BA of the Week: Charlie Jane Anders, Founder of Writers with Drinks
Every week we feature a different person from the community shedding a little light on their life of brokeitude. Who knows, maybe you’ll learn something about the human spirit — probably not.
Wanna be a Broke-Ass of the Week? Holler at us here and we’ll send you the questionnaire.
We have a fantastic Broke-Ass of the Week this time around. I mean…not that all of them aren’t fantastic, this one is just extra fantastic (phew!). Anyways, I don’t know if I can say anything better than what’s below other than that you should totally follow Charlie Jane Anders on twitter because she’s hilarious. Now here is a bit about her.:
Charlie Jane Anders spouts off on the internet at io9.com and writes wack stories and books — but you can also see her being totally inappropriate in person, every month at Writers With Drinks. Every month, she brings together as many different types of writer and performer, including literary authors, smut peddlers, storytellers, poets, comedians and science fiction writers, and then she makes up totally ludicrous fake bios for them. The May 10 show at the Make Out Room features Pioneer Girl author Bich Minh Nguyen, Hip Mama publisher Ariel Gore, performance artist/poet Baruch Porras-Hernandez and science fiction writer Juliette Wade. The first five people who show up naked will probably be arrested.
Now please enjoy her answers:
Name: Charlie Jane Anders
Age: Charlie Jane’s skirts are actually Minkowski space-time cones in which time is not absolute, so it depends on the length of the skirt and the position of the observer.
Occupation: Writer, editor, organizer.
What neighborhood do you live in?: Lower Haight
Best money saving tip: Never join a gym — just run up and down the hills in the city while trying to catch up with yourself.
What do you refuse to spend money on?: Tissues, I’m constantly wandering into Round Table Pizza and stealing napkins during allergy season. Round Table Pizza gives off this amazing aura of ennui that makes napkin-stealing seem totally permissible.
Most expensive thing you’ve ever bought: I bought a car once, that’s probably the biggest in pure dollar value.
How’d that feel?: Totally terrifying. Especially after I hit a pickup truck while singing along too loudly to Bootsy Collins.
Favorite cheap eat: The onigiris in Japantown — these perfect rice balls with fish or plums or seaweed in the middle, wrapped in nori. You can get one of them for like $1.60, and two of them are enough to fill you up for hours. But don’t nab all the cod roe ones, those are my favorites.
Favorite dive bar: Aunt Charlies! Gay porn, disco tunes, cheap booze… the place is one big glory hole into the center of the universe.
Best deal you’ve ever gotten: A few months ago I was staying with my parents for a few weeks, helping with a family crisis, and I got invited to go out to a wacky Burning Man-ish artsy event, which would provide some much-needed chill time away from my family. But I had no sexy Burning Man-ish dress to wear, because I had only packed “sensible hanging out with family” clothes. And I didn’t want to run out and buy some terrible overpriced dress — but luckily, the K-Mart near my parents’ house was selling off the remains of the Nicki Minaj Collection (which she’d designed specially for K-Mart) for almost nothing. These were neon-red-and-black fetishy dresses that looked sort of like sluttier Star Trek outfits. I got *so* many compliments from the trendy arts hipsters on my remaindered Nicki Minaj K-Mart dress.
Favorite free thing to do: Visit the turtle pond in Golden Gate Park (near 36th) with the turtles sitting on the big stone turtle. It’s kinda zen.
If you woke up a millionaire, what’s the first thing you’d buy?: A book publisher, probably.
Despite not having money, do you still love your life?: I love this city, even though it’s gotten less and less hospitable for ordinary people. I love living here. I love that you can have an event like Writers With Drinks and bring in a crowd every month for writing and silliness.
Do you own my book?: Yes, totally.
Best hangover cure: Green tea.
Are you a hipster?: Kinda sorta. It’s a Tower of Power thing. The passing years will show.
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