Keanu Reeves and me

Remember how just recently I was in LA for the SCBWI annual summer meeting? And I met Editor Wendy for the very first time and we went out for a delicious sushi dinner in a teeny tiny restaurant?

Well, apparently, I sat within SPITTING DISTANCE and actually FACING Keanu Reeves for the ENTIRE dinner which lasted at least a couple of hours AND I DIDN'T EVEN RECOGNIZE HIM! Sigh. How could this be? I even saw the Matrix twice. Plus, when you dine out in Hollywood, you're supposed to be on the lookout for celebs. How did I miss him?

After a couple of days of hanging my unobservant, inattentive head in shame, I decided to take action.

I contacted my very good friend Maureen McGowan. Maureen knows anything and everything about movies and directors and producers and actors, etc. She writes a mean film review. She even attends the Toronto International Film Festival every year without fail. If anyone knows how I can sharpen my star-spotting skills (obviously I need no help with alliteration), it's Maureen.

Guess what Maureen admitted? One year, at the film festival, she walked right past Keanu. He was close enough that she could've reached out and pinched him. But she just didn't see him.

Ahhh. The mystery is solved. It's not me. It's Keanu. There's something elusive and slippery about the guy. Probably we could be the only two people sharing an elevator, and I would still look through him.

Actually, it's too bad he didn't spot me at the sushi restaurant. According to an eye-witness, Keanu was very quiet during his meal and did not even talk to the woman he was with.

He could've taken a step and a half and joined our table. Editor Wendy is tres entertaining and no slouch when it comes to lively conversation.

Plus, Keanu and I have quite a bit in common. We both grew up in Toronto. He was a goalie for his high school hockey team. I took skating lessons. He was a manager at a pasta restaurant. I've eaten my fair share of pasta. Obviously, we both like sushi. Come to think of it, there are many moments when our paths could've crossed.

And whose to say they didn't...

My Town Monday: Sonic

Before beginning this week's My Town Monday (which, I must warn you, is a bit of an odd one), I have some very fun business to take care of...

I'm featured on the Random House Author Spotlight. The same material, but in a slightly different format, is at Random House Kids.

So, uh, Holy Delacorte Press!!

(Note to my sisters: It is meant to be HUMOROUS! I know I'm not actually the most beautiful, etc. Love you lots and lots. xo)
(Note to FaceBook friends: I know this is old news for you guys, but I'd forgotten to post it on blogger)

And, now, an odd My Town Monday...



Last spring, my town of about 60,000 got a Sonic. Big whoop, you might think. Well, apparently it was. You couldn't even get in the main driveway, but got directed around to a side street. And this popularity continued and continued. Inexplicably. I mean, we're just talking burgers and tater tots.

This past weekend, Child #2 and Child #4 begged me to take them to Sonic now that the lineup has died down. Fine. I wanted sushi, but, hey, I'm a good compromiser. It wasn't until we got all situated and parked and ready to push the button to order that my heart started pounding because...


once you drive into the little ordering station, you have to reverse out. And...I had already informed everyone that this was the weekend that I WASN'T DOING ANY BACKING UP because...

I was stuck driving dh's car with its TOTALLY CLOUDY REAR WINDOW THAT YOU CAN'T SEE A SINGLE THING OUT OF. (Dh and Child #3 drove my clear-windowed van to Ontario, CA for Child #3's water polo tournament. (Yes, he played brilliantly, in case you were wondering.) I reminded Child #2 and Child #4 that we had mapped out our weekend to AVOID REVERSING situations.


Yes, I did manage to back out of the ordering area. I did not run over a waiter zipping around on roller blades or smash into another car. I did, however, sweat buckets.

And just when I thought I was home free, I was forced to navigate a complicated orange cone maze that dumped us out....


on a weirdo back street. Seriously, I didn't have a clue where we were. It was like we'd entered a SONIC DIMENSION. We drove FORWARD for a while, until we eventually recognized a street and were able to find our way home.

Dh and Child #3 have returned from their little trip. I now have my van back. I may spend my entire Monday driving around town IN REVERSE! Ha!

And just to show you how quick children are to take advantage of a situation, here a couple of the statements Child #2 and Child #3 said to me over the course of the weekend. And by "said," I mean in a "whispered in an eerie, ghost-story voice."

Child #2: "This is the Sonic Dimension talking. Raise Child #2's allowance. A lot."

Child #4: "The Sonic Dimension wants you to give me another popsicle."

For links to the other MTM participants, please head over to our My Town Monday blog which was set up by the lovely and talented Clair Dickson. Thank you to Travis Erwin for launching us on this crazy My Town Monday journey. A journey from which there is no reversing. (I couldn't resist.) Next week, I'll be back to a normal MTM post. Promise.