bye-bye, michael

I had to say goodbye to a dear friend today. He's moving to the wilds of Indiana, to take a church. I begged him to stay around for a few more days, but he can't.

I jetted over there from work this afternoon, planning to just take a couple of minutes to say goodbye. But I got tears in my eyes as soon as I saw him, which I didn't expect. I ended up playing hooky from work for almost half-an-hour, just sitting on the couch and talking.
He hinted that if I would only marry him, I'd get to see him all the time. I told him he deserved much better than me (and it's true.)

Love you, Michael.

Combination move...

I've combined my two blogs into one new site...Blue Book.
I couldn't seem to get it together enough to contribute to both of them at once.

If dogs could talk...

Title: The Dogs of Babel
Author: Carolyn Parkhurst
Genre: Fiction
No. of Pages: 264

This book got a lot of press when it first arrived, which usually makes me avoid them for awhile (especially the Oprah books). I picked it up off the bargain table at my local bookstore last week, b/c I don't think I'd have bought it at full price. That's a pity, because it was a beautifully written book. The story follows Paul and his wife, Lexy, who died after a fall from the apple tree in thier back yard. There is uncertainty as to whether it was an accident or a suicide, because there were no witnesses except Lorelai, their dog. Because Paul is desperate to find out what happened, he tries to teach the dog to talk. (Did I mention he's a linguistics professor? If anyone can teach a dog to talk, its him.)

Well-written, good jumping from past to present, as Paul relives his life with Lexy.

Rating: 4.5

Is Book Lust a deadly sin?

Books about Books
Title: Book Lust and More Book Lust
Author: Nancy Pearl
Genre: Recommended reading

LOVE these books. They were both written by a librarian in Seattle, and recommend book for all types and genres. This is the kind of librarian I'd like to be. It's the kind of person my friends say I already am; they always come to me when they're looking for something to read. It's also reasurring that many of my favorite books are already listed, so I can believe I'm doing something right with my book selection.

Rating: all the stars I can give them

Acknowledgements

I almost always read the Acknowledgements page in the books I read, usually because any writer worth their salt has a sense of how many people it actually took to put out this book, even though only one name appears on the title page, and also because you can find suprising humor on these pages.

Try it sometime with a favorite book, fiction or nonfiction. Travel books are usually good places to start. Simple lists of names are no fun, you need the private jokes that show up from time to time to make it interesting.

Hard not to imagine Colin Firth in a wet shirt...

Title: Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife
Author: Linda Berdoll
Genre: Historical Romantic fiction
Pages: 465

This is supposed to be Pride and Prejudiced continued, and I guess it accomplishes that goal. Once you get past all the descriptions of Elizabeth Darcy (nee' Bennett) and Mr. Darcy not being able to take their hands off one another (who knew Regency language could be so...well, filthy) the story actually goes somewhere. Follows the couple through their first 5 years of marriage, with reappearance of favorite characters from the original.

Rating: aa

Think of all the contraband I could sneak into the Luce!!

Things I would sneak into graduation, using the weird sleeve pockets on my gown...
1. a flask. break it out as soon as dr. greenway hands me the diploma.
2. a camera, to capture all the cameras looking back at all of us from the stands.
3. my little black book, in case SOMEONE wants my number.
4. compact and Burt's bee's lip balm, for the after-party pictures.
5. my checkbook, so I can write my first student loan check for the sallie may people, who will, I assume, be waiting at the bottom of the stage steps for each and every one of us.
6. a snack.

my hood is yellow satin, with a chevron of blue, edged in burgandy velvet to indicate it's a master's in arts.
"The master's gown, which may be open or closed, has an oblong, open sleeve that drapes freely to the wrist and extends back, in the classic crescent shape, below the knee."

I suppose all this is exciting, but all I can think about are all the people I'm really going to miss.

Can't live without it...

I'm talking about my body pillow. It's as tall as I am, and has a permanent place in my bed. I take it with me when I travel, for I do not sleep well without it. I've looked for replacements, but there do not seem to be any like it out there. It isn't just one of those flannel covered, fat pillows you get at Wal-Mart; it's just a really long regular-type pillow with a cotton cover that is cool to the touch.

Hard to explain, I know. I guess we get attached to things. I wonder if I'll give up my pillow if I ever get married. It already takes up the other half of my bed.

Finally working again...

My blog went on hiatus for a while, and it took many pointless question to BloggerHelp before I finally figured out how to fix the problem on my own.

So I'm back.
Last week's trip to Mississippi was chaotic. My mom and I got hit by a drunk and high driver, and my dear SUV, Rhett, was totalled. My friend Doyle and I once had a conversation wherin he insisted that all cars must be female, and therefore must have girl names, but I disagree. Rhett was definitely male. And Southern.

So now I'm driving my mom's Volvo, which is also VERY male (as evidenced by the Volvo symbol), and after much discussion with friends, I've decided to name him Meatball. Because he's Swedish. Get it, Swedish Meatball? I thought the name might make his sound stupid, and that worried me, because I've never met a less stupid car. But I think it fits.

I'll miss Rhett, though. The amount of people and stuff I cound fit into that car was astounding.

Home to Mississippi...

I'm going home to Mississippi tomorrow; the first time in a few months. Friday, I'm traveling to my family's cabin in Arkansas, on the Heber Springs Lake.

Once there, I will endeavor to do nothing but listen to my iPod, read books that have nothing to do with school, and try to avoid the inevatiable questions from out-of-town family that always seem to follow one of three threads:
1. So, what are you going to do when you get out of school?
2. Tell me again...you went to seminary because..?
3. Aren't you married yet?

That last one usually comes as a incredulous statement rather than a question, but you get the drift.

I was looking forward to this trip until I found out I'd be spending the weekend on a peninsula with extended family. It won't even be warm enough to swim. I really just wanted to hang out in Memphis, see friends, and spend quality time with my dog. I'll be lucky if I can swing a few hours with friends on sunday night.

I'm whining, I know. Please forgive.

A related topic...
I got to spend time tonight with two of my favorite people. They are Woogles. Woogles are unique creatures that cannot be adequately described, except to say there is never a dull moment. If a dull moment seems imminent, never fear! One Woogle would love to tell you the latest about dovetail joints! If dovetail joints do not interest you, the other Woogle can usually be harassed into telling a story. He tells good ones. Ask him about the most expensive penny in the world.

I'll greatly miss the Woogles.

God doesn't give us everything at once...

I just talked to my best friend, Erin, who just found out that the second round of invitro fertilization that she and her husband have gone through probably failed, though she won't know for sure until tomorrow.

I'm not married, and I've never been through what she's going through, so its hard to know what to tell her, how to comfort her, when she calls me, crying. That happened today. Especially since I haven't seen her since they moved.

Erin isn't a Christian(they're Jewish, actually) but she does have deep faith in God. We talked about how God doesn't give us the whole story all at once; that it's not our business to know what's going to happen. This especially rings true to me after hearing dr. Kalas speak about it in chapel. And if I don't get into grad school, and Erin never gets pregnant, that's not the end of the world. We just don't know the rest of the story, yet.

Aren't I too old for this?

Argghh. I have a crush. Totally unrealistic, especially since I'll be LEAVING in less than two months. Friends got me started on it; they met him before I did, and decided he would be someone worth getting to know.

I stutter when I speak to him--when I manage to speak to him without blushing.

The worst part about it is that I find myself focusing on him being in the room when I should be focusing on what's actually going on up there with that guy in the collar and the bread and wine.

Get over it, Christy!