Plot Monkeys

PLOTMONKEYS THINK ALIKE (part one)
It’s interesting. I wrote this post all on my own, then I decided to peek at Leslie’s before inputting mine for Tuesday. What did I find? We’re on the same wavelength. How this can happen when we a) live miles and miles; states and states apart; b) we both had such busy weekends neither one of us spoke or emailed much at all; and c) neither one of us are mind readers? the answer is clear, of course. We’re close friends, (plotmonkeys, doesn’t that say it all?) and we’re mothers. Of girls. That says even more. Apparently we both are lamenting our daughter’s aging along with admiring how well they’ve matured. And how much more I am sure they have to go.

So without further ado, here is MY weekend with my daughter. And Les, I have no idea why they have to grow up so fast!

This weekend I took my oldest daughter with me to Bookseller’s Expo in Washington, D.C. For both of us it was an experience. She had the opportunity to see what I do when I go away for the weekend on business and I got the chance to see her interact with people I work with. Whenever anyone asked if she was having fun, I said the real test would be if she asked to go with me again next year.

We flew into Washington’s Reagan International Airport midday. The flight was uneventful (take that, Janelle who says I’m a hazard to fly with! and I slept most of the short trip. We took a cab from the airport to the hotel and snapped photos along the way. As soon as we arrived at the room, my daughter flopped onto the first bed and claimed it as her own. She even helped me unpack. Then we were off to meet a friend of mine, young adult author Nikki Burnham for dinner. Jackie is a fan of Nikki’s and Nikki and I had laughed over the fact that my daughter would come to see that Nikki is really “just like her mom.” But we had a lot of fun over dinner and then went book shopping at Barnes and Noble before going back to the hotel and crashed.

The next morning, I did a traditional autograph signing at what BEA calls “the chutes”. I signed 140 books in under an hour and Jackie got a signed copy of Sarah Dessen’s Just Listen. Afterwards, we wandered around the convention center and picked up all sorts of fun stuff before going for a business lunch. I was so proud of the way she held up without once complaining.

Finally, we had time alone. As I’d promised we went to see the Holocaust Museum.

Wow. Wow and double wow. It’s one thing to experience something that powerful alone, or to think you know the depth of human depravity and inhumanity, or that you learned all you could on the subject growing up. It’s quite another to visit with your daughter and see the experience through her eyes.

If nothing else, Remember the Children: Daniel’s Story brought home the events leading up to the holocaust and the camps through a child’s eyes. MY child. I’ve never been so moved or humbled. Later, we visited the Vietnam Memorial, the Korean Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial.

By the end of the day we’d had
enough memorials and we went for dinner with cousins, then shopping at Urban Outfitters and then had ice cream at Ben and Jerry’s. (See we TOLD you you’d hear about Ben and Jerry’s!).

The next morning, I had another book signing at the Harlequin Booth and my daughter handed out canvas Harlequin bags like a real trooper. She met the delightful Heather Graham who I adore and we picked up so many advanced reading copies of books, she nearly forgave me for forcing her to drag our luggage to the convention center (when I booked flights I forgot to include time to go back to the hotel and get our bags!) and the center was split level and not easy to get around especially with luggage!

Finally we headed out to the airport … we ate lunch at TGI Friday’s there and then settled in early at the gate where I played the end of Prison Break on my laptop and watched the second to last episode of 24 while she viewed standup comedy and read her book.

We arrived home happy to see her sister and dad and the dog and she quickly escaped to her room … and I have barely seen her since! I have to say that I will treasure the weekend we had together since teenagers value their private time. I’m lucky she wanted to come with me and I can’t wait until it’s her sister’s turn to do the same.

And the good news? BEA is in NY next year … and she asked if she could come again. I guess that means she enjoyed herself too.

PART TWO
ODE TO ALIAS – CARLY’S MUSINGS

I’m watching THE FINALE OF ALIAS. It’s been five years since it all began. Five years ago I was 35. Five years ago, my kids were 5 and 9. I don’t think Kelly Ripa had picked THE BACHELOR yet. Five years ago, I was awestruck by Sydney Bristow and the writing and plotting of JJ Abrams. I’ve yelled and screamed every season since. I’ve been frustrated and angry; happy and sad. Nothing has motivated my writing like watching Alias. So as I view THE END, I am going to post about my beloved characters … just because. Because I have this blog and I CAN.

Marshall – the boy’s become a man. He started out as a goof and now he’s a strong man. Standing up for his family and his country. I love him.

Carrie – she married Marshall the boy wonder and she understood him when nobody else did. Good for her!

Sloane – like Sydney and Jack, I never wanted to believe he was all bad. When he killed Nadia, that was the end for me. I hope he dies. He did. By Syd. Well done.

Weiss – I miss him, period. Nobody does one liners like Eric.

Sark – can take him or leave him, really. Man whore.

Will – as my friends know, I never really had any patience for Will. But as long as he stays in the Witness Protection Program, he’s good by me. Plus I saw him in person on Paradise Island (the Bahamas) – someone remind me to do a blog on my Ocean Club trip the weekend Jason Priestly got married!
Francie – RIP – loved you in flashbacks tonight.

Danny – without you gone, there would be no Syd and Vaughn.

Anna Espinosa – a formidable opponent but no match for Syd.

Dixon – he lost his beloved wife, he has his kids. He’s Syd’s partner and he’s the best.

Lauren – DING DONG THE WITCH HAS BEEN DEAD SINCE SEASON WHENEVER. Who cares? She’s gone.

Rachel – I hated her when she came on the show. I resented her for trying to be Sydney. She’s come along. I kinda dig her now.

Tom – whatever. (sorry)

Peyton – bitch. And to think snakes did her in. LOL.

Rambaldi – a prophet or a madman? Will we ever know?

Jack – Spy Daddy. I love him. He was cold as ice and then he warmed up. Since Isabelle, he’s amazing. He raised Sydney didn’t he? He’s the loss that’s hardest to bear in the finale.

Irina – Spy Mommy. Electrifying. Any episode she’s on, she ups the ante, ups the electricity, every sentence and word she speaks, counts. I don’t know who’s side she’s on maybe only her own but a part of me wanted desperately to believe she loved Syd and Jack. But alas …

Vaughn – a man not afraid to stand with or behind a strong woman. To me, he is the epitome of the word HERO.

Isabelle – so glad your daddy lived to see you.

JJ Abrams – Genius. Still so many questions only a writer would ask, like: Did he plan Lauren? Or did he lose interest in the season Syd lost her memory?

Thank you to the Vartan Ho’s for making Alias a memorable experience:

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006 at 6:00 am and is filed under Carly. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.