Sunday, July 24, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
it's hot
did you know that? the humidity is stifling. running has completely sucked the last four days or so. and sure don't know how 16 will go or is even possible on friday, given this weather. guess the only plan is to wait and see. gross.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
book club
I had book club tonight. Well, one of them anyway. We read Fall of Giants, Ken Follett's new monstrous epic novel, the first in a trilogy. Set in WWI, I realized early on that I have about zero background knowledge in the years 1910-1928. The book opens in 1911, and for the life of me, I had the hardest time visualizing 1911. And I kept having to stop reading and look stuff up on the internet to see what was real and who people were and how everything happened in the war and it took way too long. It figures, though, since in school we learned about early US colonization through the civil war like every year, but we never made it much past the Industrial Revolution. And as a fifth grade teacher, I never made it past that point either. I took a WWII class in college, but basically, my knowledge of US history runs out in 1880 and skips to 1939. And then ends again in 1946.
Anyway...
I read the first 550 pages closely. But since book club was coming up and reading was taking too long, I skimmed the last 450. Like, I read the first couple words of each paragraph (or towards the end, a few words per page) and the last sentence of each chapter. And I have to say that there was not one time in the book club meeting where I said to myself, 'huh. I don't remember that part.' I fully participated, and had plenty to contribute. I don't think I should make this a habit, but it's good to know when push comes to shove, that phd in reading does come in handy for something.
P.S. Don't tell my book club.
Anyway...
I read the first 550 pages closely. But since book club was coming up and reading was taking too long, I skimmed the last 450. Like, I read the first couple words of each paragraph (or towards the end, a few words per page) and the last sentence of each chapter. And I have to say that there was not one time in the book club meeting where I said to myself, 'huh. I don't remember that part.' I fully participated, and had plenty to contribute. I don't think I should make this a habit, but it's good to know when push comes to shove, that phd in reading does come in handy for something.
P.S. Don't tell my book club.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
the end of an era
I'm trying hard not to be too obsessive over the ending of Harry Potter. I was not an early adopter - it took the incessant nagging of 6th graders and the release of the third book to get me to read them. I was skeptical. I didn't like fantasy all that much. But my students were smarter than me; I devoured the first three books in less than a week. And I've been hooked since.
The day the 7th book came out, a guy I was dating (who was also a HP fan) and I were headed to a wedding. We got it at midnight, started reading that evening, and then I read aloud as he drove to the wedding, since we couldn't wait to find out how it ended. We finished the next day.
I came across this video from the premiere and cried and cried. Not that it is all that hard to make me cry but still.
I had it in my head that I wanted to reread all 7 this summer before the movie came out. Ha. This "summer" hasn't really turned out to be much of a break. The best I can do is maybe watching #7 part 1 again. I'm not sure I need to go to the midnight showing. I'm excited but a little sad. And yes, that is a little sad. How am I going to handle The Hunger Games?
The day the 7th book came out, a guy I was dating (who was also a HP fan) and I were headed to a wedding. We got it at midnight, started reading that evening, and then I read aloud as he drove to the wedding, since we couldn't wait to find out how it ended. We finished the next day.
I came across this video from the premiere and cried and cried. Not that it is all that hard to make me cry but still.
I had it in my head that I wanted to reread all 7 this summer before the movie came out. Ha. This "summer" hasn't really turned out to be much of a break. The best I can do is maybe watching #7 part 1 again. I'm not sure I need to go to the midnight showing. I'm excited but a little sad. And yes, that is a little sad. How am I going to handle The Hunger Games?
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
my not-so-bummer holiday weekend
I wasn't looking forward to this weekend. I didn't really have any plans, and always feel like such a loser when I don't. But I ended up seeing Alejandro Escovedo at the Fine Line with Romantica opening on Saturday night, and it was awesome. I wasn't super familiar with his music, but it was so good. He's adorable and wore some kind of jegging-like pant, which normally would gross me out but totally worked on him. Anyway, I loved it.
Sunday, my sis and I made the last-minute decision to go to the Twins game. It was a beautiful day, and the Twins won 9-7. A high scoring game, sitting in the shade on a sunny day, enjoying a brat and a beer. Not bad.
I finished all my grading and submitted grades last night. Finally, finally done with the year. My sis came over for dinner and I worked while we watched a movie. Toss in the Wimbledon finals and it was a pretty great holiday weekend, actually. Not much about America's independence, but an afternoon with America's pastime must count for something, I suppose.
Sunday, my sis and I made the last-minute decision to go to the Twins game. It was a beautiful day, and the Twins won 9-7. A high scoring game, sitting in the shade on a sunny day, enjoying a brat and a beer. Not bad.
I finished all my grading and submitted grades last night. Finally, finally done with the year. My sis came over for dinner and I worked while we watched a movie. Toss in the Wimbledon finals and it was a pretty great holiday weekend, actually. Not much about America's independence, but an afternoon with America's pastime must count for something, I suppose.
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