Month: April 2010

Authors & Books, Oh My! (Pictures)

/ authors, books, living in chicago

Today, Adam and I went to the International Reading Association convention. He to do a book signing event, me to tag along and look at the exhibits. Exhibits are FUN. Lots of information, pretty displays, and free stuff. (My shoulders are quite unhappy with me thanks to the load I was hauling around today.) I knew there would be author events sprinkled about, but I had NO idea the authors would be people like:

Adam, Jerry Spinelli, and Me
Jerry Spinelli

Me and Ann M. Martin
Ann M. Martin

Shannon Hale and Me
Shannon Hale

… and even fun online friends like:

Kate Messner and Me
Kate Messner!!!!

I had no idea that publishers put out ARCs and ARCs and ARCs. Seriously, I kept walking by a few choice booths because they’d not only put out loads of ARCs, but they’d ROTATE them, so there were different ones almost every time I walked by; I came home with about 40 new books to read. And if that’s not enough, Little Brown had sheets where you could check off the ARCs you want and they’ll mail them to you. I am most excited about my SISTERS RED and THE GUARDIAN AND THE GATE ARCs. I also enjoyed seeing books by people I know on display or advertised with big posters.

Meeting Jerry Spinelli was such a treat. He has the kindest eyes and he was so soft-spoken and sweet. Meeting Ann M. Martin was a blast. When I first realized that there was something set up, and I saw the line, I thought to myself “not even close.” The line was SUPER long! But I wandered by about 45 minutes later. The line had calmed down, but I noticed that the people in line had on yellow wristbands. I thought that meant you had to pre-purchase or somehow have signed up for the event in advance, but there was a lady there handing out wristbands! So I got in line, freaking out with excitement now. THEN I found out that I didn’t have to buy the book–they were giving them away free (a hardbound AND and ARC), and that I was allowed to get my picture with her. Plus they were passing out free cookies. Ann was very sweet and gracious. It was fun talking to her. She probably thought I was crazy, cause I was fangirling all over the place. She signed my book “BSC 4-ever!”

After that, they had a photo booth set up where people could get their pictures taken, then Scholastic would give a printout so it looked like we were on the cover of KRISTY’S GREAT IDEA. I will not be posting that, as I think I look quite creepy in the picture! 🙂

Rumor has it that Holly Black and Scott Westerfeld were wandering around the convention as well, but I didn’t see them. And I am kind of bummed that I missed running into Julie Halpern, because I absolutely loved her book GET WELL SOON and would have liked to tell her so. I did get to meet Jane Yolen, so that was all right. Still, it’s all good, BECAUSE I FREAKING MET ANN M. MARTIN AND JERRY SPINELLI WHAT!

Now I am very tired. Time to sleep. Yoga tomorrow. Night!

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My Hair So Far (Picture)

/ body and soul, hair, pictures, ronni

I still haven’t gotten the big chop yet, but this is how it looks if I don’t braid it or put it in ponytails or something:

Me with a Fro

The more I get used to it, the more I like it.

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Body and Soul (cont.)

/ body and soul, hair, ronni

Hair is terribly personal, a tangle of mysterious prejudices. ~Shana Alexander

In a few weeks, it will have been an entire year since I’ve had a relaxer. I think I’m ready to finally do the Big Chop. Frankly, quite a bit of the relaxed hair has broken off anyway, especially in the back. I’m ready to start playing with my natural curls. ALL natural curls. Not this half and half crap.

As long as I’ve been doing my own hair, it’s been straight. Either my mom was using the hot comb or I was getting a relaxer (that we used to call a perm). So I’ve always dealt with “straight” hair. Now I’m relearning how to style and care for my hair and it hasn’t been all that easy. Still, I’ve lasted a year without using the “creamy crack.” Now I just have to let go of all the relaxed hair and know that I’m going to have really short hair for a while. That’s going to be a challenge as well, but I’m determined to break through it.

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Body and Soul

/ body and soul, ronni, yoga

I have discovered yoga. And it is good.

Well, that’s not true. The just discovering bit, I mean. I’d started doing bits and pieces of yoga back in 2005, but I definitely did not practice regularly. Just a DVD now and then, or the Wii Fit every once in a while, and flipping through pages in my yoga book. But lately, I’ve been feeling all bunched up. Just crunched and squished and small. I want to feel lean and lithe. Plus my upper back between my shoulder blades was kind of stiff. I know what it’s from. It’s from a winter of being hunched over, typing/playing on my laptop, or curled up reading, and not stretching and moving.

But that’s changing. I found a yoga center that is walking distance from my apartment, and I dropped in for three classes last week. It’s kind of a luxury, but it’s kind of not. The drop-in classes aren’t terribly expensive, and I feel like there is already a difference in how aware I am of my body, my breathing, and my posture. It’s helping me with my attitude. (I am still kinda complainy/whiny, but that has more to do with whether or not I take my medication correctly than anything else.) At the end of class, the instructor tells us to go about with gratitude in our hearts, and I feel disappointed because I haven’t concentrated on being thankful for things so much lately. I feel like this is going to keep me healthy on so many levels, so it’s something I need to be willing to make sacrifices for.

The soul thing is an side effect that I didn’t expect, but it’s a pleasant surprise. I like how they tell us to really pay attention to the sensations in our bodies. How that feels, and how it affects what’s going on in our minds. Tuesday, I did Tantric Vinyasa 1-2, Wednesday I did Vinyasa 1-2, and Friday, I did Ashtanga 1-2. So far, my favorites are Tantric Vinyasa and Ashtanga. I can’t even describe how I felt coming out of those classes. It was good, though. One day, I’d like to try hot yoga.

I have a habit of starting things, getting into them gung-ho, then abandoning them. I am not proud of that. I’m going to try to keep that from happening with this. It’s too good for me.

And now for a bit of fun….

I’m a Balanced Yogi!

Take the Yoga Journal Yoga Snob Quiz!

Hee hee, the girl in the cartoon even kinda looks like me! I have a pink mat and I always wear a headband!

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My Geek, It SQUEES!

/ geekalicious, yay

Just watched the newest episode of Doctor Who.

IT’S AWESOME.

Wow, it’s awesome.

I’m a fairly new Doctor Who fan, having started watching them with the 9th doctor, played by Christopher Eccleston. But it was David Tennant’s doctor who cinched my love of the show because he was an amazing doctor (and he will aways be MY doctor). I don’t have much interest in the old series, although I do try to watch them. I should watch the fourth doctor, seeing as everyone seems to love him so much. And he has an awesome scarf.

Anyway, this new doctor has grown on me and quickly. And the new companion? Super cool. All the previews did her no justice. I’m so excited for this season of Doctor Who. New TARDIS. New sonic screwdriver. And some old “friends” to make things interesting.

Squeee!

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