The Name Game

It seems to be a source of great debate. Should a woman keep her last name after she gets married? In these days where the divorce rate is 50%, is changing your name more trouble than it's worth?

Frankly, I'm all for name changing, but I have a really rough last name (and, no, it's not Fitzgerald). Check out my newest article at The Zeros Before the One and let me know where you stand on the whole debate.

What's in a Name?

Part of the raw food movement?

Lately, The Boyfriend has become addicted to Groupon, the site where you can find lots of cool deals on things in your area. Like me, he's not one to pass up a deal so we've found ourselves with a lot of interesting things (ie a dental cleaning at a local clinic -- only $25!). Last night he presented me with a Groupon for a Korean BBQ joint in our neighborhood. I'd never had Korean BBQ before, but what the heck? I'm cultured, right?

We walked in and were instantly greeted by men in white chef's aprons screaming at us. Straight up screaming. I jumped about ten feet and cowered near The Boyfriend. He smiled politely and gave them our name, quietly pointing out to me that they were just saying hello. Strike one for me.

The waiter lead us to a table in the back. It was a large table for two people, with a grill in the middle. That gave me immediate pause. What the heck was a grill doing there? Did I...did I have to cook the food myself? Wasn't the point of going to a restaurant to have someone else do the cooking for me?

The shouting continued as we attempted to order. It took several tries, but we finally got our point across to the lovely-yet-not-English-speaking gentleman waiting on us. The Boyfriend gazed at me tenderly and leaned over to whisper in my ear:

"Calm down. You look petrified."

Strike two for me.

The food began to arrive. There were a few vegetables I couldn't identify and a few meats that I could. As I feared, it was raw. The Boyfriend and I exchanged a glance. "It'll be fine," he said firmly. "It's an adventure. You love adventures." Well, yes, but not if they could possibly end in food poisoning.

After figuring out how to turn the table on, The Boyfriend began to throw things onto the grill. I watched cautiously, nibbling on some broccoli. "Here," he said, piling some cooked meat on to my plate. "You're supposed to wrap it in the lettuce. Go on."

I tentatively took a bite. It was good. 'Nother bite. REALLY good. Huh. Maybe there was something to this cook-your-own-BBQ after all.

The place was an all you can eat joint, and The Boyfriend takes FULL advantage of things like that. We didn't leave until nearly 10:30 at night. By that point, I had come around to the idea of Korean BBQ...although the three gin and tonics that I had consumed may have aided in my epiphany.

I cheerfully bounced out of the restaurant, smiling at the staff that I passed. Once again, they shouted at us.

"GOOD BYE! THANK YOU!" I shouted back. The Boyfriend shook his head.

Strike three for me.

Is It Time for Me To Accept the Inevitable?

It was my birthday on Friday. Even though I'm [age redacted], I'm still a fan of my birthday. Heck, I'm a fan of any excuse to throw a party. Plus, today is the American holiday of Memorial Day and it's always neat when my birthday falls in line with a three day weekend.

Why am I telling you all this, you wonder? Is it because I'm an ego maniac? Well, maybe, but I do have a point,I swear.

In my line of work, I have to read a lot of scripts. You have to be up on the latest and greatest if you want to be able to participate in the game and I was starting to fall behind. It wasn't convenient for me to do a ton of script reading. My printer is less than perfect, ink is expensive and it's wasteful to print that much. And you can't exactly cuddle with a laptop in bed at night.

My darling boyfriend (who is also in the industry) recognized this and took pity on me, buying me a Kindle for my birthday. I have been diligently avoiding e-readers for quite some time now. I'm not a techno-phobe, per se, but I truly love books. I love holding them and the way they smell and the rustling sound of pages being turned. I used to work in a library and I could get lost in the stacks for hours.

So, you can see why I approached the Kindle with extreme caution. I mean, it's nice. It really is. It's very light weight and it holds a lot of files. But...it's not a book. It's lacking the soul of the printed word.

Or is it?

As a writer, I have to recognize the value of the e-book. To quote Bob Dylan: the times, they are a-changing. A reasonably priced e-book is a great way to get your work out there and reach a broader audience. Case in point? Amazon has a "deals" page in their e-book section. Lots of things are either free or under $2. So I downloaded a couple of them. I had never heard of any of the authors, but the synopses sounded interesting and, hey, FREE. And, you know what? If I like these authors I will surely go and seek out further works by them. As a reader, it's virtually risk free. As a writer, it's a great marketing tool.

Plus, I gotta say, it's a lot easier to curl up at night with the Kindle.

Am I still on the fence about this? Yes. And I will continue to frequent my local library and buy actual, physical books. However, I think there's a big possibility that there's room for all types of technology in the bibliophile's world.

One thing I'm not on the fence about? This awesome gift from a dear friend.

In case you can't tell, it says "And then Buffy staked Edward. The end." I do love a good literary/Whedonverse joke.

The Agent Mulder of Love at First Sight

If you ever watched the X Files, then you probably get the reference in my title. If not, that's okay too. I'm simply saying that I WANT to believe in love at first sight. It's a nice notion, isn't it? Two people are so completely perfect for each other that they know it even before they speak. You know what else is a nice notion? Unicorns.

Cool, right?

In all seriousness, I was very curious about love at first sight. After all, most of my stories do contain some form of love. I enjoy romance. I've never experienced love at first sight, but I've also never seen an alien and I totally believe those exist.

Luckily, there are people out there who have experienced love at first sight and I'm lucky enough to know some of them. Check out some of their experiences (and some thoughts from naysayers) in my new article at The Zeros Before the One:

Isn't it Romantic?

Go, read, take the poll. Vote with your heart, it's totally anonymous.

Siempre Selena!

We all have our things, don't we? Our "Fandoms," if you will. I have a friend that's completely devoted to all things Star Wars. Another sees every Johnny Depp movie the day it comes out. For me, it's Tejano singer Selena.

Maybe you've heard of her. Selena was immensely famous when she was killed in 1995 at the age of 23. Her death shocked her legions of fans. Her posthumous album "Dreaming of You" went straight to number one and the movie about her live launched Jennifer Lopez's career.

So, today, I remember Selena and all she meant to her fans. To me, she represented all that could be accomplished while still being a good person. Selena was never mean, and always had a smile for everyone. She knew that she was a role model for many young girls and she took that very seriously. She was a bright star that dimmed too quickly. Selena vive para siempre!

The Unbearable Craziness of Being in Love

Sometimes we behave in ways that we're...less than proud of when we're in love. Blame it on the hormones, blame it on the pheromones, blame it on the alcohol. Whatever it is, it can turn normal people into love crazed maniacs! So, of course, I had to write about it. Check out my latest article for the hilarious relationship blog The Zeros Before the Ones.

Crazy in Love or Just Plain Crazy?

It's super fun, I promise. I talk about these two chuckleheads.

And whether or not a pair of these can change your life.

Go on! It's a fun way to procrastinate.

The Best Gift I Ever Received

Confession time: I'm not the most forthcoming person when it comes to my writing. As you may have guessed, Elisabeth Fitzgerald isn't my real name and I'm always hesitant to proclaim "I am a writer!" I don't know why. I AM a writer. There is no question about that. I suppose, when it comes down to brass tacks, I am afraid of judgement. Not necessarily judgement from strangers (please, agents, judge me! Read my work! I'm begging you!) but judgement from people that I consider to be my friends.

You're probably wondering what the heck this has to do with my best present ever. I'm getting to that, I swear. The one person that I was never shy to share my work with was my maternal grandmother. She was SO PROUD of everything that I did. Case in point: when I was very young, probably about 7 or 8, my grandma went into the hospital for a routine procedure and I decided to write her a story to cheer her up (I had already decided that my purpose in life was to write).

Of course, being a child, I had no concept of why people went into the hospital. My mom had gone once and had returned home with my little sister. I was pretty sure that my grandma wasn't going to bring home a baby, but beyond that... So I went with the one disease that every kid understands: tonsillitis. You know, the one where you got to eat tons of ice cream? Okay, that wasn't my grandma's problem either, but it was more interesting than a dumb old baby.

Little Me proudly wrote a story about a girl named Nancy (even at that age I was obsessed with A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET) who got her tonsils out. It all turned out for the best, because Nancy was super brave and got lots of love and ice cream after her surgery.

That simple little book, written in red crayon and complete with stick figure drawings, hung on my grandmother's wall until she died seven years later. She was proud of my little story and proud of my accomplishments. That, in turn, made me proud.

My grandma was also responsible for my all time best gift. She had the habit of giving all the grandchildren presents on birthdays, even if it wasn't your birthday. She didn't want anyone to feel left out. So, one year for my sister's birthday my grandmother slipped a box into my lap. It was a shirt box, like the kind you'd get from Marshall Field's or Carson's. But it was what was inside that made me so happy...

Writing supplies.

Remember, this was before the age of computers (yeah, I'm the last generation that pre-dates the internet) and I was a child. I wrote by hand. Pen to paper. And that was just what my grandma had given me. A box full of notebooks and pens (blue and black!) not to mention a binder, fasteners and paper reinforcers. It was a simple gift, to be sure. It was also one of the most touching gifts I've ever received and it's only as an adult that I realized why. My grandmother knew the real me. She was encouraging my writing, even with this simple gesture. It's like she said: "Go, create."

So now I shall. Thanks, Grandma.

My maternal grandparents...the most special people a girl could have been blessed with.