tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146047342012-01-28T15:13:14.364-06:00Miscellaneous thoughts about my favorite subjects - and maybe some random processing.Charitynoreply@blogger.comBlogger471100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-51294386164625024872012-01-02T08:54:00.000-06:002012-01-02T08:57:00.246-06:00

As a traveler, I'm not surprised to find myself processing the concept of "home" lately. It's a topic that I've processed nearly non-stop since I moved to Oregon in 2001, but I have deeper thoughts now. So let's see if I can put them into words. We've all heard, "Home is where the heart is," "Home is where you hang your hat," "Home is with your loved ones." None of these are wrong, but none of

Charitynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-19947180115517970032012-01-01T10:54:00.000-06:002012-01-01T10:54:08.450-06:00

Enemies & Allies: the Dark Knight Meets the Man of Steel – Kevin J. Anderson The Lost Gate – Orson Scott Card Suddenly Southern: a Yankee’s Guide to Living in Dixie – Maureen Duffin-Ward Divergent – Veronica Roth The Giver – Lois Lowry December recommendation: Divergent. It’s the newest book in the newest wave of young adult literature (post-apocalyptic), and it received the 2011

Charitynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-21953905566666008612011-12-26T17:44:00.001-06:002011-12-26T17:44:23.863-06:00

11. No one likes it when you say something negative about their home state, but Georgians reeeeallllly don't like it. 10. Defining your dream is half the battle to achieving it. 9. Brandy snifters make excellent centerpieces. 8. A large part of me is home in Oklahoma, even though I've never lived there. 7. Nothing can prepare you for the emotional impact of moving to a natural

Charitynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-41026884516163288642011-12-10T08:14:00.001-06:002011-12-10T09:04:07.936-06:00

It's a long story, and I won't bore you with the details of the corporate politics, but I found myself needing to be hired back to Amedisys in order to start my new assignment in Georgia. My last day in Joplin was Dec. 6, and as of 4:30 that day, I still had not been able to get a hold of anyone to help me with my questions and paperwork and employment details. It was stressful, to say the least.

Charitynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-84186816062096556492011-12-03T09:50:00.001-06:002011-12-03T10:01:03.652-06:00

The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer by Dusty Higgins and Van Jenson "The Power of Six" is the sequel to "I am Number Four," and it is nice, but not spectacular. "The Picture of Dorian Gray" is just as amazing as I expected it to be. The only novel by playwright Oscar Wilde, it is full of the banter, snide remarks, and fast-moving

Charitynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-85353698965050752512011-10-29T08:42:00.003-05:002011-10-29T21:19:39.668-05:00

What? They all die in the end? Someone should have warned me! Just kidding. Pages 601-655Look to the horizon – it’s a bird, it’s a ship, it’s…dun, dun DUN…an OMEN. An oooooooommmmmeeeeeeen! There are lots of omens of impending doom, and then finally, on page 625, we finally spot Moby Dick. Thirty pages from the end, people. It took Ishmael over 100 pages just to get on the flipping boat, and

Charitynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-28807766081766532062011-10-26T21:04:00.000-05:002011-10-26T21:04:13.897-05:00

Okay, so the "Twilight" series has its serious issues, not gonna lie. The plot, the character development, the exploitation of minor boys' abs - the list goes on, and I'm not going to debate all that. What I don't get is why some Christians shun it on the basis that "vampires are blood-sucking demons," but they're okay with Wolverine, Superman, Spiderman, Mary Poppins, and a host of other

Charitynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-87868018957488009502011-10-23T20:48:00.000-05:002011-10-23T20:48:13.623-05:00

One hundred more pages down! Yayayay. This chunk seemed to go faster, because much of it was in Ahab's mind, which is perhaps the most fluid and interesting in the book. (How a first-person narrator gets into another character's mind is another question, which I may address in my closing thoughts on the book.) Pages 501-600Queequeg nearly dies, but decides not to. The ship meets another ship

Charitynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-62580205140921965052011-10-14T20:57:00.000-05:002011-10-14T20:57:01.387-05:00

During the commercials of "The Office" and "Say 'Yes' to the Dress," I managed to get through another 100 pages of Moby Dick (what can I say? There was a "Say 'Yes'" marathon). Pages 401-500 In perhaps one of the most thrilling scenes yet, the whalers are attacked by a school of whales and barely escape with their lives. Later, the cabin boy is accidentally left in the middle of the ocean while

Charitynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-73719736151229080462011-10-11T21:27:00.000-05:002011-10-11T21:27:04.497-05:00

I have decided not to give up on Moby Dick. How can I, a holder of a college degree in literature, allow a measly 697-page book to defeat me? I cannot - I repeat, canNOT. So, I come armed with a cup of tea, a cozy blanket, and mad skimming skills to the book that almost schooled me. However, I know that not all of my readers are readers of Melville and might enjoy a...ahem...condensed version,

Charitynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-12580887781265851852011-10-03T19:40:00.000-05:002011-10-03T19:40:50.275-05:00

Stand-alone book: The Bride Collector by Ted Dekker Middle or ending books in series: Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon Extras by Scott Westerfeld Not a shabby list for the same month that I moved, started a new job, and got cable television. :-) September recommendation: The Bride Collector by Tedd Dekker. He gets better and better with each book,

Charitynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-14466597807533435122011-08-28T11:46:00.002-05:002011-08-28T11:46:37.702-05:00

This month, my 12-year-old brother and I discovered the 39 Clues series, promptly checked all of them out from the library, and devoured them like they were...um, due back soon? We both liked them, especially because they were written by different people - some old favorite authors, and some up-and-comers. I appreciated that the books were fun and fast; but they didn't sugar-coat the evil that

Charitynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-85074675232549544552011-08-19T07:19:00.000-05:002011-08-19T07:19:33.384-05:00

On the last Tuesday in July, my office was notified that our branch would be closing in 30 days. As this was the third time I'd been laid off in 27 months, my initial reaction was, "Wow, I get 30 days' notice. What a luxury!" Simultaneously, I was relieved because I hadn't made any major life changes since starting the job on January 31, and I was getting kind of bored. (See previous post for

Charitynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-14180311247133238562011-08-18T20:59:00.000-05:002011-08-18T20:59:41.772-05:00

Next week will be the 10-year anniversary of my first day of school, ever. As I walked across the street from home to college in my carefully-selected (probably very uncool) outfit, I had no way of knowing that... In 10 years, I would be:-still single-still living with my parents-okay with that But I would have been happy to know that I would...-Visit   -20 states plus D.C.   -6 countries-Own 4

Charitynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-87364877168990992322011-08-14T11:59:00.001-05:002011-08-14T14:34:14.621-05:00

I've realized that when it comes to music, some people are lyrics people and some are not. Some people think the lyrics make or break the song; some say it's the beat; others, the melody. It may not surprise you that I'm a lyrics person. If I can't understand the lyrics, it drives me crazy. If I do understand the lyrics, and the grammar is bad, that's even worse. Anyway, I get frustrated by the

Charitynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-41581630242887236592011-07-30T20:46:00.000-05:002011-07-30T20:46:23.373-05:00

I'm a typical American. I have literature by the toilet, just like everyone else. But you know me - I can't be contented to just follow a trend or custom; I have to make it my own. (Call it my over-developed sense of individuality.) So, as bathroom reading, I have a basket of all my Russian novels. A couple of weeks ago, we had a torrential downpour. This was unlike anything we ever got in the

Charitynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-64253522864451463032011-07-30T20:36:00.002-05:002011-07-30T20:47:18.346-05:00

Jasper Fforde is one of my favorite authors, mostly because he writes fiction about fiction, and his characters jump between our world and "BookWorld," where all the book characters live. (Yes, it gets kind of meta when his characters have characters of themselves because he's writing, well, fiction.) Anyway, in the sixth installment of the "Thursday Next" series, he publishes a map of Fiction

Charitynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-81943514188071842962011-07-30T20:30:00.000-05:002011-07-30T20:30:32.095-05:00

The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde Children of God by Mary Doria Russell The Maximum Ride series by James Patterson: Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment School's Out - Forever Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports The Final Warning Max Fang Angel I think I may have

Charitynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-12319676401863834322011-07-10T08:50:00.000-05:002011-07-10T08:50:44.060-05:00

Only finished two books in June. In my defense, I had to take an emergency road trip to Oklahoma for a funeral, and driving over 20 hours in a week kiiiiiinda eats into my reading time. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall I don't know if I should count Mockingbird since I've read it a least three or four times, but I always notice something new and interesting

Charitynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-45643702628708100842011-06-03T07:29:00.000-05:002011-06-03T07:29:10.552-05:00

'Tis by Frank McCourt (sequel to Angela's Ashes, which I read in college) Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux Miss New India by Bharati Mukherjee Moby Dick - no progress. :-P I blame it on the traveling I did this month. BUT, I have cut down on the number of unread books on my shelf. Current count: 7 Recommendation of May: Phantom of the Opera. I was reading it on my trip to California a

Charitynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-36494689855841311152011-05-15T10:23:00.000-05:002011-05-15T10:23:40.423-05:00

You can have these chairs, designed by nobodyandco in Italy? They come in a variety of colors, with or without matching ottomans. The ultimate library furniture. I wonder if they're comfortable.

Charitynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-10997162183603231902011-05-08T08:04:00.000-05:002011-05-08T08:04:52.972-05:00

In theory, public libraries are awesome. In actual real-life, they're kind of annoying. Rather, the patrons are annoying. Countless times, I have gone to the library to read/work/study in relative quiet, only to have the latest outbreak of the cold make everyone around me chronic coughers and snifflers. Or I hook up my computer, get to work, and just get into "the zone" - and a guy comes and

Charitynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-37007824663286953842011-05-08T07:49:00.000-05:002011-05-08T07:49:23.820-05:00

I took Amanda's recommendation and checked these two books out of the library (and finished them): 100 Cupboards - N. D. Wilson Dandelion Fire - N.D. Wilson I found them to be quite delightful. Magic-y, but not Harry Potter-y. Young Reader-y, but not dumb. A new twist on a classic conflict. And I read the first book in a new series by the author of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lost Hero

Charitynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-36243174154547662582011-05-06T18:09:00.000-05:002011-05-06T18:09:21.293-05:00

Daniel was doing a project for Spanish class, for which he needed a small photo album. I had one, which I told him he could borrow. The next morning, I found this note on my bathroom counter. (click to enlarge)Words at the top: Scrapbook Transfer Directional   It has come to my attention that you have a small photo album. I want it.   Please read previous portion of contract 32 times carefully

Charitynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-53486329767821341462011-04-27T18:35:00.000-05:002011-04-27T18:35:29.866-05:00

I want a lamp from this company .

Charitynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-52064398466525003692011-04-12T18:20:00.000-05:002011-04-12T18:20:23.009-05:00

All my fellow book-nerds should get a kick out of this one. :-)

Charitynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-26034284325912962402011-04-02T09:19:00.000-05:002011-04-02T09:19:16.790-05:00

I said in January that I had accepted a new job, and I am pleased to say it was the right move. I'm am the Business Office Manager (BOM) at the Rochester, MN branch of Amedisys Home Health. After one week on the job, I got to go on a real, big-girl business trip to get training from the BOM at the Amedisys office in Minneapolis. So all week, I got to stay in a Marriott and watch cable. (I tried

Charitynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-90696745354960017962011-04-02T09:00:00.000-05:002011-04-02T09:00:11.020-05:00

I only finished one book in February, so it was hardly worth making a post for. February: This Much I Know by Wally Lamb Then in March, I kind of got on a Ted Dekker kick and read: Thunder of Heaven by Ted Dekker Immanuel's Veins by Ted Dekker Burn by Ted Dekker and Erin Healey Also, I read Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson And, of course, I couldn't forget Moby Dick. I got really far

Charitynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-62759768146548751782011-01-31T21:45:00.000-06:002011-01-31T21:45:57.119-06:00

The Girl Who Played with Fire - Stiegg Larsson She's Come Undone - Wally Lamb Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth - Jeff Kinney The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd - Holly Black and Cecil Castelluci, eds. January recommendation: The Hunger Games trilogy I lost sleep, shirked responsibility, and

Charitynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-30381007448067002312011-01-29T11:05:00.000-06:002011-01-29T11:05:23.059-06:00

I've been working at a bridal shop in the town where I live, and everything was fine-ish there. I love, love, love the bridal industry, and the shop where I've been working is one of the nicest bridal shops ever. But the boss was less-than-ideal, and I never really got to the place where I stopped looking for other jobs (though part of that may have been habit from the last two years of un- and

Charitynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-83339223582504688292011-01-06T09:44:00.000-06:002011-01-06T09:44:10.216-06:00

Best 5 books read by me in 2010: - Harry Potter series (can't believe it took me this long to read them in the first place, but now I've re-read at least half of them) - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Anna Karenina - Water for Elephants - At Home A few times in life, I've tried to keep track of what books I've read and want to read, but I always end up losing the list or

Charitynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-43976064906438764512010-11-10T13:01:00.000-06:002010-11-10T13:01:00.891-06:00

eponymous –adjective giving one's name to a tribe, place, etc.: Romulus, the eponymous founder of Rome. (I learned this word while reading Bill Bryson's latest book, At Home.)

Charitynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-37201198336933169822010-11-10T12:58:00.001-06:002010-11-10T13:02:05.702-06:00

I love Russian literature. A couple of years ago, I read Tolstoy's War and Peace for the fun of it. Today, I'd like to announce that I have finished Anna Karenina, just about eleven months after I started it. It is only 800 and some-odd pages; but for some reason, it took me about seven-eight months longer to finish it than to finish War and Peace. Whatever. I finished it today. And now I must

Charitynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-41764942095990031622010-10-22T21:41:00.001-05:002010-11-04T06:41:32.720-05:00

About a month ago, I started working at a bridal boutique in Rochester, MN - a job that is quite right for me in many ways, not the least of which is the fact that I get to look (and touch) pretty dresses for 30-ish hours a week. I knew this job would come with certain hazards, and I fell into one of the snares today: declaring a dress to be The Dress for my (someday) wedding. Today, The Dress

Charitynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-88616664003764609482010-10-11T13:06:00.000-05:002010-10-11T13:06:45.724-05:00

Perhaps the two hardest things to get used to are the two things that were unique to Oregon: gas and sales tax. Nine years ago, I scoffed at Oregonians who didn't know how to pump their own gas. I chafed at having my freedom to pump gas taken from me. Then I got my own car, and I rather enjoyed being able to read while having my gas pumped for me. Little did I know, I was forgetting how to

Charitynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-7650715971846137402010-09-24T09:17:00.001-05:002010-09-24T09:18:10.146-05:00

Happy National Punctuation Day! Do you remember Victor Borge who did a skit about punctuation marks and how they would sound if said aloud? Well, he was on the Dean Martin Show back in the day, and the two of them adapted the routine to be a two-person bit. I think I had tears streaming down my eyes because it was so funny. Enjoy! And here's one of my favorite grammar vandalism stories of the

Charitynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-57926491320809210342010-09-22T16:29:00.000-05:002010-09-22T16:29:46.808-05:00

I am a coffee snob. More accurately, a coffee shop snob. I was not aware of this fact until I moved away from the Northwest, and it took me over a month to find a good coffee shop in my new town. The ingredients for a good coffee shop: The aroma of coffee gently wafting around you as you walk in (coffee must not be burnt or so faint that you have to sniff for it) The kind of menu that you can

Charitynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-70729579823641342072010-09-19T10:12:00.002-05:002010-09-19T10:12:49.298-05:00

Autodidact:  –noun a person who has learned a subject without the benefit of ateacher or formal education; a self-taught person.

Charitynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-3630869801307212082010-09-13T15:24:00.000-05:002010-09-13T15:24:21.095-05:00

I've been here a month and a day, so I thought I'd share my lists of things I like and don't like about life in Minnesota so far. Don't like: the parking lots. They never have enough in/out places, and I wind up driving around and around (either outside the parking lot trying to get in, or inside the parking lot trying to get out). Do like: the speed limits. Highways are 60-65, and even

Charitynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-54283290329474123102010-09-07T22:44:00.002-05:002010-09-08T11:25:26.868-05:00

Many are the times I’ve heard an older person descry young people’s (over)use of the word “like.” I am here today to defend its usage in language, in everyday speech, and – yes – in the vocabulary of young people. Like is such a versatile word. Up there with the word “okay,” which I know old people use frequently. Here are some of the many ways it is used: ·         CONJUNCTION: To replace “as if

Charitynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-25907574369405092472010-09-05T22:01:00.000-05:002010-09-05T22:01:33.703-05:00

Last Sunday, I went to the pet store to buy a fish (since my fishbowl was looking rather lonely, and it was starting to collect random crap from my room).  I got to PetSmart and found out that my only choice for a non-filtered, non-heated fishbowl was a beta. I'm not a huge fan of betas since they are pretty typical. I mean, someone says they have a fish, and you're like, "what kind?" and they're

Charitynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-31297755737611530362010-09-05T14:55:00.001-05:002010-09-05T14:58:55.705-05:00

I took the picture featured in a post on the SPOGG blog. (SPOGG = Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar.) On an unrelated note: National Punctuation Day is September 24. How are you planning to celebrate?

Charitynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-17448950874234471212010-09-01T15:20:00.002-05:002010-09-01T15:23:35.218-05:00

So now that the house is pretty much put together, I thought I'd share some photos. :-) But before we get to pics of the house, I wanted to show you these. We moved over 2000 books, not including my 350-ish. Okay, now to the house. We have a red door! It makes me happy. We also have three floors. Here is the basement, with my room... ...my bathroom... ...and my dad's study. I call this

Charitynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-18205887127396005142010-08-17T19:04:00.000-05:002010-08-17T19:04:56.599-05:00

The road trip from Newberg, OR to Rochester, MN was pretty epic, I must say. My 20-year-old brother and I split the driving of my car, with our two younger bros in the back. And our parents drove the truck - well, my dad did while my mom kept him awake (my dad's affinity for sleeping at the wheel is legendary in our family). We drove through Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South

Charitynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-20848909260306972082010-08-14T10:17:00.000-05:002010-08-14T10:17:12.085-05:00

Things I learned whilst moving: It's kind of a bad idea to have ANY wasted space; if you do, your mom will make you repack, and your stuff may just not make the cut. It's good to be a girl: Boys carry things for you. You can balance things on your hips. Honestly, I don't know how guys carry all that stuff using only their arms. I didn't know everything about my family. On the road trip, I

Charitynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-85964579016322767712010-08-04T11:25:00.000-05:002010-08-04T11:25:58.122-05:00

Someone asked me the other day what I'd miss about Portland. Fortunately, my list-making brain had already started a list. Here is what I said, plus a few other things in random order: The Max. I love trains, and I love that I live within walking distance of the Portland metro area train. Powell's. 'Nuff said. The absolute crazy addiction to coffee. I've seen espresso shops attached to more

Charitynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14604734.post-67419726660273509382010-08-02T14:22:00.000-05:002010-08-02T14:22:58.618-05:00

It seems like the last four months or so have been full of good-byes, so I'm pretty eager to get to Rochester, Minn. and start my new life there. Between today and next Sunday (the day we get out of Dodge), though, I have to get everything on my to-do lists done. Moving as an adult is a lot of work! I have to shut down utilities, arrange roommate move-out schedules, make sure every person moves

Charitynoreply@blogger.com1