I read a lot.
Rather, I like to read. I used to read a lot. That was when I had a life and time. (See every other post this month about how crazy/busy/tired I am.) Time to read is at a premium for me right now.
If my life weren't, well, my life right now, then writing about a book that I've recently read would not be that big of a deal, and I would probably have an entry a week about a book I've recently read.
But since my life is, well, my life right now, reading and actually finishing a book is actually a big whoop-dee-doo deal.
I found out about this book when I was looking for some TV series to stream via Netflix on my iPad. The series was called "The Dresden Files," and was short-lived (12 episodes/half season). I can understand why -- I think it was made before all the current frenzy about vampires and supernatural things in general. It's about a wizard who earns a living as a private investigator, working with the local police department to solve other-worldly crimes.
After watching a couple of episodes, I looked on Amazon to see if there were any books about, since I generally like quirky, unusual things.
The first book in the Dresden Files series is called "Storm Front." The series is written by Jim Butcher.
I enjoyed the book, but I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it as much if I hadn't watched the TV series. It's a bit more graphic and explicit than the TV show is, which makes sense. But what I did enjoy more about the book was that in only one book (which would have been the equivalent of one episode) there was much more character development and overall exposition than in several episodes.
And while I liked the book, there are people I would recommend it to, and people I wouldn't, based on the topic matter (supernatural) and explictness (if depicted on-screen as portrayed in the book, it would probably be rated R).
Next on my list? Ellen DeGeneres's new book, "Seriously, I'm Kidding." I already own it; just need to find the time to read it.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Just Like Old Times
I worked early morning shifts both Friday and Saturday and have another one tomorrow. I have to get up by 4:30 to be there on time, just like when I taught early-morning seminary lo those many years ago. Only now my roommate is the seminary teacher, so bathroom/shower time will be at a premium. I don't know how much longer these crazy work hours will keep going, but I don't think I can keep up this crazy schedule and pace for much longer. I logged 52 hours on my time card last week.
One bright spot is that I asked for and got a raise, which goes into effect tomorrow.
The bad news is that I'm always so tied that all I can blog about is being tired, and that's got to be getting tiring. I promise I'll try for a better entry tomorrow.
Meanwhile, I'm doing this one on my phone as I head off to bed, or it never would have gotten done.
Oh November, why must you be so very busy for me?
One bright spot is that I asked for and got a raise, which goes into effect tomorrow.
The bad news is that I'm always so tied that all I can blog about is being tired, and that's got to be getting tiring. I promise I'll try for a better entry tomorrow.
Meanwhile, I'm doing this one on my phone as I head off to bed, or it never would have gotten done.
Oh November, why must you be so very busy for me?
Saturday, November 12, 2011
If a Tree Falls in the Forest and No One's There to Hear It
....Or if a blogger is exhausted but it's NaNoBloPo, and she's firmly committed to the insanity of posting every day, but there's nothing to really write about, and she's still really exhausted, but she really REALLY wants to post, even if it is 10:00 at night with no back-up posts ready to go, but she really has a firm desire to post because skipping it would make it NaNoBloPo-Almost, but she goes to bed instead and just THINKS about posting but then a post magically shows up that (not) coincidentally happens to be about nothing -- did the post really post?
That's so meta.
That's so meta.
Friday, November 11, 2011
This Week...So Far
I fear I am not going to make my goals this week of running (practicing!) as often as I should. I should have run yesterday morning, but decided to use the extra hour for some much-needed sleep instead. Work ended up being crazy/busy beyond belief. I worked almost 11 hours straight without a break. Lunch was eaten standing up and walking around -- helping and training the newbies. I'm not even sure what it was that I did eat. Oh, and that was at around 4:00 in the afternoon -- making it about eight hours from the time I had eaten breakfast.
Yes, please break out your teeny-tiny violins and make sympathetic noises for me. It was a long day.
Fast food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, no running in the morning, no time at night, and my body is already starting to feel those effects.
Today I'm working 6 - 3 -- same for Saturday -- so that means no an early morning runs on those days.
So....two less days this week to practice. Aaaannnnd, there's not much I can do about that. Two and a half more weeks until Thanksgiving, and I'm still planning on doing that 10k.
I have received great words of encouragement from my sisters about being able to complete the Turkey Trot, and I'm sure I will. I do wish I could get some more practice runs in this week, but will be okay with the fact that it won't happen until next week.
The cool thing about goals is that you always have more opportunities to reach them. My mom always used to say, "That's par for the course," meaning "Well, that's just typical of this situation." When I started golfing, I learned that "par" really equals the near-perfection for that hole on the course. Hardly anyone ever gets par, and even rarely gets better than par for the course. I'm not gonna birdie, get par, or probably even get a bogey for my planned amount of practice runs this week. And that? is okay. There's always next week.
Run on.
Yes, please break out your teeny-tiny violins and make sympathetic noises for me. It was a long day.
Fast food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, no running in the morning, no time at night, and my body is already starting to feel those effects.
Today I'm working 6 - 3 -- same for Saturday -- so that means no an early morning runs on those days.
So....two less days this week to practice. Aaaannnnd, there's not much I can do about that. Two and a half more weeks until Thanksgiving, and I'm still planning on doing that 10k.
I have received great words of encouragement from my sisters about being able to complete the Turkey Trot, and I'm sure I will. I do wish I could get some more practice runs in this week, but will be okay with the fact that it won't happen until next week.
The cool thing about goals is that you always have more opportunities to reach them. My mom always used to say, "That's par for the course," meaning "Well, that's just typical of this situation." When I started golfing, I learned that "par" really equals the near-perfection for that hole on the course. Hardly anyone ever gets par, and even rarely gets better than par for the course. I'm not gonna birdie, get par, or probably even get a bogey for my planned amount of practice runs this week. And that? is okay. There's always next week.
Run on.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Happy Birthday, Linda!
Y'all, I am bone tired. I could have an entire entry about how exhausting today has been, but I shouldn't make today be about me.
Some "mommy bloggers" have made a thing out of writing a sweet entry about their children on the child's birthday -- the qualities they like about that child, what makes that child unique, etc.
I am not a mommy blogger -- quotation marks or no. I'm not really a blogger. Just a person with a blog.
But I have people in my life I love. And those people have birthdays. Yay!
Today is one of my best friend's birthday. So I am going be like a parent -- put my personal discomfort and desire to just go straight to bed aside, and write an entry about one of the most important people in my life.
I met Linda about 13 years ago. She came into my life at a pivotal point, and as often happens, was placed into my life at a perfect time when I needed that particular person, even if I didn't recognize it at the time.
Linda is gifted and talented. She has an amazing singing voice, and with no formal vocal training at all, can sing just about anything. She isn't snobby about it either -- she loves music so much that one of her greatest joys is to have people sing or participate with her, regardless of how much talent they have. She never lets anyone feel inferior to her for being less talented.
Linda has a desire to talk to everyone. No, really. EVERYone. Her philosophy is that since we all knew each other, or were at least were acquainted with each other in the pre-existence, that it's our responsibility to talk to those people here and get reacquainted with them. She takes that charge seriously. She can find something in common with everyone and puts everyone at ease.
Linda's smile is infectious, and her eyes are a brilliant blue. She is physically a beautiful person, and she is just as beautiful from the inside out.
There are many other qualities I could list here, but she'll have other birthdays, and I'll be less tired, and have plenty more opportunity to tell y'all why she's such a fantastic person.
Until next year (for this topic, at least). Happy forty-mmmph birthday, Linda! Thanks for being such an important part of my life.
Some "mommy bloggers" have made a thing out of writing a sweet entry about their children on the child's birthday -- the qualities they like about that child, what makes that child unique, etc.
I am not a mommy blogger -- quotation marks or no. I'm not really a blogger. Just a person with a blog.
But I have people in my life I love. And those people have birthdays. Yay!
Today is one of my best friend's birthday. So I am going be like a parent -- put my personal discomfort and desire to just go straight to bed aside, and write an entry about one of the most important people in my life.
I met Linda about 13 years ago. She came into my life at a pivotal point, and as often happens, was placed into my life at a perfect time when I needed that particular person, even if I didn't recognize it at the time.
Linda is gifted and talented. She has an amazing singing voice, and with no formal vocal training at all, can sing just about anything. She isn't snobby about it either -- she loves music so much that one of her greatest joys is to have people sing or participate with her, regardless of how much talent they have. She never lets anyone feel inferior to her for being less talented.
Linda has a desire to talk to everyone. No, really. EVERYone. Her philosophy is that since we all knew each other, or were at least were acquainted with each other in the pre-existence, that it's our responsibility to talk to those people here and get reacquainted with them. She takes that charge seriously. She can find something in common with everyone and puts everyone at ease.
Linda's smile is infectious, and her eyes are a brilliant blue. She is physically a beautiful person, and she is just as beautiful from the inside out.
There are many other qualities I could list here, but she'll have other birthdays, and I'll be less tired, and have plenty more opportunity to tell y'all why she's such a fantastic person.
Until next year (for this topic, at least). Happy forty-mmmph birthday, Linda! Thanks for being such an important part of my life.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Day 9
Day nine of this 30-day blogging challenge. 9:09 at night and I don't have anything awesome, earth-shattering, or even awesome to share. It's been a long day -- up at 5:30 to take C to surgery (shoulder repair); rush home to get her settled before job interview; rush home from that to get ready to teach class tonight.
Whew!
I remember hearing a story about my dad, probably told to me by my dad, about a football game he was watching when he was a young man. The running back on the team he was rooting for had the ball and was running down the field towards the goal line. He made the touchdown, and as the crowd cheered, my dad realized that in his excitement, he had been running parallel to the player in the bleachers. He stopped, embarrassed, as he realized what he had done. The moral of that story was, for him, that he needed to control his emotions and hopes and not be so expressive.
As an impressionable child, you can see how a story like that might have affected me. So while it's true that I mentioned that I had a job interview today, I'm going to stop running down the sideline with the running back and not give any details here about how it went or how hopeful I am (stop running!) and just say -- fingers crossed.
Meanwhile, happy Wednesday. It's been a good, long day. Or a long, good day. You choose.
Whew!
I remember hearing a story about my dad, probably told to me by my dad, about a football game he was watching when he was a young man. The running back on the team he was rooting for had the ball and was running down the field towards the goal line. He made the touchdown, and as the crowd cheered, my dad realized that in his excitement, he had been running parallel to the player in the bleachers. He stopped, embarrassed, as he realized what he had done. The moral of that story was, for him, that he needed to control his emotions and hopes and not be so expressive.
As an impressionable child, you can see how a story like that might have affected me. So while it's true that I mentioned that I had a job interview today, I'm going to stop running down the sideline with the running back and not give any details here about how it went or how hopeful I am (stop running!) and just say -- fingers crossed.
Meanwhile, happy Wednesday. It's been a good, long day. Or a long, good day. You choose.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Sister One
I mentioned before that there is a significant age spread between me and my siblings.
My oldest sister is probably the one I know the least, but it doesn't mean I love her less. There are many things about her I admire. Foremost of those qualities is her courage at dealing with the challenges that life has brought her.
I think that people often say, "I don't know how so-and-so does it," as a bit of a throw-away statement to indicate that they're grateful that they don't have the same challenges. I say that about my sister and I truly do mean I don't know how she does it. (I also wouldn't want her challenges, but that goes without saying.)
My sister served a mission in Brazil back when it wasn't cool for women to serve missions. She loved those people and still enjoys speaking Portuguese when she can.
She's a talented artist. One year she painted a water color of a Christmas tree with presents under it in the foreground. Behind the tree was a picture on the wall of the Nativity scene. The foreground, though prominent, was obviously not the focus of the painting. It was simple and beautiful and still evokes feelings of a peaceful, meaningful Christmas whenever I see it.
She loves fantasy stories and novels, especially JRR Tolkien books. Two of her children are named after "magical" characters. Again, she was a woman ahead of her time.
She has an independent spirit. She's a hard worker. She is a wonderful mother and grandmother and loves her family deeply. Life has not been kind to her and she has been dealt more than anyone's fair share of health issues. Through trials of not being able to be with her family and failing health, she never loses hope, and for that I admire her. She never gives up, never stops fighting, and never stops believing that something better is coming.
I may not know her very well, but I admire her and have much to learn from her.
My oldest sister is probably the one I know the least, but it doesn't mean I love her less. There are many things about her I admire. Foremost of those qualities is her courage at dealing with the challenges that life has brought her.
I think that people often say, "I don't know how so-and-so does it," as a bit of a throw-away statement to indicate that they're grateful that they don't have the same challenges. I say that about my sister and I truly do mean I don't know how she does it. (I also wouldn't want her challenges, but that goes without saying.)
My sister served a mission in Brazil back when it wasn't cool for women to serve missions. She loved those people and still enjoys speaking Portuguese when she can.
She's a talented artist. One year she painted a water color of a Christmas tree with presents under it in the foreground. Behind the tree was a picture on the wall of the Nativity scene. The foreground, though prominent, was obviously not the focus of the painting. It was simple and beautiful and still evokes feelings of a peaceful, meaningful Christmas whenever I see it.
She loves fantasy stories and novels, especially JRR Tolkien books. Two of her children are named after "magical" characters. Again, she was a woman ahead of her time.
She has an independent spirit. She's a hard worker. She is a wonderful mother and grandmother and loves her family deeply. Life has not been kind to her and she has been dealt more than anyone's fair share of health issues. Through trials of not being able to be with her family and failing health, she never loses hope, and for that I admire her. She never gives up, never stops fighting, and never stops believing that something better is coming.
I may not know her very well, but I admire her and have much to learn from her.
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