Manizer

Dear Scott,

LA weather has been brutal lately.

Last Friday night I got a call from Aunt Janet, who advised me to walk outside and take a look at the moon; it was going to be closer to earth than it has or will be for the next 26 years (clearly the most exciting event that graced the calendar of Aunt Janet and Uncle Jim since the potluck supper they recently hosted for Wenham's First Church). It was around 7 p.m. when I had got off the phone with Aunt Janet and I immediately informed my roommates of the full moon. After hours, wandering outside the apartment, searching for the super moon that was apparently looming above the west coast, we gave up, came inside and turned on the TV, only to be informed that Los Angeles was one of the few cities unable to view the moon due to the city's smog. I guess there's always 2037...

So today I was in improv. The teacher introduced a new exercise to the class- to portray a character, or some character trait, that was unusual for the specific person to portray, all the while playing out a scene. I was paired with Zach, aka Ben Nuttle. Now, for those of you who aren't familiar with Zach (or Ben Nuttle, for that matter), he is the epitome of a nice guy; laidback, life of the party, cool, happy-go-lucky and just an all-around great, happy person. So as the two of us stood in front of the class the teacher loudly announced, "Ok, so what character do we want to see Zach play?" Adjectives were immediately thrown from class members- "Mean!" "Rude!" "Bully!" "Angry!"...just a few opposite adjectives of the character whom Zach usually plays. The teacher picked a few from the suggestions, "Ok great, a mean bully. Now what charchater trait do we want to see Liney play?" The class fell silent, and I stood up there on stage, flipped my hair and batted my eyelashes in full confidence anticipating the responses; "Nerdy" or "Insecure." All of a sudden, I hear someone blurt out, "FEMININE!"....and then another..."DAINTY!"....and another..."FRAGILE!" Well, needless to say, I left class a little more humbled than I had entered.

I had a wonderful weekend this past weekend with a couple of my BU sorority girls who were in town. My roommate Darren was out of town for the weekend, he had jetted off to San Francisco to see Britney Spears perform in San Fran's Castro District for a Good Morning America Special. The picture to the right is Darren in his costume.

I've had a real big setback recently. Although my immediate reaction was to pack up my things, arrange for a car shipment, and book a one-way flight back to Boston, I thought about you. I thought about how when you were told that the cancer had returned, you didn't fuss, complain or feel sorry for yourself, you danced in the rain. You made the best of the cards you had been dealt. And that's exactly what I will continue to do, for now.

I have been missing you a lot lately. Sometimes I feel as if my heart physically hurts without you here.

Until we meet again,

Liney