My Hero, Terry Gross
January 30, 2003

I'm finishing a story about interviewing celebrities and how it makes me crazy and how I hate it hate it but how then I love it so much. In the meantime, if you've never heard it, this interview is a... more

Your Average Joe Junkie
January 28, 2003

My one television obsession is Joe Millionaire. Somehow the series’ twist – bringing dramatic irony back into our tragedy -- makes it far more tolerable than The Bachelor, which made me want to torch my television. Joe Millionaire is cheeky... more

1 Out of 3 Sarah Hepolas Agrees
January 27, 2003

In the seventh grade, I expected nothing less of my life than early and smashing success. My favorite author, SE Hinton, had published The Outsiders at 17. My favorite singer, Michael Jackson, had proved a vocal miracle at 10. I... more

As Cold As Ice
January 21, 2003

"Bring your warmest clothes," everyone said before I left for New York. But what they don't realize is that my warmest clothes are a pair of 30-year-old corduroys and a cotton sweater from Target. I don't own wool. I live... more

Visiting New York City in Winter
January 17, 2003

The sidewalks are slushy with snow and the hills in the park are all white with it, untrodden yet and thick, crunching like styrofoam beneath my shoes. More later.... more

When We Used to Smoke*
January 10, 2003

... And we kept the windows cracked, even on the coldest nights, because the smoke would rip our throats otherwise, and you would smoosh your cold nose against my warm chest and say, laughing, shivering, “We gotta quit. We really... more

Down With OCD (Yeah, You Know Me)
January 09, 2003

Every once in a while I get these obsessions. Years ago, it was the Backstreet Boys. I had to know all their names and favorite colors so I could torture my hipster newspaper colleagues with the information. One week it... more

Still Fighting It
January 07, 2003

We met in a coffeeshop in Dallas and I couldn’t believe it, that she had called that morning out of the blue, that I was seeing her after, what? Three years? Maybe more? We argue about the last time we... more

How I Spent My Winter Vacation
January 03, 2003

Edit. Revise. Edit. Revise. This is fun. I'm kind of good at this. Edit. Revise. Edit. Revise. No I'm not, this sucks. Edit. Revise. Edit. Revise. My back hurts. Edit. Revise. Edit. Revise. I wonder what that Leonardo diCaprio movie... more