well – i’ve been curiously absent here. partly because my thoughts have been kind of incoherent lately and partly because i have the urge to bitch a little bit, but pretty much everyone in my life reads this (even if just occasionally), and i am beginning to catch some heat from things i say. hmm it’s a hard one…
so obviously one of the biggest challenges here is the language. it’s totally changing my personality. the men here are fucking relentless. one particularly persistent creature followed me home on the bus the other day. he was sayin all sortsa stupid shit like, “i can see in your eyes you are a really romantic person.” and when i shot him my step-off look he said that my resistance was a cultural thing. ordinarily, i have a hundred and one snappy retorts for lines like this, but in my present language-impaired state, i was transformed into a mute. on the bus, he leaned in real close and asked me if i believed in god. obviously i start cracking up. he said, “is that a no?” me, speachless… oh let me also point out that he stank sooooo bad. fellas, if you’re gonna go out and shamelessly hit on a girl, it’s imperative that you bathe at least once that week. and eat a friggin breath mint! sheesh. also today at the bus stop this other stinky guy came over and started in with the “je te trouve tres charmante” bit. this is the standard line, i gather. this time i was prepared and told him i didn’t want to talk. after repeating that apx 6 times he wandered back into whatever hole he came from. am i sounding bitchy? i think i’m compensating for the sweet shy girl this country mistakes me for.
i miss smart-ass neille!
meanwhile, i have a renewed vigor for gnutella. did i mention i looooove the new aaliyah. also i found a bunch of tracks off the latest common album and also Talib Kweli who used to be in Blackstar. both got more bump than acne (tee hee). i have some samples in the downloads section. help yourself.
in the meanwhile – i’m going to drop some stuff at the new pad. i move tomorrow morning and i can not wait!
New Angeles Monthly, June 2008
Weekend America, March 30, 2008
Los Angeles Times, March 13, 2008
Los Angeles Times, March 6, 2008
Nil by Mouth is written by Neille Ilel. Neille is a writer, reporter and user interface specialist in Los Angeles. If you think that's a lot, she's also got a host of meandering sidelines including improv comedy, tennis, cooking, drawing and thinking about learning to play the guitar.
Nil is her given name. It's a long story.
E-mail her here:
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