Worth doing..

Recently while searching for a picture of someone on the telephone I stumbled on this entry in some random “phobias” thread:

Okay, i’ve always had this ridiculous social phobia about talking on the phone. I avoid talking on the phone, and that has cost me alot of friendships and relationships. It is also probably a part of the reason why I don’t have a job right now. I could have called up many salons that were hiring and didn’t. So, I probably would have a job, money, lots of friends, and a boyfriend right now, if I would just face this fear more often. Everytime I use the phone I feel this great sense of
accomplishment, if I would just focus on that, instead of regreting something stupid I said or dwelling on a moment of silence, I think I would use the phone everyday.

So, right now I feel very accomplished, I just called a girl from school, she didn’t answer, so I left a message on her machine.

I never leave messages! To me, thats even scarier than talking on the phone. So, this probably sounds weird, but yeah considering its me, this is an accomplishment lol.

I’ll admit..while I’m not afraid of the phone per se, my telephonic communications have seriously dwindled. I find myself racing people to get to some point, any point, or just to have a point when before (what I don't know) phone conversations were random,fluid and generally..well..welcome. I’m not sure what caused the change..maybe, during my sleep, my english “plot” dynamics crept into the casual conversation section of my brain.

ATTENTION callers of Leslie - your conversation will only be acknowledged when submitted in the form of a narrative. Select callers must present series of events leading up to a climatic moment followed by a conclusion that results in a catharsis for all parties involved.
Thanks so much!
My inner child.

Now, while I doubt not using the phone often crippled this girls social life or would have changed it - ALA that Gwyneth Paltrow movie Sliding doors..i think it would be beneficial to attempt calling people more often. What could it hurt? Only celebrities make life altering decisions via text message.

I’m gonna go call some people. Who cares if they answer the phone! This chick left a voicemail and that’s a friggin big deal. At least I think it is.

Long Island..it's Leslie..are you there?

OEF: The Beginnings?

We may look like an emo band here:



But we obviously started out as an angry punk band:

Yes We Can!

Make our own ringtones on the iPhone, that is. I know, I know, pretty lightweight as far as "hacking" goes, but I'm still excited. I poured through the discussion forums on the Apple site, translated all the geek vernacular, and voila....I can now put my incredibly eclectic & obnoxious mp3 collection to good use. Just for fun, I tried it out with a snippet from Eddie Murphy's "Raw", the part where he is impersonating his father exclaiming about the phone that has been ringing for a half an hour ( "You gonna answer this telephone? Do you hear the phone ringing? Lil!? Brrrrrrng! Brrrrrng! Brrrrnng! That's the phone, motherfucker, that's not me!"), and it worked after only a few tries. So. Effing. Excited.

Bathroom wall, NJ

Treading Lightly: Music Recco?

I've loved M. Ward since I saw him open for Los White Stripes back in '05 (I think), and I always liked that part in Elf where Zooey Deschanel sings "Baby it's Cold Outside". So as I thumbed through the December issue of ReadyMade today in a doctor's office waiting room (how cool, right? right!?---way better than some 8 month old issue of Newsweek), I was delighted to discover that these two kids got together and made some music. Kind of old timey, definitely cute, will probably sing in car. Album drops loads all up in your ears 3/18.

Vice President Mommy

To your left: a photo I snapped outside the White House last weekend of a paper-mache'd protester. To your right: a photo I snapped of my mom a few months a go.

Creepy similarity, no?