Kapachino

Reading Statistics

From Booking Through Thursday:

There was a widely bruited-about statistic reported last week, stating that 1 in 4 Americans did not read a single book last year. Clearly, we don’t fall into that category, but . . . how many of our friends do? Do you have friends/family who read as much as you do? Or are you the only person you know who has a serious reading habit?

Let’s see…almost all of my closest friends are readers. I can’t think of any that have not read a book in the last year. My roommates and I started a book club in October of 2005 and it is still going strong. When we started it was just the three of us, and now we have five regular members. Small, yes, but flexible and personal. We read a book a month and then get together at a coffee shop and discuss it.

My boyfriend loves to read, which is a huge turn-on for me! I really think that he has read more books than me in his life, although he protests. Our normal genres are completely different, but we like to venture into each others’ every once in awhile. For example, I promised him that the next book I read (other than book club books) will be Stephen King’s IT. I am pretty open to most any kind of book, as long as it is decent, and I love discussing books with him because he has so much insight and comes at it from a totally different perspective than I do.

As for my family, we all read except for my youngest brother Barry who is a senior in college. When the seventh Harry Potter book came out, he asked me to tell him what happened when I finished the book because he “had to know.” I, of course, asked him why he didn’t just read it for himself. His answer was, “I don’t read.” How sad! I think I’m going to try to get him onto audiobooks, and then maybe eventually he’ll move on to the harder stuff.

My dad, as previously mentioned, is a constant reader like I am. My mom I think is usually too busy to read much, but I know she enjoys it and has done a lot of it in the past. My brother David has grown to be more and more of a reader over the years which makes me extremely happy, even though we don’t always have similar taste in books.

That’s my reading world! I enjoy it. And the people in it.

WW: Part-Time Job

I have a love-hate relationship with these files…

First Day Of School

Growing up my mom always demanded that she take my brothers and I to school on the first day instead of us riding the bus so that she could take our pictures. When we were younger this wasn’t such a big deal, but once high school rolled around I was pretty embarrassed about it. She kept telling us that we’d appreciate it, and deep down I knew she was right, but it didn’t seem worth it at the time. Of course, now I am glad that we will have those pictures to look back on, and sometime soon I hope to dig them out of her photo box. I let the tradition lapse for awhile in college, but today as I was getting ready to leave for what might possibly the last first day of school that I will ever have, I decided to bring it back. The picture isn’t quite the same since it’s in my room and not at school, but hey, I tried.

I am taking two clinical courses this semester: OB and pediatrics. Today and all this week we have OB classes. I am excited about this semester because a) I am ready to get back to some actual clinical work after a semester of psych, and b) I love babies, and I want to find out whether I would like to work in this area full-time. I enjoyed class today, so that’s a good sign.

Although we did watch a video in which a doctor examined many specimens of placenta, while my friend Lauren next to me tried not to gag. She doesn’t want to be an OB nurse.

Oh, and my professor did say this: “I have a recipe for placenta stew.”

Destination: Pompeii

Today is the anniversary of the destruction of Pompeii by Mt. Vesuvius. Pompeii has always held a fascination for me. I think it’s the combination of its age, the remnants of daily life that it preserved, and its uniqueness. When I went to Greece it was the Acropolis that had me transfixed. In Russia, the Tolstoy House Museum was my favorite tourist site. Pompeii is a combination of the aspects that each of these offered.

Most of what scholars know of daily life in ancient Roman culture comes from Pompeii. It was a thriving city at the time, and most people probably didn’t even know that Mt. Vesuvius was a volcano. It was also five miles away, so they probably thought they had time to flee if necessary. But by the end of the day the city was covered in more than 20 feet of debris. It was as if time had just stopped. When it was excavated in 1860 archaeologists found holes in the sediment with human remains in them. They poured plaster into these spaces and thus obtained perfect molds of these people at the time of their deaths, down to the expressions on their faces. There was a father and son on the floor of a house, the boy on his back looking up at his father, and they were holding hands. Adults were found trying to protect their children. Families rushed to the sea. Dogs strained at their leashes.

One day, I’d like to see it for myself.

Booking Through Thursday

I discovered a blog that posts a prompt about books and reading every Thursday; it’s called Booking Through Thursday. I don’t think I’ll be responding to it every week, because I don’t have good answers to all of the questions. But if I see one that interests me, I’ll write about it.

Today, the prompt is:

When growing up did your family share your love of books? If so, did one person get you into reading? And, do you have any family-oriented memories with books and reading? (Family trips to bookstore, reading the same book as a sibling or parent, etc.)

Reading is definitely in my family. For as long as I can remember my dad has been a habitual library frequenter. His brother, my uncle, is also an avid reader. I’m sure that my parents encouraged me to read, but I doubt that they had to try very hard in that area with me. I’m pretty sure I just took to it.

I do have one regret. One summer when I was in elementary school my dad decided to read aloud every day to my brothers and me. He chose one of his favorite books when he was a kid, Swallows and Amazons. Looking back, this should have been a special bonding experience for us, and a chance for my dad to share something that was important to him with us. But, we were kids and were not at a maturity level to appreciate that. My dad kept trying with us, but eventually he had to give up because we just wouldn’t pay attention. We never finished the book. Since then I’ve always wondered how the story turned out. I suppose that’s a mystery that is easily solved.

WW (Extended): Our Apartment

I finally got around to taking some pictures of our semi-new place. Here is the living room, what you see when you walk in:

The dining “room”:

The flowers on the table are from Boyfriend David:

The kitchen (yes, we have appliances!):

The entryway, complete with a random suitcase:

Go straight down that hall on the right and you’ll come to my room:

My closet is amazing:

And here is the bathroom I share with Amanda:

It’s a pretty nice place and we like it here so far!

Another Example Of How Coffee Runs The World

On Fridays at work there aren’t many people in the office, and so today I was asked to cover the phones as the regular receptionist would be out. I used to answer the phones at my old office no problem, but I knew that clinic inside and out. After working at my current job for almost a year I still know little about bankruptcy and who handles what in the office. So answering the phones makes me nervous.

The first 30 minutes this morning were OK, but then the flood of calls came as it always does. In between them all I also had a coworker, Betty, trying to explain to me how to handle payments received. She was my witness to the phone madness.

In the midst of this I got a call from a sweet old woman from New Orleans named J.M. who works in our office, and who, for the record, I think is adorable. But when it comes to her food and beverages, she doesn’t mess around. So amid the flurry of phone calls, she asked me desperately, “Do you know who made the coffee this morning?!”

“No, I don’t,” I replied calmly, hoping that my soothing voice would have an effect on her.

“Well then can you page whoever it was that made it to call the kitchen because I don’t know which one’s regular and which one’s decaf!!”

She sounded desperate, so even though I didn’t know how to page I said that I would. But as soon as I hung up with her another call came in, and then another. I got nervous thinking about J.M. standing by the phone in the kitchen, worried and forlorn, wondering if I had forgotten about her.

When finally I had a chance to attend to her request I first had to figure out how to overhead page. Betty (still standing by trying to explain the payments to me) didn’t know. I saw a button on the phone marked “All page” which I thought was promising, so I tried it.

“WILL WHOEVER MADE THE COFFEE PLEASE CALL THE KITCHEN, EXTENSION 3455?” I said into the phone. “Did it go through?” I asked Betty.

“I don’t think so,” she replied.

Plan B was to ask Shirlie, another woman in the office who I knew had answered the phones before. But when I asked her, she told me she would call me back in a minute after asking someone else. I thought to myself that when I agreed to this paging thing I didn’t realize it was going to be such a complicated procedure. Shirlie called back a minute later and said, “Press ‘All page’ and then ‘7′.”

So I tried again. This time I heard a beep overhead and static in my ear. “WILL WHOEVER MADE THE COFFEE PLEASE CALL THE KITCHEN, EXTENSION 3455?” Then, “Did it work that time?”

“I think so, I heard the buzz,” said Betty.

But a second later Shirlie called me. “Try again; it didn’t go through.” I sighed. Now people were calling out to me from across the room.

“What did you say?”

“It didn’t work!”

Many minutes had gone by since J.M.’s original request. Was this even worth it? But then I thought of how cute she is–so I gave it one more go.

“WILL WHOEVER MADE THE COFFEE PLEASE CALL THE KITCHEN, EXTENSION 3455?”

Two more people walked up to my desk.

“We couldn’t hear you.”

“What about the coffee?”

I patiently explained my quest to them.

“Oh, I made the coffee,” one of them said, “and I already talked to J.M.! I told her they’re both the same.”

Seconds later someone else walks up. “What’s wrong with the coffee?”

Sigh.

Yep, I’m Smart

I had dinner with a friend tonight and it was only when I couldn’t find my keys afterwards that I realized I had locked them in the car. With the engine running. The ENTIRE time.

I just dyed my hair brown last week. Shouldn’t I be getting smarter, not dumber?

WW: Bubba Fits Right In

Hello Free Time

I took my last final of the summer semester this morning and I am officially on break! That break is only a week and a half long, but I intend to make the best of it. For the past couple of days I have been hanging out with my youngest brother Barry, who just got his wisdom teeth removed and therefore is doing nothing but lounging around my parents’ house watching movies and TV:

Last night we watched The Pursuit of Happyness, which I have wanted to see since it came out. It made me cry a tiny bit, which means that it was good. Today we switched gears and watched Crossover–Barry’s pick. But come on, hip-hop street ballin’? Can you get any better than that?

Also, tonight is Boyfriend David and my six month anniversary. Count back and you’ll realize we got together on Valentine’s Day. I know it sounds cliche, but there’s a whole story behind it, one where I get picked on as usual! I know six months isn’t that long, but I still think it’s cool, and a good excuse to celebrate.
I’ll be working the rest of the week, and then heading to Austin for a few days to spend some time with my ex-roommate Carmen who I miss a LOT. Then I’ll be coming back and working some more before starting up my fall semester in exactly 12.5 days.

Oh, and I might play some street ball for some extra cash on the weekends…’cause I’m a thug like that.