Category: books

Multi-tasking!

I ended up taking this business trip to Florida on my own, and as such, I have been cooped up in this hotel for two solid days (literally….I jogged outside on a break during the conference today because I hadn’t seen the sun in two days).

So tonight, I decided to venture out. On my own.

I have a good friend at work who grew up near Orlando and she recommended a local restaurant. With the grace of dog and a Google map, I headed out.

It’s a place called Hemingway’s. I was a little non-plussed given that it’s part of the local Hyatt.

But this friend of mine has impeccable taste, so I trusted.

I made a reservation under the name “Smith” for one little me.

When I got to the place (after getting PROFOUNDLY lost on some Florida byways), I realized that I had forgotten to bring my book with me. I wondered what I’d do to entertain my lonely self.

There was no need to worry. My reservation was for 7:00pm which is just 4:00pm back at work.

So I checked email. Let me tell you, yes, I was one of those obnoxious people tapping at my iPhone over dinner.

But over the course of one and one half hours, here is what I was able to accomplish:

1) Lengthy email conversation with my boss to figure out bonus amounts for my team this quarter.

2) Email conversation with our team’s admin to set up seating chart for our group office move in three weeks.

3) Also via email, set up this year’s baseball bet for the season. Another $20 wager with that bum Dodger’s fan friend of mine that the Giants will finish above his suck team in the final standings. Year one, I won. Year 2, he won. Year three, he won. My team is so lame this year I should just put away the $20 now…

4) Did SMS love to my work friend because that dinner was really top notch, she was spot on.

5) Assigned a project to one of my employees.

and most importantly…

6) Exchanged love words with The Good Man because I miss him so terribly much.

Not a bad day’s work over a glass of Pinot Noir and some really delicious scallops.

With belly full, I’m back in my hotel room, bloaty, happy and ready to sleep well tonight.

W00t!

Rock Star

You know what I did today?

I met a Rock Star. Ok, not a real rock star, but my own personal rock star.

For me, celebrity is an interesting thing. I don’t really think that much about most Hollywood actors. Having once upon a time dated a musician, the magic is out of that one too.

The one thing I love to do more than anything else is writing, so for me, the real rock stars are writers.

About fifteen years ago (*gasp*, has it been that long?), my best friend gave me a book. A book about writing. About how to get started. About just getting the words down on paper.

It began a journey for me that I’m still on. It was a liberating kick in the pants.

And what was the best, my most favorite thing about that book was that the woman who wrote these powerful words was from New Mexico.

That fact left an indelible mark on my soul.

That book was “Writing Down the Bones” and that author is Natalie Goldberg.

Today she made an appearance at a really cool local bookstore, Kepler’s.

After her talk, which was great, she signed books. She could not have been more gracious. I got a chance to tell her how great it was for this little girl from New Mexico to have a New Mexican show me the way, and she said she understood that.

And I walked away on clouds 8, 9 and 10.

It was really, really cool.

The geek out factor was akin to when I get the autograph of a favorite baseball player.

Writers and baseball players. My own personal Rock Stars.

The Good Child

I used to be that. I was the one that didn’t get into trouble. And when I did get into trouble, it *pained* me. I worked long and hard my whole life to “go along to get along”.

But not always. And not as much lately.

Been doing a lot of “head work”. You know the kind where you go sit on a couch and talk about your feelings? It’s hard work, but as I work at it, I find, I don’t always like sitting there being a good girl anymore.

And that’s ok. What’s not ok is the guilt I still have about it.

Tonight I went to the book club at my local library. For this month, we read “Three Cups of Tea” by Greg Mortenson and David Relin.

The book, roughly, is about a guy who tried to scale K2 in Pakistan, but didn’t make it to the summit. While wandering around, hungry, disoriented and lost, he finds himself in the tiny village of Korphe, where the villagers care for him. While there he sees the sad state of schools in the village, children study outside and share a teacher with another village, and vows to build them a school. This sets off a long journey around building a series of schools in a fairly hostile country.

It’s a wonderful story. But in my opinion, the writing in the book is truly awful. And this is a book club, right?

So the discussion group I attend, it’s mostly elderly folks. They are really wonderful and I enjoy them. But I get tired of the need for everyone to agree. Every time the book club starts, the librarian asks, “how did everyone like the book.” Everyone always likes the book. Everyone but one. Me.

I have become, in the bounds of this book club, the proverbial turd in the punchbowl.

And the cheese stands alone.

I don’t *try* to be disagreeable. I just like a lively discussion. But I think these fine folks think I’m a rabble-rouser.

Which, if you know me, is pretty funny. I’m feisty, sure, but there is that whole ingrained “go along to get along” thing.

Maybe this therapy thing is working? Because tonight I’m ALL fired up. I do feel a little guilty for not being the good girl, but I’m working through it. I am not sure the people enjoyed my point of view, but I thought I made some darn good points.

We don’t *always* have to agree in order to get along. Right?

Or is that just me……………

Media review

Here’s what’s doing in my world these days.

On the bedside table:

Just finished reading “The Sun Also Rises” by Ernest Hemingway. This is one of The Cute Boy’s™ favorite books. With his help, I might just become well read. Whooda thunk it! :)

I tried to read this one when I was about ten or twelve. I got it at the library and couldn’t master it. As an adult, the story resonated with me deeply and in the group of friends and their time at the fiesta in Pamplona, I saw a lot of people I know (or have been at one point in my life, I suppose).

I always thought that Hemingway had a lot harder edge than this, and I think in other works, he does. I really liked the quiet way this book is written. And it has many quotable lines, such as, “It’s is awfully easy to be hard-boiled about everything in the daytime, but at night, it’s another thing.” That one hit me so hard I had to reread it a few times.

So despite my love for throwaway fiction, I think I might become a fan of the classics.

Now at work on the bedside table is “Fast Cars and Frybread: Reports from the Rez” by Gordon Johnson. Found this on an endcap at the library and picked it up. It’s a collection of essays about life on the Pala Indian Reservation near San Diego. Johnson has written a series of articles for the Riverside Press-Enterprise and many of them are collected here. Johnson has a great no nonsense style and a sentimentality for his time on the rez. I find a lot of what he talks about is a universal theme but I also like how Johnson makes his personal stories really accessible.

I’m also reading the travelogue of a good friend and I love hearing his stories told in his voice. This friend is still my favorite writer.

In the DVD player:

“Harvey” starring Jimmy Stewart. Oddly enough, I’d never seen this one, despite being a huge Jimmy Stewart fan. I always thought this was simply a goofy movie, but it isn’t. It’s terribly charming and Stewart is really top notch. It’s a movie that actually leaves you feeling good when it’s done. Can’t find that often enough in today’s movies.

Also, we recently watched “The World’s Fastest Indian” starring Anthony Hopkins. I was completely surprised by this one. It had come recommended from a friend and I’m so glad we watched it. THIS is truly a life affirming movie. And Lord, when I’m in my seventies and eighties, give ME the courage to climb up on a motorcycle and break speed records. The best part of this DVD was the short film about the actual man, Burt Munro. What a true character! The Cute Boy™ and I keep quoting lines from the movie. Good stuff.

On the iPod:

I got nothing to report here. Sad, huh? At the end of the year I got a full set of all the Starbucks iTunes free downloads and I downloaded them all, but found nothing in there particularly noteworthy. Some good stuff, yes, but not jumping up and down. I’ve got nothing I’m totally fired up about lately, and that worries me.

I scour the CD shelves at my library looking for something new to get into, but haven’t yet found it.

The most recently added music to my iTunes library is a boxed set of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons. Seriously. I also listen to a lot of “The Roadhouse” on my Sirius radio. That would be oldies country.

So I’m looking for good suggestions. Anyone got one? I like all kinds of music, so have at it.

Well, that’s the state of the media in my head at this point. Sort of an odd mix, eh?

The Little Prince. I don’t get it.

So a few weeks ago, The Cute Boy™ and I watched a movie, “My Dinner with Andre” that The Cute Boy™ (who is much smarter than me) had seen before and wanted to watch again. The movie is basically a long conversation between two friends having dinner. The conversation covers a lot of ground including theater, spiritualism and to some extent, existentialism (here’s where I get bogged down and need The Cute Boy™ to help explain).

In the movie, Andre discusses at some length the story “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I’ve stumbled across this book before in my life but have never read it. I recall that my best friend in High School loved it and reread it with some frequency. I have a friend I work with who is from Russia and she says it is her favorite book. In fact, her home is decorated with prints of artwork from the book (done by Saint-Exupéry).

I’ve taken a few “woo-woo” classes in my adult life and find that many of the women I’ve met in those courses quote the book and consider it to be an impact on their lives.

Ok, so after watching the movie and thinking on it, I went to my local library (which, I may have mentioned, rooooocks) and found a copy. I took it home quite expectantly and dove right in, ready to get my “wow” from it and my spiritual impact.

I read it through. I read it thoughtfully as I did. And when it was done, I closed the cover and said to myself, “huh…okay.”

It think my favorite part was when the Little Prince described that on his planet (which is quite small) you can watch the sunset every hour, just move your chair. And I liked that notion. I do enjoy sitting in a chair and watching the sun go down (especially over the ocean).

But I don’t consider that a “wow” moment. Or life altering. I just found it an amusing bit of imagination.

So, what am I missing? I consider myself fairly intelligent (six years and two degrees from higher education. Granted, from NMSU, but still, it’s a fully accredited college!). I’m sort of well read. Ok, I do tend to like throwaway fiction better than the classics, but I’ve read enough to know what I like. I’ve even read some fairly complicated stuff.

I just don’t get it? What does that say about me?

I’m going to read it again and see if I get something on a second read. Am I trying to hard? Or not trying hard enough? : shrug :

Maybe it’s just as The Little Prince says…that adults are just like that, they don’t understand. Hmm……

(meanwhile, in my Google searches I found a guy who got a Baobab tree tattooed on his arm?)