Tuesday, July 06, 2010

We're in the Basement Part IV

Back to the basement!  This shelf is the sort of random travel shelf.  Behind the shelf is a glorious welcome mat, purchased at the (duh) International UFO Museum in Roswell, New Mexico.  I am surprised that I had the forethought to buy such a magnificent item.  I can see myself hemming and hawing at the museum shop, and ultimately not buying somthing like this.  But here it is!  I must have been moved by the full-on alienness of Roswell.  Here's a closer look:

On the left side of the shelf, we have one of my two figurines from the Alex Winter movie, Freaked. In front of them are just a small part of my Mold-A-Rama collection.  For those of you who don't know what Mold-A-Ramas are, I feel sad for you.  They are these crazy, LOUD machines at zoos and museums where you stick in some money, watch hot wax pour into a mold, and out pops your animal or dinosaur or Lincoln head a few moments later.  Hot.  You have to hold them upside-down until the wax dries.  Pure genius.  To learn more, click here.  I am sooooo jealous of that guy's collection.
In the front right is a tiny piece of Acoma pottery, a sleeping cat, that we purchased from someone at the Acoma Sky City.  Behind the blue triceratops is an empty bottle of Sioux City Sarsaparilla, purchased and drunk at South Dakota's Original 1880's Town (can you tell I plan awesome road trips?).  So chosen because it was mentioned in "The Big Lebowski."

This side has more Mold-A-Ramas [note Lincoln head number two], plus a silly little Ben Franklin toy to the right (why I bought that, I'll never know), and my autographed figurine of Alex Winter's character from "Freaked."  You may recall my story of how I waited for him at last summer's Comic-Con just to get an autograph, and then we only took one blurry picture.  Sigh.

So that's the basement roundup for today.  I also have some super exciting book news, but I don't know if I'm allowed to share it.  And I don't know if it really means anything anyway, but I'm still jazzed and completely too unfocused to possibly work on my next novel because of it.  Hmmmm....

3 comments:

Natalie Whipple said...

I've decided I want to live in your basement. I won't, because I'm sure you'd be scared. But I WANT to.

Liana said...

I'm going to post an OT comment, I hope that's okay.

I was in a mental hospital twice during the tenth grade (two years ago) for depression (amongst other things). One of the hardest parts of getting out into the Free World again, in my opinion, is that you've had this super-weird, sticks-with-you-for-the-rest-of-your-life experience, and no one to relate to or share it with afterwords. It is almost like being abducted by aliens in a weird way...

I found your novel in the reading stack of my high school's guidance office (depression truly is the gift that keeps on giving) last year, sandwiched between sex-ed and college process resource guides. I thought I'd read it for the shits and giggles, in the same way that I now watch Girl Interrupted or Manic.

However, I was really, really pleasantly surprised. In fact, I loved your book and now own it. Not just because the writing was wonderful and sardonic and easy in the best ways, but because so much rang true to my experience. I don't know how much of the book you based on your experience, but I can assure you that everything is pretty much the same. Hallways are still T-shaped, personal contact is still banned until departure hugs, the Quiet Room is still not quiet at all, and Star Wars is still de rigueur (though it baffles me as to why seeing someone's hand cut off is okay, but seeing anything above TV-PG on television is not). And I (like Anna/You) still have the feeling of being closer with random people I wouldn't have ever talked to otherwise than most of my good friends In The Real World.

And... now I don't know how to end this besides saying thank you and cheering for your efforts on the sequel! Yay for abrupt and awkward endings!

Julie H said...

Natalie, you really do not want to live in my basement. I am not showcasing any of the cat poos that Tobin leaves on the floor on a daily basis.

Liana- thank you so much for the sweet words! Not that I like hearing when someone has gone through what I went through, but I appreciate that my book was relatable and able to help in some ways. I hope the sequel is as true to the experience as GET WELL SOON was. Here's to moving forward!