Kapachino

Catching Up

Hey friends! I’ve been AWOL for awhile again, so since I have the day off I figured it was a good time to let you know what’s been going on.

David and I are still looking for a house to buy. I really want one in an established neighborhood with trees and an either side-entry or detached garage. And we’re looking in a certain area of town, in a certain price range, so it is proving to be a little difficult. We’re trying to be patient though, because we want to buy one we really love!

In the meantime, we have moved in with a friend of the family who goes to our church. Her children are just a little bit younger than us, and are both moved out. She has graciously offered us her large upstairs bedroom with its HUGE closet! We have a lot of space and privacy here, and it’s a great location. We have been so blessed by this, and it is allowing us to save up a lot of money to put towards the house and moving costs.

Work has been kind of rough this week. After a relaxing weekend off, I came back Monday and had the absolute worst day of my short career. I had very needy patients, tons of medications to give, two discharges, an admission, not to mention all the regular charting and routine care. All of that was bad enough, but because I was worn so thin and ragged, I ended up making a couple of mistakes. The first one wasn’t too big of a deal, but I still had to write myself up. The second one happened right at the end of my shift, caused me to stay late, and someone else caught it and wrote me up, all the while speaking to me in a very patronizing manner. I felt completely incompetent. I had to work so hard not to cry until I got home. It’s hard to recover from a day like that, but I’m doing my best.

I finished reading the whole Twilight saga, and then I read Midnight Sun, the unfinished online novel which is Twilight from Edward’s perspective. I wanted to immediately start re-reading Twilight, but I let a friend borrow it. What to do until the movie comes out next week? Watch trailers, read articles, and listen to the soundtrack, I suppose.

I recently read an interview with Anne Rice, the writer of (among other things) Interview With a Vampire. She now writes about her newfound Christian faith, but she doesn’t repudiate any of her previous works. When she was asked about this she replied, “The supernatural world has always been more real to me than the real world. I feel a great surge of energy when I acknowledge that there is a world beyond this one…. My old novels and characters were sincerely created and deeply felt, and also I think these novels and characters are complex and these novels mirror a pathway to Christ. I think they retain tremendous value for readers, especially young readers who may not be willing to pick up a book about Christianity. There is a moral compass in these novels, and the grief for a lost faith, and the search for redemption — these are the main themes. I remain a believer in them, though they are partial and flawed.”

I really like the way she put that. Sometimes I feel that I need to defend my love for fantasy and the supernatural, as if I’m not satisfied with reality and my own life. I love my life, though. I just feel a deep yearning for more, which I believe I was created for.

We Interrupt This Blogging Silence To Discuss My Latest Obsession

Well hello there. Sorry to be away for so long, but there is something that has captured almost all of my free time these days. In fact, it is tough for me to be taking the time away to write this now. I’m not talking about David, although he is with me most of the time. I’m talking about a book. Actually, books.

I began reading Twilight by Stephanie Meyers last Tuesday night. I picked it up in Hawaii when David and I went to a Borders Bookstore to kill time waiting for my flight. I bought it because a friend of mine (not someone whose reading habits I know much about) had recommended it to me quite awhile ago, it was on prominent display in the bookstore, and because I love fantasy in all forms, vampires included. Especially of the YA  (young adult) genre.

OMG I am now obsessed. I finished Twilight early Thursday evening. I accomplished that feat while working full-time by reading at almost every possible chance including stoplights. I couldn’t stand to think of not having something to read the next day, so I immediately grabbed David and we went to Barnes & Noble so I could get the next book in the series, New Moon. I started it that very night, finished it yesterday, and now I’m well into the third (out of four).

Seriously, it’s been since I read Harry Potter the first time since I’ve been this in love with a book series. I am devouring it. I do wish that sometime soon I will fall in love with a book that isn’t targeted toward teenagers. I wonder what that says about me?

These books are about a high school girl who falls in love with a beautiful and romantic vampire. I mean, what’s not to like? I’m a sucker for romance and adventure, especially if you throw in other-worldly creatures and superhuman abilities. The very thing that some people hate about fantasy is what draws me to it: that it’s not realistic.

Anyway, I think David is sick of these books because I keep telling him all about them, keeping him up to date with what’s going on with the characters, and he really couldn’t care less. I’m just grateful that he’s been on a reading kick of his own these days. Sometimes at night we don’t even turn on the TV! At least until I go to sleep, that is.

So people, if you are at all interested, please read Twilight so I can have someone to talk to about it!

Busy Bee

Since I wrote last I:

• Hosted a Pampered Chef party and scored over $200 of free products
• Went to the doctor and got a physical, a blood test, a TB skin test, and a tetanus booster (I’ve pretty much conquered my fear of needles)
• Visited 4 possible ceremony/reception venues and ruled out 3 of them
• Tried on some wedding dresses and decided that I definitely need to tone up my arms
• Finished the book The Friday Night Knitting Club - it was alright
• Watched the Academy Awards on fast forward and stayed up too late doing so

Now I need to get myself to bed ASAP…another 12-hour shift coming up!

A Stolen Meme

I wasn’t actually tagged by my friends The Klines to do this meme, but I’m sure that if they had tagged anyone, like they were supposed to, they would have tagged me. So I’m doing it anyway.

1) One book that changed my life:

Practicing His Presence by Brother Lawrence and Frank Laubach. It completely transformed the way I relate to God.

2) One book that you have read more than once:

I don’t do this very often because there are so many books in the world that I want to read. Sometimes I get really scared that I will die without having read all the books I want to. I know it’s ridiculous. But I have read The Lord of the Rings a few times because it is my favorite, and I wish I lived in Middle Earth.

3) One book that you would want on a desert island:

Um, The Bible is the only one that would never get old. Cliche, I know.

4) Two books that made you laugh:

Huh. Apparently I don’t read humor very often. But The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs was funny at times, as was A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.

5) One book that made you cry:

Oh my gosh, it’s totally embarrassing but A Walk To Remember by Nicholas Sparks had me bawling for hours, more than any other book I’ve ever read.

6) One book you wished you’d written:

A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving. It’s wonderful, and I love how every little detail means something.

7) One book you wish had never been written:

I honestly have no idea. I’m sure there’s one out there, but I can’t think of it offhand.

8 ) Two books you are currently reading:

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss and God’s Politics by Jim Wallis. I actually do keep my “Currently Reading” section up to date (see top right).

9) One book you’ve been meaning to read:

Just one? Well, I guess Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol has been on my shelf the longest. Although I have a list about a mile long.

Atonement, The Movie

I recently told you a little about the book we read for our book club, Atonement. Since it is Now a Major Motion Picture! we decided to go see it as a group. It took us a really long time to figure out when all five of us could make it together, but we finally settled on last night at seven.

Well, Leah ended up not being able to come. Amanda was late because she had to pick up Cleo from the groomers. Courtney, Sara, and I walked in right before the actual movie began because with rain and traffic it took us quite awhile to get there. So a bit of a rough start, but I was really looking forward to the movie and was set on enjoying it.

I was sitting next to Sara, and I noticed that she was breathing a little noisily but I figured it was just her congestion because she’s been sick. But then it became louder, so I glanced over and saw that she was completely asleep and snoring. Not too long after that Courtney got sick to her stomach and left to spend a good while in the bathroom. I noticed that Amanda was focused more on her phone than the movie. I think I’m the only one who enjoyed the movie in its entirety, although to be fair Courtney was really into the movie and couldn’t help that she got sick.

As for the movie itself, I liked it even though I thought it was a much better book. The music was especially cool. The girl who played Briony was really creepy looking. And that’s about the extent of my review. Apparently it won the Golden Globe for best motion picture, drama. Out of the other nominees, I have only seen No Country For Old Men, which I think I liked better than Atonement. But anyway, there you have it.

Book Club

My roommates and I started a book club quite awhile ago, maybe even a couple of years ago now. It started out just the three of us, and now it has grown to a whopping five! We’ve had some people drift in and out from time to time, but the five we have now are steady. I like it to be small like this though, because we can be flexible with each other and the discussion is much more interactive with less people.

We read a book a month, then meet over dinner or coffee to talk about what we read. Pretty simple. Some books we talk about for an hour nonstop, and others we find ourselves out of things to say after about ten minutes. Our discussions are rarely literary or high-minded. It’s just our thoughts and impressions spilling out. I find that I enjoy books much better after having talked about them with others. I gain so much insight this way.

For example, tonight we discussed the book Atonement by Ian McEwan. It was definitely one of the better books we’ve chosen. It was beautifully written, suspenseful in its own way, haunting, sad, hopeful, and surprising. I loved it, but after our meeting tonight I realized I had totally missed a couple of important points. Now I feel its impact even more.

Other book club favorites of mine:

The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl
The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Friends In High Places

The other day I showed up to my indoor soccer game and was waiting for the previous game to end. A few minutes before the game my dad showed up, gave me a hug, and sat down by me. He had a sneaky little smile on his face, and the first thing he said was, “Did you get my e-mail?” I hadn’t. What was it about? I wanted to know. “I need Courtney to hook me up,” he said, smile widening. He proceeded to tell me the details of his proposition.

Courtney is my roommate and one of my best friends in Houston. What is it that my dad so desperately wanted from her? A book. Courtney works for the Harris County Public Library. My dad’s e-mail went like this:

I just reserved the new James Lee Burke novel Tin Roof Blowdown, but I’m 69th in line. Can Courtney hook me up in a better position? It’s nice to have friends in high places.

The funny thing is that I have totally used Courtney for this purpose before, and my dad was so excited when he found out about it. This is the kind of thing my family gets excited about being “hooked up” with. But seriously, the library is awesome. Since living with Courtney my world has been broadened. I use it for movies, music, audiobooks, and, of course, books. And I’m sure Courtney could tell me a slew of other resources the library offers.

Gosh, I am such a NERD.

Are You A Goldilocks Kind Of Reader?

From Booking Through Thursday:

So, this is my question to you–are you a Goldilocks kind of reader?

Do you need the light just right, the background noise just so loud but not too loud, the chair just right, the distractions at a minimum?

Or can you open a book at any time and dip right in, whether it’s for twenty seconds, while waiting for the kettle to boil, or indefinitely, like while waiting interminably at the hospital–as long as the book is open in front of your nose, you’re happy to read?

My answer is no. I am not a Goldilocks reader. I think that I could read in almost any situation, although I do better without TV or music because I do get distracted by that. Not that I don’t still read at those times, just slower. Some places that I have been known to read (other than on the couch or in bed):

• The bus (frequently)
• The checkout line at the grocery store
• On road trips (when other people are driving)
• My car (when I am driving–I know, I know, this is probably my worst habit so spare me the lectures!)
• The bus stop
• Waiting rooms
• Pretty much anywhere when I have a spare minute and a book with me

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.

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.