I love Miami. If you were only to hang around the airport and then head straight to South Beach, you would think yourself in a place that's a cross between South America and France. It would never cross your mind you were in the States. Even the use of the flag is quite sparse compared to other American cities I've been to. Walking around and eavesdropping on all the Spanish and French conversations around me (yes - French. In Target I overheard a bunch of Parisian tourists ooing and aaahing over some Issac Mizrahi for Target stuff. Parisian, fashion-capital-of-the-world dwellers in Target. Buying clothes), strolling along the very Côte-d'Azure-like Ocean Drive, with it's roller-blading parks and beaches to one side, and trattoria-style eateries on the other, not to mention the phenomenal shopping, is my idea of heaven.
It's almost a blessing that there are hardly any decent shops here in Cayman because it justifies my occasional popovers across the pond.
On this particular popover, I happened to catch this flick:
If you're a writer and you like chick lit and rom coms DO NOT MISS THIS ONE! If only to see Hugh Grant in a George Michael-esque get-up, shaking his bon-bon enough times to make you feel like a cigarette after the movie. Drew Barrymore, if not at her acting best, is a believable writer who we can identify with, and it's nice to see creative angst dramatized on screen. The video around which the whole script is anchored, "Pop Goes My Heart" is absolutely hilarious. There's not much I can tell you about the plot that you wouldn't have gleaned already from the previews so I won’t linger much longer on this topic other than to repeat: do yourself a favor and see this one if you need a change from the message-heavy Oscar offerings this year. Besides the hilarity, tight pants on Hugh Grant, and 80’s soundtrack, it’s also a pretty good light chick lit/romance characterization study. You could easily, if you were so inclined, break it down into a three act structure complete with well-motivated hero/heroine character arcs, black moments, etc. Being the writer-geek that I am, I won't say the thought didn't cross my mind...
Other memorable moments from this trip include the discovery of Sawgrass Mills outlet mall. I have a deep aversion to outlet malls which probably stems from tragic childhood memories searching through racks and racks of junk labeled “Tommy Hilfiger” and “Calvin Klein” which somehow bore no resemblance whatsoever to anything I’d seen at the mall, past or present. Sawgrass Mills is a complete other universe of outlet shopping. Case in point: a very cute Miss Sixty top for $10, marked down from $100. No visible defects, and a cornucopia of sizes. No changing hurridly behind two racks of clothing and digging through piles of rubbish either – except for the prices and the word “Outlet” describing the mall, you’d never know you were in one.
Besides that, it's been work, work and more work. Which brings me to the big questions: To write full-time, or not to write full-time.
They say that you can ALWAYS carve out time to write if you really wanted to, and you don't have to quit your day job. That may be so, but consider this: the day job ate up 52 hours this week, excluding lunch hour and commuting time. I'm not one of those writers who can do 15 minutes here and there. It takes me that much just to get into the mood. Besides the required 2 - 3 writing hours I need to put in daily, I've a book to promote and just a few months left to do it in. Yes, I probably could make some time to write while working full-time, but I'd have to give up the gym, cooking, reading, and any semblance of a social life.
I've got a big decision to make...
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