tl;dr
I started this post by documenting the happenings of this weekend, which, while fun, probably not especially interesting to you. The synopsis is that there was a LOT of discrete math studying in an attempt to avoid another dismal test grade (though I really blame boss and emotional distress contributing to lack of studying for the first). There was also a couple of very nice dinners and one very nice lunch. And a party! And a one-sided hour of racquetball. I guess you could say I was busy.
But one thing that's possibly a favorite activity of mine that happened is bookstore browsing. I mean, in a way I feel retarded, looking like a dumb hipster with my coffee in one hand, perusing whatever titles Borders wants to put on its target-market display islands. And I've always wondered why they put the Science section right next to the Metaphysics and Magic and Religion sections. Which way are they going with that?
Ender's Game is, apparently, required public school reading somewhere in Plano. That's refreshing. We didn't get to read anything cool like that in school. At least, I don't guess I thought it was very cool back then to read Romeo & Juliet, the Odyssey, and... you know? I don't really remember most of the required high school reading. I think one of the books was The Invisible Man. I remember only that the main character was never named, so my English teacher kept calling him Tim. Catch-22 was the only book assigned my senior year that I enjoyed. WHY did I study English, again? Even in college, the only book assigned that I read all the way through was House of Mirth. (Nice book. I liked it.)
Non-assigned reading is great, though. I'm too ADD about reading, unfortunately. I go to a store like Borders and, romanced by the synopses on the backs of crisp, fresh paperbacks (bookstores smell so awesome), I buy books. I even read some of them. Most of them, eventually. I have books that I picked up a few years ago though that have still never been read. Too easily distracted am I. Someone loans me something and I have to give the standard warning: "If you want this back within the next six months, stop now. Take it back." (It averages about six months per book. And I have four David Eddingses to go. Partly because I'm just now only approaching the end of Snow Crash, which isn't even written by David Eddings.)
But Liz, you ask, when do you ever have time to read? Mostly when I'm on the bus, or worse, goofing off and not studying.
Did you know that there is a whole section at Borders dedicated to weight loss? I was a little ashamed that I was hard-pressed not to browse there, too. I mean, come on. A whole book has to be written and published and printed and marketed just to get people to understand that deficit is when output is greater than input? It was only slightly redeemed by the TINY section at the end of the row on nutrition. And why is there a book called Skinny Bitch in the Kitch? The subtitle is... well, I forget, honestly. But something about looking fabulous. Since when is non-skinny non-fabulous? Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying hey let's all be obese cows. But it's damned okay and sexy to fill out a nice pair of ass-jeans. Fat-bottomed girls, and all that. I HATE that as a culture we shit all over female self-image.
Abrupt end.
But one thing that's possibly a favorite activity of mine that happened is bookstore browsing. I mean, in a way I feel retarded, looking like a dumb hipster with my coffee in one hand, perusing whatever titles Borders wants to put on its target-market display islands. And I've always wondered why they put the Science section right next to the Metaphysics and Magic and Religion sections. Which way are they going with that?
Ender's Game is, apparently, required public school reading somewhere in Plano. That's refreshing. We didn't get to read anything cool like that in school. At least, I don't guess I thought it was very cool back then to read Romeo & Juliet, the Odyssey, and... you know? I don't really remember most of the required high school reading. I think one of the books was The Invisible Man. I remember only that the main character was never named, so my English teacher kept calling him Tim. Catch-22 was the only book assigned my senior year that I enjoyed. WHY did I study English, again? Even in college, the only book assigned that I read all the way through was House of Mirth. (Nice book. I liked it.)
Non-assigned reading is great, though. I'm too ADD about reading, unfortunately. I go to a store like Borders and, romanced by the synopses on the backs of crisp, fresh paperbacks (bookstores smell so awesome), I buy books. I even read some of them. Most of them, eventually. I have books that I picked up a few years ago though that have still never been read. Too easily distracted am I. Someone loans me something and I have to give the standard warning: "If you want this back within the next six months, stop now. Take it back." (It averages about six months per book. And I have four David Eddingses to go. Partly because I'm just now only approaching the end of Snow Crash, which isn't even written by David Eddings.)
But Liz, you ask, when do you ever have time to read? Mostly when I'm on the bus, or worse, goofing off and not studying.
Did you know that there is a whole section at Borders dedicated to weight loss? I was a little ashamed that I was hard-pressed not to browse there, too. I mean, come on. A whole book has to be written and published and printed and marketed just to get people to understand that deficit is when output is greater than input? It was only slightly redeemed by the TINY section at the end of the row on nutrition. And why is there a book called Skinny Bitch in the Kitch? The subtitle is... well, I forget, honestly. But something about looking fabulous. Since when is non-skinny non-fabulous? Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying hey let's all be obese cows. But it's damned okay and sexy to fill out a nice pair of ass-jeans. Fat-bottomed girls, and all that. I HATE that as a culture we shit all over female self-image.
Abrupt end.