Go Away, Dalai Lama

My only motivation for posting today is to get that picture of me and the Dalai Lama off my frontpage. I hope this post is enough to do it. So let's see. What have I been up to lately.

Well, about a week ago I got promoted at work. So that's kind of nice. Although it gives me that icky feeling that I somehow have everyone fooled that I give 2 cents about finance, when really I could care less. And yet I've been promoted. Seeing the disconnect here? I guess it's just about the fact that even though I don't care, I still give it my all. How I manage to do that I'll never know. I'm still waiting for inspiration to strike. Where are you my perfect job??

I've been reading quite a bit lately. I just finished Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire, also the author of the more widely read Wicked which I read last year. I really enjoyed Stepsister. As the back-story of Cinderella, it spins a dark, gritty reality that brings the fairy tale down to a relatable level. No longer is Cinderella a poor unfortunate child who was taken advantage of by her evil step-mother, but rather, a petulant self-centered child who let life take advantage of her, rather than ever attempting to chart the course of her own destiny. Her run in with the prince was constructed by one of her step-sisters in an attempt to save her from a life of ruin. I recommend it as a quick, entertaining read. Just before that I finished Life of Pi by Yann Martel, which IMHO deserves all the praise it's been getting. A fascinating examination of the implications of the food chain! :) I'm currently working on The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, which has been on my 'to read' list for ages. It was a gift at last year's Hanukkah celebration. Speaking of Hanukkah, I'll have plenty to read when I'm finished with Bees. My brother gave me several new ones on my to read list last night at our family's much-belated Hanukkah celebration. I received Neuromancer, I am Legend, and The Woman Who Walked Into Doors, by William Gibson, Richard Matheson, and Roddy Doyle respectively. I'll admit a little ashamedly one of the reasons I'm so keen to read Doyle is that J.K. Rowling cites him as her favorite author. I'm eager to see if I find any stylistic similarities in their works.

So that's reading. Let's see. I also finally gave in about 2 weeks ago and downloaded I-Tunes. The Queen of all illegal internet downloading has thrown in the towel. Tired of switching sites every few weeks as they get shut down, tired of hoping I was getting the radio edit, but actually getting the Live edit, tired of poor sound quality. These were my reasons (plus a fully exhaustive list I'll spare you) for just deciding to make the switch. I was so pumped the first week, and gleefully downloaded 37 songs. Then I looked at my playlist and thought, "Gee, even though I like all these songs were they really worth $40?", then "I can't believe I just spend $40 on something completely intangible." then "Oh man, I miss free downloading." Although it is nice to hear songs completely free of pops and clicks and to not have to fill in tons of tag information for them on my own in order to get them to sort appropriately on my mp3 player. So I guess there are pros and cons to both legal and illegal downloading. My wallet regrets the choice, but in the end it'll probably be worth it. Some of the songs I am obsessed with right now: "Take You There" by Sean Kingston, "Piece of Me" by Britney Spears, "Don't Stop the Music" by Rhianna, and "Sexy Lady" by Yung Berg. I am in a HUGE pop swing right now. I go back and forth in wide swaths of genre. I just finished about 4 months of being stuck on Q104.3 (classic rock) and being nauseated by any other music station. Now, suddenly as a lighting strike, I have an insatiable appetite for pop. Funny, eh?

OH! I don't think I ever posted about this in October, but I bought a new car. I sold the Sentra to my brother, who's car was totaled by a driver who fell asleep and hit it on the street where it was parked. I bought a Nissan Versa. It looks basically just like this:



I LOVE IT! It's so cute and tiny, but still really spacious inside. And my insurance company (USAA) hooked me up with one of their preferred dealers who gave it to me at cost + $300. So it's got all these crazy features I never would have gotten if I actually had to pay for them but are REALLY nice to have. It's got built in bluetooth, so I don't have to talk on the phone any more or even use a headset. The calls come through over my car speakers. Which, by the way, include a BOSE subwoofer. If I turn the bass up all the way it's a bit deafening. My other favorite feature is "Intelligent Key." It's that sensor in your keys where your car can tell if the key is within 3 feet of the car and it will automatically unlock if you push a button on the door handle. It makes carrying the groceries out to the car SO MUCH EASIER. I no longer have to shift all 10 bags to one hand while digging around in my purse or my pocket to find the keys. Plus, were I ever alone in some dank parking garage being pursued by a kidnapper or rapist, I wouldn't have one of those 'movie' moments where the keys fall underneath the car and I'm blindly reaching around for them while the killer pulls me back out by my ankles. So it's all good. His name (my car) is Eugene Morris Jerome. After one of my favorite plays "Brighton Beach Memoirs." When I first got the car it screamed NWM (nerdy white male) to me, but at my brother Seth's urging I waited a few months before naming him. But Eugene just stuck!

Anyway, I'm sure there's lots more I could write about everything under the sun, but I'm trying to make a 1:15 showing of "Atonement" at my local theater so I must go. It's oscar season so that mad movie seeing pace has begun. Ta-ta for now!