...and I did it! I learned the "Thriller" dance!!!!

I'm going to post my video--in a second--but this part, it turns out, is even scarier than learning the dance. Eeek! Or maybe that's to be expected? The posting is the "dancing in public" part, I guess.

Before I post the vid, a few disclaimers:

--unlike E. Lockhart and many other fabulosos (I've seen John Green and M.T. Anderson cut the rug quite dashingly), I am NOT a dancer. I think my hips are built differently than other people's. Like, with glue.

--I ended up having to hire a PROFESSIONAL THRILLER TRAINER in order to learn the dang thing. Curse zombie arms!!!! They were the death of me. (Though I did spring back to life. Sort of. I mean, I'm still breathing and all.)

--since I needed to be beautiful for my film premier, I went to see my lovely Turkish hairstylist, Kazim, who told me I simply HAD to let him "thread" my eyebrows. And since I always say "yes" to Kazim (and pretty much anyone else), I let him. So there was that trauma going on, too. Because he also then "threaded" (read, plucked, but with thread, and it was kinda cool but more freaky) my MUSTACHE which I did not know I had, and also some nose hairs. Um, that was a sensory experience I can't even begin to describe. So if I look oddly...pained about the eyebrow, mouth, and nose area, that is why. Or it could be the pain of dancing. Or trying to dance.

--BUT I DID IT!!!!! I DID THE DANG DANCE!!!! And I am exhilarated, in spite of (on top of?) my eyebrow/upper lip/nose pain and utter exhaustion.

I can't hold off posting any longer, as I'm off to Texas tomorrow for the Texas Book Festival. All of y'all Texans, please come! Especially as I've been warned that HECKLERS may attend my session and tell me I'm a bad, bad girl for writing ttyl. Aaaargh.

Maybe if they watch the vid they'll realize how utterly harmless I am?

So, um, okay. Here goes. Be kind!!!!