Poshdeluxe

today launches the first post of what i hope will be a regular series here on poshdeluxe.com: the “a day in his/her pants” interview!

every week (or so), i will ask a person i know a series of questions. the first questions will be specific to them, and the second half will be the same for everyone. it’s kind of like a myspace survey, except you’ll actually want to read it. cos even though i won’t be interviewing anyone famous, i believe that every single person in the posh d. corner of the world is newsworthy in their own way. and, as a person with a large capacity for squee, i would love to build up the community that has begun in the comments section, so that the names you see will transform into actual people with stories and quirks and dare i say, precious insight!

my first interview is with the illustrious joshua katz. i met josh at a bbq the summer before we began college at rice, and since that time over ten years ago (yowza), he has been a steadfast and true friend to me. thankfully, we live in the same city so we can continue to indulge in a variety of hijinks, as evidenced by the multitude of ridiculous photos i’ve taken of josh in the past few years.

so, josh. something CRAZY HAPPY WOW just happened to you. tell me about it!!!

I was recently awarded the Nobel Prize in the field of Snack Physics. Actually, just over a day ago, I proposed to my girlfriend, Erica, and she appears to have said yes.

was erica totally surprised? did you guys cry? did people stare at you or clap like in the movies?

Erica was definitely surprised; she, like many others, suspected that I might propose on an upcoming trip to Puerto Vallarta. I actually spread that rumor myself at one point. I would be a great counter-espionage agent. But then I’d already have had to kill you before even telling you that.

I think there were definitely tears in both of our eyes, and Erica did the “Excited Erica” hand gesture that I kind of have to show you in person. We were in a fairly secluded place, so nobody seemed to notice what was going on - except possibly for the racoon that we saw scampering along the Mozart’s deck just 15 minutes before I proposed.

what kind of dessert did you get at mozart’s?

It was totally the lady’s choice: a hot chocolate brownie in a bowl covered with vanilla ice cream. In heaven, this is every meal.

not to get too mushy, but how do you know when you’re ready to get married? i think a lot of people really want to know the answer to this question, so please be specific thank you.

I knew that I was ready when I knew that there was absolutely no way I could ever go about my life for any amount of time without Erica in it. Unfortunately there’s no science on this, and I can’t say to you “On March 10th, when our Marriage Index Points reached the required threshold of 50 (with a margin of error of 3), it was clearly time to get married.” Maybe the Scientologists can measure your marriage thetans for you and tell you when it’s time. But then you become a zombie and have to feast Matt Lauer’s brains.

does this whole thing make you feel like an adult?

I don’t think I’ll ever feel like an adult, even though I do a number of adult things, like work a full time office job, pay a mortgage, have various insurance policies, and pay child support on five offspring. I still get ID’d every time I purchase alcohol, and have had people I work with (and my future father in law) ask “What does Josh do at that firm? He’s not old enough to be a lawyer.” I guess maturity builds in slowly without really knowing it. I know I’m an adult; I even turn 30 this year. But I still feel like the same kid as ever, which probably helps my outlook on life.

am i invited to the wedding? will there be tasty cake there?

Are you kidding? You might well be our Executive Director of Desserts. And you will probably be an expert consultant on music selection. In conclusion, there will be tasty cake and, Allah be willing, an open bar.

look! they’re engaged! squee!

ok, on to the posh deluxe standard questions…

what is yr secret power?

The power of sarcasm, which I wield like a nerd-sword.

do you sleep in jimjams? what kind?

Nope. Unless shorts and a tshirt count as jimjams

what is yr #1 favorite food?

The chocolate lava brownie cake, available at finer restaurants everywhere. But is it wrong to conflate dessert with food? Maybe you meant the kind of food you’d actually eat for a meal. In that case, let’s go with kolaches, which come in endless variety and contain meats and cheeses. I’m a simple man.

what is yr top restaurant recommendation in austin? what’s the best thing on the menu?

In my humble opinion, Uchi. Which is a japanese/sushi fusion type restaurant. They have a kobe beef appetizer that comes with little marinated pieces of delicious uncooked beef and a steaming hot stone. And you take those pieces of beef and put them on the stone, which cooks your beef right there on the table. This is both fun and delicious, and the restaurant is happy because if you get mad cow, it’s your fault for not cooking it right.

tell me about yr top area of expertise.

I’m tough to beat when it comes to obscure baseball players of the 90s, Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii, and the musical catalogue of Elliott Smith. Note that none of these things are my job, nor could they ever be a job.
what was yr favorite item of clothing as a child?

The blue Ocean Pacific shirt that I ended up wearing on school picture day for 5 consecutive years. The pictures on my grandparents’ mantle (me in blue shirt with bowl haircut, me in blue shirt with bowl hair cut one year later, me with spike haircut in blue shirt, etc) were pretty hilarious. When it was finally forcibly retired, I moved on to my hypercolor shirt.

what do you plan on doing when you’re 80?

Reading a lot of books and writing numerous angry letters to various editors of publications.

if you could assemble yr own ocean’s 11, who would you pick and why?

I’ve never seen this movie, either the original or the remake. I think it’s about some sort of bank heist, or a casino heist? There’s definitely a heist, and Sammie Davis Jr. is involved. I think first and foremost I would need Steve Benham, because nobody fucks with Steve Benham and lives. I’d also need Matt and Meredith, because she’s crafty as hell and he knows how to do just about everything, like make small explosives out of bottlecaps and brew beer. I’d need my brother, because he’s a finance expert, and could probably help launder the money or invest it wisely. I think I’d also need Henri, because he’s a very convincing liar and would proably make the perfect conman for our operation.

tell me something scandalous!

I’m xxxxxxx xx xxx, but nobody here knows that yet.

josh, thank you for being my first interviewee!! and congratulations. you deserve all of the happiness in the world, my dear, dear friend.