To Read or Not To Read

Nov. 21 - Today I am thankful for...

Books.

I guess I could say that I'm thankful for literature in all of its forms, but I'm particularly fond of books. 

I've always been a reader. I grew up being read to, and eventually doing some of the reading myself. In second grade, I was reading aloud with my mom and she asked me to re-read a word. I didn't want to, because I knew what she wanted to hear. I had a speech impediment. When you make an "s" sound, your lips purse a little and air comes straight out from between your teeth, right? (Go ahead. Try it out.) Well, when I made an "s" sound, my tongue kind of took up the front of my mouth and the air came out both sides of my mouth. I sounded kind of like Sylvester, but with much less slobber.

That incident actually lead to me getting involved in speech therapy at school, which I thought would be terrible, but was actually pretty awesome. In third and fourth grade, I got pulled out of class for appointments with Dr. Scott, who was probably the nicest therapist I could have had. I got to play computer games and sometimes had sessions with other students. No trace of it these days, so it definitely paid off. And if I hadn't been reading aloud with my mom, who knows when it would've been caught.

Anywhoozles, that totally wasn't the point of this post. Moving on.

I love to read. Movies and video games are great, but if I truly want to escape, all I need is a good book and a quiet room. I can visit places, meet people, and experience things without leaving my house, and when I want to visit again, all I have to do is pick the book back up and read some more. It's a magical concept if you think about it.

I'm one of those people who won't get a Kindle because I like the smell of a new book and the feel of an old one. I have a habit of re-reading books; I've read my favorite book from my teen years at least 6 times, and I've read The Princess Bride (the abridged version) 4 or 5 times. Take me to a book store and I can spend all day (and a TON of money) there. Few things make me as happy as getting a new book to read. And for that, I'm very thankful. :)

Blah.

So, let's pretend that I don't have a full-time job and I don't attend school part-time.  We'll just pretend I'm some slacker who has nothing better to do than sit around all day.  What would I do?  

I think my days would start around 9-ish.  I'd eat breakfast and chill with the dog.  There'd be reading.  Lots of reading.  And TV/movie time.  And video games (even though I'm terrible at them).  And time on the computer, of course.  I'd have more time to cook and bake.  And with all that free time, I might actually exercise now and then.  And, if I could motivate myself to go anywhere alone, I could go take pictures whenever I wanted.  Nothing would be rushed, and things would get done when I was ready to do them.

Now, back to reality.  My day starts at 7:30 when I let the dog out and get my computer all ready to go.  Breakfast normally occurs sometime between 8 and 9, and is eaten while I work.  I usually have some kind of frozen food or leftovers for lunch around noon and then take my official lunch break at one (during which I typically play video games or do chores).  I work until just after four and then I usually take a post-work nap to revive myself.  After that, it's a combination of finding/fixing/eating dinner, watching TV with Hubby, doing homework, keeping up with FB or Skype, and a few video games here and there.  By 11, I'm usually brushing my teeth (if not already in bed), and then (if I'm awake enough) I have time to read a bit before I go to sleep.

Weekends are only slightly different.  Instead of work, I do homework all day (alternating with naps, puppy cuddles, and computer time).  But the same general stuff applies.  

I'm not really complaining.  I like working from home (even if I'm not crazy about my job), and 7:30 isn't nearly as early as most people probably get up for work.  I do get time to do some fun stuff in between, but weekends are mostly blown because on weeknights, all I want to do after work is relax, so homework gets piled up for Sat and Sun.  It's not bad, but I do look forward to the day when it's only work and not work + school to worry about.  Too bad it'll be another 4 years...

This blog post really didn't turn out the way I thought it would.  Not going to bother posting on FB.  Whoever reads it, reads it.  No one will be lost or missing out if they skip it.     

Reading Is My Drug

OK, so reading isn't the worst addiction to have, but it's getting pretty crazy over here.  

Lately I've been reading The Hollows series by Kim Harrison.  I read the first last month on a recommendation from a friend.  With that one book, my love of reading was rekindled and I've been plowing through them like my life depends on it.  In fact, I just finished the 6th book in the series today.  That's my fourth book this month, and it's only the 10th.  (I'm keeping track on Goodreads.)

Part of it probably comes from the knowledge that in just under two weeks I'll be back in classes, unable to read much of anything unless it has been assigned to me.  I'm sure "Cognition: Theories and Applications" will be informative, but it's not the kind of reading I thrive on.

Pretty much since I can remember, fiction has been my escape from reality.  When I'm reading a book that has really grabbed me and pulled me in, it's like I'm living the book.  I don't picture myself as one of the characters or anything, but I completely lose the world around me, and the only thing I know is whatever is written on the pages in my hands.  I become so attached to the characters in my books, and ripping myself out of their lives to go back into mine sucks sometimes.

Hubby keeps threatening to take me to the library, but the problem I have is that I love to re-read books.  I've read my favorite book at least six times.  And that number will continue to go up, because revisiting an old favorite is like re-living a favorite memory.  The comfort of a good, well-known story does good for my soul, and I don't part with books easily.

Logically, I should get a Kindle or a Nook (as I'm sure it would save me loads of dough), but there's something about the smell of a new book and the way the pages feel when they're worn with love that just won't let me do it.  Lame?  Probably.  But hey, this is my blog.  Suck it.       

Hump Day - Headlines To Shake Your Head At

I missed another Moronic Monday, but here's a special Hump Day edition featuring 69 sex headlines. (Of course it's 69 of them.  What other number could you POSSIBLY go with?)

The headlines range from the fairly standard ("25 Hot Sex Secrets!") to some that seem more than a bit quirky ("Untamed Va-jay-jays") all the way to some that sound just plain wrong ("Your Hoo-Ha Handbook" or "Unleash Your Cheeks!").  

The fun part about this list is that by hovering over the headline, you can see just what publication was crazy enough to explore these ideas.  (Cosmo, of course, seems to be one of the craziest.  Shocking.)

Enjoy the day, dear readers!  And remember - to spice up your sex life, clearly the best way is to read magazines.  Don't bother asking your partner what sounds good.  That's too easy!  ;-)

So Much Reading

My Psych class is clearly out to kill me.  I'm 2/3 done with the reading for this unit, and have already spent a total of about 7-8 hours reading.  Ugh.  Technically it isn't due until the end of next week, but I have other things to do, so, you know... Trying to get it done.  Not working.

I have determined, however, that I am going to live in my new pajamas.  They're Jack Skellington pjs from the Disney Store and even though they're too big, they are WAY too comfy.  Perfect lounging pjs.  <3

Tomorrow is the big game, and I'm really getting nervous.  On the one hand, the Packers are an AWESOME team, and I truly believe that we will come out victorious.  On the other hand, if (by some freak chance) the Bears win, the result will be intolerable.  Bears fans everywhere will give us shit for years upon years to come.  At that point, all I can hope is that whoever they play in the Super Bowl will beat them senseless in February.