5 Days . . .

Two posts in two days; guess I'm in a very bloggy mood this week.

So there's five days left until the official move to Iowa. Packing is coming along slowly but surely. Mostly it's just hard to group things together because my entire room here pretty much just consists of things that we didn't want to be without for months at a time (since the majority of our belongings are in a storage locker at the other end of town), so once you get past the obvious groupings of "clothes" and "books" and "music/movies" it's pretty much just complete randomness. Not to mention, a good chunk of it can't be packed up until this weekend anyway 'cause I'm still using it.

But, because most of our stuff is, as I said, already packed away in storage, this will definitely be the easiest move we've ever done, aside from possibly the time I moved from one apartment into an identical apartment down the hall, midway through my last year of college.

Anyway.

Things I'm looking forward to:

~ living with my husband again (what a crazy concept)
~ living with my cat again (!!!)
~ having my own kitchen again
~ having more than just one cramped room to call my own
~ not sharing a bathroom with a woman who spends an hour getting ready in the morning, and that's AFTER she gets out of the shower
~ not juggling two cars among four people (and, going along with this, not having to feel like I'm asking permission if I need a car for something other than work)
~ the excitement of getting to know a new city (and state! - I've never not lived in Illinois, it's going to be bizarre)

Things I'll miss:

~ having the bed to myself
~ hanging out with my brother (seriously, 10 years ago I would NOT have believed you if you told me this would be the case)
~ being close to family and friends

So, yeah, I'd say the pros definitely outweigh the cons.


EDIT: Just thought of another thing to look forward to -- not spending so much time on the phone! It wouldn't be as bad if I had a hands-free device that didn't hurt my ear to wear. Being better at multitasking would also help. But really, I'm just not a phone person.

Power and Beauty of Art

So, this is something that's been on my mind for a while; unfortunately, it's really hard to make a coherent blog post about it. But earlier today I was watching the last couple hours of VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and it just struck me full force how much amazing music is out there. It's just mind-boggling to think about, and a little heartbreaking to know how much of it I will never hear.

I feel the same way about books. About a month back I hit my goal of 75 new books for the year, so I do read a lot. In fact, I set a goal earlier this year of reading 300 books by the time I'm 30, and now -- with nearly three years and only 124 books to go -- it seems that could be laughably easy. (Though of course, now that I've said that, life may find a way to prove me wrong.) But every time I come across something new I want to read, I just feel the weight of all these stories pressing down on me, knowing that my to-read list is growing faster than I can keep up with it. And now I'm feeling it again with music, only it's worse with music, because music is my life.

For those who may be unaware, I graduated with a BA in music. My plan was (is?) to go back to graduate school for a masters and doctorate in musicology and find a teaching job at a university. (I've recently started entertaining the notion of doing Library Science instead, but that's another story . . .)

Anyway, point being, I love music. It has always been a huge part of my life. I can't even tell you how much I miss being in a choir. And there are some pieces that give me chills every time I listen to them (the final movement of Verdi's Requiem being one of my absolute favorites). And I still feel so woefully ignorant, like I could spend my life studying and still only scratch the surface of what the great composers have to offer. And then there's the whole non-classical world. I was watching the VH1 special for two hours, saw snippets from the top 40 artists of all time, and it was like . . . wow, I really am missing out.

It's just kind of mind-blowing, how art can affect us. Whether it's music, literature, visual art, some combination of the above . . . it really is incredible. And unfortunately that doesn't even come close to describing what I feel about it, but that's really all I can say.

Bittersweet

Today was my last day at Borders. I told them I could work through next Thursday, but when my manager was making up the schedule I guess she and another manager had just been discussing my leaving, and so she made up the schedule thinking that I wasn't going to be there . . . and then realized that I was. But, whatever. My paycheck isn't so significant that a week off is going to seriously hurt me (especially lately I've been working only about 15 hours, if that) and it will make next week much less stressful. I haven't even really started packing yet, so there's all that to do. I made one last hair appointment (didn't know if I'd be able to squeeze that in before I left). And I can read a couple more books guilt-free that they don't have at the Dubuque library (yes, I've already been looking into that as I add books to my to-read list).

I really am going to miss this job. There were a couple customers today that made me question that (there are always a couple) but really this is one of the best jobs I've had, mostly because of my coworkers. I'm hoping to transfer to the Dubuque store, but I honestly don't know if it will be the same. It's hard to imagine working in a store where everything is the same except the people. My managers are all awesome. Pretty much everyone is great to work with.

So, yeah. Even though I'm looking forward to moving, and even a little relieved to be done with work earlier than expected, I am going to miss it.

Yeah, so I'm lazy...

Ok, so I've been a bit lazy. I meant to write a post when I got my new disc golf disc that is awesome...and I didn't. I meant to write a post after I had my 3-month review at work that went well...and I didn't. I meant to write a post after I had looked at an appartment...and I didn't. So yeah, we've established the fact that I'm lazy. It doesn't help that I only have good internet access 'till about 5:30 PM when everyone else gets back to the motel and eats up all the bandwidth, but mostly I'm just lazy. :)

Anyway, as Charleen mentioned we have an official move date! In just over a week I get to move out of the motel and into an apt with my wife and my cat. Honestly if I had to pick, I'd have a hard time deciding what I was more excited about: Getting to move back in with my wife and seeing her more than every other weekend, not having to drive back to Chicago every other weekend, getting the cat back from my parents, sleeping in my own bed, or not having to eat fast food almost every stinking night. The fast food one is a very strong competitor. Thankfully, I don't have to pick one. I get them all!!! 10 days away and it can't get here fast enough.

Not All the Attention It Deserves

So, I don't have the energy to explain all the updates of the past week or so (actually I'm surprised Pat hasn't posted) but . . . we are officially moving to Iowa. Or rather, I'm moving to Iowa, and Pat's moving out of the hotel he's been in for the past three months out there.

I should be relieved that everything is coming together. And I am. But it's still weighing down on me, and I suspect I won't fully feel myself again till it's all over. Just over two weeks till that happens.

Random Literary Tidbits

I recently hit my goal of reading 75 books this year, and it's only August! Also, I'm up over 150 total books read. Here's some random things I've noticed about my tastes compared with the general reading public . . . or at least, the average GoodReads member.

Here are the general descriptions of the ratings, as provided by GR. I try to stick to these as close as possible, especially when I'm undecided (sadly, GR doesn't offer half-stars). I just try to take a step back and ask myself which of these statements is most accurate.

1 star = didn't like it
2 stars = it was ok
3 stars = liked it
4 stars = really liked it
5 stars = it was amazing

* Keeping in mind that the "average rating" of a book is constantly changing, these numbers are accurate as of today.

Lowest rated book in my collection: Lost, by Gregory Maguire, at 2.60 stars (my rating = 4 stars)
I'm really not surprised that this book is rated as low as it is. Gregory Maguire (of Wicked fame) is sort of a "love him or hate him" author anyway, and Lost is very different from his other works, so even many fans don't care for it.

Highest rated book in my collection: The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, at 4.48 stars (my rating = 4 stars)
This one IS surprising to me. Not because it wasn't a good book, but just because it was SO hyped up, and SO many people have read it, that I would have expected a more balanced reaction.

Most of the top-rated books are ones in a series, and I think these tend to be higher rated overall because the earlier books weed out a lot of people who would give negative reviews. If you read the first book in a series and don't care for it, you probably aren't going to continue. Sure, some later books get low ratings too, by people who stuck out the series just because, or fans who were disappointed by a particular volume, but overall there are less negative reviews to bring down the average. So, it just surprises me that The Help, which was read by such a wide variety of people, didn't get more negative reviews to pull that average down a bit. Again, it's not that it was a bad book. I'm just surprised that it's rated higher than the final Percy Jackson (4.46), the final Harry Potter (4.45), and the final Lord of the Rings (4.40), all of which were read mostly by people who were already inclined to enjoy the book. (On a personal note I'm surprised that PJ squeaked out above HP, but that's just me.) But, of course, these numbers are all so close, and always subject to change, so it's not really worth squabbling over those few hundredths of a star.

Of my 5-star books:
Most popular: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling, at 4.45 stars
Least popular: Judgement Day, by Jane Jensen, at 3.56 stars

Of my 1-star books:
Most popular: Tell No One, by Harlan Coben, at 3.99 stars
Least popular: The Last Theorem, by Arthur C. Clarke and Frederik Pohl, at 3.02 stars

There are also several instances where my favorite book in a collection (whether grouped by series or just by author) is the least popular, and/or my least favorite is the most popular. Just further proof that no one but you can decide what you like or don't like.

Well, I'm Not Pregnant

So, a couple weeks ago TJ blogged about the fact that, if you're a woman, and your stomach's upset, inevitably someone will ask if you're pregnant. Even if no one asks, it doesn't mean they're not thinking and wondering. I've been getting sick at work quite a bit recently, and though no one has said anything, I'm just living with the assumption that at least a couple people are asking themselves if I'm pregnant. Or possibly bulimic.

Anyway, these waves of nausea have been coming on and off for a while now, maybe once a week or so. Sometimes I actually get sick, sometimes it's just a persistent unpleasantness. I've been assuming it's related to stress (the whole long-distance, future-up-in-the-air thing) and just doing my best to deal with it. The past few days, though, I've been feeling worse than usual.

So today -- after waking up, throwing up twice over the course of an hour and a half, and calling in sick to work -- I finally decided to take advantage of the fact that we have insurance again and see a doctor. To see if they can do anything about the nausea itself, but also to make sure there's not some serious problem I've been ignoring for the past few months.

So, I looked on our insurance website and found a walk-in clinic just down the road that has Sunday hours. They ran a bunch of basic tests and everything turned up normal, but there's still a couple that won't be done till tomorrow, and they suggested I get a follow-up with my regular doctor (which I don't have, so they gave me someone to call) in the next day or two. So we'll see what happens. I'm guessing they won't find anything. But hopefully the prescription they gave me will help the symptoms, at least, because I'm really sick (sorry, unavoidable pun) of this feeling.

At the Bar

A couple of our good friends got married this weekend. The wedding was beautiful (as was the bride), and the reception was so much fun. Plus, of course, open bar.

I don't drink a lot. And when I do, it's usually at home with friends rather than out at a bar. So, I'm pretty clueless when it comes to bar drinks. I told the bartender I wanted something fruity, and she recommended Sex on the Beach. (insert joke here) Later in the night I tried a Long Beach Iced Tea, recommended by one of our friends, which is basically a Long Island Iced Tea but with a splash of cranberry juice instead of cola. Both drinks were pretty good.

So the last couple days I've been browsing online to try and find different drinks that I can try the next time I have the occasion to. Trouble is, on a site like drinksmixer.com, there's SO MUCH on there. And, since I'm not a drinker, none of it sounds familiar to me. I have no real way of knowing what are standard drinks, what are local drinks, and what some college kid just made up on his own. In our age of information dissemination, I wonder how common it is for someone to order a drink, and the bartender not know what it is. And, common or no, I wouldn't want to be caught in that situation.

I did find a list of Popular Drinks Every Bartender Should Know, so I suppose I'd probably be safe ordering any of these. And honestly I think it would be really fun to have a well-stocked liquor cabinet and try out different mixes on my own -- in moderation, of course. But that could get to be a rather pricey hobby, I'm sure.

Lots O' Books

I added another new tab.

One of the things I've been doing with my excessive time alone is reading. It's really nice, one of those "silver lining" things, and I'm trying to take as much advantage of it as I can. I am going to completely destroy my goal of reading 75 books this year (mentioned way back here). Technically I've already hit that benchmark, if you count things I've re-read. But even counting new books only, I'll probably hit it by the end of next month.

So, at any rate, I've added a new "bookshelf" tab, with a link to my GR profile, as well as visual representation of my favorites, with links to my reviews. I don't write a review for every book I read, but I always make sure to write them for 1-star and 5-star books. I figure if I'm going to give something that extreme of a rating, whether it's good or bad, I should say why I'm doing it.

Anyway, I don't know how else I might dress up this new blog page in the future. I know it seems kind of unnecessary, when all of the information is available through GR. But, it's just something else I can share to make the blog a little more personal.

New Design

So, I know we've got a total of like 3 readers, and most people probably use a feed reader anyway, but I re-did the blog layout. I really like it. AND, Blogger has added a pages feature since the last time I played around with things here, so I added an "About Us" tab (though there's nothing there yet) and will probably be going tab-happy in the future as I figure out new things I can use it for.

In other news . . . yeah, nothing's been going on really. Hence the lack of posts. Ever since Pat left for Iowa, it feels like my life has been on hiatus. Which is really an amusing thought considering I've felt that way to some extent ever since I left college. It feels like I'm always waiting for something. Waiting to get married. Waiting till we move. Waiting till we can start a family. Waiting to go back to school. And, in the mean time, four more years of my life have gone by. When did that happen?

This is something different, though. I know a big part of it is because Pat's gone. Part of it is this weird dynamic of living with my family again as an adult (I think not having my own car is making it weirder than it might otherwise be). Part of it is that, rather than looking forward to some vague future milestone, I'm waiting for a very specific thing, knowing that it will be soon, but not knowing exactly when it's going to happen. It's just . . . weird. Days go by and I don't really notice, but instead of feeling anxious because time is slipping away from me, I just feel like these days don't really count anyway. It's not a great attitude, I know.

I didn't mean for this to be so much of a downer, but I guess I just needed to get it out.