So, on Sunday I got up at 7a in order to finish all of my last minute jobs--wrapping the box, buying a big roll of cotton-wool to make snow out of, finding a frame for the picture, stuff like that, and then drove into the city to pick up Melissa and the dog.

Cynthia said, "Are you sure you can do this without getting lost?"
I answered, "Well, pretty sure!"

I had to go to way uptown Manhattan, near the GW bridge, but I had never driven to the bridge in Jersey before and feared accidentally driving all over the universe, though at least I would be far from the dreaded US 1 & 9.

I made a map on Mapquest, though, and it insisted that I go via the tunnel and the Henry Hudson. I decided to do that, 'cause I am much less likely to get lost in Manhattan.

I took Cynthia's cell phone so that I could call Melissa from the car and have her waiting out front. And a darn good thing, too, as I called several times and got no answer, and then I got a roommate who said that she was still asleep!

"Start kicking her door!" I cried, "'Cause I'm on my way and I was supposed to be there half an hour ago!

The drive was going very well, I was just screaming down the Henry Hudson, very little traffic, no getting lost. But then I noticed that there was no traffic on the other side of the highway, the side that I would be taking back, and by no traffic, I mean none. Then I saw cop cars driving slowly. Then I saw a million people on bicycles. It was a frickin' bicycle race!

I picked up Melissa and Pushkin and decided that I would have to go home via the bridge. Cynthia had drawn me a map when we thought that I would be going that way, and I was pretty sure that I could get home without incident.

What, had I never met me before?

I flew off the bridge, and I passed what might have been my exit, and then I looked at the signs and realized to my horror that I was on the dreaded US 1 & 9! Thank God for the cell phone, as Cynthia was able to talk me home, like a jumper from a ledge. I got a little lost close to home, but it wasn't bad, and we only started an hour late.

Everyone else was there when I got there, Jennifer and Ed and the boy, Bobby, and his entourage, meaning his mother and my friend Mary Ann, the one who got him for me in the first place.

In the car I had said to Melissa that I had actually never laid eyes on this kid, and I hoped that he wasn't deformed. Well, he wasn't, in fact, he was perfect looking. He had a really old-fashioned face, very Dennis-the-Menace looking, and what's more, he really did kind of look like Richard, who plays the adult version of the same character in the photograph!

The only problem with him was that he was six, and had exactly as much self-control as any other six-year-old has. And I had a huge, bouncy puppy as well. And I realized why people say not to work with children and animals. They never stressed, however, that children and animals together are about five times as exhausting as separately.

Pushkin would bound around and Bobby would shy away from him and I would call out, "Don't cringe, Bobby!" Pushkin would step on Bobby and he would yowl in agony, though he wasn't really hurt, and his mother would say "This is what it's like being in the movies!" Bobby would whine, "He scratched me!" and I would say "I don't care!"

It's a good thing that I don't always work with children, because I could easily see that I would be one of those directors about whom grown up child stars complain traumatized them in their formative years. I need to get the shot, don't talk to me about being nudged by a puppy. Suck it up.

He actually really liked the puppy, he is just more used to a sedate dog, and we got some great shots of them cuddling. I had to smear his face with peanut butter to get Pushkin to lick him, though.

By the time that we got them in the backyard, on the steps and under the tree, I was absolutely shattered.

And again, I have to go to work without finishing the story! Cliffhangers R Us. Tomorrow, I promise.

Have you ever had to work with children or animals?

And Kim has some Drugstore.com coupons for us!

And we're still talking about waiting until the last second to do something important, unlikely fears, strange things overheard, travelling with a band, not being noticed, what surprises us about ourselves, icky stories, our most recent trip, the most spontaneous thing we've done lately, how we feel about medication, the one right way to do things, self-knowledge, running out of time, new movie recommendations, what we need to be happy, our offices, vocal tics, and bad movies we love.

Today's horoscope:
You learn more about yourself through others today. Relationships bring out parts of yourself you've been overlooking.

One year ago today:
Sometimes I wish that I hadn't set up this thing in my head where updating isn't optional, and if I have to choose between updating and bathing, bathing doesn't stand a chance.

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Last Updated Wed 27 September 10:21:09 2000