me down shady wooded paths so I guess it'll work out in the end...