Quick Update

Hey there all you guys

So, I've skipped yet another week...or two... Can't remember how long it's been, actually, I just know it's been a while. Sorry 'bout that.

I'd started a post reviewing Kristen Cashore's Fire, but mid-way through, I found out some bad news and really didn't feel like writing anymore. Don't worry, I still have the post saved on my comp, and I'll finish it and post it shortly.

What was the bad news? Well, I don't really want to go into too much detail, but writing it out and sharing is kind of therapeutic for me. We had a death in the family. One of my second cousins committed suicide two Fridays ago, and his memorial service was last Wednesday. He was 16. I didn't really know him, probably have only seen him 4 or 5 times, though I think I saw him last Thanksgiving. From what we've been told by his more immediate family, it was completely unexpected. It's just sad. RIP Randy.

Since then, I've been keeping busy with my family. Our project this week was to clean out our sewing/craft/storage room. We didn't completely finish, still have a couple boxes to go through, but it's a million times better than how it started, and my mom and I will most likely finish it tomorrow or Tuesday. Next projects: our bedrooms.

I've started reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, finally. I saw the movie a few years ago (the recent American adaptation) and liked it alright, but I'm afraid it's made reading the book a bit difficult. So far, the book is a lot drier, which I suppose is to be expected, considering they had to dumb it down for American audiences. However, I have found listening to the audiobook (narrated by Douglas Adams, himself) to be a different experience altogether. It's got to be the British Accent that makes all the difference. I've finished chapter three, in which the Earth was demolished. I should have it finished by the book club's deadline on Wednesday.

March Madness has entered the household. Though I'm not a huge basketball fan, I was in Pep band all through high school, so I can follow and cheer with the best of them. I didn't fill out brackets, or anything, but I do have my teams. Purdue and Washington were my big ones, and they both had a pretty good showing. But now we're all for Butler, as my Grandpa (may have) attended classes there (his memory is a bit fuzzy on that matter - he attended the theological school near there, and thinks he might have been required to take classes there). Riding on their 24 games-in-a-row winning streak, we're hoping they go all the way. As for the rest of the games, well, we usually root for the underdogs.

Another distraction I've given myself is playing Pokemon Emerald. Yes, yes, I know, I'm 22 years old, I should be acting my age. But Pokemon is just so addicting for the collector in me. Not to mention that I can play it without really paying attention. It may take me ages to get through, considering I'm very particular about training each and every Pokemon I catch, but it's easy enough to give me the satisfaction of multi-tasking (even if it's only accompanied by watching TV).

Oh, I've just realized that I've got an eventful week ahead:

Tuesday evening I'm attending a Resume Workshop at the library. I attended his Job-Search Workshop in January and found him to be quite encouraging and helpful. Unfortunately, the library seems bound and determined to sabotage all of his workshops by providing incorrect information online. Last time, they fudged both the dates by adding 10 - 5th and 19th turned into the 15th and 29th - a feat I'm not sure I've ever seen mistaken on a calendar before. And then, this time, the RSVP email they provided contained a typo - Rich turned into Rish. Annoying, yes, but I hope that we'll at least have a good turn-out and get some good information.

Wednesday evening, Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson series) is coming to the local Powell's to promote her newest book, Silver Borne. I fell in love with her series last winter, and hope her turn-out will be large enough to warrant return visits, but not so large that it's uncomfortable. There was another author there last Thursday (Kim Harrison - Hollows series [Black Magic Sanction]) who drew a crowd of at least 50, and it looked and sounded a bit too crowded for my liking. I hope to include some snippets from the evening in my next blog.

Well...I think that's all. At least for now. It's longer than I thought it'd be, random as it is. I will try to write more this week, though I'm sure you understand how other obligations turn up. Who knows, maybe I'll snap some shots of my room when/if it gets all spiffy.

Das your Vadanyas

~Vicki~