pantsfarm

I was browsing through somebody else’s bookshelf when I noticed one authored by Miranda July, titled No one belongs here more than you. (book site, amazon). I asked if it was the same Miranda July (wiki) who made that one movie I liked a lot, and then struggled to remember the name.

She flipped open the book and read the blurb about the author aloud “Miranda July is a filmmaker, performing artist, and writer… her first feature film Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005)“. (imdb)

I asked if I could borrow the book.

It was a quick read, it’s a collection of short stories and none of them taken individually take a long time to read. A few passages and fragments here and there caught my attention so I’m going to collect those here for my own sake.

The Shared Patio

“What is the most terrifying thing that has ever happened to you? Did it involve a car? Was it on a boat? Did an animal do it? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then I am not surprised. Cars crash, boats sink, and animals are just scary. Why not do yourself a favor and stay away from these things?”

“If you are sad, ask yourself why you are sad. Then pick up the phone and call someone and tell him or her the answer to the question.”

“It’s not your fault. Perhaps this was really the only thing I had ever wanted to say to anyone, and be told.”

Ten True Things

“I laughed and said, Life is easy. What I meant was, Life is easy with you here, and when you leave, it will be hard again.”

The Man on the Stairs

“I also imagined friends who adored me. These friends think I’m a drag. I fantasize about starting over and eliminating the film of dragginess that hangs over me. I think I have a handle on it now; there are three main things that make me a drag:

I never return phone calls.
I am falsely modest.
I have a disproportionate amount of guilt about these two things, which makes me unpleasant to be around.

It wouldn’t be so hard to return calls and be more genuinely modest, but it’s too late for these friends. They wouldn’t be able to see that I’m not a drag anymore. I need clean new people who associate me with fun. This is my number two problem: I am never satisfied with what I have.”

The Sister

“Men alone often have one or two large things wrong with them, but these are things that the brothers think their sisters should be able to live with. An example of such a problem is: still being in love with one’s deceased wife. This wasn’t my problem; I had never been in love with anyone, dead or alive.”

It Was Romance

“… these distinctions are like shackles.”

“I walked down the hall and saw that Theresa was sitting on the floor next to a chair. This is always a bad sign. It’s a slippery slope, and it’s best just to set in chairs, to eat when hungry, to sleep and rise and work. But we have all been there. Chairs are for people, and you’re not sure if you are one.”

Something that Needs Nothing

“We were anxious to begin our life as people who had no people.”

“It is terrible to have to ask for anything ever. We wish we were something that needed nothing, like paint. But even paint needs repainting.”

“My mind slows down to a rate that would not be considered functional for any other job. I am alive only one out of every four seconds, I register only fifteen minutes out of the hour.”

“There was no way I could ever be in love with her because she was just as pathetic as me.”

“We were always getting away with something, which implied that someone was always watching us, which meant we were not alone in this world.”

“It was a scam. There was nothing in the world that was not a con, suddenly I understood this. Nothing really mattered, and nothing could be lost.”

“I had once believed in a precious inner self, but now I didn’t. I had thought that I was fragile, but I wasn’t.”

Making Love in 2003

“I wondered if I would spend the rest of my life inventing complicated ways to depress myself, “