April 22, 2002 - 6:31 p.m.

simon and i went to see no man's land last night. very good and very effective at getting its point across. it was much easier to watch than, say, apocalypse now redux or some other war film, but i am going to be firm and say no to war films for the next year, at least. i can't take it any more! unless johnny depp or steve martin star in a war film. then i'd think about it.

i am trying to write my article for readymade and am finding it more difficult than i had imagined. it's easy for me to tell or show someone how i made an apron out of a pillow case, but it's hard to write out every instruction in a clear and concise manner and make sure i cover all the bases.

it reminds me of this game we played when i was in girl scouts in fourth grade. we had to write out every single instruction for how to make a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich. this included directions like "walk to kitchen counter," "open drawer" and "get knife out of drawer." then we would go to the kitchen and follow someone else's instructions to see if they worked. someone always forgot an important but small step. for example, you might say "go to refrigerator" and then "get peanut butter," but you've forgotten to tell the person to open the refrigerator door in between your two steps, so getting the peanut butter becomes impossible. it was a good exercise in thorough communication.

i thought i could provide instructions for people who don't sew, using stitch witchery or staples, but i'm finding now that i'll have to make another apron to see if either of these ideas work. i don't want to be the loser who gets a letter written to the editor because of bad instructions.

i've got an interview tomorrow for a secretarial job in my favorite neighborhood of all, north fitzroy. who cares what i'm doing as long as it involves money and north fitzroy. then there's another interview on wednesday for a receptionist/fit model at a skate and surf company. i wonder how many of their applicants actually have both receptionist and fit model qualifications on their resume, like me. maybe they will let me wear skater clothes to work.