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[09 Nov 2020|02:53pm] |
spam.
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[10 Nov 2009|08:49pm] |
So, here I am. Jane Ashby, writing for a men's magazine. Who wouldda thunk. I'm excited, to say the least. It's a great publication with wide readership and I'm writing about things I actually know about. Sex & Relationships - I don't know what that says about me if thats what my area of expertise is. I'm hoping I'll be able to give some sort of new perspective to our reader. Just what that perspective is, well, I haven't quite figured that bit out yet.
I've been spending a lot of time lately thinking about What Dad Would Say. I think about in capital letters like that, because it's sort of like What Would Jesus Do. Not that dad is (was? is?) in any way like Jesus, but you know how people say that sometimes? Anyway. Now that I'm on my own, I sort of wonder what normal parents would do. I've got this new job, see. At a men's magazine. I'm writing for them, which is great, and I'm really excited to start. So I'm wondering, would dad say "goon on you, kid", or "you're wasting your talents", or would he just not care? I like to think he'd be proud of me, though I'm sure he'd wonder why I had to move all the way to New York for this job.
Dad never liked New York. He said it was too busy. And it is busy, but I think I like that. It doesn't feel like a rushed, hectic kind of busy, it feels like an imperative kind of busy. Like everyone feels that pull to keep moving, to succeed, to move up. I guess it's sort of hard to explain. I just feel that pulse of ambition in the air. This city has purpose.
I spent all day yesterday shopping for my new loft. I had no idea how much fun shopping for pots and pans and rugs and things could be. I learned more about blenders and shit than I ever cared to, but it felt good to get stuff of my own. I brought a few things from the LA house of course. My records are here along with some priceless valuables. The housekeeper is still there, but I don't really trust some of this stuff to anyone. I don't know what to do with the house. I don't want to sell it - dad worked so hard to get it. So I think I'll just make sure it's well looked after until I decide to go back to LA. If I ever do.
Tomorrow I'm going to call the super and see if I'm allowed to have a dog. I think it would be nice to have a little puppy to keep me company while I'm here.
Well, here's to New York, new beginnings, and all that bullshit.
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[09 Nov 2009|03:11pm] |
Jane Ashby doesn't take any of your shit.
Part of it is the way she was raised. Single dad, spent half of the time denying she was even his child. Her mom died of breast cancer when she was ten and she was shipped off to LA to live with him. Her dad is this big record producer out there. He was in some throwaway eighty's hair band, but made a shit ton of money producing and recording for other throwaway bands. Of course, he spent most of it on a huge house, then strippers and cocaine. His reputation for partying was bigger than his reputation as a producer, but it got him work anyway. However, this meant that young Jane had to fend for herself most of the time. She raised herself, one of those thirteen going on thirty types. By the time she was in middle school she was handling the bulk of her father's finances, cooking meals for the two of them, plus educating herself. One thing his lifestyle was good for was exposure to a lot of different types of people. Jane learned how people worked, how relationships worked, and how men and women related to each other. She was a regular sixteen-year-old Dr. Ruth. Good thing she was so smart, or at least savvy. Who knows what could have happened to her if she hadn't been able to handle all the shit her father put her through.
So Jane pretty much learned how to make her own way. She was strong-willed and stubborn because she had to be. In a world like that, filled with hookers and drugs and booze, she had to be the head bitch in charge just to stay afloat. She was surrounded by men all the time, so she learned how to think and act like a man to get people to pay attention to her. It was a very misogynistic world. You know, men who think they're rock stars also think that women should be falling at their feet. They expect all women to be like groupies and strippers. So Jane had to sort of toe the line. she had to be just feminine enough to still be female but man enough to make sure things got done.
Her father died of a drug overdose when she was 19. Despite all her efforts to get him to rehab (and she'd been successful - he'd gone once and completed a twelve step program), he'd fallen back into the habit and been using behind her back. She felt betrayed and lost, like she'd spent her whole life looking after her father and now she didn't know what to do with herself. She was a smart girl, and she could have done a lot of things. She thought about fashion design, or following in her father's footsteps and going into music business. She applied to a few colleges, including Berklee College of Music. She finally decided to go to UCLA and ended up studying business and creative writing.
After college, she was still unsure about what she wanted to do with her life. She had a lot of interested and wanted to pursue them all. She took a wasted a few years exploring the social life. She felt like it was the perfect time to explore the world for herself, so she took her inheritance and spent two years traveling, partying, getting chased by paparazzi, crashing fancy parties, and generally being rebellious. She'd finally figured out that she could live a life of her own, and that was exactly what she was going to do. But she felt herself getting caught in a downward spiral, and she knew she had to pull herself out before she ended up like her father.
So she went back to LA, moved back into her father's mansion, and tried to find a real job. She took an internship at a recording company for a while, and did a stint at Teen Vogue, but she wanted a big change.
Jane packed up everything and moved to New York. She bought herself a loft and applied for a job writing for a magazine. She hopes that New York will give her a different perspective on life - and maybe it will open doors to her future.
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[09 Nov 2009|02:54pm] |
My sweet Lady Jane, when I see you again, your servant am I and will humbly remain.
Just heed this plea my love on bended knees my love
( I pledge myself to Lady Jane )
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