I'm so happy you're alive

On Saturday I headed to the Rosedale Mall to meet up with two of my college friends, Kelly and Sara, to see David Sedaris read at the Borders there. They managed to get me a contraband wristband at the line up earlier that day, so we were able to eat a leisurely lunch and talk before the reading and then have books signed after the reading. It was really nice to see them both and catch up. Both of them are married and we talked about what comes next in our lives. They got us a lovely wedding present as well, which was an awesome surprise: our espresso machine! Woo! Plus, the game Taboo, so now we can have proper game nights and make yummy lattes for our guests.

Kelly had to leave a bit early, so Sara and I stood in line after the reading to have our copies of "When you are engulfed in flames" signed. We were talking about random things, and I was commenting about what a crappy day it was to be inside for an author reading, since the weather was so great, and that's when it was my turn to talk to Mr. Sedaris. So I wound up talking to him about the weather. Oh well. He signed my book, "To Beth, I'm so happy you're alive," which he signs for a lot of people, but it's kind of funny nonetheless.

Sara doesn't have a blog, so I'm going to tell her story here. It was her turn right after me, and David said her full name aloud, "Sara-Bridgett... we met last night!" and Sara said, "No... but we met the last time you read here," and he said, "I remember you," and she said she was surprised, but then he said, "Sara-Bridgett, what's in your bag?" and she kind of laughed and said, "Well, I'm kind of embarrassed." David said, "Why would you be embarrassed?" and Sara said, "It's a book for my husband," and she pulled it out and said "Cthulu and other stories," and David said, "How do you say that?" and Sara repeated, "Cthulu" (cuh-thoo-loo) "Why, how do you say it?" and David replied, "Oh, I don't know! Cthulu... Well, that's a lovely painting on the cover," and Sara agreed. I forget what he wrote in her book, but I do remember that he missed a word, probably because he was busy chatting to her about Cthulu. Hee.

Anyway, I've already read a few of the stories in his latest book, and they're pretty great. Also, if you're a Sedaris fan, I definitely recommend checking out Sloane Crosley's book, "I was told there'd be cake." It's humorous urban essays about everyday things, but the woman has a knack for description, much like Sedaris.