books

Book Meme

7 March 2007 / books, meme

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next three sentences in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.
6. Tag five other people to do the same.

This year there were a total of twelve kids on my team. And by the way it looked to me, there would probably be two larges, nine mediums, and one eensy-weensy, itsy-bitsy, practically-the-size-a-baby-would-wear. (Me.) — Skinnybones by Barbara Park

I’m not tagging anyone. Do it if you choose. 🙂

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A Potluck Entry

6 March 2007 / life

I have problems.

First one is that I like JoJo’s new song “Too Little Too Late.” Why is this a problem? Well, the thing is, I never liked JoJo. I have a problem when it sounds like there are 20 of the person singing (unless it’s Enya singing Anywhere Is—she can do whatever she wants!). And I thought most of her songs were popish and boring. But I LOVE “Too Little Too Late.” And on that note, I love “Fergielicious” or whatever it is, also.

Second one is that I don’t know how to contain myself when I am at the library. I was in the library for maybe 10–15 minutes today and came out with SIX items. Seriously, I just pluck them off the shelf, one by one. Plop, plop, plop. One of the items is the movie Mad Hot Ballroom, which I’ve wanted to see ever since I saw the preview on one of my other DVDs. Granted, I had a couple of things on reserve, but what about the others?

Third one is that if I read the back of one more teen novel that says “So and so is freaking out because she doesn’t have a date to the prom” I’m going to SCREAM! I guess part of it is that well, I like teen novels and I guess teens are really hung up on prom? I never was hung up on it, so I don’t know. I decided two days before mine to go, wore a borrowed dress, and my mom dropped me off. Needless to say, I did not have a date. Anyway, the best book I read about the prom was well, Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Fourth one is that I finished reading Impulse by Ellen Hopkins today on my lunchbreak and totally lost it right there at my desk. I had to go to the bathroom to compose myself. Thank you, Ellen, for being the author of the first book in 2007 to make me cry. Although I did come close with Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Weiss. But the point is that CRYING AT WORK IS NEVER COOL.

I think that’s all for now, as far as problems go. Now onto other stuff.

My jeans—my beautiful, expensive jeans that I cannot afford to replace—are not ruined after all!! Vigilant soaking and scrubbing took care of the *ahem* problem, and now they’re as good as new. Well, sort of. The point is that I can wear them again! YAY! Okay, I can wear them after I lose about five pounds, but the point is that I don’t have to mourn the loss of the only pair of expensive designer jeans I’m ever likely to own. And I CERTAINLY won’t mourn the loss of those five stupid pounds once they decide to leave me alone.

My laptop is working pristinely now. Got all that mean spyware off (there were no viruses) and now it’s no longer overheating and shutting off. It’s also running a lot faster than before. I’m still excited that I saved $130 because I have friends who are ~~geeks~~ smart. 😉

I found an awesome shortcut for my after-work commute. I take back roads—one of which conveniently lets me off right the library. I’ve managed to cut two minutes off of my commute by going the back way. Well, on days I don’t go to the library, anyway….

I NEED SOCKS. I have four pairs that don’t have holes in them. I love socks from Aeropostale, I do, but they’re cheap. I need some good socks, but cute ones. Once upon a time, I was able to buy L.E.I. socks at Meijer, but when I checked last night, there were none. Now I have to find a new place to find decently-made, cute socks. Any suggestions?

Also, I’m looking for a copy of Avril’s new one, “Girlfriend.” Such a bitchy song, but so much fun to sing. A little help, please?

It’s a bad thing when your electric heater falls and sounds like it’s going to break in March. The problem is that it’s almost impossible to get a replacement. The stores have replaced their heaters with grilling equipment, even though it’s still winter outside. Thank goodness for places like Home Depot. They seem to have heaters all the time.

Did you know that it’s National Sleep Week or something of that nature? And here I was going to feel guilty for wanting to take a nap all evening when I got home. But it turns out—well, sleeping is ENCOURAGED this week! How awesome!

If you are in the mood for some BIZARRE humor, watch The Fuccons: http://www.thefuccons.com

And finally, here is a way to get money while shopping and possibly save money too. Ebates is this cool site that gives you cash back if you use them as a portal of sorts for shopping. In addition, they have TONS of coupons you can use. And the stores are not wimpy. For example, you can get 4% cash back from Barnes and Noble. There are rebates for shopping at amazon.com as well. You also get cashback if you book travel from United or Expedia. Basically, just do your regular online shopping, but you get money back if you go through Ebates. Awesome, huh? If you want to sign up, use this link: http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?id=32695696 Once you make a purchase, we both get $5!

Holy cow, Ellen Hopkins just commented on my MySpace. *swoooooon* I love authors. Can’t wait ’til I’m one someday.

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Sunday Afternoon Randomness

25 February 2007 / books, life

My friend crimsonghost_oh visited me for the weekend. It was fun. I made him watch The Boondock Saints, and now he wants to go buy it. YESSSS, another convert! 🙂

My laptop is home from the doctor. The Geek Squad said they’d need $130 to do an “XP Reimage” because it had spyware and viruses on it. As if I have $130 lying around to give them for something I can do myself?

I just finished The Geography of Girlhood by Kirsten Smith. There are blurbs all over the back of the book, and one of them is from Julia Stiles. My first thought: How in the FRESH HELL did a first-time novelist get a blurb from JULIA STILES? Well, turned out that this author co-wrote some very famous screenplays—one of them being Ten Things I Hate About You, which if I am not mistaken, Julia Stiles played in, so yeah. Ha. Can you imagine, getting blurbed by an A-list actress? Well, she’s A-list in my eyes, anyway.

Speaking of writing, I entered that contest over at Gather.com, and I haven’t been back in two days to check my score or any comments. I kind of just want to forget about it now—if I obsess over it, I’ll be miserable and stressed. I’m proud I had the balls to enter, but now I just want to block it from my mind.

In the meantime, adamselzer‘s book is kicking butt in reviews. I saw it at the library the other day, and when I looked it up, the Columbus Libraries had 14 copies, 9 of which were checked out. Now, the library owns 16 copies. Go Adam! (If you can’t guess, I’m doing my favorite thing again—reserving books at the library! It’s like shopping, only FREE!)

Last week, I finally got through Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. I had a HARD time with it, only because it was very stressful to read. It felt like a continuous assault to me. Description, action, bang bang bang. I like fast-paced novels with strong voices, but this one was too much for me.

And now I am reading My Brother’s Keeper by Patricia McCormick, and Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares. After that, I will read Monster by Walter Dean Myers, and maybe I’ll try Envy by Robin Wasserman again. Actually, I might do Monster before the Sisterhood book because I’ve had that one longer.

Firefox updated itself on my computer and now none of my fun extensions and themes work. Let me tell you how annoying that is! As far as FF is concerned, my computer has no freakin’ clue. I can’t even import the bookmarks in another browser because the computer doesn’t know they’re there, although THEY ARE VERY CLEARLY IN FIREFOX. I don’t know what to do, I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled a million times, deleted directories and all that good stuff. It’s just a hot mess. Which is a shame because I love Firefox normally. Flock is okay, but the backward and forward arrows are just that. There are no drop-downs to get you to the other pages you visited. But all of my Firefox extensions are working in Flock so maybe I’ll just switch to that one, once I get all the bookmarks moved over somehow.

Tomorrow, I see Aidan for the first time in about 20 days. So weird, not seeing him for so long, although I did talk to him on the phone.

Here is a question I have: Why in the world would someone pay $249 for an 8 gig iPod nano, when one can get a 30 gig regular iPod for the same price? I mean, the logic should be obvious here, right? And yes, I am dreaming of a new iPod. Mine stays charged for about 20 minutes these days, IF I am lucky, and it’s not color nor does it play videos. I want a NEW one. I also want a MacBook Pro. Just because. I can’t afford any of these things, but I sure do want them. All because I love technology. Blah.

I have a coupon for a free panty from Victoria’s Secret. I’ll go on Tuesday to get that, yee-haw. I also have one for a free aromatherapy thing from Bath & Body Works, but of course, THEIRS is with purchase. Poopheads. But here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to buy a $2.50 bar of soap or something and then get my $13 value aromatherapy thing. I love their Cherry Blossom scent, so I’ll probably get a bar of the soap. Mmm. Soap.

I’m hungry, but I can’t decide if I want spaghetti, or a turkey sammich. I guess my stomach will decide for me before long.

Til next time!

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Adam Selzer’s Book Signing (Pictures)

16 February 2007 / adam, authors, books, chicago, pictures

The display that’s right by the front door of the Borders in La Grange, IL.

Adam’s in place.

Reading.

Q&A

Signing

Just so you know, Amazon only has 3 copies of Adam’s book left, so ORDER IT NOW.

Seriously, it’s really good, and really funny. You’ll enjoy it. So order it.

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Random Whining and Stuff (Pictures)

16 February 2007 / chicago, pictures

Just after I did that feeling so lucky post, I checked my bank account and realized my paycheck is nearly $200 short. I called ZB payroll and didn’t get an answer, or a call back. Looks like I’ll be going directly to them on Monday to see what the deal is. SOMEONE’S giving me my money!

And if they don’t… well, I can think of at least four bills that won’t get paid this month. And I have to think of something to sell.

It’s not like I’m spending incredible amounts of money here in Chicago. Actually, the only purchase I made was 3 pairs of leggings to wear under my pants so my legs wouldn’t freeze to death. But my budget is just SO tight, that losing $200 is a BAD BAD thing.

I get to call Gateway to see why the hell my laptop keeps shutting off any time it feels like it. I understand that sometimes it overheats, but recently, it’s not been hot AT ALL and it’s been just randomly shutting off. You know how people can sit their laptops on their beds and work on them? I’ve never able to do that–it’ll shut off. I think it’s time to back up the most important files, take it to Best Buy and expect to get a replacement. I bought the service plan–I just have to make sure I have the paperwork around somewhere. I know one thing, though. I sure as hell am NOT getting a Gateway ever again. Ever. Ever.

I wish I could afford a MacBook, but um, yeah. Not happening anytime soon. I can barely afford peanut butter. But I guess lately, that’s not really a bad thing–however, I do take consolation in the fact that I don’t buy Peter Pan. I’m a Jif girl! And it’s not even because I’m a choosy mom. It’s because the Jif was just the cheapest at the time.

*sigh*

I swear, it’s always one damn thing after another.

I am SO GLAD I planned this trip before I went broke (oh, those were the days), or else it would not have been possible. I am having a great time here, but as always, when the end nears, I start to feel melancholy. If only there was some way to better merge my life in Columbus with my life HERE, get a publishing contract, AND make lots of money, life would be excellent.

Went to a book signing last night. adamselzer‘s book signing, to be exact. He read passages from his book and signed lots of copies. He’s got a manificent presence, and he did really well. 🙂

Here are a few pictures from the event!

The display that’s right by the front door of the Borders in La Grange, IL.

Adam’s in place.

Reading

Q&A

Signing

Just so you know, Amazon only has 3 copies of Adam’s book left, so ORDER IT NOW.

Seriously, it’s really good, and really funny. You’ll enjoy it. So order it.

My long vacation in Chicago is winding down. 🙁 Only two more days. I hate that the week seems SO LONG when dealing with regular life, but THIS life, the good life, makes the time speed by. Not fair. Why does the universe work like that? Anyone have any insight?

SIGH

Right now, it’s negative 3 degrees, not counting the wind chill. It’s cold.

I’m not really smiling in that picture. That’s um…a side effect of the crazy cold. Because I hate the cold. I do. But you know what? My blood is getting way thick. Hasn’t been this thick since my Ohio State days, trudging to class in 0 degree weather. Brrrrr.

I left my car in the ZB lot. It hasn’t been started since last Friday. I’m planning on sleeping at ZB Sunday night, because I don’t think it’s gonna start. I have the electric heater and I have a full suitcase, so I should be okay. Except for breaking the whole “not being in the building when management is not present” rule–but the thing is, I’ll just freeze to death in the parking lot and then they’d REALLY lose an employee so hey, pick your battles, I say.

Much longer recap, complete with pictures, when I’m *sob* back in Columbus.

Later.

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