Las Vegas – LaDonnaWitmer

“Blink and they’re two”

mood: peaceful | drinking: yep

sixweeks

Strangers stop me on the street now. They peer into the pram, ask me, “How old is she?” And exclaim, “She’s so tiny — so beautiful — so precious — la la la.”

But they also, down to nearly a person, tell me, “It goes so fast. Before you know it she’ll be two — be going to school — be driving a car.”

Don’t I know it.

Today Lucette is six weeks old, and I can hardly believe how fast the time already flies. We’ve spent the last week holed up in a swanky hotel suite in Las Vegas. Bruce has been here on a job, and Lulu and I didn’t want to be home alone just yet, so we came along. She and I have had lots of time to snuggle, to bond, and to figure each other out.

The other night, sitting on the couch with the Vegas lights blazing like stars far below us, I promised her that I will always do my very best. In hindsight it might look faulty, but then this is the first time I’ve ever done anything like this. And no matter what, I will give it everything I’ve got.

Hopefully that will be enough.

-Lo, who finds it surprisingly natural to refer to Bruce as “your daddy.”

Something in the Air

Mood: balmy | Drinking: just-brewed iced tea

beelike

Spring. Love. Change. Whatever you wanna call it, there’s definitely something in the air, tingling along your scalp, settling in your stomach. Things, they are a-happenin’.

I know you don’t want to believe it, since you’ve been hearing this for awhile now, but big new things are imminent, IMMINENT I tell you, in this webspace!

My web guru Chris, design maven Kathy, and Flash superstar Eric have been busy as proverbial bees these last weeks, and even longer, getting something special ready to live and breathe.

We’re down to the final tweaks, the last-minute changes, the buffing and polishing now. I re-recorded some poetry trax at Chris’s house just yesterday morning (because the first track wasn’t perfect enough for you, dear reader). Feel free to start your countdown.

Other things are lining up, too. In cinépoetry land, Michelle and I have ambitious plans for the next shoot, and we’re meeting with brave volunteers Jimmy & Emanuela on Wednesday to lay down some vocal trax in preparation for that.

Meanwhile, when the shiny new site launches, a new cinépoem will be piggybacking. Bright Neon Love, shot in Vegas over the holidays, is in the can and ready to make your acquaintance, so don’t neglect The Cinépoems page when you’re exploring the new site.

Things are afoot for me personally, too. Some big decisions, some big dreams, and some not so boldprint events that I’ll be babbling about here shortly.

But for now, I must beg your patience. It’s all very much worth the wait, I promise. Any day now…

-Lo, who stuffs sleeves full of tricks.

Starting Over

startingover
Mood: Foggy
Drinking: Diet Dr. Pepper

Yes, I have been away. Far, far away. But I’m back now. That’s the theory, anyway.

June came bearing a brutal traveling schedule, and I went from home in California to Chicago, Illinois to Las Vegas, Nevada to Sayulita, Mexico in one trip right after the other, bouncing around North America like some sort of ricocheting bouncy ball.

I’ve finally rolled to a stop, however, and today’s my first real day back in the normal swing of things. It feels like I’m starting over. It’s all slow and painful with a lot of groggy reality checks: “So this is my life, right?”

It’s like riding a bicycle. Or something.

The rest of the summer promises to amble along at a much more bearable pace than last month, although there are some big events coming up:

** The SF Zine Fest is in two weeks. Kathy and I will be there with our table full of book wares.
(And speaking of Kathy, do check out her brilliant new blog, Imp Perfect.)
** Michelle and I are shooting a new cinépoem in August titled Homeland Security. We haven’t shot as many cinépoems this year as I’d like, and I’m very anxious to get this new one in the can. It should be really beautiful, and it will feature not one but two lovely new stars.
** A website overhaul is slowly but surely unfolding, complete with new photos, new features, and a new blog format. When will this all go public? Let’s be optimistic and say January, 2009.
** My training begins in earnest, pretty much starting right now, for the Nike Womens’ Half Marathon in October. Gotta get me some new runnin’ shoes.

Beyond that, I have to shake off the travel cobwebs and get down to business of getting back to reality.

Ugh.

-Lo, who could get used to going swimming every day.

Bright Neon Love

slot Mood: Satisfied
Drinking: Tea

Bright Neon Love

Vegas is a strange place to fall in love,
tempted on all sides by glittering casinos infused
with bottled oxygen, green greed, and artificial optimism

the neon sirens calling fools at all hours
with their melodious technicolor jangle,
burnished by the desperate heat of a desert
where nothing should thrive but sand.

and everywhere skulk girls
more beautiful than I
more supple than I
more willing than I

but somewhere in this bright light city
you are waiting,
not for girls
but for me.

And I just want to stroke your skin the way the fingers of silky men
caress their poker cards, I want to pin you to the roulette wheel <
and spin you ‘til you’re dry, I want to pull the levers of your machine
until you open your mouth and cry out silver, I want to light you up
with a bright neon love that burns all the stars from the sky.

Vegas is a strange place to fall in love again.

But on the 27th floor with all the electricity at our feet,
you don't even look for the twinkle of the faux Eiffel Tower,
you don't see the fountains dance or the pirate ship blow, or watch
as light from the pyramid shoots up into ozone.
You just pull the curtain across the window
and my dress to the floor.

-Lo, who sometimes says “Viva Las Vegas.”