Prince's Pauper

The book is published (only 27 hours in the upload queue!) so I'm free to have some fun...and write about it. I admit that the blog has been lagging. You can complain, but not blame. Writing a book is all-encompassing. Ready for a little catch-up? First up: seeing Prince in concert at The Forum.

I adored his Purpleness as a little girl and knew all of the words to his songs. Basically, he was my Bieber, except I didn't want to marry him. I wanted to be his BFF so we could share clothes. You see, we're roughly the same height and we both love jumpsuits. I was under his royal spell until he became a symbol. He lost me and I forgot all about him. I only had 1 song in my iPod.

Prince is trying to save The Forum, a theater in Inglewood, CA so he's doing a "21-night stand" of concerts. The majority of tickets are $25 each--no tax, no fees. The only catch is that the shows go on sale on Monday or Tuesday for shows later that week. You need to move quickly to get the best $25 tickets. But it's worth it...opening acts are a surprise and he usually performs for 3 hours. The show is utterly amazing.

He played every song that I loved and my memory pulled the lyrics from the depths of my hippocampus. Raspberry Beret, 1999, Lil Red Corvette, Purple Rain, When Doves Cry, Alphabet Street, Darling Nikki, Delirious.... I turned to my friend, screamed and shook my head at least three times throughout the show. I realized how much I loved Prince and that I had to download my favorite songs. You could say I'm Princ-essed--he's been on repeat for the past week in my car.

The odds are pretty good that I'll go again. I mean how often do you get a chance to see an amazing show for only $25? Plus Chaka Kahn, Whitney Houston (both at the show I was at), Gwen Stefani, Alicia Keys and more.  This is a recession special that's a funky recess must! 

Coming Soon--FUNemployed: Finding the Upside in the Downturn

I'm ecstatic to announce that the book is one step closer to market. It's been proofread, the cover is done and I'm uploading it tonight. Assuming no formatting glitches, it should be available in ebook stores next week.

While I felt like a one-man band throughout most of this process (writing, editing, photographing and soon enough marketing), I could not have done this without the support of my friends and family. I have thanked them in an Acknowledgements section but why not do it here too?

I’d like to dedicate the book to my loving parents, Lynn and Mike Quinn. For always supporting me on this crazy ride.

To Susan Gelvin and Amanda Wilson, thank you for cheering me on and always providing unending support.

To Diane Kelley, for always telling me that I could do this.

To Brett Ellen Block for getting me started on this journey and being a never-ending source of information and inspiration.

To Maryam Mohseni for her brilliant cover design.

To Steve Peckingham and Mary Lou Currier for reading the first three chapters and giving me invaluable feedback.

Lastly, to all of my FUNemployed friends and acquaintances: keep it positive and never lose faith.

When Lunacy Collides

I've got a tip for you. When involved in an electronic courtship with a man, avoid these three reveals:

1. I don't know how to ride a bike.

2. I'm going to an art installation in a cemetery tonight. Wanna come?

3. I'm FUNemployed and just wrote a book about it.

And if you are going to share, try not to do it all in the same email.

On Friday evening, Twitter made me aware of 2 men who hailed a cab at NYC's LaGuardia airport and decided to come to Los Angeles. They had just arrived. In the spirit of NYer to NYer, I tweeted them. 

On Saturday am, I saw that they were heading to the Kodak theater, a mere 5 blocks away. Being the intrepid lunatic that I am, I jumped out of bed, got dressed and speed walked over. I easily found them. 

After telling them that I came over because I read they were there on Twitter (they looked scared), I said that I had to see the cab. I chatted with Dan for quite awhile and we took pictures. I think we bonded because hailing a cab on a whim to go to a faraway place is right up my alley. He gave me his email address on a taxi receipt. 

Shortly thereafter, he tweeted me to send the picture to him, which I did. Then we started emailing. After the email where I revealed the 3 items above, all communications stopped. Guessing he has something against girls who can't ride bikes? 

Anyway, take it from me. When revealing you're FUNemployed status just don't do it in conjunction with cemetery excursions (they have movies there all summer long. It's a hotspot so it's not at weird as it sounds) and sports that require balance.