So basically ever since I reached the 250 (books read this year) milestone, I haven't read anything longer than Vanity Fair's article on Meryl Streep. (Really good, incidentally; I love her.)
I've read the first chapter of Churched by Matthew Paul Turner, and I can tell I'm going to love that book once my brain starts working again. I've also read the first chapter of The Angel's Game (thank you again, Rob!) and same thing. I'm going to love it. But right now? Now I don't want to read anything. (This may even include the ARC of the new Joe Hill novel, which I am really looking forward to. But it hasn't come yet, so there's no way to know for sure.)
So probably this weekend will be an exercise in not reading (except for People and Entertainment Weekly). I need to do laundry and I'm definitely watching Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I'm also planning on getting Julie & Julia and Up from OnDemand.
I'm also trying to remember that I've read a ton of books this year (101 more than last year!) and so even if I don't read any more books for the rest of the year, I've more than done my part.
(And then I think, "Not read for the rest of the year?!")
- 22:41 @megancanale twitpic.com/srcpy - success? he looks frightened? lol #
- 14:18 Grrrr...the bossman messed up and my check is gonna be $126 short this week ): guess its a good thing this isn't a rent is due week... #
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My parents picked up this brochure in Aurangabad India.
It speaks for itself. It is definitely worth the read.
Here is the text:
Glimpses of History
No more elucidation or elongation is necessary to picturise the historical importance of this city because its enchanting beauty is received encomiums from alien tourists as well as our domestic guests. The explicit beauty of Ajanta and Ellora Caves, its carvings and mural paintings are widely accepted and discussed in the nook and corner of this world and enthralled everybody who visited these spots. Its lucid and natty creations are wonderful and a while arrest the palpitation of a vibrant mind and melt any obdurate man.
In the mid 70’s this city saw the emergence of industry and subsequent development in tourism sector. There was a scope in the hotel industry. But the infrastructure for a good Restaurant was not rampant baring two five star hotels in this city. There were limitations in this field as considering the then prevailed culture and custom of our society. Slowly the scenario changed and glitteratis became the part of this city. Fast Food vendors slowly appeared and sticked up phase by phase. But this does not satiate the demand of public and the race for good nosh continued for years. Here start our attempt to hoist a flag and laid the foundation stone of our restaurant in 1989. This was the first hotel in this city of its kind started with an intention to end the nightmare of connoisseur of foods. Even such grade hotels came into existence “Angeethi” a name equal to sumptuous nosh – still glees its successful years of prompt service.
Savoury Kitchen
We started our hotel with a pack of ebullient and efficient cooks experienced in star hotels from abroad and India. They work tirelessly in our kitchen and understand the taste and hate of our guests and their optimum service is an asset to our hotel.
Calibre Restaurant
Our Restaurant is made and decorated in such a manner, there one can feel as their own home and can immerse in their own world. We allow to get in only the gentle and good mannered guests to maintain the family atmosphere and status of our restaurant. This is a plus point adorn in our name since long years so a genuine guest can acclamatise and hover with the cool atmosphere. Apart from this restaurant, there is a fully equipped Banquet Hall having capacity of 100 people to be accommodated at a time, which is sufficient to convene a meeting, seminar or any kind of small function. Centralised Air Condition, Music System and Television are added quality of our restaurant which attracts and surely beckon you to the world of charm. The carpet paved restaurant, majestic seatings and serenades are the replica of our hotel.
Specialties in Veg / Non-Veg
Our kitchen is in action since 10’ O Clock and strict vigil is taken to prepare the food in hygienic way. Our buffet system is very unique, it allows you to select as much as you can in veg or non-veg section. The food served in Indian, Chinese and Continental are competent to world quality and you will make re-visit for the palatable food.
Quixotic and Diligent Service
Our service staffs are so polite in their behavior and exhibit their manner that one cannot buy with a penny. They welcome you with a smile in their lip and take you with respect to our respective seats. Needless to advice them, they are always with you away from one arm distance to hear your command. These staffs are the pivots of our restaurant and our guests are always leaves the restaurant with handful of thanks to them.
Parcel and Outdoor
This city has witnessed number of outdoor catering which we have made available to the spot specified by the Party, Marriages, Seminars, Meetings, Birthday Parties, what more, even in a small get-together, we rush you with our team to serve you in amicable way. You have to do is simple, just make a call to our telephone No. 2441988 definitely you will receive a positive reply of your queries.
So, I was looking through my Myspace pictures the other day... I had completely forgotten Myspace since transitioning to the exciting worlds of Facebook and Twitter, but there it was, my profile, sitting quietly stagnant and waiting for me patiently. Looking through those pictures, I experienced a whirlwind of emotions, from happy reminiscence to regretful anger, to jealousy and fascination... it's just so darn interesting to go back and look at a bunch of pictures of yourself in chronological order! Making this especially interesting for me is the fact that the years of 2004-2009 have been some of the most tumultuous, transformative, life-changing, difficult, wearing, blissful years of my life (in no particular order. ha!). I went from being a practically homeless addict in Arlington TX (living in a low-weekly-rate [$90] motel across the street from the toothless strip club) in 2004, to a happily married, gainfully employed, God-praising Christian in 2009. How did that happen? What were the events, who were the people who helped me make these changes? Anyway. I've been through a lot in the past 5 years... probably more than in my whole life combined. But I'm still here. I find it terribly interesting to look through these pictures and notice the ever-so-slight changes in my face, my eyes, my smiles... My inner Narcissa tells me I should be sad to look through these and see that yes, I am getting older... but really, I just feel grateful and relieved. Grateful that God has brought me through these years ALIVE, and relieved that those days of greedy desperation, addiction, and chaos are over. I still have my moments of chaos, of course (don't we all?), but these days, they're few and far between. I have happily settled into a comfortable, if somewhat predictable, life. These days, the chaos of a punk show or a house party are welcome, because they last for only a few hours, one night, and then I'm back to my peaceful existence with my loving husband and my two crazy pets. Anyway. That's it for my introspection on the topic... here's the photographic evidence!
2004
There are a LOT of pictures from 2004, but most of them are in print form, not online. This was the year I moved back to Arlington, dejected, and started becoming who I am today. After only a couple of weeks I was dirty, greedy, addicted... but I also found a lifetime friend in Mandy, who helped get me a job at Whole Foods, and thus began the series of events that would eventually lead us back to austin, and to me hurting my back, going to Dallas to have surgery, finding Stephen again after 10 years, and so on and so on. Strange how things link up like that....
2005
In February of 2005, Mandy and I moved to Austin (I came back, she came with me) and we rented a tiny little 100-year-old house on the East Side. It turned into the infamous 3210 Larry Ln house where we would eventually host around 20 different house shows and parties. In some ways it is heartwarming to think back on that year, because, let's be honest, it really was a hell of a lot of fun. However, there are pangs of guilt, regret, and anger surrounding those memories as well. I find it interesting that 2005 was my worst year, as far as addiction goes, but I really can't tell from looking at the pictures. I don't look high. Maybe I do. I guess I don't know what high looks like anymore (thank you Jesus!). I'm definitely thinner in these pictures than in the rest, though... probably about 10 pounds lighter than I am now. Time to get on it, Kelly! I want 2010's pictures to be the best of the bunch!
2006
2006 was a HARD year. Well, it started out that way, anyway. I had moved out of the Larry Lane house (we trashed it beyond words, it was no longer habitable by the time we moved out) and gotten my own tiny 1-bedroom apartment. This was a mistake, I think. I had too much time on my hands. I was still at Whole Foods, but work was secondary to my party life. I was hopelessly addicted, and would often spend days at a time away from home, "partying". My poor cat. I was really, really sad. I felt hopeless. Lost.
In April of 2006, I broke my back. I had to go to Dallas and have back surgery. Luckily for me, Stephen found me on Myspace (stalker!) the week before I was scheduled to go up. He told me that I'd always been one of his favorite people in high school (we were 10th grade geology lab partners!) and he'd love to see me and catch up. So I went to Dallas. And I stepped up to the bar at Smitty's to order a whiskey with a Lone Star back, and from behind me, I heard "What does it TAKE to get a drink in this place?!" and it was HIM. And the rest is history. I didn't know it at the time, but he would change my life completely. He would make me want to be a better woman, a better person. He would demand that I respect myself enough to clean my act up. He would eventually, in his words, "lame me up". He was the light in my darkness, and the first step in my long journey towards The Light. He saved me from a life that absolutely would have killed me. I love him.
2007
I don't have a lot of pictures from 2007. I was BUSY that year. Working, trying desperately to clean up my life, being crazy in love... I was spending nearly ALL my time with Stephen, like you do when you're in a relatively new relationship and absolutely gonzo over someone... In late 2007, Stephen proposed, and we began our search for a place to start our life together as a married couple. One thing I notice right away is how much softer I appear in this photo compared to it's predecessors.
2008
2008 was a HAPPY year! Can you tell? haha! We were married on March 21, 2008, and went on a cruise for our honeymoon (along with Josh and Joe) a week later. Amazing!
2008 was also the year that Jesus really started showing Himself to us. In order to get married you need a minister... and in order to marry us, the minister we chose required us to go through some pre-marital "counseling". I was hell-bent against it at first, especially when we went the first time and he wanted us to talk about our FAITH. I was like "Look, I will talk to you about anything but this Jesus stuff". Well, sh*t got real, and by the 3rd meeting, I was crying and praying with my husband and Paul, the preacher. That month before our wedding was CRAZY. We were both seedling Christians, both of us had been raised in church but had run away at some point... we were grasping to find His plan for us, desperate to be obedient (but not really) and trying to figure out how our life would change, as it was
changing. We found our church that year, Soma Austin Community Church. We found amazing friends... an incredible community of loving, giving souls who actually liked us! Jesus was sweet, gentle with us in 2008. He's been more forceful in 2009, or maybe we're just listening more closely.
2009
2009 has been, well, challenging. We've been through more this year than I can even tell you... but it's like my boss says "when you decide to follow God, you're gonna catch hell" (she is also a Christian). I KNOW that we've only been able to handle things the way we have because of our newfound faith in the power of Jesus.
We make decisions differently. We have more joy. We have FAITH.
Of course things haven't all been peachy... there have been a lot of absolutely terrible things that happened this year, but I'm looking at those things through different eyes now than I would have before. I know that we will get through the problems we're having right now. I KNOW we will. And I
know we'll be stronger for it in the end. I have absolute faith in my Creator, that he will follow through the work He's started in me right to the very end. I count myself as VERY lucky, and so so blessed, that I found the love of my life, and through the process of falling in love with him, I fell in love with Jesus again. Life is beautiful.
When I came back from walking pups today, I saw a slip in my box for packages. I got excited as I've been waiting on a few. I wondered which it would be...much to my surprise, there were 4 packages waiting for me! One of them contained some new shoes...all for me!
I'm so excited about them, I just can't stand it. I've not always been a fashionable person and I've only really started to get into a lot of trends that have been around for awhile. One thing I've always liked are boots, but I've also known that they can be stupidly expensive. I've lusted after many a pair, but either don't have the guts or money to buy them. That was until my roommate introduced me to CutesyGirl. Everything was cheap, so how could I resist? I don't mean they were $40 cheap. I mean $25 or less cheap!! Plus they have tons of sales all the time.
I thought it was a slight risk thinking they might not be great quality or look crap, but when they arrived I was pleasantly surprised. Lookie!!! And yes, that's a pair of purple suede boots in the bottom corner :) :)
Now for all you foot fetish peeps, here's a close up of my fave pair.
While watching Zach give the cats a good workout by means of a high-power laser pointer, a thought occurred to me:
When used in a particular way, a laser pointer is essentially a virtual tether with which one can literally slam a cat against a wall.
You can also fling a cat down the stairs or even into a hapless victim’s lap as he sits distracted by his game of Super Smash Bros. Fact is, a cat will pretty much go anywhere a glowing red dot goes. They'll even do it in teams!
Whenever all four of us have to be away from the house at the same time, we make sure all the kittehs are closed off downstairs mainly because Dioji is a moody terrier and cannot be trusted. This past Thanksgiving Day was one of those times and Zach was assigned pet segregation detail. He proceeded to do this, believe it or not, by leading them all down in one big group with his laser pointer.
I was hell of impressed.
Alright, I know the title of the post made it sound like some major scientific breakthrough had been discovered. And sure, adding “major” might be too much, but Zachary’s discovery really is quite a breakthrough!
Have you ever tried to herd cats?
Last week we celebrated our Deputy Director's 20th anniversary with the City, and of course i was commissioned to make posters... so i included this picture, with the title,
He's a good sport about it, this was taken during a fundraiser one of the other branches had won, so he and our trainer had to dress up in these pretty aprons to serve the employees...
I've acquired some awesome new neighbors since last Winter Solstice. I want you all to stick around, so I feel I should give you a warning. I have a reindeer obsession. Yes, every year I become a wide-eyed freak over the critters.
I'm not much of an ungulate person. I mostly study small carnivores, ground dwellers and birds. Beginning December 1st, I run around stores blindly grabbing every reindeer ornament and throw pillow in sight (I eventually calm down and put them back before the store clerks call Security).
Blame my old college friend for making me watch Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, I guess. She watched it every year and yes, she used to cry during the movie. I love the Island of Misfit Toys and King Moonracer as much as anyone, but.....
I don't usually distinguish between caribou (wild ungulates) and reindeer (domesticated caribou) although I think reindeer are a bit cuter and fuzzier with their decorative blankets. I hope I don't bore everyone with my reindeer and caribou rants.
Greenpeace Finland's Reindeer page
I'm a political moderate. Most people think that means that my beliefs are boring as cardboard. I just want everyone to get along. Compromise. Actually nothing could be further from the truth. When I express my belifes, I usually manage to tick off everybody.
I don't like Obama's health care plan. He needs to ditch it and try again later. Although I'm 100 percent pro choice, I actually agree that taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for abortions. Let's fact it, except for special circumstances, pregnancy is not usually an illness.
The right-wing has tried to ban birth control and sex ed. In high schools, sex ed programs teach boys and girls what it's like to care for a baby, and how to avoid pregnancy. By killing the single payer option, conservatives have ensured that underprivileged women might want an abortion.. They make sure that poor pregnant women and children will not have access to vital health care.
I have a new favorite politician. Congressman Kucinich. Despite the temporary setback on health care, he knows we're headed in the right direction with this. Here is his petition - it calls for Universal Health Care. Thanks to everyone who contributed to my health care blogs, and Lil Treva for alerting me to the Congressman's greatness. Obama could use a wake up call. No decent nation allows children to go without medical care.
**I should add that as a biologist I see my role as preserving life. Pregnancy is the beginning of life. I would like to see free women's health care clinics, free birth control (I mean really, Viagara is covered by health insurance!!) and better adoption services. Why don't we ever hear about these issues when we discuss abortion?
