the unavoidable consequence of you

I finally broke down and bought a book last night. Used a very old Target gift card, one of a few given to me at a birthday party by people who I knew forgot to get a gift and swung past Target on their drive into D.C., even though they knew I had no car and no way to actually get to a Target. Ah, friends.

I’ve seen a lot of chatter about David Sedaris’ book “When You Are Engulfed in Flames,” and it was definitely worth the purchase, though even after Target’s discounted price, it still would have been cheaper at Amazon. Barely a few pages in and he already had me giggling on the metro and drawing the odd stare in that way that only the Sedaris siblings can. In ‘Keeping Up’ he tells of vacationers that always seem to end up arguing outside his window.

“Americans,” he repeated. “We don’t live in France, we live in Virginia. Vienna, Virginia. Got it?”

I looked at this guy and knew for certain that if we’d met at a party, he’d claim to live in Washington, D.C. Ask for a street address, and he’d look away, mumbling, “Well, just outside D.C.”

I know that Sedaris has been to D.C. enough times to see such behavior and he really pegged it. Not that I can say much since if I tell people I grew up in Dunwoody (½-way between there and Doraville, actually), I get a bit of a blank stare, but if I say I grew up in or near Atlanta, the light bulbs go on.

Anyway, I shall enjoy and likely devour this book and I hope it’s gotten me back on track with reading. With so much electronic stimulus, I’ve forgotten that one of my favorite things to do was to take myself (and a book) out to brunch or dinner and lose myself in language and food for a little while. So if anyone has a current must-read, let me know!

Getting the morning started is The Bossa Three, Bossa Nova. Even though rain is looming — totally my fault, Michael and I plan to attend the same happy hour at Cobalt, that always makes it rain — it feels like it’s going to be a good day.