Books!

Hey, remember when we used to talk about books on here? Let’s do that again! Here are some books that I have read recently that stand out in my memory in a good way:

Moneyball by Michael Lewis – Yes, the movie is excellent, too. But seriously, this is a book about baseball, which I hate, and even worse, it’s a book about baseball MATH, which I hate even more than baseball. (You can also reverse that sentence – “it’s a book about math – even worse, it’s a book about BASEBALL math!” and it would still adequately convey my hatred.) AND YET! It is interesting, compelling even. I think it helps that it is a) a true story and b) an underdog story. “Everyone loves an underdog.” “I don’t.” (If you’ve seen the Hunger Games movie, you got that quote, yes?) *ahem* Back to Moneyball. The whole “Oakland A’s vs. the way baseball has been managed forever and ever, amen” is an awesome storyline. Also compelling are the notes at the end of the book, telling how much traditional baseball managers and scouts hated the book. And how they kept claiming that Billy Beane wrote the book! It’s hard to take those guys seriously when they don’t even realize that it’s an actual book, written by an actual author, and not some Billy Beane self-promotion stunt. Anyway, even though I did not expect to, I totally LOVED it. And the movie is terrific, perfectly cast. Seriously, I watched two movies in the same weekend with Phillip Seymour Hoffman in them, and they could not have been more different (Moneyball, obvs, and Ides of March), yet he was stellar in both movies and completely believable in two very different roles. What an awesome actor.

Prayer for Rain by Dennis Lehane – This is the fifth book in the Kenzie/ Gennaro series, and the strength of their storyline made me order the first, second, third, fourth and sixth books in the series from Barnes and Noble immediately. I don’t usually read series books out of order (because I am an anal retentive nerd), and I don’t know that I recommend doing that with this series, however, this is a really good book. There are lots of great plot twists and the interaction between Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro - formerly a couple, still a lot of feelings between them – make this book hard to put down.

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell – When I pitched it to my book club, my comment was, “Aliens and religion, people, what more can you ask for?” No description of this book will ever do it justice, and while I understand the title, it is the least descriptive, least helpful title ever. This book is a heartbreaker. If you’re like me, and can’t resist the books that tell you up front that they are going to break your heart (think Bel Canto, The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and What Came Before He Shot Her), then there are not words for how much I recommend this book to you. It jumps back and forth in time from a group of friends (including a Jesuit priest) who wind up traveling to another planet to meet a race of singing aliens to the Jesuit church’s efforts to get the whole story of what happened on that mission from the Jesuit priest who is the lone survivor of the mission. So yes, you know right up front that almost all of the main characters are going to be killed off. And yes, you will cry. But! The totality of the book is wonderful. There’s also a sequel, Children of God, that is every bit as good as The Sparrow, and how often can you say that about a sequel?

So tell me, what have you been reading lately?

The Days are Long, but the Years are Short

So when I posted my little rant yesterday, I noticed that all the ages in my profile were wrong. I'm *gulp* 35 now, Supergirl is 9 and Wildman is 5. (We all have Fall birthdays, so we've each had a birthday since my last post.) I just changed them, and it reminded me of this idea from the book The Happiness Project - that the days are long, but the years are short. Incidentally, I really liked The Happiness Project. I had heard of it, but I wouldn't have picked it up except that my local book club chose it as their book for November. What's funny is that I REALLY liked it - like took notes (which I NEVER do), planning my own Happiness Project - liked it. And the rest of the group (y'know, the people who chose to read it), didn't like it. In fact, several of them REALLY disliked it. It's so funny, I like this group, but I am often out-of-step with them. The books they love, I generally dislike, and the books I love, they generally dislike. Oh well, it's still fun to go talk about books.

Anyway, the idea in The Happiness Project, that the days are long but the years are short - it's basically saying that sometimes we can barely drag ourselves through the day (and by "we", I mean "I"), but the years fly by like nothing. Ain't that the truth?! I cannot believe that my kids are 9 and 5 now. It seems like no time has passed since I was pregnant, or holding a little teeny baby. When I think about how long it's been since college, or high school, or being a teenager, or my childhood - well. It's surprising, is what it is. The other day, we were at lunch and there was a tv with some news program on and they were talking about John Hinckley's request to spend more time out of the mental institution that he was sentenced to after he shot President Regan 30 years ago. And it was so shocking to me that the shooting was 30 years ago. I remember when that happened. Granted, it's the first national news story that I can remember, but holy cats! That's 30 years ago now. I remember in my mid-twenties when I realized that some of the things I remembered had happened 20 years ago and it was so surprising because 20 sounds like such a huge number. I'm having the same feeling now with 30 years. It is WEIRD to realize that something I remember happened 30 years ago. I guess it's that, in the abstract, the phrase, "30 years ago" sounds like ancient history. And when I put it into perspective and realize that something I remember personally happened "30 years ago", it's a little shocking. But, life goes on, right? I don't have a problem with being 35, I'm happy with my life and what I'm doing with it, but it does sound like a long time when I think about it. (So I shouldn't think about it, right?!)

We Need a Little Christmas

This is entirely too nerdy to be said in real life, but I need to get it off my chest. So I'm going to tell y'all! How lucky are you?!

Are you all familiar with the song, "We Need a Little Christmas"? Cheery little song that gets played throughout the holiday season, right? (It's playing right now because my Christmas obsessed co-worker has had Christmas music playing for the past two weeks. In totally related news, my homicide level is rising.) But, here's the thing: That is not a Christmas song. It's from the musical Mame, which is not very well known because it kind of sucks. And it's not even a Christmas song in the musical, either! Auntie Mame starts singing, and drags out a bunch of Christmas decorations, in the SUMMER, because she and her nephew are having a hard time, and everything they try to do is falling apart. So they pretend that it is Christmas time to cheer themselves up. And yes, I guess it kind of CAN be a Christmas song, in that it's saying we need to channel the Christmas spirit even if it isn't Christmas time, so when it IS Christmas time, we need the Christmas spirit even more, but still. It bugs me literally every time I hear it.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

by Shelly Notthedaddy.

Hey so, that was a long break, huh?! Sorry about that. This summer was great. Here's what we did:

Fun fact: That's my mom in the background, talking to one of her friends.

My mom and I split the cost of a pool membership and all of us went swimming almost every weekend. We had such a great time.

Things are really going well with getting along with my mom. We're both trying really hard to get along. This summer has helped us a lot.

Eye of Horror

Oh hey, so guess what fun-filled adventure I had THIS week? I had pinkeye! Yes, that lovely little eye infection that kids get, but I had never had before. It was a delight. My family has been sick for about the last month, first with upper respiratory infections and then with pinkeye. I got the upper respiratory first, and was the last to kick it, and Rock was the first to get the pinkeye, and the last to kick it (in fact, his eyes are still red). My pinkeye started on Monday, after lunch, at work. At first, my right eye was just red, and a little oozy. But then, after an hour or two, it was swollen to about half the normal size, blood red, watering constantly, and oozing green pus. My co-workers were completely horrified. So I called in sick on Tuesday. Because my eye was swollen shut Tuesday morning. So I took pictures! Here, want to see some really gross pictures of my eye all swollen up and nasty? What do you mean, "no"? That's not the fun answer!

Here is the eye by itself. I particularly liked how the undereye indention completely swelled out.

And this is the EYE, with the uninfected left eye for comparison.

Somehow, the infection stayed localized to just my right eye. I was surprised, because I expected it to spread to the left eye immediately. I went to the doctor on Tuesday, of course, and got a z pack for the upper respiratory and antibiotic eye drops for the Eye of Horror. Both are working really quickly, and I'm not a cyclops anymore.

Progress. Oh My God, People, We Have Progress

Well, if this keeps up, I'll be a regular blogger again! My mother called me last night. I was on the other line when she called, so I didn't answer, and she left a very nice voicemail. She said that she just wanted to let me know she was thinking about me. So I called her back, and we had a really nice little chat. It was about 7:30 and I was driving home (I had gone to a Zumba class after work), and when I told her that, she laughed because she had waited to call, thinking that I would be home, have dinner over with and be free to talk. (HA to the HA. If only my life were that orderly.) We talked about regular stuff, my job and her job, and her family. (My great-aunt is still alive, thank God. I was really worried that she had passed away and no one knew how to get in touch with me. Which is a situation I created, but still. I was worried.) And I invited her to come visit sometime. We didn't set a time for her to visit, but still. Baby steps. And at the end of the call, I told her I loved her. Um, because I didn't the last time. The call lasted about 20 minutes, and then we ran out of things to say, so I guess that means that my mom and I can get along in 20 minute increments. It's a start. I still feel really conflicted about all this. I feel like I'm waiting on the other shoe to drop. Sure, she's being nice now, but how long is that going to last? Part of me is really pissed off that I'm being so naive as to let her back in. That part of me feels like I'm going to feel like a huge fool when she hurts me again. But part of me is a little hopeful that maybe we can have a decent relationship. I'm not saying I think we'll be besties and go shopping together on the weekends, but maybe we can talk and not hate each other. She sounds old on the phone, you guys. She has one of those brittle, old lady voices. I didn't recognize her voice when I called her last week. It makes me kind of sad to hear it. And my dad looks older every time I see him. That's one of the reasons I decided to call her again after all these years. Neither of them will live forever. Might as well at least try to make peace with her now.

Breaking News

News, this time posted within the week it happened!

I called my mother Sunday night. For the first time in seven years.

There were a lot of different catalysts for it. I'd been thinking about writing her a letter since before Christmas, but I never got around to it. I'd talked to a few friends and my dad about getting back in touch with her. Most seemed to think it was a good idea, but that I should be careful so that I don't get hurt again.

You know how sometimes an idea or a word keeps popping up, in lots of different contexts? I've had that going on lately about the idea of standing up for myself. And the main person I have always needed to stand up to was my mom. So I called her, and it went okay. It started off rocky, she started trying to argue with me and I kept blocking her and getting more frustrated and finally, when I was really feeling like the whole damn thing had been a huge mistake, I just asked her, "Look, what do you want? Do you want to be friends with me?" And she backed down and said yes, she did and that she was glad I called. She suggested that when she says something hurtful, I call her on it immediately and I said I would be willing to try that. After that, we had kind of a normal conversation, very stilted and awkward, of course, but not too bad. I gave her my phone number, so we'll see if she calls.