-- You grew up in Chicago but now live in LA. What is unique about Los Angeles in your opinion?

Well, LA is really a tolerant kind of town. You’re allowed to make mistakes. They say that all the nuts run down to California (laughs). So, it's kind of known as a wacky town (laughs). You can do anything here.

-- What are your favorite cities?

Los Angeles, and then Chicago. Chicago is very clean and very beautiful. It's right on the lake and you're not allowed to build on the lake, so there’s a beautiful view of it. It has some magnificent architecture and the downtown area is just fabulous. It's like New York, in a way. It has great art, great theaters, great culture, great architecture, but it has a small town feel. It's charming and most everyone is really friendly.

-- Is Chicago a comfortable place for lesbians to live?

It's alright. It may not have as many as LA, but it has some LGBT organizations and things are still growing. It's always right behind LA, so it's getting there!

-- Have you ever been to Japan? What kind of image do you have of it?

I've never been to Japan. But I love Japanese food! It's a very foreign culture to me, so I find it interesting. Then again, what I do know about Japan is probably very stereotypical. Like how you all move around very quickly and work a lot. And your health is much better from what you eat, better than Americans' (laughs).

-- True (laughs). However, as I see it, people in Los Angeles are a lot less stressed out than people in Tokyo. I feel that people are more relaxed.

That's great! I love Los Angeles. I live out in the hills a bit past LA. It's isolated where I am, and a little colder. It's also quieter. I see trees everywhere, which is relaxing, but it's still just ten minutes to West Hollywood.

-- What do you like most about LA?

As you said, "the relaxed atmosphere". Except for the traffic, which is insane! I think it's the quality of people, too. I love the coffee shops, especially when I get to have coffee outside. I love meeting friends and I've met some of the most amazing people here. I love my friends to death. I think they're all great. I love, love, love the sunshine and the warmth. I'm living my dream here.

-- How long have you been here?

Almost thirteen years.

-- What do you think about the lesbian baby boom going on in LA?

It's great! It just means that there are more families and it also means that women are saying, "I don't have to be in a traditional male-female relationship to give birth." You know, a lot of women want to have babies--gay or not gay--and they should have them.

-- That's a good way of thinking about it. On another subject, what's your favorite lesbian film?

I don't know if it's my favorite lesbian film of all time, but I was really, really transformed by "Desert Hearts". One summer I watched it about a hundred times and it was a real life changing work for me.

-- Why?

I'd never seen two women in love on screen. You'd see movies where they'd be intimate, but it was the first time that you saw two women come together and fall in love and have to battle it and ultimately end up together. It was so transformative to see that happen on screen.

Also, I love "Transamerica" which came out more recently. It's with Felicity Huffman, who's on the popular television show Desperate Housewives. She plays a man who's about to have the surgery to become a woman. So, he's dressing as a woman and living as a woman, but it's played by an actress. She's brilliant!

-- I saw that you were also a comedian...

Well, not really, but I did a show called "Oh Sister, My Sister" that I wrote for myself. I play a lot of different characters. I performed it at the Gay and Lesbian Center last year.

-- Do you have any plans to perform the show again?

I hope to do it again, but I would need to rewrite it and make it fresh.

-- Do you have any hobbies?

I love books. I'm a big reader of history. I like American history mostly. This is my favorite guy here, Abraham Lincoln. He was an amazing guy.

Also, I like to garden. I love to decorate my house. I'm always repainting my house! (laughs) I have a house in Chicago, too, that my mother lives in. I was home for the holidays and so we’re now planning to redecorate one of the rooms. We’re talking about paint colors and ideas -- I’m looking forward to starting!

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