Forever Young

I think all of you know about my deep and abiding love for children's and YA literature. Family and friends tease me, ("Just wait until you start reading grown-up books!") but I persevere. I've even managed to get some of you cynical-adult-types to read a few of the fantastic books that are being published for teens now. I just read this article in the New York Times Sunday Book Review and it expressed (far better than I can) exactly why I read "kids books" and why you should too.

The City of New Orleans*

I'm back from my weekend in New Orleans! (Or in my mom's words, "the big...speak easy") We celebrated Anna and Lydia's birthdays, visited some of Lydia's favorite haunts from her time as a native and did some touristy-type things as it was my first visit to the city!

Seriously, who doesn't love Spanish Moss? (Minus the chiggers, obviously.)

Spanish Moss dangling from a live oak** just is the south.

New Orleans Botanical Gardens

The New Orleans Botanical Gardens were a beautiful start to our trip.

In addition to the trees and flowers, the statuary throughout makes everything seem kind of magical, like a story book.

Anna and Lydia as zoo animals...or jailbirds.

I loved this tree so much. I think I took ten pictures of it from all over the gardens.

One of the cool things about the New Orleans Botanical Gardens was that you could really explore and get up close to the plants. Many of the gardens I've been to in the past require that you stay on a specific path and not wander in among the flowers. These gardens had swings dangling from the trees, benches in the middle of an explosion of flowers, trains... This sounds incredibly dumb, but it was a really interactive garden!

Lydia, Me and Anna on a yellow swing.

Lydia and Kate on a green swing.

Dinner @ Jacques-Imo's

Lydia's favorite restaurant was where we headed for dinner our first official night in town.

These pictures are of a truck parked in front of the restaurant. A table for two was set up in the flat-bed.

The front of the truck.

Jacque-Imo's mixes Creole and Cajun styles of cooking to create something that is just...delicious. The restaurant itself is decorated wildly, with framed paintings on the ceilings, mismatched patterned vinyl tablecloths and electric colors everywhere. Upon being seated the waiters bring a plate piled high with the most delicious cornbread in the world, sweet and savory and garlicky...it's fantastic. We ordered the Alligator Sausage Cheesecake as our appetizer which was pretty yummy. This is followed by a spinach salad and then our main courses. The picture is of my order, Godzilla Meets Fried Green Tomatoes aka, soft shell crab over fried green tomatoes with a spicy hollandaise sauce. It was completely amazing. We also had mini-cheesecakes and coconut bread pudding in honor of the birthday girls and pretty much had to be rolled out of there.

The French Quarter & Bourbon Street

Since I was in tourist-mode, Lydia said we should walk down Bourbon Street. I was...amazed. I saw a strip club next door to a strip club across the street from another strip club!! I have to wonder, is that really necessary?

I wanted to see a Voodoo shop. But I was too afraid to go inside. (I saw The Princess and the Frog, I know what can happen!!)

I had two objectives in the French Quarter: pralines and beignets.

After sitting on the waterfront for a while, listening to middle school-aged kids playing music on their trumpets and trombones, we wandered into Jackson Square. I wanted to buy a Christmas Ornament to commemorate the trip but couldn't find one I liked. So I got my palm read instead! Patricia, "Psychic of the Stars" did my reading.

Apparently I have a very long life line, a strong love line, good health, will have success in goals that I set over the next 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year and will have two children. Patricia, "Psychic of the Stars" asked if had any question but I'd gotten really distracted because the guy in the tent beside us started playing this Harry Chapin song that I love so I looked to Anna for suggestions. Anna asked if I was going to publish a book. Patricia, "Psychic of the Stars" looked at my palm (because that's where the answers are) and said that I would publish a book in 6 months. I think she must've meant that I would sell a book in 6 months because the whole publishing process takes about 2 years.

A trip to Cafe Du Monde for Beignets!!

So yummy! While eating we were serenaded by another brass band.

Magazine Street

After another stroll down Bourbon (at night the scary people come out), escaping our stalker, a streetcar ride and making funny faces with the little boy sitting across from me we had a final dinner for the birthday girls! We sat outside and enjoyed more live music--this time bongo drums and a keyboard. Not quite as fun as the brass band, but still better than no live music at all.

A fun trip, I'm definitely looking forward to a return visit!

*I had Arlo Guthrie's cover of this song running through my head all weekend long, hence the title of this post.

**I've always wondered why live oaks are called live oaks rather than just oaks. This weekend, thanks to Kate, I learned the answer: A live oak is a different species of tree than a regular oak. A live oak is in the evergreen family and is called "live" because it is green in winter while the regular oak is dormant in winter. (Cue "The More You Know" theme music.)

Wishin' and Hopin'

CNN Fires Rick Sanchez
Now if they'll just get rid of Tony Harris I'll be able to get my cable-news-fix in peace...

On the Radio

I think I'm a terrible person. (Don't everybody jump up at once to disagree with me.)

Let me explain. Despite Adam's near-constant mockery, I am a passionate NPR devotee. All the radios in our house are set to the station, it's the #1 pre-set in my car, etc. Entirely too many of my stories begin, "I was listening to this article on NPR..." I know I'm not alone in this devotion. (Jeff, I'm looking at you.) I have favorite shows (The Story, This American Life, Marketplace, All Things Considered), shows I like less but still listen to (Car Talk, The People's Pharmacy) and shows, well one show, that I nearly always turn off as soon as I hear the hosts' voice. What is that one show you might ask? Well, that goes straight to the heart of why I think I'm a terrible person.

The Diane Rehm Show has a strong, brilliant woman for a host; she brings on interesting guests who conduct well-reasoned, impassioned debates; she lets her listeners call-in but neither she (nor her producers) let them ramble endlessly...in short, I should love this show and yet, most of the time I can't get through an entire airing. Why? Because of her voice. And because I'm a terrible person.

Ms. Rehm has a neurological condition called spasmodic dysphonia which basically causes her vocal cords to seize up and constrict, cutting off her speech. I'd listened to her off-and-on in college (it seemed like WUNC was always switching her time-slot with Dick Gordon's late, great show The Connection) and I could hear her voice deteriorating. She went off the air for a while (or I was in class while the show was airing) and when I started catching her again her voice was worse, so much so that I could no longer concentrate on her guests or what they had to say. We moved to Chicago and WBEZ either wasn't airing The Diane Rehm Show or I wasn't in the car when it was so I forgot about her for a few years.

Now I'm back in Chapel Hill, back with WUNC and Diane Rehm is back in my listening rotation. This week she's had a guest-host on (she's been on a book tour) and I've been completely addicted to the show. Riveted. Yesterday I listened to the "Republican Agenda" (which naturally made me want to throw my radio out the window) and then a fascinating discussion with Keith Jeffery, author of a new book on the history of MI:6 (which I naturally added to my hold list at the library). Today it was David Plouffe and the "Democratic Agenda" (which made me want to scream for entirely different reasons) and then Annie Murphy Paul on her new book, Origins about how the 9 months before birth affect the rest of one's life (which also ended up on my library list).

I think when Diane Rehm herself return to the air it'll be time for me to put my terrible person-ness behind me and start fresh...because I'm kind of loving this show!!

How about you, any new leaves you're turning over this fall?

(I leave for New Orleans this afternoon! Have a great weekend everybody!!)

(Image courtesy of www.npr.org)

What's So Bad About Being Bad?

I was avoiding work this afternoon when I came across the 20 Worst Children's Book Covers and while I certainly don't agree with all of them (Robert Munsch's Love You Forever?!? That's a classic!!) Some were just so ridiculous I couldn't help laughing out loud. The Moose With Loose Poops...is that a terrible cover, a terrible title or both. (Terrible subject matter...why would anyone write this book...) What was your favorite?

Squirrel Song

I planted two pots of Black-Eyed Susans on my front steps, welcoming fall and any visitors to my home at the same time. They were replacing the yellow Ranunculus I'd killed a week earlier.

I could try to claim that the unusually hot and dry August weather was what killed them, but it wouldn't be true. I'm a plant murderer, a serial killer of all green, leafy potted things. My home is a roach motel, plants check-in but they don't check-out.

It's not entirely my fault, though. I'm aided and abetted in each killing spree by the damn squirrels that live in my yard. It doesn't seem to matter what I plant--perky impatiens, curly sweet potato vine or sturdy marigolds those damn dressed-up rats will bypass all the other plants on all the other steps/decks in my neighborhood to dig up mine. Sometimes they're burying their nuts for the winter, which I don't like but can at least respect, but in Chicago they used to dig up my window boxes to plant rocks! Rocks! It was like they were giving me the finger and tossing my poor petunias on the ground to wither and die at the same time.

I thought it would be different here in Durham, that the squirrels in Chicago were mean, fearless city squirrels and that the southern squirrels would be more polite. (Or would at least leave my plants alone in favor of the bounty growing all around them.) Imagine my surprise when I came home from work to find the steps around my Black-Eyed Susans covered in soil, the pots pitted with holes dug down exposing the flowers' roots. I scooped the dirt back up, tamped it down around the flowers and watered them, cursing the squirrels all the while. Two days later I came home to an identical scene. My neighbors have four potted mums on their steps, less then 10 feet away, untouched by the squirrels. I have two small pots of Black-Eyed Susans and I'm under attack. I think it's personal.

I hate those damn squirrels.

And now I'm going to go back outside, sweep up all the soil and start this dance all over again.

Dirty Little Secret

I have a confession to make. I've never read The Catcher in the Rye. Not in school...not on my own...never. I can usually blame the Navy for literary oversights like this (I never read Where the Red Fern Grows either) because with all the moving and changing schools, it was inevitable that some assigned reading would fall through the cracks. It usually happened like this: a school I attended in the 4th grade assigned a book for the 5th grade to read, I'd move and start 5th grade at a new school and at the new school the book that the old school wanted me to read in the 5th grade would've been assigned for the 4th grade. (This is also how I managed to graduate high school without ever having a school nurse check me for scoliosis, lice or give me a hepatitis vaccine. It's amazing how attached schools are to arbitrary rules and time lines.)

In many cases (1984, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Tuck Everlasting) where changing schools slipped me up, I managed at some point to find and read the book on my own. For whatever reason, this never happened with The Catcher in the Rye. I own a copy, it's on my bookshelf but I've never even cracked the spine. It's kind of embarrassing. When I'm in a conversation and somebody makes an allusion to Holden Caulfield, I nod and smile like I get it...and I sort of do...but in the same way you get Sex and the City from watching the TBS version. I know what I know about Catcher from listening to other people who have read it, from reading other books inspired by it and from reading the papers when J.D. Salinger died earlier this year. And the most insane part is that I feel guilty for not having read it before now!

Unfortunately, I'm in the middle of three books right now so The Catcher in the Rye is just going to have to wait a little bit longer (taunting me from the bookcase every time I walk by).

What books (or movies or tv shows) are you embarrassed to admit you never read (or watched)?

Image courtesy of: http://manhattanrarebooks-literature.com/

She Came in Through the Bathroom Window

As promised, here are some before-during-and-after shots of our semi-completed bathroom renovation. During the intercession next week I'm supposed to start contacting tiling/flooring people so we can get our kitchen and bathroom floors done. (They currently have REALLY ugly linoleum.)

I think this wallpaper pattern was decorative plates. It was pretty bad.

When we took the (first layer of) wallpaper off we discovered that the previous owners had papered over an earlier (different pattern) layer of ugly wallpaper. When they had trouble with the wallpaper glue, they used a staple gun. Brilliant, right?

When we got the second layer of ugly wallpaper off we discovered that the previous owners had neglected to prime the walls prior to putting the wallpaper up in the first place. Which was why we were peeling pieces of drywall and sheet rock off with the wallpaper.

At this point we had peeling, pitted walls with big gouges in them and Adam and I wanted to close the door and forget we'd ever had another bathroom. This was before we started sanding the walls. Then we primed the walls. Then we painted them lilac-gray which looks very pretty on the swatch but looks like you just spent an hour painting your walls dirty white. (Incidentally, we have a nearly full gallon of Olympic low-VOC lilac-gray paint if anyone's interested...)

AND (even with two coats) the dirty white paint didn't cover any of the gouges and nicks in the walls that we'd failed to sand. So then we really did close the door and forget we had a second bathroom for a while. We quit for the day. We ordered pizza. We blamed each other for the poor color choice. (In the interests of full disclosure, dirty white was totally my fault.)

The next day we returned to Lowes, picked out a new paint color, bought a bucket of joint compound and a second spatula-thing and attacked the bathroom with renewed vigor. We applied a skim coat to the walls, then we sanded them and while we waited for the walls to dry we thought about applying another skim coat...but realized that at this point we didn't care any more and it was time to paint before our attitudes got much worse. So we painted.

Ta-da!

We also replaced the hardware (towel bars, etc.).

Done!

I Don't Like Mondays

Long time no post! The last few weeks have been a bit busier then usual. The new job is going reasonably well, my parents came to visit and helped us do some serious house-work (taking down wallpaper, drywall repair, fixing settling cracks, etc.) and we took a Labor-Day-weekend trip to Lake Oconee which resulted in some much-needed down-time for Adam and lot's of playing with the nieces for me. I'll post some before and after pictures of our renovated bathroom later this week, it's not quite done yet but it already looks a LOT better.

Today was one of those mornings where I woke up and desperately didn't want to go to work. I feel incredibly silly saying this, I mean, come on--I work 4 hours!! It's like a paper-route!--but all I wanted was to keep the shades tightly drawn and pull the covers up over my head. It's tough to get into a Monday-frame-of-mind on most Mondays but today was especially tough because I'd had a really nice weekend. Lorene and Brett came to visit and we had a fantastic time together. Pizza at Bocci, brunch, walking the Tobacco Trail, watching Hot Tub Time Machine (which was surprisingly good) and dinner and live music in Raleigh...I wish they still lived in Durham. Sunday was spent the way most Sundays are during football season, at least when Adam's not working: Adam watching football on one couch, me reading on the other couch, the two of us talking during half-time. The only pall on the day was the Bengals loss (but I would think Adam would be used to that by now!!).

The leaves are beginning to change and fall has finally started to creep in on the everlasting summer here in NC. It seems like each time I step outside my door I can see a little bit more of fall and a little bit less of summer. Last week I met Erin for the first hot chocolate of the season. Now I'm looking forward to watching the leaves change on campus again.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

So I started my new job today. (I'm officially a part-time, media-assistant at an elementary school in Durham.)

The Good:

I really like the school media specialist (read: librarian) that I'm working with, he's friendly and funny and he seems excited to have me working with him. He also seems to be interested in using me more as a second librarian rather than as an "assistant" in the traditional sense and this makes me SO happy (and relieved).

The Bad:

I'm a part-time assistant. (And I know it's stupid but I died just a little inside each time the very nice media specialist introduced me as his new assistant.)

The (REALLY) Ugly:

The salary is 1/2 of what was listed when I applied. I've spent (literally) weeks asking HR, my principal, the asst. principal, etc. what my exact salary would be (as the posting listed a range) and nobody could give me an answer. Today when I went to HR to get my new badge, fill out the tax and benefits forms, etc. I asked about the salary as soon as I was alone with someone in a position to tell me anything. The lady wrote a number (the number was around what I'd expected) on the form listing my employee identification number, my school, my start date, etc. and then she said that I am classified as a permanent part-time employee and my salary is 1/2 of that number.

WHAT?!?!?!

Ignore, if you will, the obvious questions: Why didn't she write my salary down? or Why'd she want to show me a number that it will take me two months to earn? Let's just stick to the facts. The posting listed the job as a part-time position with a salary with a range of xy NOT xy/2!!!!

I asked her to repeat herself...and then I asked her to repeat herself again and then I did the math myself (out-loud) just to be sure I was hearing her correctly. We went on with the meeting (I'm pretty sure my face was completely white at this point) and then before we ended the meeting I confirmed the salary again. (It hadn't changed from the last time I asked.) Then I got the tax/benefits/direct deposit paperwork, then I hid in the bathroom and hyperventilated. 1/2?!?!?!

I've calmed down a bit but I'm still pretty upset. (The HR/salary-stuff all happened in the morning and I spent the afternoon at the school.) It feels a little (a lot) like I was misled...and if I'd known the pay scale, I'm not sure that I'd have applied. However, there are silver linings to every gigantic, ugly gray storm cloud and I'm sure that is true of this as well.

Tomorrow is another day.

And other cliches.

The Final Countdown

I start my new job today!! Wish me luck!!

What should I wear???

Chapel of Love

Our friends Beth and Akshay got married this past weekend (on my birthday to be exact) and the whole Walnut Hills gang + significant-others came back to Cincinnati to celebrate. This was the second Adam's-high-school-friend-wedding of the summer and since we're all so far-flung now it's been really nice to get to see each other without so much time in between visits. The ceremony and reception were really beautiful, held at the French House and French Park in Cincinnati. There were some weather-related issues to deal with but everything came off beautifully and we all had SUCH a good time! Beth and Akshay tried to combine their respective family and cultural traditions and the result was lovely and very "them." My favorite part was that for dinner they had an Indian station, a pasta station and a "Fun Fusion" station. (The Indian station was easily the tastiest.)

Adam had to work on Friday and was taking his boards on Monday so we drove from NC to Cincinnati Friday after work, got in late Friday night, spent Saturday hanging out and bowling with friends, attended the wedding that night and then drove back to NC on Sunday. Adam's parents made me a birthday brunch on Sunday morning complete with candles in the french toast and both of them singing "Happy Birthday." It was very thoughtful (and delicious) and I appreciated it!

It was a really busy weekend but we managed to cram family, friends, Skyline and Graeters all into less than three days...it was impressive. On the drive home I quizzed Adam for the boards (when I wasn't sleeping). I hope the next time we get to see all these friends it won't be quite so rushed!

From left: Alison & Elliot (whose wedding in Atlanta we attended back in June), Adam & I, Jacob and Ben.

The happy couple! This was actually Beth & Akshay's second wedding, they got married in a ceremony in India last month. The pictures were gorgeous!

My favorite photo of the night except that we're missing Paige!!

Special thanks to Alison for the pictures as my camera stayed in Adam's pocket all night!

Wrapped Up In Books

Since returning to NC I've visited my favorite used bookstore about a dozen times (which is no small feat considering I've only been back since June).

While I lived in Chicago the shop changed owners resulting in a smaller space (the storefront next door is now a bar) but I think the new owners are utilizing the space in a way that makes it much more navigable. So, while I can still spend hours browsing these shelves, now I find what I'm looking for much more quickly. The downside is that since I can zero-in on my desired section within a few minutes of walking into the shop, it results in me spending more money. (The time I used to spend trying to find what I was looking for is now spent discovering things I didn't even know that I was looking for!) So far this has resulted in a lot more Lincoln books being brought home then is probably advisable. (Just when Adam thinks that there can't possibly be another book about Lincoln for me to read I bring home another pile from the library or a book store. I keep trying to explain that this isn't a subject I'll ever really exhaust but so far he's not buying it.)

In other news, I spent waaaaay more time yesterday than I thought was possible trying to get a stupid health form signed so I can start my new job. One trip to student health, two trips to two separate urgent cares and four hours later the form is still not signed. Life is funny sometimes. I'm still not sure what my actual start-date will be but I'll keep you posted.

Many thanks for all the birthday wishes!! I'll put up a separate birthday post (complete with a few photos from Beth's wedding this weekend) later today or tomorrow.

With a Little Help From My Friends

Sarah & Eric came to visit!!

While at Southpoint we stopped for coffee, gelato and the biggest biscotti I've ever seen. Seriously it was the size of my head. I wanted somebody to hold the biscotti up to demonstrate that it's the size of a head. This was the result.

We went to dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse because Eric is "de Espana." (And because I'm geographically challenged.) Eric and I got meat-drunk.

Winding down the night with the obligatory stop at our favorite wine bar. Who is that man passed out next to us? Is it Jesus? Mr. Bojangles?? Nope. It's Adam, trying not to be photographed.

I miss you guys!!!

Pour Some Sugar On Me

This week I visited a Carolina Beach institution, Britt's Donuts. My mom told me all about Britt's after her visit last year but this was my first time at the venerable establishment. We left the condo and headed over on Sunday morning around 9AM to taste the doughnuts that my mom says, "make Krispy Kreme taste like Dunkin Donuts."*

The line was ridiculous.

After waiting in the heat and humidity we ordered a dozen donuts. All of Britt's donuts are made to order, there's no conveyor belt here and no baskets of stale donuts. Every donut is fresh from the fryer to your mouth. Don't walk in here looking for sprinkles or jelly or chocolate-cream-filling. The only flavor is glazed and the recipe hasn't changed since the shop opened in 1939. In fact, the current owners are still using many of the original kitchen implements and utensils.

The taste is fantastic!! It's soft and gooey but hot and crispy all at the same time. You end up with sugary glaze all over your fingers and crumbs sprinkled all over the counter. And I dare you to eat just one!

*For the record, I like Dunkin Donuts and am not a huge fan of Krispy Kreme. My favorite donut of all time is a chocolate cake donut with chocolate icing from Reuter's Bakery in Chicago.

9 To 5

OH! I forgot: I got a job! I'm the new school media assistant at an elementary school in Durham. I'm excited but at the same time I feel a bit conflicted. I'm happy to have found a job in my field in this economy. However, I'm overqualified for the position and it is part-time. I'm worried that I'm not working as hard as I should be...but I'm intrigued to try a new library environment. I think after spending a year in this job (assuming I like working in a school library) I'll continue in the job for a second year and go back to school to take the remaining coursework I need to get my school media certification. (I need to live in NC for one year in order to qualify for in-state tuition.)

I don't yet know my start date but I have high hopes...we'll see how it all turns out!

Girl and the Sea

I'm at Carolina Beach with my parents for a few days. Mom & Daddy bought a timeshare here the summer I turned 13 and have been coming here most summers ever since. For a few years when I was in high school we traded the week for a condo somewhere else, one year we visited Savannah, GA (I read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil on the drive to get ready for our trip), another year we went to a tiny town near Dillard, GA (we went white water rafting on the Nantahala Falls). Most years we stuck with Carolina Beach, a small beach town near Wilmington, NC. It's a pretty quiet area, lots of seafood restaurants, plenty of fishing (for those so inclined) and an old-fashioned boardwalk.

When I arrived this afternoon my parents ordered a pizza and then we took a walk on the beach. We watched a wedding (my second observed-beach-wedding of the summer), tried to avoid being run over by the surfers and laughed at each other (me running in and out of the waves, my mom trying to avoid getting wet). Then we played several hands of hearts. Now my Dad's watching an Errol Flynn movie and I'm watching the lights of the pier reflect off the ocean. (I tried to take a picture for you but it's too dark.)

Tomorrow will be filled with my favorite beach activity: I place a low sand chair in the waves and spend hours just sitting, reading a book or talking with my mom and letting the water lap at my legs. When I get hot I dive into the ocean and swim out for a while, then flip over and float on my back, staring up at the sky. Later in the day I'll stretch out in the sand and let the sounds of the ocean put me to to sleep. Adam hates it but, to me, this is summer.

My sister and her boyfriend arrive tomorrow.

Manic Monday

Yesterday was a little insane. Ever since leaving Chicago (and even before we officially moved) I've been job-hunting. It seems like every time the economy hits a pothole (or in this case, drives off a cliff) I'm standing there in the path of destruction waving my resume like a white flag. So once again I'm job-hunting. I try to approach it like the hunt itself is a job, I spend two hours every morning applying for new positions and trying to follow-up on others. However, after a few weeks (or months) of this, the pickings are pretty slim and most of my time is spent searching for something I can apply for. Not so yesterday. Several school librarian jobs and one school library assistant job opened up, I applied for each job and within five minute of hitting send my phone rang and I had an interview. Then the phone rang again and I had another interview. So then my Monday (which I'd planned to spend going to lunch and a movie with Adam) became an insane, excited rush to prepare for the interviews, call the state department of education to find out the process to get my school media certification, contacting my references, finding something to wear, etc.

Yesterday's interview (school library assistant) went well, I have an interview this afternoon for a school librarian job. I'm probably going back to school this fall to take the last couple classes I need to get my school media certification. A lot can change in one day. I'm excited and a little bit scared...I'll keep you updated as everything progresses.

Like a Virgin

So here it is--my first blog entry. Much to Adam's chagrin, I'm dipping my toe into this whole-blogging-thing. Inspired by Jamie, Maya and Erin and spurred on by my recent move back to NC and all the changes that have ensued I thought I'd share some of my thoughts and experiences with anyone out there who wishes to read them. My hope is that I'll be able to use this blog to communicate what's going on in my life with my rather far-flung friends and family. It seems the older I get, the more spread-out my favorite people tend to be.

I feel somewhat conflicted about blogging in general and my blog in particular. While I know how much I enjoy reading about what's going on in my friends lives, what news items they find noteworthy, what fabulous restaurants they're trying, etc. and I also enjoy reading blogs by people I don't know (though those do tend to be more subject-specific) I definitely feel a hesitancy about posting my own thoughts out there for anyone to read. Part of it is borne out of my own desire for privacy but I think my bigger hang-up is the question, "Who the hell CARES what I have to say about anything?" I think blogging will be something of an experiment for me...at least for a while. We'll have to see if I can overcome my hangups about this particular medium. I thank you in advance for sticking with me while I figure it all out.

Until next time...