Tonight's showing has been rescheduled for Sunday at 1:30 PM.
SUNDAY!?!?
This really sucks.
I think everybody knows the rules..if you don't, just ask..
1. What was I doing 10 years ago
10 years ago I was desperately trying to get pregnant and working on this house. I'm still working on this house but my uterus is useless and I wish it would go away.
2. What are 5 things on my to-do list
Well...DeWitte's radiator hose came off when he pulled in the parking lot at work this morning so he's got to stay after and fix it. Nathan and I took him some tools and play clothes at lunch and Nathan said he was disappointed he couldn't help. DeWitte, being the awesome father he is, offered to let Nathan stay at work with him the rest of the afternoon so that he could help him fix the truck later. So, that leaves me the afternoon to myself, so my to-do list has changed dramatically...
1. Clean living room Get a pedicure.
2. Clean kitchen Shop for a new bra.
3. Vacuum downstairs Take my 20% off Bed Bath and Beyond coupon and see what kind of goodies I can find.
4. Yard work Hit the fancy grocery store for heirloom tomatoes and whatever else strikes my fancy.
5. Cook Dinner Cook killer dinner from ingredients found at fancy grocery store.
It's amazing how things can change in just a moment.
3. Snacks I enjoy
Cheddar chipotle cheese sticks, radishes, celery, fresh salsa..yet I'm still fat. Go figure.
4. Things I would do if I was a billionare
Buy all the houses on this side of the street and knock em' down. Hire a garden designer to come help me create one kick butt yard. Hire someone else to cut the grass (I'd do the flower and vegetable beds myself..I really enjoy that.) and someone to clean the house. Add a sunroom. Move the laundry room and water heater upstairs. Hire someone to finish the downstairs bathroom. Buy a new couch. Yeah..sorry, I don't dream that big.
Oh..and not put more than 100 thousand dollars in any one account. I have no problem learning from others mistakes.
5. Places I've lived
Salt Lake City, Utah..but only till I was 3 or 4.
Maple Heights, Oh
Bedford, Oh
Northfield, Oh
Streetsboro, Oh
Norfolk, Va
Chesapeake, Va
6. Jobs I've had
Lets see...
Cleaned houses
Babysitter
Ice cream/pizza shop
Grocery store cashier
Telemarketer
Doughnut shop
Gas station
Convient Store
Burger King
Factory worker
Dry Cleaner
and a couple more I'm sure I'm forgetting..all before I was 23. Either I had a strong work ethic or I couldn't hold a job. I'm not sure which (I was never fired though!)
Phone survey person
Nanny
Photographer (still make money from that)
And current position..Mom.
7 Bloggers I'm tagging.
I tag anybody that hasn't done this yet..it's a fun one. (Yep..taking the easy way out.)
Ok..better get working on that to-do list. I'll start by shaving my legs. I'm sure the pedicure lady will appreciate it.
Edit...or I will get on it after I stop the bleeding. Sheesh..I've been shaving my legs for over 25 years, you'd think I'd have this down pat by now.
We have the second showing of the week scheduled for tonight between 6:30-7:30. We do not have any other Intel on it, nor have we heard a peep about Wednesday's showing.
This is soooooo hard...
The other book about zealots I read was on a much lighter topic than religion, violence, polygamy and society: Scrabble.
The book “Word Freak” from Stefan Fatsis chronicles the author’s foray into competitive Scrabble. Initially, Fatsis (a Wall Street Journal reporter) had decided to cover competitive Scrabble from a human interest story – a get to know ‘em piece, but also one with a bit of “hey, look at these crazy obsessed folks” angle – and in the “walk a mile in a man’s shoes” idea, he begins playing competitively. And he gets hooked.
The book covers a couple of years of Fatsis’ obsession as he tries to climb the ladder towards the top ranks. He’s a good writer and his self-observations are pretty funny as he goes from smirking observer to obsessed insider. He interleaves his story with those of some of the more colorful players that he meets and gets to know. These folks are really savants – memorizing tens of thousands of words, and analyzing (and re-analyzing) game-strategy – as much as any chess champion. The ultimate back-handed compliment is “pretty good for a kitchen table player”. It's a really fun, easy read, and I recommend it for anyone that enjoys the game.
This has been especially fun for me since (as many of you know) I’ve been playing a fair amount of online Scrabble these days – the book was lent to me by a friend who routinely wipes the board with me. Fortunately, I’ve got enough other things going on in life that I probably won’t fall into a pit of obsession about just-one-thing (like the players described in the book), but memorizing a few word lists couldn’t hurt, right?
* I know, I know – there’s a DLS in there and if you play all seven letters you get an extra 50 points, but I was going for simple.
I realized that when I was traveling this past weekend that two books that I had read back-to-back possessed a common element: they both* were about groups of people that are outside the mainstream of society and had completely dedicated to the activities within their respective communities. Fanatics. Extremists. Zealots.
In “Under The Banner of Heaven”, Jon Krakauer describes the founding of the Mormon faith, the growth of the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS), and a particular splinter sect, the FLDS (Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints). The book interweaves the historical research with the details of a brutal 1984 double murder in which two brothers (FLDS members) murdered their sister-in-law and her infant daughter because (they claimed) of a revelation from God. Whoa.
Now, San Diego has a large Mormon population and most of what I know of Mormonism (and its fundamentalist off-shoots) comes from HBO’s “Big Love”, which while entertaining is probably not exactly 100% based-in-fact. (Though curiously, I recognized several plots from the show in the accounts of modern FLDS communities and incidents…) I was glad to get a less fictionalized account, though Krakauer was definitely trying to sell books by staying focused on the prevalent violence and prurient aspects of polygamy associated with the FLDS.
I’m sure the book caused a firestorm in the LDS community, but I found the book both educational and at times riveting. I thought it was best though when it forced the reader to consider their preconceptions about faith and society. For example, what distinguishes a “cult” from a “religion”? When does a faith-based code trump civil authority (lots of “Law & Order” episodes there…)? Why do we consider someone that says God talks to them as crazy, when billions of people believe they communicate with God everyday through prayer?
* I’d thought to juxtapose the two in a single post, but the content didn’t seem to mesh well, so I’ll try it with adjacent posts.
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So yesterday I had the best dinner ever. I probably ate more than I should have, but I ate to the point of being full, not to the point of wanting to die. So that's progress. :)
And for those of you who don't know, my aunt makes the best dinners. (My mom is no slouch, but my aunt is the one who reads the gourmet magazines and watches cooking shows.)
So we had:
Maryland crab soup (tomato-based), broccoli salad, macaroni salad, fried green tomatoes (specifically for me, because I'd been wanting to try them and they're not like Turkish delight! They're really good!), salmon, crab cakes, green beans and yukon potatoes. For drinks, you had your choice of peach and strawberry margaritas (made with real fruit). For dessert? Homemade peach ice cream. Holy crap, so good. SO GOOD.
So I'm ready and the car is packed. I'm having breakfast with friends soon and Sam and I are likely going to head home around 10, 10:30 at the latest.
The best part of this vacation is that I got to see all my friends this time. Most trips, I'll get to see one set or another, but not everyone. So this was really, really fun. :)
And once I get home, I need to unpack and do some laundry. :) And set up my computer so I can get online again.
My allergies weren't too bad this trip except I woke up today and I've barely stopped sneezing. I took some allergy meds and I hope they kick in soon.
In other news, I'm reading The Story of Edgar Sawtelle and it's amazing. It's one of those books that makes me remember why I am a compulsive reader. (And let's be honest--compulsive is the only word for it.)
Stephen King gave it this huge, glowing review saying (among other things) that he envied people who were just starting the book because of the experience they had ahead of them. And he said that he doesn't re-read many books because life is too short but he'll be re-reading this one.
The last time I was home, a coworker who I trade books with called me (knowing I was on vacation) to tell me that I had to read this book. I'm about 200 pages in or so (out of 562) and it's incredible. I'm only able to read it in bits and pieces and I am actually missing it when I'm not reading it.
I'm tired again.
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