Unwanted Thoughts Syndrome

Hey, guys! It's been a crazy few weeks. And by crazy I mean AWESOME. I love my new job, which is a feeling so foreign to me that I don't really know what to do with it.

New topic.

A thing about me: I like stand-up comedy. Some may think that its heyday is over, but I like the structure and tradition of it. This may sound crazy, but I think stand-up is a lot like poetry in that a joke is just a distilled story that doesn't waste any time or words.

Plus, there are some seriously funny people out there right now. Maria Bamford is the best. She is smart, funny, has two fat pugs, and just seems like the kind of person I would like to hang out with, as she appears to be both laid-back and incredibly high-strung at the same time (cf: ME).

I also love anyone who can talk about mental illness without being a total self-absorbed downer, and Maria totally makes her experience with OCD and anxiety hilarious and relatable. I got her last album, Unwanted Thoughts Syndrome, for Christmas, and it is super solid. The following video contains most of the bits from the CD, plus some more. Yay!

Maria Bamford's One-Hour Homemade Christmas Special! from Maria Bamford on Vimeo.

NUPTIALS!

I just got word that two of my most beloved friends will be getting married in 2010! I can't wait to go to Austin and Portland to witness the nuptials (the grossest word ever, ever, besides panties!). I am so, so happy that they're happy, and as always, so glad for these long and steady friendships.

I hope they don't mind that I've taken the liberty of picking out their wedding cake toppers for them. I am obsessed with these damn things and their existence is pretty much the most exciting thing about getting married for me.

Congrats!

I love Brandon Bird's art. It appeals to me in every way. Someday when I am rich I will buy one of his big pieces, but for now, a look at his website is satisfying enough. Happy Valentine's to everyone!

Genentech

So, uh, I work here now. It's pretty amazing so far and I'm very excited about the next six months.

I find myself doing a lot of work that I don't necessarily like for companies I don't necessarily care that much about, but already I'm feeling different about this job. I like having some tiny part in making sick people feel better, and I also love learning about medical stuff.

Also, there are free sodas. In the immortal words of Annie, "I think I'm gonna like it here."

I don't think I was born with a sense of kitsch, but then why do I have such good memories of the original Nut Tree?


The Nut Tree was an amazing outpost of glorious American culture in Vacaville, CA, about two hours north of San Francisco. Travelers from the Bay Area would stop there on their way to Sacramento for a bite to eat and to hang out on the grounds before getting back into a cramped car. My family stopped there a few times on our yearly summer camping trips in the 80's. I remember a lot of dried fruit being for sale in the shoppe above.

But the main thing that sticks in my mind about the Nut Tree is that they had my very favorite cookies, these delicious honey-spice flat treats coated with a hard frosting and shaped like animals and cartoon characters. (You can find these at grocery stores sometimes, but they are nameless and impossible to ask for! My mom always gets me one when she sees them. I love her.)

I think we ate in the restaurant at least once. Thank goodness, because alas, all this California-style magic no longer exists. I guess the audience for honey cookies and train rides began to have other interests, as the old grounds of the Nut Tree are now home to a BevMo! and Best Buy, among other lame box stores. I feel lucky to have these colorful memories floating around in my head.