Told you I have phone phobia

I finally got in contact with Gwen Marston today for the article I am working on. Let me say that again: GWEN MARSTON. Who is, in my mind, one of the most fascinating, most influential quilters out there. She's been on the road for a while, and I happened to catch her at a good time.

I find interviews difficult on the phone, because I do so much better in person. I can read people's body language and get a feel for what kind of an interviewer I need to be to get the most out of them. When I talk to people in person, I usually have a hard time getting them to shut up.

But it always bothers me if I can't tell if someone is rolling their eyes or looking bored, plus I have to write down everything they say, which often creates long pauses while they wait for me to finish. Then I get the nervous habit of repeating what they just said as I'm writing it so they know that's what I'm doing, and I sound like a big idiot. Fortunately, by the time I call someone, I know enough about what I'm going to write and how it will all be structured, that I can get the quotes I need very quickly.

When I get nervous, I get flushed, but it doesn't look normal. It only appears on my neck and upper chest, and it looks like a goddamn rash.

This is what talking to Gwen Marston on the phone did to me:

Looks like I've either been rolling around in poison ivy or I ate some bad clams.