Some minor computer problems last night prevented me from posting here. Also, at present my email is not working, so my apologies to the
peeps (Hi Eileen!) who have written to me of late. Jean and Kasey, I did receive yours, but right now am unable to respond. Would like to plan a visit soon. Catherine, Cassie, James, Del Ray, Chris, Patrick, Eileen, Kasey, Jean,so many others, can't wait to meet you! And hopefully this will take place very soon, and in some cases, at tonight's New Brutalist reading!

Finally met Stephanie in person. No surprise to me -since we are e-pals- that she is every bit as special as I expected but her in-person charm exceeds my powers of description. We went for a brief walk, drank some coffee at Starbucks (ahem, her treat!) and mostly talked about you wonderful bloggers and how exciting it is that so many of you are converging here this month. We looked forward to a similar East coast convergence this fall. We talked about her job (which I didn't realize she has had only since this past November), her pride in the fact that despite the fact that her boss smokes she has not had a cigarette since working there and Stephanie's new play project, which started, as she has already told you on Well Nourished Moon, with a major cry. Having had a little spin as an actor myself many an undernourished moon ago, I reassured her that I am positive she is off to a good start. Steph also gave me some posters for our upcoming Postcard reading at the Oxygen bar (I could have used the oxygen right then and there, because I was so thrilled to meet the glamorous -she is!- Stephanie in person, I could barely breathe, I kid you not). I gave her my extra copy of Bernadette Mayer's great book "Moving" and a miniature writing book, because I somehow needed to reward her for her hard work on our collaboration, and frankly, for putting up with difficult me as a new friend! To my delight, she seemed more pleased to meet me than to receive these humble gifts, which was flattering in itself. Soon enough I dropped the posters off at Moe's (spent a few bucks there for some great books, more on that later), Cody's, the campus and a record store. After she went back to work, I lingered around the places we walked for awhile. What can I say? Life gave me an awesome boost when I made friends last March or so with this warm and gifted Bay Area poet. She may be indeed a New Brutalist to you, but I must say she is a new Friendlyist to me!