Yam <> Sweet Potato

Yams are so different from sweet potatoes. I don't know how people can think they're so similar. The only reason I make a point of it is that sweet potatoes are far more delicious than yams. Luckily they're both on my diet.

Self Defense

If a panhandler snatches money out of my hand at 2am in the morning as I'm trying to hail a cab (and I'm drunk, and I'm wearing heels) ... I won't yell "Help" or scream.

I will smack him in the head with my arm, and he will run away. I'll topple to the ground, cursing my heels. And my arm will hurt inconsolably the next day. I hope you hurt today, you scum!

Thankfulnesses

The power of prayer and faith. I believe! And I am endeavoring to live up to the grace of all the blessings in my life.

Sviatoslav Richter

The performances exemplified Richter's own feelings about his playing, as expressed in 1989 to a French friend Eric Anther:

I am not a complete idiot, but whether from weakness or laziness have no talent for thinking. I know only how to reflect: I am a mirror . . . Logic does not exist for me. I float on the waves of art and life and never really know how to distinguish what belongs to the one or the other or what is common to both. Life unfolds for me like a theatre presenting a sequence of somewhat unreal sentiments; while the things of art are real to me and go straight to my heart.

Impatient Flap of Hand

The haircut I got on Friday afternoon is such a mysterious gift from the gods. Curiousest, probably, is the fact that there weren't any long pieces of hair on the floor when it was finished. And yet, my hair looks inches shorter and coifs like a dream. Lots of mousse! Another part of the mystique - Simon told me to lean forward and 'let the gravity pull the hair down'. Doesn't gravity always pull ... the hair ... down?

We went to the New Museum last night for like, 10 seconds, but it's true that museums aren't as fun at 1am. Especially once you realize there's no alcohol. Just candy. Oh, and art.

So, we went out instead, and of course ended up at K-town. Second night in a row of 3am kimchi pajeon and duk bokki. NYMag only shows 81 restaurants open 24 hours. When we left around 5, we could see the first tentative snowflakes falling on Manhattan.

Crash and Burn

This morning, I suited up for the gym and then ...didn't go. Things kept coming up! Like, as Andrew and I rambled around the neighborhood, we decided to open a door and walk in off the street to have our photos taken at a model casting call. The model casting call was for an agency called Ugly Models. I don't know how you can beat that. I guess I could still go to the gym.

The model casting call was fortuitous on several unexpectable levels. Andrew and I had been talking about headshots for his company, Lookmakers. I have always deluded myself that I would one day be "discovered" as a model. People of all sizes, ages, and numbers of lazy eyes showed up.

Recently, I have organically developed some convictions to live by:

• Suffering doesn't buy you happiness
• Organizations are set up as a way for society to parent you once your parents aren't there. Why not just parent yourself, instead? Or, to paraphase, "Do it yourself".
  

Time for another nap, I think. Going to the new museum on the Bowery tonight, at 1am or something. Must rest up!