Hello again, dear reader. I've been reading a ton of books lately, I don't know what it is. I finished "The Wonder Spot" yesterday around 9:00pm, and started "Candy Girl" and read right through it. Two books in one day! I really need to start going to the library again. My 550 sf. house simply cannot handle all the books I'm going through. It's so nice to have the books to re-read though. Oh well. What can you do.
Today I saw Horton Hears a Who with my wonderful 12 year old friend, Ms. Banana Bread. We had a great time, and the movie was actually really enjoyable. I laughed out loud a couple of times, and the level of detail in the animation was pretty remarkable.
So far my classes this quarter are off to a good start. I'm really excited about my "Software User Assistance" class, which seems like it will be really applicable to my future career, and I'm also enjoying the "Project Management" course a lot more than I thought I would.
Unfortunately, I did some math, and even if I 4.0-ed all of my classes this quarter, I won't quite make it up to Cum Laude territory. :( Boo! I'm still going to try to go for it though, just to challenge myself one last little bit, for what is, presumably, my final days of school, forever.
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Bad Danielle!
I know, I know. I've been totally remiss about posting to my blog. What can I say, I'm a bad seed. Sorry if this post is a little bit "all over the place," I've got a lot of catching up to do.
It's been super busy in my world, taking 25 credits is no cakewalk, let me tell you.
Things are going well, the Giants won the Super Bowl, which is quite an exciting event in my house. My husband looked like he was going to give birth to the next Manning child for the last 5 minutes of the game. It was really very exciting. Our guests (we fit two whole people in our house) lost their voices, and they don't even care about football. Mike was just so excited that it was contagious.
Anyway, good times were had by all.
In the exciting news category, Mike and I (well, really Mike, cause I usually win) have finally gotten our first real casino comp. We're going to get to stay in the Red Rock Las Vegas (a totally beautiful hotel) for two nights in April absolutely free (well, except for airfare, food, gambling... wait a minute, we're probably going to spend exactly what we would have spent if we were also paying for a room, those sneaky bastards.) I'm really excited about it. Hopefully the room service has improved since the last time we stayed there. And hopefully I'll win enough to make up for Mike's big losses again. :)
(Sorry about the utter lack of transitions here.)
I have been experiencing a book deficit, so I am seeking recommendations. I feel like I've read everything ever written, but I'm sure that can't be true. I've gotten so desperate for books that I've started re-reading my collection. The other night, I had finished my assigned reading, and I stalked around the house scouring the bookshelves for something new and exciting. Finding none, I cracked open "God Bless you, Mister Rosewater" and proceeded to read it from cover to cover. I've moved on to "Welcome to the Monkey House" but I highly doubt that short stories are going to last me very long. I need your help, dear reader. What's good? What's new? What's old that I might have overlooked?
Finally, I shall post another "favorite thing" for some reason this one is food as well...
Simply Apple: I am completely in love with this apple juice. I recently had another life-changing apple juice at the cafe at the Elliott Bay Bookstore, but it's from a local orchard, and much harder to source. Simply Apple is my favorite only because it can be found in the grocery store!!! Simply apple, despite being secretly made by the fascist corporate behemoth that is Coca-Cola, is an amazing juice. It's made only of apples. No sugar, no water, and it actually tastes really, really good. It has been sold out of my local grocery store recently, so I decided to try some other "natural" apple juices, but none of them have been nearly as refreshing as simply apple. They got just the right mix of sweetness and tartness (mostly sweetness) and it's such a great drink. If I could find it, I'd have it every day.
It's been super busy in my world, taking 25 credits is no cakewalk, let me tell you.
Things are going well, the Giants won the Super Bowl, which is quite an exciting event in my house. My husband looked like he was going to give birth to the next Manning child for the last 5 minutes of the game. It was really very exciting. Our guests (we fit two whole people in our house) lost their voices, and they don't even care about football. Mike was just so excited that it was contagious.
Anyway, good times were had by all.
In the exciting news category, Mike and I (well, really Mike, cause I usually win) have finally gotten our first real casino comp. We're going to get to stay in the Red Rock Las Vegas (a totally beautiful hotel) for two nights in April absolutely free (well, except for airfare, food, gambling... wait a minute, we're probably going to spend exactly what we would have spent if we were also paying for a room, those sneaky bastards.) I'm really excited about it. Hopefully the room service has improved since the last time we stayed there. And hopefully I'll win enough to make up for Mike's big losses again. :)
(Sorry about the utter lack of transitions here.)
I have been experiencing a book deficit, so I am seeking recommendations. I feel like I've read everything ever written, but I'm sure that can't be true. I've gotten so desperate for books that I've started re-reading my collection. The other night, I had finished my assigned reading, and I stalked around the house scouring the bookshelves for something new and exciting. Finding none, I cracked open "God Bless you, Mister Rosewater" and proceeded to read it from cover to cover. I've moved on to "Welcome to the Monkey House" but I highly doubt that short stories are going to last me very long. I need your help, dear reader. What's good? What's new? What's old that I might have overlooked?
Finally, I shall post another "favorite thing" for some reason this one is food as well...
Simply Apple: I am completely in love with this apple juice. I recently had another life-changing apple juice at the cafe at the Elliott Bay Bookstore, but it's from a local orchard, and much harder to source. Simply Apple is my favorite only because it can be found in the grocery store!!! Simply apple, despite being secretly made by the fascist corporate behemoth that is Coca-Cola, is an amazing juice. It's made only of apples. No sugar, no water, and it actually tastes really, really good. It has been sold out of my local grocery store recently, so I decided to try some other "natural" apple juices, but none of them have been nearly as refreshing as simply apple. They got just the right mix of sweetness and tartness (mostly sweetness) and it's such a great drink. If I could find it, I'd have it every day.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Vacation Update
I'm here in beautiful Durango, Colorado, visiting my dad and Eve. I'm having a great time. The weather has been outstanding, though the fishing has not.
When Mike was still here, we went out to three different lakes to try to catch some trout, to no avail. A couple of days later, my father rented a boat and we went to Lake Vallecito to try to our luck there. Four hours later, we'd had one fish almost make it to the boat before spitting the hook and a couple of nibbles, but nothing to show for our efforts. My father caught an 18-inch trout on the way home from running some errands a couple of days ago, but of course, I wasn't there. I think he bought it at Albertsons. :)
The rest of my vacation has been vacation-y. Eve and I went out to the driving range on 9/6 and I hit the balls pretty well. Still not hitting consistently, but when I do hit them correctly, they do what they're supposed to. I'm looking forward to playing a full 18 with Dad, Eve, and their friend Ray this afternoon.
As you can see from my book pane, I've read three books this week, and I'm working on the fourth. I'm going to have to hit a bookstore at some point, since I'm reading the last book I brought, and I still have another week here, and a plane ride, as well as the cruise to get through. If you have any recommendations, I'd love to hear them.
The Neverending Story: was surprisingly different from the movie. Only the first half of the book is covered in the movie, and there are a couple of key differences that I found a bit surprising, but which inform the rest of the book. The second half of the book is more a lesson in morality, so it took me a while to get through it, but the fantasy elements were really interesting.
Prep: I really breezed through this book, finishing it in less than 24 hours. I don't necessarily think that the plot would appeal to everyone, but I really enjoyed it. It's about a midwestern girl coming of age at a new england boarding school. While I obviously didn't go to boarding school, I could still relate to the normal events that happen in any high school. The writing was very easy to read, even if the main character was occasionally whiny, I was still able to continue and get through it in one day.
The Phantom Tollbooth: A nice two-hour read. This book was very much like the movie, and the illustrations were simple, but very imaginative.
That's all the news that's fit to print here in Durango. I'll try to post a picture of my dad from our fishing trip, taken from my new phone. It takes pretty good pictures in daylight, but it has no flash.
When Mike was still here, we went out to three different lakes to try to catch some trout, to no avail. A couple of days later, my father rented a boat and we went to Lake Vallecito to try to our luck there. Four hours later, we'd had one fish almost make it to the boat before spitting the hook and a couple of nibbles, but nothing to show for our efforts. My father caught an 18-inch trout on the way home from running some errands a couple of days ago, but of course, I wasn't there. I think he bought it at Albertsons. :)
The rest of my vacation has been vacation-y. Eve and I went out to the driving range on 9/6 and I hit the balls pretty well. Still not hitting consistently, but when I do hit them correctly, they do what they're supposed to. I'm looking forward to playing a full 18 with Dad, Eve, and their friend Ray this afternoon.
As you can see from my book pane, I've read three books this week, and I'm working on the fourth. I'm going to have to hit a bookstore at some point, since I'm reading the last book I brought, and I still have another week here, and a plane ride, as well as the cruise to get through. If you have any recommendations, I'd love to hear them.
The Neverending Story: was surprisingly different from the movie. Only the first half of the book is covered in the movie, and there are a couple of key differences that I found a bit surprising, but which inform the rest of the book. The second half of the book is more a lesson in morality, so it took me a while to get through it, but the fantasy elements were really interesting.
Prep: I really breezed through this book, finishing it in less than 24 hours. I don't necessarily think that the plot would appeal to everyone, but I really enjoyed it. It's about a midwestern girl coming of age at a new england boarding school. While I obviously didn't go to boarding school, I could still relate to the normal events that happen in any high school. The writing was very easy to read, even if the main character was occasionally whiny, I was still able to continue and get through it in one day.
The Phantom Tollbooth: A nice two-hour read. This book was very much like the movie, and the illustrations were simple, but very imaginative.
That's all the news that's fit to print here in Durango. I'll try to post a picture of my dad from our fishing trip, taken from my new phone. It takes pretty good pictures in daylight, but it has no flash.
Friday, August 31, 2007
The Kite Runner, part deux
I finished up "The Kite Runner" last night and found the last 200 pages to be as beautiful as the first 100. What a compelling story! I was only planning on reading for 15 minutes last night and wound up reading for 2 hours and finishing the book at 1:30am. I definitely teared up a few times while reading that book, which is really a rarity for me.
I also saw "The Nanny Diaries" yesterday with Hannah. It was really nice to spend some time with Hannah, who is certainly going to be a famous director/photographer in 15 years. The movie wasn't particularly great. I understand from others out in the blogosphere that the book is far superior to the film, so perhaps I'll give the book a chance. The movie, however, was definitely one you should wait for on cable. I don't even know if I'd pay for a rental.
I also saw "The Nanny Diaries" yesterday with Hannah. It was really nice to spend some time with Hannah, who is certainly going to be a famous director/photographer in 15 years. The movie wasn't particularly great. I understand from others out in the blogosphere that the book is far superior to the film, so perhaps I'll give the book a chance. The movie, however, was definitely one you should wait for on cable. I don't even know if I'd pay for a rental.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
The Kite Runner
I just finished up TN:FAS the other night, and I was planning on giving "The Kite Runner" my standard 15-minute pre-bedtime reading last night, but I got hooked in right away. It's awesome. I'm already past the 100 page mark. I've been avoiding this book cause I didn't want to read some trendy book about Afghanistan, but it's really a beautiful narrative with very rich characters.
Thanks, Bernie!!! Good call!
Thanks, Bernie!!! Good call!
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Maturity Ensues
Sherry (my best friend in the world) just got a promotion with a scary title: Senior Manager of Strategic Planning. Sure, some of my cohort (myself included) have grown up to become "managers" but I think Sherry wins the scary-grown-up award. (My friend Beata who went to medical school doesn't count, cause she was a scary grown up even in high school.) Growing up is scary. Maybe that's why it's taking me 10 years to finish college.
I finished a great book last night: "Thursday Next: First Among Sequels." It definitely made good on its subtitle. I've often felt that the rest of the Thursday Next series ("Lost in a Good Book," "The Well of Lost Plots," and "Something Rotten") never lived up to the hype of the first novel in the series, "The Eyre Affair." But the latest book, TN:FAS was really great. It was full of the inside book jokes and blatant puns that made the first book so wonderful. While the other three books were a little bit off, they were definitely still enjoyable, just not as polished as "The Eyre Affair." Despite minor flaws, all of his books are consistently funny, and I'd rather read Jasper Fforde's worst offerings than just about anyone else's best efforts.
To be clear, his books are not for everyone. If you are not well-versed in classic literature, you might still enjoy his books, but you'll be missing out on most of the jokes. And if you don't like puns at all, I highly suggest you avoid everything he has written. I, who love both the classics and a good pun, find his writing laugh-out-loud funny, and recommend his books to all of my bibliophile friends.
In addition to "The Kite Runner," which Bernie was kind enough to loan me, I purchased several books to read on my vacation (which starts on Saturday):
In aquarium news, one of my emerald crabs molted. I thought for a minute that he might have died, cause the shell was picked clean, but he had only molted as he turned up this morning. I added some iodine (despite my intention not to dose my tank with any supplements) out of concern for the ability of my tank members to mature properly.
I finished a great book last night: "Thursday Next: First Among Sequels." It definitely made good on its subtitle. I've often felt that the rest of the Thursday Next series ("Lost in a Good Book," "The Well of Lost Plots," and "Something Rotten") never lived up to the hype of the first novel in the series, "The Eyre Affair." But the latest book, TN:FAS was really great. It was full of the inside book jokes and blatant puns that made the first book so wonderful. While the other three books were a little bit off, they were definitely still enjoyable, just not as polished as "The Eyre Affair." Despite minor flaws, all of his books are consistently funny, and I'd rather read Jasper Fforde's worst offerings than just about anyone else's best efforts.
To be clear, his books are not for everyone. If you are not well-versed in classic literature, you might still enjoy his books, but you'll be missing out on most of the jokes. And if you don't like puns at all, I highly suggest you avoid everything he has written. I, who love both the classics and a good pun, find his writing laugh-out-loud funny, and recommend his books to all of my bibliophile friends.
In addition to "The Kite Runner," which Bernie was kind enough to loan me, I purchased several books to read on my vacation (which starts on Saturday):
- "Prep" by Curtis Sittenfield [I bought this one cause it looked good]
- "Stormy Weather" by Carl Hiassen [this one to reminisce about FL]
- "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster [never read it, love the movie]
- and "The Neverending Story" by Michael Ende [never read it, love the movie]
In aquarium news, one of my emerald crabs molted. I thought for a minute that he might have died, cause the shell was picked clean, but he had only molted as he turned up this morning. I added some iodine (despite my intention not to dose my tank with any supplements) out of concern for the ability of my tank members to mature properly.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Status Report
Let's see, I've been home for a week, and my house is half-cleaned, my internship paper is half-written, I'm half-way through "Thursday Next: A First Among Sequels," I'm half-way through unpacking my stuff from this summer. Since we leave for Durango on Saturday at 6:00am, I think I'd better get my booty in gear.
I also have tickets to see Mel Brooks' new musical "Young Frankenstein" on Friday. I'm looking forward to that.
I finally finished re-reading the His Dark Materials trilogy. It was good. The final book was a bit slow to read, but I enjoyed it overall. It's kind of like the anti-Lewis. I'm surprised something so anti-Christian was a commercial success, not to mention being made into a major Hollywood film. I'm interested to see how the movie turns out. It can't do worse that Stardust, a movie only Steven and I seem to have been less than fully satisfied with. I'll admit that I loved Robert DeNiro and Ricky Gervais, but there were definite lulls, and the movie could have used another $50 million to make it a bit more magical.
I enjoyed "Rocket Science" despite the uncomfortable frequency of teenagers making out. It reminded me of "Thumbsucker" and brought back far too many unpleasant high school memories, but it was still enjoyable.
"Ratatouille" was pretty good. The level of quality in the animation is astounding. I don't know how Pixar does it, but everything they make looks completely beautiful. The rats moved just like real rats. It was amazing. The movie has also convinced me of a new vocation to strive for: "Global Technology Supervisor." I have no idea what the "Global Technology Supervisor" does, but it sounds like something I would enjoy. There's the whole global thing, which appeals to my ego and sense of self-importance; of course I love technology; and supervisors generally get to boss people around, which I am in favor of... but I digress...
I'm supposed to go see "The Nanny Diaries" this afternoon with the coolest middle-schooler this side of the rockies. All-in-all, it's been pretty much my ideal weekend.
Next year, I'm definitely going to try to go to the Penny Arcade Expo though. There were so many nerds in Seattle yesterday that even I felt cool. It was the first time I've ever seen a line to get inside of Gameworks.
Anyway, that's all I've got here from my couch on this ominous-clouds, super-dark-gray-sky-sun-still-shining-on-the-trees Sunday morning.
I also have tickets to see Mel Brooks' new musical "Young Frankenstein" on Friday. I'm looking forward to that.
I finally finished re-reading the His Dark Materials trilogy. It was good. The final book was a bit slow to read, but I enjoyed it overall. It's kind of like the anti-Lewis. I'm surprised something so anti-Christian was a commercial success, not to mention being made into a major Hollywood film. I'm interested to see how the movie turns out. It can't do worse that Stardust, a movie only Steven and I seem to have been less than fully satisfied with. I'll admit that I loved Robert DeNiro and Ricky Gervais, but there were definite lulls, and the movie could have used another $50 million to make it a bit more magical.
I enjoyed "Rocket Science" despite the uncomfortable frequency of teenagers making out. It reminded me of "Thumbsucker" and brought back far too many unpleasant high school memories, but it was still enjoyable.
"Ratatouille" was pretty good. The level of quality in the animation is astounding. I don't know how Pixar does it, but everything they make looks completely beautiful. The rats moved just like real rats. It was amazing. The movie has also convinced me of a new vocation to strive for: "Global Technology Supervisor." I have no idea what the "Global Technology Supervisor" does, but it sounds like something I would enjoy. There's the whole global thing, which appeals to my ego and sense of self-importance; of course I love technology; and supervisors generally get to boss people around, which I am in favor of... but I digress...
I'm supposed to go see "The Nanny Diaries" this afternoon with the coolest middle-schooler this side of the rockies. All-in-all, it's been pretty much my ideal weekend.
Next year, I'm definitely going to try to go to the Penny Arcade Expo though. There were so many nerds in Seattle yesterday that even I felt cool. It was the first time I've ever seen a line to get inside of Gameworks.
Anyway, that's all I've got here from my couch on this ominous-clouds, super-dark-gray-sky-sun-still-shining-on-the-trees Sunday morning.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Better late than never...
So, clearly I've been completely remiss when it comes to posting blogs, but as those of you who know me will understand, I've been quite busy at my summer job.
I've finally taken some steps to preserve my mental and physical health by cutting back my hours, but it has been a bumpy ride. It's definitely a bittersweet feeling to be working so much less. I feel bad about the burden I'm putting on my staff by not being there 24/7, but I definitely need to put my own health first.
I've seen lots of movies and read lots of books in the month that I haven't posted to my blog.
I read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and I saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The book, the final installment of the septilogy (is that a word?) was quite satisfying. I would have preferred a more "German" ending, but I think that the way it ended was appropriate for its target audience. The movie, however, of the fifth book, wasn't that good. Having the same kid play Harry at this point is laughable. He's supposed to be 14 years old, but there were some closeups that clearly showed Harry's stubble.
I thoroughly enjoyed Live Free, Or Die Hard. That movie made my summer. I also enjoyed the Transformers.
I was disappointed in The Simpsons Movie, and Stardust. And I CAN'T WAIT to see Superbad.
I've got to get back to work, but I wanted to post something for my "audience." (Hi Bernie.)
I've finally taken some steps to preserve my mental and physical health by cutting back my hours, but it has been a bumpy ride. It's definitely a bittersweet feeling to be working so much less. I feel bad about the burden I'm putting on my staff by not being there 24/7, but I definitely need to put my own health first.
I've seen lots of movies and read lots of books in the month that I haven't posted to my blog.
I read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and I saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The book, the final installment of the septilogy (is that a word?) was quite satisfying. I would have preferred a more "German" ending, but I think that the way it ended was appropriate for its target audience. The movie, however, of the fifth book, wasn't that good. Having the same kid play Harry at this point is laughable. He's supposed to be 14 years old, but there were some closeups that clearly showed Harry's stubble.
I thoroughly enjoyed Live Free, Or Die Hard. That movie made my summer. I also enjoyed the Transformers.
I was disappointed in The Simpsons Movie, and Stardust. And I CAN'T WAIT to see Superbad.
I've got to get back to work, but I wanted to post something for my "audience." (Hi Bernie.)
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