Thursday, April 29, 2010

the almost moon.

The Almost Moon The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I feel like that teacher that doesn't believe in A's. This book was very, very good, but I just can't bring myself to give it 5 stars.While Alice Sebold didn't quite grab me in the same way The Lovely Bones did, she still manages to astound me with her style. To stretch the events of a 48-hour period over 300 pages, meanwhile giving you a complete look at a person's entire personal life is amazing. The imagery she is able to instill is incredibly intense. This is the kind of story that sticks with you between reading sessions and tends to linger while you're trying to go about your work day. That's a book that wins me over - one that makes me feel emotionally apart of the story.This book is a heavy read, for sure. It's a fairly quick read, but if you're looking for something light and cheery, Alice Sebold is not the way to go.

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Tuesday, April 20, 2010

i'd have my hands full.

Take a look at this picture. Now imagine this is what my child looks like. I had a dream a few weeks ago that my child was a shape-shifter, but was only capable of turning into Animal. Yeah, for reals.

I'll leave you with that.

Monday, April 19, 2010

dreams of incompetency.

Luckily, dreams can be woken up from. And thank God.

I had a dream last night that I was at work (which was apparently me and a co-worker sitting on a couch and playing with model magic). I was stuck - as she wouldn't let me leave - for an extra two hours until my GM came in and was pissed I had stayed an extra two hours out of my scheduled time. At this point, it was 11:30pm in my dream, a weird time to still be stuck at work.
When I got home from work, where I lived with my parents, my mom had a collection of mail for me. Apparently, the school that I should be automatically accepted to had sent out forms to different places to learn about me. I was afraid my mom had seen my failing grades, even though I hadn't even started school yet. As it turns out, the school decided to reject me because my job sent them a review of my performance at work and ripped me apart as an employee. Therefore, I was not allowed to go to community college. What the fuck.

Anyway, at 4:30am this morning, I was up and ready to head to Lexington for the reenactment of the Revolutionary War, the reason for Patriots' Day, of course. In a million years, I never would have thought I would enjoy anything history related, let alone get up at 4:30am for it. It was pretty cool, not gonna lie. And for the first time in my life (including 12 years of American history), I finally understood what had happened during that war.
Of course, waking up at 4:30 makes a 7.5 hour work shift way more difficult. I am now on hour 15 of being awake, and I'm fading pretty quickly. I still have to stay up at least another 3 hours in order for me to not royally screw up my sleep. I am nodding off on the couch in my living room while eating carbs and drinking juice to try to keep myself awake. Not easy.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

soda pop & ritalin.

Yesterday, I told my mom I was freaked out about going back to school. I told her I was afraid to find out that I’m incapable of learning, based on the fact that I have a difficult time retaining information and my memory blows. Is this a result of ADD? Is it possible that my obsessive thinking has taken up so much room in my brain that there’s no room to retain information that actually matters? I’m not really sure. I’m willing to try whatever, but that could take some time.

I need to know that my brain is not incapable of learning. I refuse to believe that. There must be things I can do to improve my brain function, my memory. Still, it freaks me out. I have never been a school person, but I hate to think about what my life would be like if I don’t extend my education. It would be.. what it is now: an explanation that I realize is so offensive, I shouldn’t even post it on a public internet source or it could actually cost me work. [Posting an explanation of] my current life.. could cost me a job. Think that one though.

I need to succeed.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

night.

Night Night by Elie Wiesel


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It's hard to say you "like" a book like this one, but it is absolutely fascinating and just.. raw. The man is beyond proof that human strength prevails and, though he obviously lived (the book wouldn't exist..), part of me kept thinking, "This is it. This will be what kills him, for sure," the whole book.

Having been raised Jewish, stories of the Holocaust have been in my knowledge from as early as 5-years-old. I've heard all about it over and over in ways children shouldn't even hear about such a thing, but to hear the story from the inside brings all new meaning to everything I thought I ever knew about it. It was almost too personal, that though I knew the basic facts and everything that was coming, it was still difficult to continue at points.

Along with it being very well written, I was surprised at the detail he was able to recall. The half star I left off was only because I wished it hadn't ended so abruptly. I suppose I'll have to read Dawn, which I can only assume is the follow-up.

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