June 3: Not a PSA, really
Today’s press release from Salem’s Lancaster Mall:
Do you and your son have the same smile or bright blue eyes? If so, Lancaster Mall invites you to participate in the Father/Son Look-a-Like Contest, Saturday, June 14th, at 2pm in front of Sports Authority. Registration forms are available now at the display in the food court and may be picked up until 1pm, June 14th. First place duo will win a $300 prize package courtesy of KYKN radio and Lancaster Mall stores. This is an all ages free contest presented by KYKN radio. "Bring the family and cheer for your favorite duo," said Katie Johnson, Marketing Coordinator.
Announcements like this are posted regularly on an Oregon information board I read, and I just have to say that Lancaster Mall has the most, um, unique events, most of which involve people dressing alike or looking like their pets and/or babies. You Salem-area residents are so, um, lucky to have these Patty Simcox-like marketing folk around.
In other local mall news, the California Pizza Kitchen opened at Clackamas Town Center yesterday. Color the Manullangs fat and happy!
June 3: It’s a mystery
I don’t get it. A lot of our friends know about our web site, but less than 100 percent of them visit. If people don’t occasionally read this blog, how will they know that life at the House of Manullang is incredibly fascinating and become soul-numbingly jealous? Of course, by “incredibly fascinating” I mean “pathetically Webkinz-centered.” And by “become soul-numbingly jealous” I mean “feel pity and invite me on their next vacation.”
June 2: What are you doing?
OK, y’all gotta try Twitter. Here’s why:
- You can share wise, insightful observations about your day AS THEY COME TO YOU
- We—your followers—can know what you’re doing at all times and you know you want us to
- Spread the good news about your life
- Bitch about the suckfest you call your life
- Get texts that make you laugh so hard milk squirts out your phone charger
Afraid you can’t keep a blog? Twitter is kind of a mini-blog. 
There are 140 characters allowed per “tweet” in which to answer the question, “What are you doing?” You can tweet from your computer—several applications are available—or your cell phone. You can receive others’ tweets the same ways.
It’s a great way to communicate with several people at once. Do you typically text more than one person at a time? Tweet instead! You can reply to tweets and eavesdrop on conversations too. Who doesn’t love eavesdropping?
Still not convinced of Twitter fabulousness? Here’s something direct from the Twitter FAQ:
But... what is the point?
As it turns out, your best friend is probably interested in knowing if you're "loving the new Radiohead album." And yes, your Mom may want to know if you're "skipping breakfast in favor of a latte." You might want to know if your significant other "feels like taking a roadtrip." Find out what your friends are doing; keep each other abreast of your quotidian rituals.
My twitter feed is on the right column of my blog or you can read it at twitter.com. Register at Twitter, go to my page (http://twitter.com/jmanullang) and click Follow to see my updates on your Twitter home page. Check out the other twitter feeds I follow for unparalleled hilarity, tweet-style.
I insist. Really. I’m talking to you.
June 2: HSM on stage
We celebrated the first big weekend of Portland’s Rose Festival by doing nothing remotely connected to the Rose Festival. We did, however, drive downtown and see the Fun Center. And by “see” I mean the people in the back seat screamed and begged to stop and ride the ferris wheel, while the people in the front seat promised them that looking at it as we quickly drove past was just as fun.
We actually were downtown to see the stage production of High School Musical. If by any chance you’re thinking “Oooh!” let me just correct you right now. You should be thinking “Ew!” Because if you were over the age of, say, 14 you were too old to be there.
When they first announced the show would be in Portland I decided this would be a fun family activity and bought tickets. This was last fall, when both Katie and Jack were constantly watching the movie. The music is fun and the stars are relatively talented, so I admit I didn’t mind listening to it, which is good because for a while it was playing in the background of our lives ALL THE LIVE LONG DAY.
But last night was not the movie, oh no. Katie was disappointed that the original stars were not in the stage production. It was very manicurist-on-Seinfeld: “Whaaaat? No Zac-a Efron?” The actors that played Troy and Gabriella were decent, but Sharpay was beyond grating. And I kept getting Chad and Zeke confused because Chad didn’t have ginormous Corbin Bleu hair.
(Oh lord. I can’t believe I know all these character and actor names. Somebody shoot me.)
The evening was not a total loss; in fact, it was quite the opposite because when I walked in I was quickly called to one side of the lobby by the lovely Lori and her daughter Taylor. It was a delightful surprise to see them there! Kathy, I assure you there was much mention of your name but it was mostly in the oh-she’s-gonna-be-so-jealous sense. If Lori had been able to work that dagnabbit new-fangled phone of hers you would have received some awesome video of K&J loving her while not thinking about you.
I didn’t hear what Taylor and her friends thought of the show. Katie loved loved loved it and now wants to see High School Musical on Ice. (Gah!) Jack liked the show. He did not love it. He reminded us of this repeatedly. The three adults I knew were all pretty much “meh” about it.
And there’s your review.
June 1: No longer afraid
Whew. The recital’s over. Katie did great, and was very relieved (and bored) once she was finished. Poor Jack; he hated the whole thing, even Katie’s stuff. Remind us not to bring him next time.
Here are a couple pics—one of K&J, who were unwilling to stand any closer to each other than that—and the other of Katie playing a duet with Mrs. Jordan, her piano teacher.
It was a very nice program. The importantest part is that our heartbeats are all back to normal pace. Moments like these are exactly why Xanax was invented, in case you were not sure of its usefulness in society. It’s useful. It’s definitely useful.
May 30: Be very afraid
Katie has her first piano recital on Sunday. Is it strange that I’m nervous, probably more nervous than she is? Don’t get me wrong—she’s certainly not okay with the idea. I’m trying to be as encouraging as I can, but I know she doesn’t 
want to perform and if I thought I could get her out of it, I think I would.
I always hated my piano recitals. I was sure I’d mess up, forget my piece, trip in front of everyone, or people would laugh at me. I never understood why I had to memorize anything—when wouldn’t I have my sheet music available to me???—and had no plans to be a concert pianist. So what was the point?
My mom wasn’t great at making me feel any less apprehensive, but to be fair, I don’t remember ever telling her how nervous I was. She probably assumed I was excited; she and Kathy would do anything for an audience (Kathy still will) so the idea that one of her daughters might not want to perform in front of strangers likely never even crossed her mind.
Katie and I are similar in our approach to things like piano recitals and public nudity. We both do it with great fear. Occasionally a panic attack. Always increased heart rate and extreme blushing. Should kids be forced to perform when they don’t want to? As a regular ol’ person, I say it’s probably good for them. But as a mom, I want to protect my little girl from the terror of feeling like the whole world is watching every move she makes. Because I remember how that feels. And I don’t think performing in recitals did anything to build my confidence. It didn’t make me any more comfortable being watched. It didn’t make my turns in speech classes any less nerve-wracking. And yes, I am a trainer and stand in front of people often, but it’s not the same as playing the piano (for me). I still avoid situations that could give others the opportunity to point and laugh at me.
Maybe Katie will decide recitals aren’t so bad. Maybe she’ll be willing to continue lessons—which I’d really like her to do—but only if she doesn’t have to perform again. Maybe she’ll love the thrill. We’ll get through this first one, and then we’ll see.
Y’know, there was one thing I liked about my recitals: I usually got a new dress to wear. That was cool.
I’m taking Katie shopping tonight.
May 27: A delightful evening
Armistead Maupin is doing a book tour for Michael Tolliver Lives, which is a follow-up to the beloved Tales of the City series. Tonight’s stop was in Portland.
I saw him a few years ago when he toured for The Night Listener, my first time seeing a big-name author. He read a chapter, talked a little, answered some questions, and autographed books. In the Q&A portion I was annoyed by some in the crowd—you know the types, they want everyone to know that have some tiny connection to the author so they ask an obscure question just to show off. Bleah.
Tonight he followed a similar schedule. The chapter he chose to read was when Michael goes to see his mom in the nursing home in Orlando, and I loved hearing “her” voice—all sass and thick Southern accent, and so different from the way it read in my head!
None of those in attendance tonight were really obnoxious know-it-alls, thank goodness. There were lots of questions about the TOTC characters’ fates, the miniseries, and personal questions about Maupin’s life. I could have listened to him talk for hours, and I think he would have liked to. While many authors may prefer to be admired from afar, Maupin seems to be an open book and will talk about virtually anything. I respect that so much.
Some of the things you Armistead Maupin fans may care to know:
- Someone asked what he thinks about people like Perez Hilton that “out” closeted celebrities. His reply was, “Can we use someone other than Perez Hilton as an example? I can’t stand that little worm.” His complaint with Perez’s manner of pushing celebrities out of the closet is that he is mean-spirited about it even when he has the chance to do it in a much kinder way.
- When asked when his next book will come out, he says he has a title for it, but that’s all so far. His plan is to finally redeem Mary Ann. Circumstances will bring her back to San Francisco and the book will be primarily about her. He’s planning to call it Mary Ann’s Autumn.
- He said he found Laura Linney to be the embodiment of Mary Ann, and now hears her voice (rather than his own) when he writes her. Linney was a big influence on his decision to start this next book.
- There is a Broadway musical based on Tales in the works. One of the Avenue Q writers is involved, as well as the lead singer of the Scissor Sisters. It is planned to be part of the 2009-10 Broadway season.
- He and his husband were married in Vancouver last year and are planning to be married in California this summer.
I asked him to sign my copy of Michael Tolliver Lives (see crappy phone pic). 
He saw my bookplate and read my name out loud (brave guy). He wondered about the origin of “Manullang” and then asked with a smile, “And ‘Saltmarsh’ is the name you took on during your hippie phase in college?” He almost didn’t believe me when I told him it was my maiden name. While he was writing, I told him I had recommended his books to several “Lenores” (the name of Michael Tolliver’s ultra-conservative sister-in-law) and he laughed. I said, “I just tell them the truth—they’re good books—and hand them over without any warning of the elements I know will freak them out.” He said he’s actually been praised by conservative critics for not writing those kinds of characters unfairly. (Maybe he’s a little too nice???)
On the way home I got this text message from April: Pls ask armistead what-the w/the end of night listener. Well, on the last tour, he wasn’t willing to give too much away about the truth behind the novel. This time he came right out and gave the facts. April, you can check out the details here.
Best part of the evening, besides our short chat: he opened with the hilarious story of his sister’s mother-in-law, who wears a bag over her head during gynecological exams. If you ever get a chance to hear this man speak, it’s worth it just to hear that story.
Linky linky...
Tales of the City (1978)
More Tales of the City (1980)
Further Tales of the City (1982)
Babycakes (1984)
Significant Others (1987)
Sure of You (1989)
Maybe the Moon (1992)
The Night Listener (2000)
Michael Tolliver Lives (2007)
Wikipedia: Armistead Maupin
Wikipedia: Tales of the City
May 26: CinderJen & CinderVic
‘Scuse the lack of posts. It’s been a busy past few days. Katie and Jack went to my mom’s for the long weekend, and Victor and I have been cleaning and organizing their rooms. We had hoped to work on a few other projects too, but everything took longer than we planned. The good news is that our to-do list for the kids’ bedrooms and playroom now has these things crossed off: de-clutter, shampoo carpets, 
organize toys in marked Rubbermaid boxes, collect and re-box crayons and markers and coloring pencils (oh my!), sort clothes, install shelves, hang new window coverings, remove trash and itty-bitty pieces of paper, catalog books according to the Dewey Decimal system, move new desk into playroom, donate outgrown toys and clothes. I think that’s it. Hard to believe we spent three days doing just a paragraph’s worth of stuff.
Katie never throws anything away. She keeps every math worksheet, scrap of paper, torn crayon wrapper, orphaned pen cap, Barbie hair extension… it’s infuriating. I gained a lot of sympathy for my mom when I realized Katie was like this, because I was exactly the same way as a child. What??? You threw away my bottle cap collection? My life is over!
Jack hoards underwear in his desk drawers, most of which is dirty. That was a super-fun discovery. He also painted on his door and then covered it with an art project from school. From now on, before I praise his artwork I’m going to look underneath it to see what he’s trying to hide.
We found a Nintendo 64 game system that we stored away long before the kids came along. Fortunately we also found the only game we ever bought—some Star Wars thing that Jack is going to love. Vic says he’s sorry he erased all your high scores, Stephen. Note that he deleted them; he did not beat them.
Casey was nervous watching us work. Because we’ve pretty much concluded that she was dropped off in our neighborhood after her owner died, it’s no surprise. Every time I looked at her she had this expression like, “Oh no. This is just like when the old lady disappeared and her kids packed up her things and then they took me for a ride in the car.” Poor girl. She’s been getting extra lovin’ on our breaks from cleaning.
That, in turn, pisses off Scout. To make up for it, we’ve had the dogs sleep with us every night. Vic and I both go to bed fully clothed when the dogs are on the bed because we know our blankets will be stolen during the night. Sure enough, this morning I woke up in the upper corner of the bed with my feet hanging off the side and all the blankets under Scout’s big fat beagle ass. Now I’m not only sore from all the work I’ve been doing, I’m sore from the position in which I’ve had to sleep.
We did have one nice break this weekend. Last night our neighbors hosted a barbecue and we all gathered outside for a few hours. Although I was tired, it was lovely to sit around and talk with our friends. (Note: Mike’s Hard Tea is goo-ood)
Well, I’m going to finish this cup of coffee and get the last few things on the list done. Then we’re headed down to Cottage Grove (halfway point between here and Medford) to retrieve our kids. Yay.
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