In Search of the Champagne Life
by Jennifer Barnick

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Tables are turned…Dr. Timothy Smith makes the editor sweat a little….

          For my last installment of columns for the Winter Issue (the new issue comes out tomorrow!!!!) I have decided to let Dr. Timothy Smith put me, for once, in the hot seat. What many people know about me personally, and what all of the writers for The Better Drink know is that I ask a lot of questions. So much of my creative process and the drawing out of other’s creative genius evolves from rigorous questioning. Yet, it can also be unnerving and it can make one feel vulnerable. So, with all of that being said in the spirit of being a good sport I have agreed to hand over the reigns of my column and allow Dr. Timothy Smith to do the writing, ask the questions, and interview me. My only hope is that once you see behind the curtain, so to speak, you will still trust me as a capable explorer who will hopefully one day find The Champagne Life.

(This is Tim writing now.) Hello everyone this a great honor to have the opportunity to ask a few of the questions that the readers may have always had about Ms. Barnick. So let’s get started.

Tim—Where were you born?

Jenn—I was born in Stockton, CA, however, my stay there was brief, around six weeks. I then was quickly whisked away to Modesto, CA, which is where I grew up.

Tim—What was it like growing up in Modesto?

Jenn—I have mixed feelings regarding Modesto. So much so that I still obsess over the land, weather, and surrounding architecture. I still feel an eerie comfort when I walk through a strip mall or I see a ranch style house—two things that Modesto has much of—also I still pine for the large sky, the mountains in the distance, and the enormous heat. However, socially I very often felt like an outcast as Modesto is (or was when I lived there) a very conservative town. Growing up there is good if you are to become an artist because you will have loads of complexes…enough to last a lifetime. However, for many of my friends who are still there and who do not have art in which to channel their lives…things have not worked out so groovy…I believe Modesto can be a hard place if you are sensitive to life.

Tim—Now you are all grown up, an artist, writer, and now editor of The Better Drink living on the East Coast do you call this home or do you think of California as home?

Jenn—I keep on proclaiming that I want to “die here” when referring to the East Coast. However, I still feel like a tourist here even though it has been several years. On the flip side when I go home to visit friends and family back in California I feel like a tourist as well. On the East Coast I wear too much make-up and my tops are too low cut whereas in California my friends always tease me for looking so much like “an east coast preppie hippie” and ask if I am going to put on some make-up before we go out. I think I am now screwed as far as finding a place I could really call home.

Tim—So with all of this moving around what sort of things ground you?

Jenn—My overwhelming collection of virtues, morals, and philosophies…they ground me. I keep on collecting spiritual things to do—ethical challenges to figure out—and personal perfections in which to perfect. I keep myself busy with these types of things and I have found that if I do that no matter where I live I am busy with the same old shit.

Tim—Do you have any literary heroes that walk along with you through your life?

Jenn—Dude, do you ever read my column? But with that being said I would have to say that it is myself that I normally walk along with…at least the most…next would be any current crush I may have on a gent…then would be anyone who most recently hurt my feelings. I would say I do not often walk with the lofty likes of Tolstoy or Blake rather I run to them when I am tired of walking around with myself, my crushes, and my enemies.

Tim—As an artist of great talent you’ve now shouldered the load of editor of a magazine. What do you enjoy in building The Better Drink?

Jenn—Are you trying to make up for the fact that none of your writing is in yet and the magazine gets released tomorrow? An artist of great talent…geez…my ass thanks you. As for the job of editor…. I love building the magazine. I believe in The Better Drink and I believe in the magazine’s mission of spreading some real joy—not sappy bullshit or worse, sappy horrors (as in the case with news journalism)—but deep hard digging life. I also love it when one of my writers sends me something that blows me away…it is the best feeling to read something totally new, totally unknown and it really is perfect art. However, what I hate is nagging writers about their due dates and trolling the city for fresh voices. I do not like going around judging everybody.

Tim—So let’s change gears…let’s get off work for a little bit…. What do you like to do in your down time?

Jenn—I love to stand in my kitchen. I love to walk my dogs. I love to daydream about super hot guys while drinking herb tea and listening to my walkman. I sometimes like to clock in several hours of bad TV. I also love to cook and eat, and I super love a funny person to hang out with.

Tim—Do you have any really funny movies or TV shows that you like to turn to for a good laugh?

Jenn—Again…have you ever read my column? Yes and no. Lately, I have not been enjoying movies or television. I am tired of being emotionally manipulated “cry here” “laugh here” and I am tired of sitting still in a chair and giving all of my time to moving images made of light. However, I am drawn to mostly B movies in which nothing can be made invisible and television that makes me feel like a zoologist or a sociologist as in shows like the one's found on The Home Shopping Network or The O.C. on Fox.

Tim—Well tomorrow the Spring ’05 issue comes out, ending your crunch time. What are you going to do to decompress?

Jenn—Honestly, after a new issue is released I feel a little sad, a little empty. Usually, the last two weeks leading up to a new issue I am working exotic hours. My whole life is The Better Drink. It is hard to walk away from that type of intense focus and creative energy. It is hard to be a balanced person after that type of extreme living. Most likely I will finally do my laundry, shave my legs and armpits, which are real jungles right now, and I will call all of my friends and family whom I have abandoned. This will hopefully put me back into the business of living. But it is a tough transition…I do not wholly know how to decompress yet. Then again, it is another virtue that I work on and in that light not really knowing how to decompress after intensity helps me not feel so lousy about being a tourist.

This is Tim speaking again. Well you got a small glimpse of Ms. Barnick answering the questions. Such conversations could go on all day, and I hope to get the opportunity to interview her again in this column. I must admit being allowed to drive In Search of the Champagne Life has a great feeling. Have a great day and please check out the next issue.

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