find your inner audrey.

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dateline: oZspace

22 october 1996 9:09 p.m.

I finished the paper. Actually, I don't think it sucked too bad after all. Sure, I got maybe two hours of sleep before the damned trash trucks decided to be unusually noisy at six in the morning, but after ingesting some caffeinated Excedrin (headache-killer and buzz-giver all in one!) and some McDonald's coffee nabbed en-route, I survived the day unscathed... except for one embarrasing stumble on the Campus Center steps. I swear they add steps once in a while just to keep us guessing. Derek and I dined at the opulence that is Pizza Hut, but, like my report, lunch wasn't half bad. I also had my first salad in maybe two months, and managed to get dressing on my shirt. "At least it's heart shaped," my beau offered as condolence. It was more of a lunch-and-run, actually. In no time I raced off to Hawaiian, where we had to sing. I apologized to my class in advance. The good news is, when I left, the glass windows were still intact. Work was work. I think the nurses think we know more than we do (whereas I'd sure like to know at least half as much as they do) about the contract situation, so they're either being extra nice or pretty much letting us do our thing. I was walking through the lobby and stumbled into what appeared to be some enormously joyous family reunion. It was a Japanese clan, about twenty of them, most of them older and most of them women. For all I knew they were all there because someone was in the hospital sick, but just the vibes I got from them were tangibly warm and happy. I couldn't help but smile, and despite getting bitched out by a patient, it stuck most of the day. I realized that when older Japanese women gossip in a group, especially when you can't understand what they're saying, it sounds like they're almost singing. "Melodically cawing" might be more accurate. They all bobbed and sighed and made affirming "mmm" noises, overlapping eachother as they talked. Just for an instant I had one of those moments of perspective, when I suddenly realized that, for the most part, we're really no different than twittering flocks of geese. And geese don't have to worry about traffic. Remember that intersection by the Hard Rock I complained about a while back? Tonight it was closed. Only those who know how huge this interchange is can truly appreciate the horrific nightmare I, an exhausted motorist, drove into. I'm not exaggerating. It was the top story on the news. Some bus actually fell partly through the pavement, busting a water line. So, instead of a leisurely cruise into Waikiki, I ended up having to make a right turn. Then a left. Then I wasn't going anywhere I wanted to (i.e. my apartment, or a Caribbean vacation). I figured I'd be clever and turn around through the shopping center... and ended up in near gridlock. It took me twenty minutes to crawl back up to the intersection I'd just been deflected from, where I finally made a right turn -- no dumb pedestrians to be seen -- and sped home. Hallelujah. It's finally getting cool again. Any day now, I'll actually want to wear jammies again. Another month, and maybe I'll actually put a blanket on my bed. There's even been a breeze. It doesn't smell like bus exhaust or the rancid Ala Wai canal around here as much any more. "It's log! It's log!" Don't mind me, I'm just rotting my brain with "Ren and Stimpy." Do you ever wonder what they crew has to do for the foley on this show? Ever close your eyes and just listen to the sound effects? Some of the images are not pretty. Hey! I just saw a nifty commercial by some Asian American political group. If I could name all the faces that blinked past during its "Go out and vote!" message -- I caught Jason Scott Lee, Tia Carerre, Margret Cho, Michael Chang, Nia Peoples and Jenny Shimizu in there -- I'd probably get a pretty thorough set of names for my earlier hunt for Asian role models. I don't know why, but after my online rant, seeing the ad was encouraging. Who could that be, reclining in a bathtub with mismatched socks and an IBM ThinkPad in her lap on the cover of this week's "U.S. News and World Report"? Why, it's fellow online diarist and Open Pages sister Carolyn Burke! Congratulations, Carolyn! The magazine article is actually several excerpts from a new book, 24 Hours in Cyberspace, in which Carolyn and her internet diary were featured. I remember reading how she was excited to be included in the project -- modeled after the "Day in the Life of..." photojournal series -- but I doubt she expected to get this extra huge hunk o' fame. Unfortunately, despite Carolyn's porcelain portrait (with the caption, "Carolyn Burke, author of an Internet diary") on the front, none of the actual articles touch on the true online diary community. In fact, to my horror, the one related excerpt included a two page photo of the hosers at "The Spot" and an article about "cybersoaps." It's too bad. Though I do say so myself, I think they missed something great by focusing on artificial lives rather than real ones. Especialy given the copy: "There are no limits to the unusual and startling human interactions that are sparked in cyberspace. Weird stuff thrives online because it is a medium affording intimacy on demand... It is easier for many to be brave and spontaneous online than in person." That's me. That's us. And there are more of us every week.