Book Tour, Brain Cases, Yurts and All

On Wednesday, September 20, I will be hosting author Amy Guth on these pages as part of her book tour for her new novel, Three Fallen Women, which has been described as a must-read "for anybody who thinks that the patriarchy needs a suckerpunch to the ballsack." I'm there! In the meantime, check out Amy's blog and spread much-deserved words of love. She's hilarious.

In other news, having lost my job at NYCO for failing to sell more than four subscriptions in the almost two months that I was there, I'm back to temping until I can figure out what the hell I want to do next and/or I find a job that doesn't make me want to stab myself (and who'll have me). My current assignment is at a neurologist's office on the Upper East Side. Very chichi. It's a bit disconcerting to see patients come in and know there's something, well, wrong with their brains, and yet they look normal. The doctors are quite congenial, which is a plus because the office is a mess, and the patients insist on telling me their life stories over the phone and expecting me to call in their authorization codes and precerts and book them for MRIs. Ah, the power of the phrase "I'm just a temp." Meaning there is none. Not only am I "just a temp" with no power to convince their insurance companies that their brain scans are not some luxury like teeth whitening, the patients don't give a rat's ass. "Well, can you do this?" No, I cannot. "Well, how about--" I can have the doctor call you back. That's it. Now go tell your spouse that the bitch at the doctor's office wouldn't help you because she's a bitch and fuck her. But oh, those case files! Far better than People, I must say.

And in other other news, I'm torn between saving up for a trip to India when I'm thirty-five and buying a yurt. The Times real estate magazine ran a little item on these adorable little homes in the round, and I'm seriously considering moving into one. There is a yurt-ville somewhere in the Grand Tetons, but I think I'd install my yurt along the coast. Which coast, I'm not sure. I'm also not yet sure if I'd do away with electricity or if I'd install a generator. As for what I'd do for a living, I'd probably grow organic vegetables and trawl for clams or something. I might learn to knit better than I currently do, too.

Of course, I could buy a yurt and move to India, but that might just be taking this hippie fantasy a bit too far. Then again...