My Own March Madness

For all those who perked up at the thought of gym floors and riotous, painted crowds: sorry, false alarm (you poor, lost souls). This post is really about the madness of my life this past month.

First of all (and minor compared to everything else): I am now a certified EMT. Huzzah! There is nothing particularly "mad" about this other than the fact that I am now certified to make healthcare decisions in certain situations. Take that as you will. Now, on to the crazy:

In late February/early March, I hear from Pratt that my application is complete (I know, I sent in everything in November...) and that I should expect a decision by the first week of April. I figure that these timelines are never really accurate, so I'll find out mid-April and settle down to wait impatiently. Skip forward to March 9 when my mother texts me (at 11:30, mind you) that an envelope has arrived from Pratt. I spend the rest of the day agonizing and inwardly flipping out, rush home, down a shot of vodka (judge me if you must), open the letter, and finally exhale once I process that I have, indeed, been accepted.

So that's the first big moment of March. I've gotten into my dream program. Now it's time to apply for financial aid and look for apartments and figure out logistics, but we'll deal with that eventually.

All along I've had this master plan where I'll simply transfer to the NY office of my company (which is mere blocks away from the campus according to Google maps) and life will go on with very few bumps in the road. Well, the best laid plans and all that jazz... When I finally managed to work up the nerve to talk to HR about transferring to the other office, the answer was, at best, a "probably not, but I'll ask." Well, since then the company has gone through "restructuring" and my position has been eliminated. This does happen a lot in the publishing industry and there are certainly no hard feelings, but that's never a good feeling.

That's the other big moment of March.

In some ways it has made things easier because now I can just start looking for jobs in NY. I'm still waiting to hear back from financial aid, which is obviously a huge part of everything since I'm not sure all of my savings could even sustain me in NY for a month.

You know that feeling when you're at the library (or bookstore, I guess) browsing the shelves and all of a sudden you see the newest book in a series that you've been waiting for, but totally forgot was coming out? OK, well, maybe you don't because you're a better fan than I am and pay more attention to release dates. 

The point of this story is that I was at the library today picking up my copy of The Night Circus (which I am bizarrely excited to read even though I have heard nothing but terrible things about it) when I glanced up and saw I am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley (the 4th in the Flavia de Luce series) just hanging out on the shelf. I squealed like my inner five-year old and scampered over to grab it before anyone else could snatch up my prize. 

And now it's upstairs and I'm itching to open it and start reading it except I have 600 or so pages of Our Mutual Friend and like 6 other books in line in front of it (or else I end up with more fines and at that point, why don't I just skip the middle man and buy the damn book?)

In other news, I recently finished Kafka on the Shore. My reading experience with this book was much more of a roller coaster ride than I'm generally used to. At times I liked it and at other times I really didn't. Like really didn't. I asked a lot of questions as I read that book, and I definitely didn't get as many answers. Then there were portions that just felt gratuitous. I don't know. It's possible that it was the translation, but there were parts where the language was superb, so I'm somewhat loath to chalk it up to that.

I also finished We, the Drowned, which was quite a saga. In the end, I think I enjoyed it, but there were times when I felt it a bit difficult to get through. The sections did tie together pretty well, but in some ways I felt like it was way too long. Again, there were times when I felt like things were gratuitous. Maybe I'm getting more critical in my old age or something...

Every so often I get a reminder of why I love Dickens

On bees:

"They work; but don't you think they overdo it? They work so much more than they need — they make so much more than they can eat — they are so incessantly boring and buzzing at their one idea till Death comes upon them — that don't you think they overdo it? And are human labourers to have no holidays, because of the bees? And am I never to have change of air, because the bees don't? Mr. Boffin, I think honey excellent at breakfast; but regarded in the light of my conventional schoolmaster and moralist, I protest against the tyrannical humbug of your friend the bee. With the highest respect for you."

~Our Mutual Friend

Awesome

It kind of makes me dizzy, but in the best way possible.

First post of the new year!

Just 17 days behind schedule....

I actually do have books to report on. I can only think of one at the moment, but there will be more reviews to come.

On New Year's Eve I finished The Paris Wife. I *really* liked this book. Maybe it's because I like the sort of behind-the-scenes type of stories about authors, or maybe it was just well-written. Or both. Honestly, it didn't feel like it was about Ernest Hemingway. It felt like it was about his first wife, Hadley Richardson. Which it was.

OK, it's been a bit too long (apparently) for me to give a coherent review. Anyway, good book. I recommend it. I'm reading a few more books right now, so hopefully there will be more updates in the near future.

I am the worst blogger ever. Actually, that's probably not true. Especially since I technically wrote this December 9, but due to unfortunate computer charger issues I haven't had time to post it. 

Anyway, I've discovered that this whole "being employed" thing really cuts into my reading time. Which is ironic since I work in publishing. I'm seriously considering taking a week of "vacation" and just staying home and reading. This is my life.

So since selling my soul to Scarecrow Press (Monday-Friday, 9-5) and BCCRS/MCFRS (any other time period, occasionally overlapping), I haven't had as much time to read as I'd like. Nevertheless, I have managed to fit it in here and there and I have a few backlogged reviews.

Not too long ago I finished The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. I found it to be a pretty interesting read. It wasn't exactly what I expected, but that's perfectly OK. There are certain books (and this one definitely falls into the category) that I hear such rave reviews for (on goodreads and the like) that I eventually just shrug and put on my list and then pounce on them once I stumble upon them on the library shelves. Oftentimes I end up diving into these books without really knowing what the book is about. It's bizarre and occasionally really confusing, but for the most part I think it's an advantage because your mind is an (almost) blank slate.

Another book I just finished also kind of falls into the same category, though there's been less chatter about it is Her Fearful Symmetry. It's by the same author that wrote The Time Traveler's Wife. Between that and the intriguing name, I had to pick it up. 

I have to say, I really enjoyed Her Fearful Symmetry, but reading it was truly an exercise in the unexpected. Or it was for me anyway. It starts off as an intriguing enough story with interesting characters and you want to keep reading because you want to see how things develop. There's also a sense of mystery to it, even before you know that there really is a secret. Then, 1/3-1/2 way into the book the author just starts throwing in twists and turns. Many a time did I stop, think "huh. that was unexpected" and then continue reading. 

Overall, I think I liked the first part of the book more than the latter part. The beginning and the end are so far apart — but somehow everything between ties them together. It certainly didn't go in the direction I expected it to as I got further immersed in the story. I can't even describe it as the complete opposite since it was in a whole other world. It was mildly perplexing, but definitely a good read. 

I will say though, if you're one of those people who reads the ending of a book first, you may want to skip this book if you can't manage to restrain yourself because knowing the ending without the middle and then trying to start from the beginning will be confusing as hell and you'll cheat yourself out of the full experience of reading this. Just saying. 

Moving right along, after Her Fearful Symmetry I started Super Sad True Love Story. I really did have high hopes for this book. There was a ton of hype (and I try not to let that lead me astray since I sometimes find the public literary opinion worrying *coughtwilightcough*), but it seemed like an interesting work of social commentary with amusing-ish characters. 

In the world of Super Sad True Love Story, language has devolved, everyone speaks in abbreviations and thinks books "smell." Social media is everything. This is the portrait of the world Shteyngart paints us. As disturbing as I find this concept, it does provide a perfect setup for a dystopian novel.

Except it isn't one. It's kind of about government and society, and kind of about people — flawed, mediocre, generally uninteresting people — and while, again, these seem like they should be good jumping off points, it just doesn't work.

I finished reading it due to my unfortunate compulsion to finish all books that I start. I also kept hoping that I would like it more as the story progressed. No such luck.

That's pretty much it for my book life. The only other thing of note is that I am (still) impatiently waiting for the Hunger Games movie. It looks AWESOME and I'm absurdly excited. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to reread the books sometime before the movie comes out, but since I have until March, I've got time. I pretty much read each book in a day or so. Yep. Excited.

~60 hours in the life

We begin Friday evening:

Leave work intending to go to the gym. It's frikin' cold. Watch t.v. instead.

Successfully wake up in time to shower, get ready, get coffee/breakfast, and make it to class on time for my test. Take test without (much) incident. Change 2 correct answers to wrong answers at the last minute. Kick self later. Take CPR test. Pass. Rejoice. Commence waiting impatiently for card to be in my possession (~2 weeks in theory). Spend the rest of my Saturday watching Sister Wives on t.v. while taking 3 out of 4 online MCFRS tech classes and drinking wine. Go to bed early-ish. 


Wake up Sunday morning. Class. "Assess" classmates with fake complaints. Quick nap between class and duty. Arrive at squad. Finish remaining tech class. Learn how to read a map. Discover that fluffy comforter provides the illusion of a comfy bed. 3 a.m. call. Back to bed. Back home to get ready for work. 


Take pills. Too lazy to take multiple gulps of water. Start to choke on a pill. EMT training actually kicks in. Remind self that partially-obstructed airways usually clear themselves (or the become completely obstructed and then I could pass out and die, but I don't remind myself of that). Commence coughing-involuntary retching cycle. Eventually clear airway. Congratulate self on staving off complete panic attack. Take anxiety medication. Finish getting ready. Realize that socks actually show despite bootie-style heels. Decide mismatched polka dot socks add a touch of whimsy (also that warm feet are more important. It's cold out there). Crave peppermint mocha. Realize I have neither the time nor the money for that. Decide to create own peppermint mocha. Fail spectacularly. Rectify situation at work by diluting with ( a lot) more coffee. Contemplate taking nap under desk during lunch. Not even 11 yet. Will revisit possibility later.


My life is so exciting, I know. It's now around the time when I eat lunch. I still like the idea of a nap, but I'm also hungry. Quite the conundrum, I know. 


I really do have a post that is related to the usual topics of this blog, but it's on my computer at home and I'm currently at work. It'll be posted in the near future (probably).