31 December, 2007 | 10 Comments

I’ve indulged in quite a bit of self-reflection over the past 12 months…it’s just been that kinda year. 2007 was a year that changed everything for me and so before it’s consigned to the history books in about eight hours, I want to take a look back in words and images.

Exactly one year ago today, I had just moved into a new apartment sublet near the Eiffel Tower. I was feeling hopeful about the future, as if I was about to turn a corner and begin a new chapter of my life after what had been a difficult few months adjusting to life in Paris. Then that night – at around 11:00 p.m. on New Year’s Eve! – the apartment owner informed me I was being evicted; he preferred I leave right then and check into a cheap hotel. It was a terrible way to start the New Year. His decision sent me down a path that was difficult to recover from given everything else that was happening. The next six weeks were among the most difficult of my life. I don’t even like to think about them.

I never would have guessed during those cold dark miserable horrible January days that by the end of 2007 I would be happier and more stable than I ever have been before in my adult life. It wasn’t easy to get to this place, but I’m so grateful to be where I am now.

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29 December, 2007 | 10 Comments

I arrived back in London today. What an ordeal! I never thought I’d make it. If I hadn’t been so tired, I would have kissed the ground upon arrival.

I was supposed to fly back to London straight from Charlotte on US Airways, but there was a maintenance problem with the plane — rumors spread through the boarding area that it was the engine or the door or the radar. A part had to be flown in from another airport and we had to sit in the waiting area as the hours ticked by very slowly. We were supposed to leave last night at 8:00 p.m., then it was pushed back to 9:00, then 10:00, then 11:00. I began to think the flight would be cancelled. At least they gave us meal vouchers , which I blew on tea, mints and bottled water. I’d already had a two-hour drive from Asheville to Charlotte in the rain and fog and was not feeling peppy.

During the delay, I was quite shocked at the behavior of the British passengers. I would say the passengers on this flight were probably split 50-50 between British and American and the Brits totally lost it! Now listen, I am the first to point out the embarrassing way that Americans behave, so I’m not being biased. One British guy was screaming at the woman at the boarding gate and was actually arrested by airport police and taken way. Many of his fellow Brits were complaining extremely loudly, bitching and moaning and exclaiming things like “I hate this city!”, “I hate this airline!”, “I’m never coming here again!”, “I need a drink!” They were sitting on the floor and rolling around. They surrounded the ticket desk, demanding to be put up in hotels in a very nasty way. I sat next to one British woman who told me that the engine on the plane was ruined and that if we took the flight, we’d effectively be “committing suicide.” You know, I hate flying and I really didn’t need to hear stuff like that. I can be quite pessimistic but even I’m not that bad.

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25 December, 2007 | 4 Comments

Merry Christmas from North Carolina! Here are a few pics from my travels so far…

20 December, 2007 | 5 Comments

Here is the second-annual Anglofille Birthday Self-Portrait in Mirror Obscured by Camera. Yes, I know it’s an orange and over-processed photo and I look slightly crazy and my hair is wet, but I like to shake things up. It’s also a day early, but after this post I’m signing off for a week. I think at this point in 2007 we’re all sick of hearing from me and I’m kinda sick of myself too, so a break is in order.

Yesterday I landed in the wondrous city of Philadelphia, of which I saw the airport, bumper-to-bumper traffic on I-95, the Ben Franklin Bridge and that’s it. I was promptly whisked away to the wilds of New Jersey by my dear friend and boy toy William. I’m relaxing at his place today and we’re going out for Mexican food. Ahhhhhh. I also get to sleep in his guest room, which has more books in it than the British Library.

Tomorrow we head to NYC to celebrate my birth, that glorious event. I’m actually very excited about New York. Normally the thought of it just stresses me out, but not this time. While there I need to visit my old stomping grounds in Brooklyn to do some research for my novel and then we’ll hang out in Manhattan and paint the town red and stay in a mid-town hotel that got reviews on Trip Advisor with headlines like “Never Again!”, “My Trip Was Ruined!”, “Not Bad If You Have No Standards.” I can’t wait.

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19 December, 2007 | Comments

I jumped across the pond today. For the whole flight from Gatwick to Philadelphia there was sunlight and bright blue sky out the window, plus the most heavenly clouds. It almost made 8-hours of Christmas airline travel misery bearable.

I haven’t visited the motherland in sixteen months. Will be traveling around a bit. More soon!

18 December, 2007 | 5 Comments

16 December, 2007 | 6 Comments

Those of you living in the greater London area may have heard a loud noise around 3:00 p.m. No worries, that was just me screaming at the top of my lungs.

You see, today I am free. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Free from what? Well, I’m glad you asked. Over the years I have alluded to my American job, which I do via the internet. It’s an intense job and it’s practically 24/7 with no breaks except at Christmas. [Imagine a GAP sweatshop for people with master's degrees.] This job has been a big part of my life and I’ve never been able to write about it. I’ve never even been specific about what it is I do for a variety of reasons. In fact, I’ve often been paranoid about the people I work with finding out about this blog. Many of them come from the deep South and I don’t think my political views would go over too well. I had quite a scare a little while ago — one of my alma maters outed me [Anglofille] on the internet by accident. It only took about two months for them to remove the offending material from the college website (thanks, by the way). It was all very stressful.

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16 December, 2007 | 4 Comments

Well, the response to my tattoo post has been overwhelming. The vast majority of people seem to think that if I get a tattoo, I’ll either be a Britney Spears wannabe or skanky white trash ho (not that there’s a difference between those two things). Most of the commenters didn’t come right out and say this, but they didn’t have to.

Hmmm. This was not the response I was expecting, which means that if I do get a tattoo on Friday, I probably won’t mention it here! [The fact that the person accompanying me to New York now wants a tattoo himself does not bode well.]

14 December, 2007 | 20 Comments

One week from today is my birthday: 12.21 or 21.12, depending on where you’re from. Either way it’s a palindrome. Oh, and I was born at 1:21. Spooky.

On the big day I’ll be in New Yawk, otherwise known as Big Apple City. I’m thinking of getting a tattoo while there. This idea just popped into my head last night. Any birthday that ends with a 0 or a 5 is a big deal. For my last big birthday, I got my nose pierced [which I removed last year in an extremely painful reverse rite-of-passage].

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14 December, 2007 | Comments

Since Atonement has finally been released Stateside, I’d like to link to my review of it from when it opened here in October. Atonement got rave reviews in Britain, so much so that I hesitated to post my own review, a review that complimented the film’s strengths but considered it to be a big failure overall.

I predicted that the American critics would respond in the same glowing way that the British did and they have for the most part. The film has also received seven Golden Globe nominations. While most American reviews have been positive, reviews in the New York Times and the New Yorker have been much more critical and expressed views similar to mine. Thank heavens for that. The deep flaws in this film should be blindingly obvious to any seasoned film critic.

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12 December, 2007 | 7 Comments

I think it’s nearly impossible to go a single day in this city without eating a mini mince pie. In the past few weeks the amount of mincemeat I’ve personally eaten could fill Wembley Stadium. I’ve not purchased any mini mince pies myself, but rather they are crammed down my throat by others. Right about now I’m invited to lots of little end-of-the-year festivities and the invitation always states “wine and mince pies” or “cider and mince pies.” And if you don’t eat one, people stare at you as if you’re a communist. It’s not that I don’t like mincemeat (before I came here I thought mincemeat had actual meat in it) but as of today, December 12th, I have had my fill for the holiday season. For me, mincemeat is like egg nog — a little bit is enough.

Yet no matter what, mincemeat is impossible to escape.

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11 December, 2007 | 13 Comments

Dear Editor,

Since you are the editor, I assume you approved the absolutely sickening, misogynist article up on the Times website today by Tad Safran? I’m quite astonished that your so-called newspaper would publish an article whose only point is to state that British women are ugly slobs. I am not going to critique the contents of this article because as an intelligent person, it is simply not worth my time. This is the kind of article that appeals to people who read novels by Jordan and probably can’t locate their own country on a map (and given the quality of your articles as of late, I’m guessing these kinds of people are a significant part of your readership). It’s difficult to imagine that even a magazine like Maxim would have sunk as low as you have.

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8 December, 2007 | 8 Comments

Christmas is coming…and my birthday! [Notice the countdown in the sidebar.] You know, nothing pisses me off more than a combined birthday/Christmas gift. I realize my birthday is inconvenient for those who know me, as well as a strain on the Christmas budget, but how do you think I feel, having a birthday only four days before Jesus’ big day? I tend to feel quite overshadowed, thank you very much. And not only that, but for a person as neurotic as me, the prospect of turning yet another year older on top of holiday stress is almost too much to take. As such, I deserve to be showered with gifts.

Jen had a Christmas wishlist on her blog and I thought this was a good idea, so I did one too. Ho ho ho — that’s me! There are plenty of things I need (dental work, new shoes) but that’s not what Christmas is about. It’s about greed and consumerism, so here’s my list:

[most prices in pounds; if you're American, simply multiply by two]

Carnation Perfume from Santa Maria Novella: £70 for 100 ml

I visited the main branch of this shop in Florence. It is the most divine place! I just found out they have a branch in London, which was mentioned in the Times, as was this carnation perfume. I’ve never smelled this perfume before, but I must have it. Don’t ask me why. I just want it. Desperately.

Silver Charm Bracelet from Links of London: £65

I really want one of these bracelets with an “S” charm (£32) for my name. I’ve always wanted a charm bracelet — a nice one, not some tacky piece of crap.

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7 December, 2007 | 2 Comments

6 December, 2007 | 6 Comments

The Washington Post and the New York Times have both released their lists of the top books of 2007 (as if we wait all year with breathless excitement to see what these bunch of hosers will recommend). Neither newspaper chose a single novel by a woman. That’s right. In the year 2007, you had to have a penis to write a great novel.

The nation’s two most prestigious newspapers apparently had no qualms whatsoever about excluding women from their Top 5 “best of” fiction lists. Anyone who knows anything about the literary establishment knows that it is terribly misogynist. This is not news, which is probably why the female-free lists have not made news that I have seen. We just expect it.

Well, as a woman who is writing a novel, I cannot let this pass without comment. At least once a year I have to do a post on the sorry state of affairs in the literary world and since 2007 is almost over, voila.

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4 December, 2007 | Enter your password to view comments

2 December, 2007 | 23 Comments

This photo is part of Amnesty International’s new campaign against female genital mutilation. I came across this image, quite coincidentally, while writing this very post on the topic of FGM, which was prompted by a disgraceful piece of writing currently up on the New York Times blog. I won’t comment on the Amnesty image now, but there are plenty of other people commenting on it.

Plenty of people are also commenting on NYT “science” writer John Tierney (formerly of the op-ed page) and his piece about “female circumcision,” which is astoundingly ignorant and dangerous. In his post, Tierney uses the term “circumcision,” explaining that “critics” of this procedure refer to it as “female genital mutilation.” (The UN, the WHO and most international health and women’s rights organizations use the term “female genital mutilation.”)

First, FGM is not circumcision. If we must equate it with something that happens to boys (and why must we always equate it with something that happens to boys?), then let’s call it castration. He focuses on the story of an American-raised woman from Sierra Leone who chose to have this procedure done as an adult, who describes it as something empowering. This woman holds a Ph.D. and is a professor, so therefore, her singular experience (being educated and essentially, a Westerner) overrides the experiences of millions of little girls in Africa who’ve been held down and mutilated against their will with a dirty razor blade or shard of glass.

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