My name is Michel Cicero. I am an INFJ. I left Los Angeles for Ventura with my husband, baby, dog and cat in 1995 and never looked back. Ventura is more like home than my birthplace ever was. I may never own a home here but I will always have a sense of ownership of what I believe is a blessed city. Some people regard me as eccentric and they’re probably right. I still listen to vinyl records and I have mastered the art of baking popovers. Below is a brief history of my adult life, post-punk, post-Los Angeles, post-partum:
1. Back in the early 2000s, I performed the functions of arts editor for VCReporter.
2. I left the position to pursue a freelance career and be more domestic.
3. While I was busy baking cookies and writing my memoirs, Matt Singer quietly took my old spot on the masthead.
4. Six or seven years later I awoke to the reality that I had not won the lottery. My life as a post-punk, middle-aged single mother with a level 70 World of Warcraft fury warrior and a teenage son who listens to 80s hair metal was getting as stale as the bread crumbs in my toaster.
5. About this time I reconnected with Matt and resumed contributing to the Reporter. About a month later Matt announced his plans to leave the familiarity of Ventura County to sow his oats in the Pacific Northwest.
6. I applied for the job and it’s deja vu, all over again as they say.
I will be hard-pressed to fill the gap Matt leaves in his wake, but I’m determined to make a go of it. During my first incarnation as arts editor for VCReporter it was a friendlier world but a meaner paper with Dave Rolland at the helm and Locey’s snarky CD reviews. The kinder, gentler (but no less relevant and informative) VCReporter is headed by Michael Sullivan. I look forward to working alongside Michael et al to produce a paper that’s engaging and important. I am attempting to find my rhythm and reacquaint myself with the creative types at the forefront of the arts scene as well as find the ones hiding in the underground.
So, please, add me to your list, keep me in the know and introduce yourself. Together we’ll make history, or something.
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hoo-hoo!! you go girl! yowza! tell it like it is!!
(btw, no way your son is a teen. no way. isn’t he still 7?)
from a ENFP (i think)
Congrats again, Michel, on the new career and this stellar blog that puts mine to shame. You are a true wonder of the West Coast. Sending East Coast love your way.
Best, Mel
Michel~
Found my way to your webpage via your last e-mail to me =)
I LOVE IT!! RIP Betty Page.. Was saddened a few days ago when I learned of her heart attack..Knew it wouldn’t be long. She’s flying with the angels and looking as hot as she did in her day =)
Anyways, I haven’t even looked through 1/2 of your page, so I’ll get back to that. Love your seemingly lifetime sense of humor and originality. I aspire to have those qualities as my life goes on!
Hugs,
Kate
Great work, Michel!!! It’s obvious we’re in terrific hands, once again. Thanks much for coming back, and caring so much about all the beauty we have, that is Ventura, California…
Peace and Blessings to all!!!
Michael
http://www.stolenboy.com
We all love Scott Jacobs!!
Its a nice change to have a really outspoken arts editor in the vc reporter. keep it eccentric!;)
Thanks so much, Mike. Keep reading!
Michel, great post…I can’t believe I just discovered your blog…and I’m sure you’re doing a fantastic job at the Reporter! By the way, I too am an INFJ! Fun.