Angela Types

Throughout our lives we artists will have many jobs. Most of these jobs will not be as an artist, either. We will peddle coffee, children's clothes, and even deliver rubber stamps  as Michael Musto did. David Sedaris made a name for himself with the "Santa land Diaries" after working as Crumpet the Elf  at Macy's. And Charles Bukowski is probably the most famous employee of the Post Office. Not to be confused with most INfamous postal employee Patrick Sherill  from Edmond, Oklahoma.  We writers and "artistes" will do almost anything to pay the rent and keep our internet connected. In step with this not particularly unique plight, I too, have had my fair share of bizzarre and annoying jobs. I've worked as an assistant to a mind-numbingly irritating  inventor , booked hair appointments at a salon (kill me), and most recently, I have joined the ranks of the many, the humble, the valets. As a driver who has totalled two vehicles, has night blindness, and ha...

A word about service.  I have visited a new coffee shop/restaurant in my neighborhood four times now. I've come early, I've come in the middle of the day, I've even come a half hour prior to close and every time I am confused about where to go/what to do. The place is a coffee shop and a breakfast/brunch spot. This is a natural combination and I'm so happy to see it in Oak Cliff, and only a short bike ride from my house! But I need a bit more coffee shop from them. Or a bit more brunch place from them. I don't know where to put myself when I just want to sit and drink coffee and type. I feel odd taking a table from a server who insists on ordering my soy latte for me. I've tried getting it myself and squatting at a table but this only confuses matters more. And I'm not the only one. I see other uncomfortable squatters trying to figure this situation out. Do not try this at home. It burns the beans and your spoon will never be normal again. A sign on t...

I have been searching for something like The Moth  here in Dallas for quite some time. I was convinced it didn't exist and was already making plans to start my own storytelling series here in Oak Cliff. Luckily, I can remain seated at this computer and watch Nicole Stewart and Lacy Lynch do all the work. The duo started a series back in August of 2010 and called it "The Most". I don't know the origins of their series name, or if they're even aware of The Moth series but I do know that I'm thrilled that Dallas has something like this. No offense to my poetry slam pals out there but I really needed a literary event that doesn't involve shouting (reader) or crying (me, because bad poetry is so much worse than bad anything else). And The Moth, er Most has it! "The Most" is a part of Nouveau 47 Theater's   Monday night  Theatre Apprēsh  events which are held at the historic Magnolia Lounge in Fair Park. Last night's theme was "Epic Re...

My great friend Mr. PIXIE composed some music to accompany my narration of this short story. He featured it as one of the "treats" he's giving out for Halloween on his facebook  fan page. You can watch the video and listen to my awful southern accent below. If you'd like to read the story instead, follow this link . Happy Halloween!

HydroRight Dual Flush Converter My partner and I were buying some paint at Home Depot recently and saw a display for water saving toilet converters. We had noticed a few of the restaurants we frequent have two options for flushing in their bathroom and thought it was a pretty neat effort to "go green". The toilets offer a big flush and a little flush. We looked at the box for the kit and it seemed simple and cheap enough to try out. For about $20 ($17.98 + tax at home depot) and 5-10 minutes of installation time-according to the box- we could reduce our water consumption by up to 30% a year. Now, I'm all about saving water and the environment but I'm always a bit more motivated when it also happens to save me cash. So, we bought a converter kit and installed the HydroRight Dual Flush Converter (http://bit.ly/cyGGc5) about a month ago. It did not take me 5-10 minutes to install. It took me about 20 minutes to eff up by misinterpreting the visual aids and securi...

I recently went to my very first guerrilla restaurant and am in love with this cavalier approach to food. I love the idea so much that the place could have served me easy mac and I would loved it- but they didn't. They served me awesome gourmet pizza with Jimmy's (yes, Jimmy's food store!) sausage. The pies cook in 2-3 minutes because the oven (which is on a red trailer so it can go anywhere) is so damn hot. It's made from volcanic ash and probably has some Italian mobsters' ashes thrown in for added authenticity. Check out this February pizza review of Cane Rosso on the Gay List Daily review site. I won't bore you by writing the same "oh-my-gawd-i-just-met-jeezus" review of their pizza, but I will add an update. As of last week, the owner of this seriously-best-thing-i've-ever-put-in-my-mouth-and-maybe-I-suffer-from- Pica -disorder is certified by the Associazone Verace Pizza Napoletana , the official governing body over all those who create tru...

A t the beginning of the third grade my mother moved my brother and I to a new school. She did this often. With each move I attempted to blend in and fade away with the other children; but with a younger brother whose rebellious reputation was known in the tri-county area and a mentally ill mother this never seemed to happen. Each time I would gradually become known as the good student with the crazy mother and hellion brother. This meant I was never invited to sit with people at lunch, or play at recess. At our young stage of development we didn’t understand that mental illness was not something you caught; that my raving mother’s appearance outside of homeroom would not infect our teacher, or my classmates. I was blacklisted. Determined for this move to be different I decided to reinvent myself, to remove as much of my family as I possibly could. When I walked into my first class at this new elementary school and the teacher called out my name, “Elizabeth Johnson” I replied, “Act...