

	Yo (heart) Oxnard...

michele serros

Getting to know Michele means... Ann Bancroft, La Familia Gilberto, Elliot Smith, 3-minute showers explained.

In Print

A book you're reading this month
I just started The White Oleander by Janet Finch.

3 favorite books
First Confession by Monserrat Fontes
Hell's Angels by Hunter Thompson
Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck

Your favorite poem
I love when Ralph "Johnny" Macchio recites that Robert Frost poem in The Outsiders.

A classic "must-read" book that you couldn't stand
On the Road by Kerouac

The 3 writers, living or dead, you'd want to have a beer with (or coffee , of course)
John Steinbeck - coffee
Sherman Alexie - beer, maybe
Judy Blume

The one standby children's book you give to the children you know
Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto.

Anything you've ever read that changed your mind
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

Poem you could recite from memory if you had to
I can't even memorize my own work! But the haiku I wrote for Cocoa Puffs seems simple and short enough.

Favorite expression or literary analogy you (over)use
Absolutely!

The most underrated piece of writing you've come across
Anything by poet/novelist Pam Ward

Magazine, journal, or zine we'd be most likely to find if we searched your bag
BUST

You're a bumpersticker. You read:
Yo (heart) Oxnard

A favorite zine
I Dreamed I Was Assertive created by Tampa's Celia Perez

Music

A favorite song from your adolescence
It's really a tie: Crocodile Rock by Elton John (the first "rock" song I danced to) and Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen (the first 45 I bought).

A piece of music you hate to admit you like
Hmmmm....I'm pretty proud of my taste in music! Nothing I'd really HATE to admit.

The last CD you bought
"Bought?" That would go way back to some Stereolab

The album on your shelf with the most worn grooves (metaphorically-speaking if it's a CD)
Elliott Smith's X/0

Your favorite venue for live music
It really depends on the band...I do like The Mint in LA.

Your rock-n-roll fantasy?
Playing keyboards for The Edward James Olmos Experience

Music you listen to in the car
Belle and Sebastian

Music you woo with
Anything by La Familia Gilberto or Earth Wind and Fire!

A song you wish you'd written
Your Revolution by Sarah Jones

The instrument you studied as a child
drums, piano and guitar

A tune you like to wallow in
I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself by Dusty Springfield

Movies, Theater, TV

The last movie or play you loved
Traffic

Your all-time favorite scene
The montage of Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate with Simon and Garfunkle's April, Come She Will playing in the background.

The best movie to see on a date
Tie me Up! Tie Me Down!

Actor you have a crush on
Matt Dillon

Favorite director
John Waters

Most annoying camera technique
slow mo digital

Is there a show you can't miss? I couldn't miss Temptation Island when it was aired.

Are there TV shows you grew up watching?
any and everything Gary Marshall!

Sports

Favorite on-field or on-court moment
The East Compton cheerleading team at national championships in Bring it On!

Back Home

The thing that's changed the most in the place you grew up
The strawberry fields of Oxnard have turned into the Auto malls of the 101 Freeway

The career your parents wished you'd pursue - that you didn't
My parents wanted me to follow my dream of writing professionally, but more in reporting. My father felt that being a journalist on a newspaper or magazine staff would be more secure.

An unusual family tradition
3 minute showers due to a broken septic tank

The high school clique you most wanted to be in (or most hated)
Cheerleaders who tried to be "new wave."

Miscellany

What delights you most
Waking up with an idea.

Describe your favorite teacher
Fleshy and red haired.

What you hate most about America
Hyphens!

Name your pet peeve
People who use "call waiting" excessively.

3 things on your to-do list
Before moving, they were: 1) fix my car; 2) look for a new car; 3) move to NYC where I won't need a car.

A meal of your comfort foods includes...
Definitely mole enchiladas! Really!

Interest of yours that would most surprise the people who don't know you well
Most people are surprised by my lack of interest in politics.

A good story about your pet
My cat, Chulo, takes baths with me. He loves water!

Your favorite websites:

For Judy Blume info there's www.judyblume.com.

I love the fansite for the band Queens of the Stone Age at www.qotsa.com.

I regularly check singer Elliot Smith's site at www.elliottsmith.com.

And to keep up with my hometown of Oxnard, CA when I'm away from home, I like www.oxnard.com.

What your tombstone will say
It was NEVER fiction!