1) SCHLOTZSKY'S BREAD. For the uninitiated, locally-based sandwich chain Schlotzsky's serves sandwiches on round rolls with a unique texture--sort of like a big, squishy English muffin, with nooks 'n crannies, and with a soft middle and a crunchy outside. The bread is their claim to fame and customer loyalty. I was thinking about sandwiches this evening. The obvious go-to sammich shop in my 'hood (other than neighborhood institution Little Deli) is Thundercloud. "Thundercloud's bread is ass," I thought to myself. That shit tastes like wadded-up paper towels. Bob and I still go there--I like the veggie sandwich but the bread is dry and crunchy in a bad way. And cold! I think they freeze the bread and defrost it before it gets to its final destination, which is your mouth.
I informed Bob for the first time in our five years together that we simply HAD to go to Schlotzsky's and so we did. The bread was heavenly. Soft, comforting, a little crisp around the edges. I saw bags of it behind the counter. I thought about asking for a bun to take home and then figured I should lay off the leavened goods for the sake of my hindquarters and abdomen. But still: S-sky's bread is an event. It is the flavor equivalent of fireworks on the anniversary of our nation.
2) THE SEASON 1 FINALE OF DEXTER. As a huge wannabe novelist who is on the low end of the personal esteem scales this week due to a pair of agent rejections (I know, they're CRA-ZEE and rejections are par for the course, but my little ego still has an owwy), the plotting and emotional elements of the first season of Showtime's DEXTER are so impeccably drawn, I must set down my pen and salute these writers on an amazing job. DEXTER is based on (surprise!) a series of crime novels by a chap named Jeff Lindsey. The first season of the TV series is based on the first novel, and indeed, each episode reads like a couple of chapters, with plot lines building, relentless tension, new reveals about characters, and my favorite, the likable bad-guy hero, a la Humbert Humbert, who does something morally reprehensible but you love him anyway.
I won't say anymore for fear of spoilers, but the story is water-tight and a model of excellent writing, to be sure.
3) FINDING A NICE JOBBY-JOB. I give up. Full-time novelizing is making me nuts and even though I'm thankful as hell that I've had this time to realize my dream, the fact of the matter is, I miss being part of the working world and I look forward to my return. Of course, the economy is in the toilet, the jobs I want don't exist in Austin, someone refuses to move, and I have my Vermont residency and the long-delayed, none-too-thrilling bowl-paving surgery standing between me and a shiny new desk. So the soonest I could go back to work is February. Gotta finish novel #2, and then my triumphant return to normalcy, banality, alarm clocks, and water coolers shall happen. I hope.
Posted by Zerd at July 4, 2008 10:19 PMI urgently await the release of Dexter season 2 on DVD. I've had to silence the internal narration in my head. That show is fantastic
Posted by: Dave at July 7, 2008 08:02 PM