Spin Cycle: A Different Celebrity!

I know, I know.. all of you Spin Cyclists that read my blog are justifiably expecting the Kevin Costner story. But I tried that once, remember? Yes, I had the chance to go out to his place in Colorado, twice, yes it was fabulous, yes I loved it, yes he's fabulous for letting us, no he was not there, blah blah blah. Let's not go there (again.)

BUT! Casey reminded me, I did have a brush with celebrity prior to this. In college. And it was WAY cooler because I actually met the celebrity. As opposed to just staying in his house, using his kick-ass Keurig Coffee (I met my) Maker and his snowmobiles and sledding hill.

This is a little less glamorous: I was invited to a friend's wedding her Senior year in college. They'd been dating since High School, he went to Duke (blech) and she went to Carolina (yay) and got married in Duke Gardens (blech) and had the reception at an old historic Inn in historic Hillsbrough (closer to Chapel Hill..yay!) I rode on the Equestrian team with her, and she was a very cool chick.. pretty laid back, concomitantly ditzy and smart, and hilarious.

I didn't know her well enough for her to break out with, "So my aunt married Michael Mann."

Let me pause here and give you Michael Mann's filmography:

Frankie Machine (2010) (in production) (rumored)

Public Enemies (2009) (completed)

1. Miami Vice (2006)
   
2. Collateral (2004)
3. Ali (2001)
   
4. The Insider (1999)
5. Heat (1995)
6. The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
7. L.A. Takedown (1989) (TV)
   
8. "Crime Story" (1 episode, 1987)
   - Top of the World (1987) TV episode
9. Manhunter (1986)
   ... aka Red Dragon: The Curse of Hannibal Lecter (USA: TV title)
10. The Keep (1983)
11. Thief (1981)
    
12. The Jericho Mile (1979) (TV)
13. "Police Woman" (1 episode, 1977)
    - The Buttercup Killer (1977) TV episode
14. 17 Days Down the Line (1972)
15. Jaunpuri (1971)
16. Insurrection (1968)

I'm standing in the historic grass, in the beautiful May sunshine, and someone casually mentions there's a major Hollywood producer/director/writer standing over yonder. I was a flim major, so my heart missed a few beats. We all wound up surrounding him, like a gaggle of eager boarding school girls around the sole male, but only one guy could think of a brainy question to ask him.. about the sub-plot of the driver in Heat (1995).

Mr. Mann was intrigued, and took his time answering. I was so insanely jealous of that question. All I could stammer out was, "I'm a film major! But oh well. We are in North Carolina."

He corrected my assumption and said North Carolina's film industry was really ramping up. Not to count it out. Pursue all projects.

(Well, if I HAD taken his advice, do you really think I'd be writing this blog right now as opposed to the next screenplay he directs?! )

Michael Mann was one cool cat. Married to an aunt of a friend of mine. They go to family weddings. I met him once, had casual conversation. And he has every Hollywood A-list actor on speed dial.

This was years before the Kevin Costner "event". Is God trying to tell me something?

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Spin on My Quirks

Quirks, not Quarks. We'll leave physics and math for another post.

You may not have noticed my being MIA from your comment fields (or maybe you have!) But I got sick. Then, taught my kid yoga class anyway, took a 2-hour nap, got a little better, went to a friends' going-away party/stayed out too late, fell a few rungs on the wellness ladder, napped, got better, went to brunch, fell some rungs, you get the pattern. Oh! Then my laptop decided to crash.

But I'm back to Spin on my own quirks, because I have so many. Not all of them are funny, so I'm warning you now. Check out the other quirky Spins while you're at it!

:: I once bought new underwear in college, because I ran out of clean and wasn't doing laundry often enough. I was traveling on the weekends for the college drinking ski team, and our apartment didn't have a washer/dryer. Worse, I went to a CVS/Pharmacy to buy them.. discovering that CVS does not, in fact, sell undies. Don't ever tell undergraduate friends this, if you try it. (I still hear about this.)

:: I must remove my shoes and put on my slippers immediately upon entering my house. Not everyone else's house, just mine. We bought a 1949 Cape Cod house with no basement, which means it's close to the cold ground, which means it's a little like walking on a giant, flat iceberg. Not one of the melting ones, though.

:: I stand on one leg when getting ready for bed. I don't always know that I do this. Often, my husband will come in, laugh, and make a comment about my being a flamingo, before I realize I'm doing it.

:: I can only whistle by sucking air in. The toddler loves it. No, I will not be posting a video of this. Also, just one tone.

:: When cleaning up play-doh, I separate the colors out and try to find the corresponding top. For those of you that have been away from toddlers for a while, this is IMPOSSIBLE.

:: I prefer to have the radio news on (NPR) when I'm cooking dinner/feeding my son. I have to. Often I talk back to what it's telling me. Part of the conversation.

:: If my son gets a puzzle out, then his toddler A.D.D. kicks in before he does said puzzle, I must stop everything and put the pieces back in. I cannot walk away. Let alone put it back on the shelf incomplete. What if we lost a piece?!

:: When eating pancakes, waffles or french toast, I spread the butter and add the syrup, then cut the entire entity into 1,000 tiny bites before taking a one. This is the only example of cuisine for which I fail to cut five pieces of an item, pause, pass fork from left/cutting to right/eating (authentic American style) and polish off before cutting the next five. Pancakes bring out the worst in my table manners, it would seem.

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Spin on Surviving Madmen in March

A recent, actual conversation involving college basketball, about which my husband feels more passionately than the three S's virtually anything:

Me: "So you must be pretty psyched about the Tournament this year, huh?"
Husband: "YES."
Me: "And if we win all our games, leading up to the Final Four?"
Husband: [quivering] "YES! Very excited."
Me: "And our TV will be only allowed on...."
Husband: "College basketball, baBY!"
Me: "And what if we are IN the Final Four? Where is it this year... in Texas, right?"
Husband: [pause] "Yeah. Right. In Texas North."
Me: "Texas Nor..."
Husband: "Otherwise known as Detroit."
:

So, where's the survival part?--I'm being totally serious here, I finished the last sleeve of Thin Mints while my husband was working late. Then I emailed him to let him know.

Payback is hell.

For newer, shinier Survival stories from the street, visit Jen at Sprite's Keeper!

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