Well, I've been absent for, ah, a long time, yes, but I do have a good excuse. I was, uh, I was kidnapped by international terrorists. Yeah, that's it! And I spent the last two months held hostage in an obsucre cave in Iraq with no plumbing or electricity. I barely managed to escape with my life, and every day I prayed that I would someday be able ( Read more... )

In about thirty-six hours, my adventures with Harry will be over for another two to three years while Rowling writes the final book. I am going to read the last five chapters tomorrow, and if I can finish them after midnight, I will have made the book last four weeks. That's a new record: Order of the Phoenix, which was significantly longer, took ( Read more... )

Most of my dreams slip away when my alarm clock goes off, but last night's dream was so powerful and vivid that I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. I dreamt that I was at a little park with all of my old classmates from high school. Anne Marie, Caleb, Amber, RJ, Iman, Micah, Caroline, Bruce, Mari, Aric, Melissa, Drew -- everyone was ( Read more... )

I have been full of movies lately. My latest Shirley movie, Now and Forever, is quite a divergence from her standard story -- drama, a gunfight, no cute dances, no happy ending. Last night Adam (he's just gotten his learner's permit) drove Mom and me to Blockbuster; I rented one movie, Five Children and It with Freddie Highmore, and bought three ( Read more... )

I meant to make this entry yesterday, but an e-mail I was writing was suddenly and inexplicably deleted and by the time I'd typed it all over again, I was ready for bed. At least, I thought I was. It turned out I stayed up until three in the morning watching Aunt Carolyn's old copy of Gypsy.

I don't know how I managed to stay up so late since I was ( Read more... )

With the exception of yesterday -- when our trip to Blue Bayou water park fell apart and Mom pulled more excuses out of her magic hat to keep from being blamed for anything -- my vacation has been very enjoyable. Being home is delicious: Grandma cooked spaghetti, Mom bought Drumsticks and Ryan's rolls, and I bought a piece of baklava. We rented ( Read more... )

Apologies for my long absence, but I've barely had time to read the book lately, much less make entries in this journal. On Wednesday, I drove over the river to a suburb right after work to attend the opening of a museum exhibit on Oskar Schindler. I heard an amazing, inspirational testimony from a Holocaust survivor named Sigmund Boraks, who had ( Read more... )

At my cash register today, four different customers mentioned The Half-Blood Prince to me. One girl asked if I had been at the midnight party last Friday. When I confirmed and said that I had only read the first two chapters (I didn't read the third until after work today), she asked, "Do you think Snape is lying in Chapter 2?" I replied that ( Read more... )

There are some things in this world that Sara just may never understand, like the true complexity of JM Barrie's life and relationship with the five Davies brothers, like how to read a good book. Last night in Wal-Mart, she picked it up and turned to the last page before I had even paid for it. She doesn't understand that a Harry Potter book has to ( Read more... )

I was worried today would drag by , but fortunately it has passed rather quickly. The student newspaper, The Daily Revielle, carried a full half-page ad for the midnight party at the campus bookstore, and when I told Toi, who was working the register in front of mine, about my plans to attend, she said, "You're so excited you're makin' me excited, ( Read more... )