Blogtastic

So, since my last book update I have read two books and started two others (one of which will be finished fairly soon).

The first was Confessions of a Shopaholic.  This book was really cute - really cute, although it did make me sort of concerned about the state of my credit and sort of give me a bad feeling in my stomach about debt.  Which is not good.  I read the first one and the first chapter of the second one (Shopaholic Takes Manhattan), at which point I decided, I don't think I can dedicate myself to a series of books in which the protagonist does not learn from her mistakes.  And if I read the whole series, I think I'd give myself an ulcer worrying about my own finances.  So the first was it for me - but it was definitely an enjoyable fluff read.  Good for a beach or rainy day. 

Then I started Book of Lost Books, which I am still reading, but loving so far.  This clever and terribly witty and wordy Scotsman has compiled a list of all the books and works which will never be accessible, since they have been lost - burned, censored, eroded, left incomplete, or just plain lost.  It starts with Anonymous (some time before Homer), goes on to Homer, and up through the Greeks... which is as far as I've gotten.  I expect to finish it and continue chuckling and marveling at how interesting this man is. 

BUT I got waylaid by Plum Spooky, one of Janet Evanovich's "Between the Numbers" Stephanie Plum books.  I love this author.  As soon as the "Numbers" books come out every summer I sweep them up and read them in one sitting.  However, these "Between the Numbers" ones are subpar.  I like the protagonist (Stephanie Plum, Jersey bounty hunter, plagued with bad car juju and misadventures, blessed with two hot men who love her), but the story lines for these books (Plum Lucky, Plum Lovin', Visions of Sugar Plums) are often a bit more supernatural.  There's a character who sort of appears and disappears - a hot otherworldly dude named Diesel - and the stuff that happens in these books is just kind of weird.  They're a good read but not NEARLY as delightful as the others (One for the Money, Two for the Dough, Three to Get Deadly, etc etc etc).  So it was a quicky read, and a fun read, but I was happy to return to my more intellectual reading of Lost Books.

HOWEVER, I was waylaid once again - and continue to be so - by a loaner from a friend: Assassination Vacation.  This book is also unexpectedly clever and funny.  It's a nonfiction narrative of this author, Sarah Vowell, who is obsesssed with assassinations, particularly (or at least the ones included in this book) the first three presidential assassinations - Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley.  She takes obsession to new heights, not just visiting Ford's Theatre, but retracing John Wilkes Booth's escape route through the Maryland countryside, and visiting the fort/prison to which Dr. Samuel Mudd (who fixed Booth up after he injured himself jumping from the Ford's Theatre Balcony) was exiled.  I have only just gotten through the Lincoln chapter, which is definitely the substantial portion of the book.  But it's tremendously interesting!  Did you know, for example, that Robert Todd Lincoln, President Lincoln's oldest son (and the only one who managed to survive childhood) was nearby for ALL THREE of the first presidential assassinations?  INTERESTING!  Read the book.  Also, Edwin Booth, John Wilkes Booth's brother, was as celebrated an actor as his infamous kin - and he wasn't a racist jerk... There's a statue of Edwin in Gramercy Park in NYC - I believe the only statue of an actor in the city (or at least the first), and he started the Players Club, an elite social club for actors to be aristocratic and elite and whatnot (since at the time, an actor was somewhere on par with a Lady of the Night or a professional gambler or some such thing).  INTERSTING!  Read the book.

So that's where things stand. I'm currently reading two books, both of which I hope to finish soon so I can start two more... But more on those later.

I have had a library card in every place I have ever lived.  I had a Rhode Island "CLAN" card, a card in DC, Arlington, and Alexandria.  I have lived in Sterling now for almost a year... and TODAY I got my Loudoun County Library Card!

There is just something so spectacular about a library card.  It's the greatest concept.  Public Libraries are such a tremendously glorious invention and I think too many people don't quite appreciate the virtues of FREE books, movies, music, internet... etc etc etc.

Not me, mister.  I'm psyched.  I'm totally delighted.  No, seriously, I am!

There's something about a building full of books that is so exciting and appealing.  Everyone in there is there because they're learning something or looking for something or enjoying the magnetic sight/smell/experience of being surrounded by books.  It's awesome.

Anyway.  I figured I'd just clue you all in to the hipness that is the library.  Go forth and borrow, friends. 

It definitely took a long time to get through it - as is always the case with me and non-fiction.  But it was a really interesting read.  The author did a fairly decent job of remaining impartial as she discussed all the turmoil surrounding the girl detective through the decades.  The backstory behind her, combined with the passage of time and the changes America went through between 1920 and today, made this book almost as exciting as a Nancy Mystery.  A good read for any fan of the girl detective, or any student of American Studies.

Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her (ISBN: 0739467190)

Melanie Rehak

Of late - and I mean like between two nights ago and this morning - I have been in a really good mood.  A good mood (brief aside to ponder - why don't "good" and "mood" rhyme?  I love you, English Language; you're so damn quirky) that makes me feel like I can conquer my destiny, and I can have it all.

Yesterday I babysat in the morning, went into the restaurant for lunch, and went to the grocery store.  When I got home, I decided to actually get on top of getting things done - did some laundry, neatened up the kitchen, put stuff away, cleaned up a bit all over the place.  Then I started dinner when Derek was on his way home - gave him a beer when he came in the door (very Donna Reed, I admit - but Donna had it going on).  It was just nice to be in a happy place, feel on top of my life, and feel like I can do all the things I want to. 

I have been getting lots of calls to take on more babysitting clients, and that is very promising.  Nay, exciting.  More families equals more money, and more money means less stress about the universe at large and my wedding more specifically. 

Also - and I never really thought I'd feel this way - Facebook is making me feel more connected to people.  Most of the time I feel like kind of a stalker, and minimally connected to a few people.  But lately - I have actually been conveying thoughts to people, accepting gifts from people, keeping up with everyone.  It's nice.

But I digress: 

In other news, I'm planning to do a show this summer - potentially "Beauty & The Beast" with Encore... or maybe a production of "Midsummer Night's Dream" ... I just don't know.  Between that pseudo-plan, plus the fact that I will be teaching at a drama camp, plus the fact that I have babysitting lined up, plus the feeling that I finally have some friends and people I can hang out with out here in Sterling other than Derek (who's great, but you know - having one's own friends is important)... All of this adds up to mean that I feel good, confident, ready for the world. 

Now - to the ironing board I go.  Time to get ready for work and hope to dazzle the patrons with my winning waitressing prowess. 

So it's my day off.  And, as per usual, I feel like there are 77,000 things on my To Do List.  I want to live comfortably - financially and physically... And by this, I mean, I want my house to be tidy.  Not crazy-ass, compulsively clean; no one has to be able to eat off the floor, except maybe the dog.  But I want to feel okay if someone comes by.  Like the landlord, who did so today.  She didn't come in, but SERIOUSLY - should I be that ashamed to have someone see my home?  No. 

So I want to get it in shape today.  But here it is, almost 4 o'clock, and I've barely scratched the surface.  And this is always how this goes.  Never get everything done when I want it to be - that's me. 

Alas - it's back to cleaning I go.  Maybe I'll be able to go all night.  (dirty)

So I started and finished this one this weekend.  It was actually a good book.  Much of Patterson's stuff is pretty good - that is, before he sold out and stopped writing his own work.  This was the first in the Women's Murder Club books, and I will say (not surprisingly) the book is much better than the show was.  I often wonder how the changes from one medium to another get decided.  They seem so arbitrary.  The book had plenty of suspense to keep it moving - why make Lindsay a brunette in the show instead of the blonde she was written as?  Why take away a medical scare and add an elaborate first husband back story for the move to the boob tube?  And why change the lives of the Supporting Characters?  So weird. 

But all that aside - the book was a compelling read.  Fun, gripping murder mystery.  I think I'll pick up the next couple when I have a few bucks to spare.

1st to Die (The Women's Murder Club)

James Patterson

I love to read, which I believe to be a commonly accepted fact among those who know me.  This year, I am hoping to keep a better log of what I've read, so that by the end of 2009, I can look back and say, "Wow! I read [insert impressive number here] books!  How fun!"  Only in a slightly less stilted manner.

Okay, I just want to seem smart.  Is that so wrong?

First book of the year:
I'm starting off kind of slow - since it's non-fiction, and I always read non-fiction slower than fiction.  But it's truly interesting and king of exciting.  It's almost an American Studies-like read, in that the book talks not only about Mildred and Harriet, the two hotties who wrote under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, but what the culture was like in America when Nancy was created (By Harriet's dad, Edward Stratemeyer... Nancy Drew, created by a man!), and the effect of having strong-minded, forward-thinking women write the books.  Very cool.  And I LOVE me some Nancy Drew!

Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her (ISBN: 0739467190)

Melanie Rehak

So after yesterday's post about how everything is good and blah blah blah... well, here goes:

As I drove to work this morning, running only slightly later than I prefer (which is to say, on time, but without the extra time to stop for coffee), it occurred to me - I'm stuck in the Montage Scene.

If you were to imagine my life as a movie, now is the time when you cut to brief moments of very similar scenes, to show the passage of time and to show how everything is the same for awhile. That's what I'm stuck in!  Every day, I wake up, struggle to get out of bed, get in the shower, iron my work clothes, put on said work clothes, get in the car, drive to work, wait on people, and leave.  It would be much more efficient to just show me putting down the check and smiling at each customer (I mean, "Guest," which is how we are to discuss the patrons of my particular dining establishment), and picking up money.  A montage. 

I must admit, this passing of time section of my life is a little bit dull... it's not everything, though - only work.  I like the job; for the most part I like the people, the actual work is easy, and I'm good at it.  But waitressing is not the career I choose, not the path I want... It's for now.  But the risk of "for now" is that it slowly turns into "for good" and that's NOT what I want.  I've managed to pick up some babysitting stuff, which does help relieve the tedium.  But I want to be working on shows!  I need creative outlets.  I want to be challenged theatrically. 

I suppose I sound like a terrible whiner - I have a job, and that's a big deal as times are hard.  It's just difficult to be excited about work that doesn't challenge me, particularly when I feel so stuck. 

Please don't misunderstand - none of this applies to me and Derek.  I'm really happy with him and being with him.  He is so wonderfully supportive of my goals, too, which makes this rut of mediocrity I'm in as far as my career goes even harder. 

On the Derek front: I had a nightmare last night that I wasn't ready for my wedding... and no one liked my dress.  I turned to my mother and asked her if she liked the dress and she said "it's fine," and then I turned around and a whole table of people exclaimed about how the dress "really does nothing for you."  I felt crappy all day because of it.  Which is absurd.

Hello to all and welcome to 2009 (perhaps a little late).

Things are good in my universe.  I'm getting readier and readier for the wedding - though I'm probably not going to be the readiest till after it's over.  But isn't that always the way?

I'm doing well in my new career (waitress! wahoo!), being promoted to trainer after 3 months, and generally enjoying the variety of my days, though not the inconsistency of income. 

Resolving this new year, as all new years, to be more fit, more organized, more yada yada yada.  New resolutions include: Say yes more often and take more "me" time.  We'll see how these pan out...