So, after my last read, I promptly went and ordered Liza Palmer's first book, Conversatons with the Fat Girl. I am proud to say that I restrained myself from devouring it as soon as the ever-so-nice UPS man dropped it off yesterday.

Instead, I only read the first chapter, and waited until today to devour the remainder of it.

Just have to say, I love this Liza Palmer. I think she is my long lost soul-twin. The book: well, not as "OMG-Must-Read-and-Re-read-Again-Again-Or-Fucking-DIEEEE!!!!" as her second/most recent book (aka, the Most Current Literary Love of My Life, Seeing Me Naked), but still very good and highly recommended. I mean, it's about a chubby girl named Maggie who has a master's degree in museum studies (which is what I was about 5 minutes away from going to graduate school for...8 years ago). How could I not love and recommend it?


One of these days, I'm really going to have to stop reading for pleasure and start doing work again, and that day is soon. Very soon. Like, "yesterday...and the day before" soon.

I just don't want to effing do it anymore. It hurts my soul.

...which after reading this book (CwtFG), is just so fitting.

So, last night, I read a book. This book, to be exact.

By that, I do not mean that I picked it back up after so many days of reading and happened to finish it last night before I went to sleep at a reasonable hour. Oh, no. Quite no. Instead, I mean to say that I hadn't yet opened the book or taken the price sticker off of the back*, let alone started reading it, before I climbed into bed at approximately 9:50 p.m. and grabbed it from the top of the "to be read" stack on my nightstand.

I finished sometime between 2:00 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. Kind of a big window, yes, but at 12:45, I vacated our bedroom and took up shop in the guest bedroom (which has no clock), because I figured that, if the light from my lamp didn't keep Ben from getting a good night's sleep, my laughing out loud and occasionally repositioning myself and the pillows as I continued to read into the wee hours surely would.

So, I have no idea what time I actually went to sleep, but I know that super-early morning traffic started to pick up before I was able to even get properly sleepy all hopped up on a "good read" buzz, so 4:30 is my best guess.

But back to the book. Yes, it was that good. I mean, it wasn't Anna Karenina (dark, deep, super-meaningful) or anything, but it certainly had its moments. It was more like a really good, romantic, cheesy chick movie (or TV show) I can watch over and over again (see: Wimbledon, Sliding Doors, Serendipity, S&tC, etc., etc.,), as evidenced by the fact that instead of working for a good portion of today, I caught up on the sleep I missed last night and went back and re-read the best parts of the book.

Yeah. I'm that girl.

I can't even explain it. It was just really good chick lit, which makes me throw up a little in my mouth to even type. But there you have it. I read chick lit and I like it. There. I said it. Does that make me a cliche? Does it make me boring? Predictable? Mindless? Suburban? Lame? Sad? Oh So-Very Married and Thirty? Nah...I don't think so. I think it makes me more well-rounded. Yeah, we'll go with that.

Anyway, I decided to put the book in the closet today, lest I be tempted to go back and read it for a third time in fewer than 48 hours...without being able to explain exactly why. And it has suddenly occurred to me that I could just go open the door three feet away from me and re-read it again rather quickly and no one would have to know (or get hurt), but I think I should offer to share it with anyone local in need of a good, quick, girly read. But if I need a fix, you have to promise to at least let me sniff the page you're on when I'm in the vicinity of the book, please.

Also, I ordered the author's first book today from Amazon. It should be here tomorrow, so I may wait before getting too involved in the book I started earlier today to get my mind off of the one I can't stop reading like it's crack. If her first book is anything like the second, I may as well just go ahead and plan to spend a night reading it, and part of the next day re-reading it, before I commit to anything else.


Oh, and props to my husband for picking it up off the shelf at Target and saying, "I think this sounds like something you'd like." So like, 1,000 points for him.


And P.S.: An excerpt from a review at All Things Girl, just to prove how not-alone I am in this: "As rich and fulfilling as Elisabeth’s Cherry Clafouti, Seeing Me Naked is a simply fabulous read. Calling it mere “chick lit” is like calling a glass of Big Fire Pinot Noir a simple glass of wine. It’s rich and masterful while being down to earth and simply real. I’ve already read it twice, and have passed it on to my best friend to devour."

So. There. Maybe I am a little bit crazy, but at least I'm not alone.



-----------------------

*So, before I start a new book, the absolute first thing I have to do is remove any price or "Borders 20% off" stickers from the thing, otherwise that sticker will drive me absolutely crazy, and I won't be able to concentrate on what I'm reading for all of the fiddling with and peeling, curling, obsessively playing with the stickers all over the book. And then, I'll have to constantly go back and re-read passages, because I'll all of a sudden start paying attention and think, "OMG!!! Stop playing with the sticker!", which of course reminds me that the sticker is there and ready to be played with again and again, until it falls off the book, and I lose my place and forget who the main character is, and start wondering to myself, "When did that happen? Did I miss something?" And before I know it, I'm playing with the damn sticker again. Ugh. Just say "no" to stickers.

So, it's about that time again. I'm getting itchy for a concert or five. Here are some upcoming concertsshows I really wouldn't mind seeing:

• Jon Stewart: May 10@ Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center
(Edit: Just purchased tickets for Mr. T and I to see the 10:00 p.m. show--yay!)

• Dying Fetus: May 21 @ the Masquerade


• Erykah Badu: May 23 @ the Fox


• Over the Rhine: May 31 @ the Variety


• Ingrid Michaelson: June 10 @ the Variety


• Vampire Weekend: June 11 @ the Variety


• Cat Power: June 15 @ the Tabernacle


• R.E.M (with Modest Mouse!): June 21 @ Lakewood Ampitheatre

Note: If I thought for a second I'd be able to stomach a multi-day, camping in the outdoors, drunk hippie mudwrestling festival, I'd go to Bonnaroo just to see ADELE....and Ben Folds, Cat Power, The Bluegrass Allstars, Iron and Wine, Rilo Kiley, Tegan & Sara, Aimee Mann, Ladytron, Jakob Dylan, Vampire Weekend, Janeane Garafolo, and Mike Birbiglia. But considering that's only about a handful of the acts lined up, I really don't think it would be worth it.

So, is there anyone else out there who might be interested in one or more of these shows, too?

I take it back. I still hate it. A lot. Why? Let's see...it's 12:32 a.m., and I just finished up today's work...or would that be yesterday's work? It's totally my own fault for procrastinating today, I know. But still. So tired. I would stab that book with my wee mechanical pencil, but I have no energy left.



And yes, my LJ will soon be consumed with pictures. As that little brat from that one reality TV show said all the time, "Deal with it!!!"

..so I think it's time to share some pictures, courtesy of my new best friend and phone, Blackjack II!

I love telecommuting (well..when the remote connection works)! This is my office, or at least my part of the communal office, when I'm at home (and no, I can't work with all of that clutter around me, which is why I'm posting pictures to LJ instead of working, which I really need to do):



Two of my favorite things about working from home: Working with the windows open (and being able to prop my feet up on the windowsill when I sit in my chair), and being able to hang with The Poostinkler. Chester loves open windows, too. Mostly because it is easier for him to hear/see/smell his arch nemesis, the UPS truck, coming from down the street. Ben and I have decided that Chester takes extreme offense to anyone or anything else being big and brown, because it's hard to tell if he hates the driver of the truck (he's such a little racist), the truck itself, or both. It should be noted here that he doesn't react whatsoever to the FedEx truck or any of the 5 school buses that pass by each day, all of which sound, to my ears at least, exactly like the UPS truck. But I digress...


Aww...somebody's so sweet and smart! And big and brown!


Yeah...it's hard to complain about a job that sucks when, about 95% of the time, I don't have to deal with ridiculous Atlanta traffic, obnoxious work-people, a business-casual dress code, socks, fluorescent lights, cubicles, restricted internet access, overpriced cafeteria food, bad coffee, public restrooms, or a fixed 8-5 schedule. Heck, I didn't even bother blow drying my hair today and only put on a dab of makeup in anticipation of my grocery store outing later. So, as much as I dislike what I do and want to completely change careers, on days like today it's kind of hard to remember why (okay, well...it's not, but you get the point).

...this little topic of conversation came up after 2 bottles of wine, last week's 5 episodes of The Colbert Report, and a failed attempt at getting Ben to watch an episode of the HBO miniseries, John Adams (maybe not so very work-safe):



Why, oh why, have I never seen this before?

P.S. I <3 History! I finished Season 1 of The Tudors today. All I have to say is, where the heck was Fabio? There was so much bodice-ripping going on that I didn't know what to do with myself. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, but jeez...Showtime loves boobies, apparently.

1) one of my new favorites:







love her. cannot wait until she makes her way to Atlanta.



2) one of my least favorites of all time:

work. or, more specifically, my job...career...whatever.

so, in keeping with everyone else i know turning 30-something and making a major life change (read: going to law school), i am also seriously considering finally going to grad school myself--but for me, it's social work. my first step is going to be taking the GRE again...as it's been about 8.5 years since I took it last. wow. that's an eye-opener. so, i'm going to do that, see how well (or poorly) i do, and go from there. i have two local program options, only one of them having a part-time option...so i guess i really only have one local option. but it's a pretty decent one, i think. the deadline for application was February 1, but i could always submit it late and cross my fingers. or wait until next fall to start. all of this hinges upon securing some sort of financial aid (from g-ma's education fund or elsewhere), of course.

so. that's that. for now.

One of my LJ friends, lbangs, posted today about American Idol (sort of), which I don't watch; but apparently they're making the contestants pick songs from their birth year to perform on the show. That's pretty cool. If I had a decent singing voice, wouldn't pass out standing up in front of a big group of people, and happened to be on American Idol this season, I would choose from the following:

1) Heart of Glass, Blondie
2) Roxanne, the Police
3) Beast of Burden, the Rolling Stones
4) Because the Night, Patti Smith
5) Anything from the Grease soundtrack (but probably There are Worse Things I Could Do or maybe Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee, because I do love me some Stockard Channing)

So...because I'm curious and think there a good chunk of people on the FList who aren't on the one of Mr. Bangs, what would you choose?

The tentative lineup:

Friday
1. Fernbank
2. Fox Theatre
3. CNN/Centennial Park (if we can get down there)
4. New World of Coke
5. Dinner @ Murphy's

Saturday
1. Zoo Atlanta
2. Carter Center (while Ben gets a haircut)
3. Kit's Birthday Party


Optionals:
1. Center for Puppetry Arts (Fri/Sat)
2. Botanical Gardens (Fri/Sat)
3. MLK, Jr. Center (Fri/Sat)
4. Georgia State Capitol Museum (Fri)
5. Margaret Mitchell House (Fri/Sat)
6. Atlanta History Center (Fri/Sat)

And maybe, just maybe, we'll get lucky and run into Baton Bob somewhere. If anyone wants to join us, give one or both of us a call (though we're leaving in a few minutes for the Fernbank, so that will probably be a no-go for lots of you.)

Weee!

Just so you know...




And, yes. I'm actually one of those girls (okay, women) who is excited about this. So excited that she'd put a countdown widget for it in her LJ. And go on the hunt for some S&tC icons. So...maybe I'm a little too excited. But, as Miranda once said, "It's my thing. I love it. Let it go."

Yeah. This is one of those things that makes me a total girl.