Some of you will remember that I don't make New Year's Resolutions. I do, however, make New Era Resolutions.
What is a New Era, you ask? A New Era is the period after I get fed up and finally start doing things differently. It is the time following the last straw. It is the time when I finally make up my mind that Something Has Got to Change.
Beginning with my hair.
Go ahead and laugh. It's funny. But every time I make a major change, I begin with my hair. Every September when I began a new year of school, I did something drastic to my hair. Then, if something set me off in the middle of the year (i.e. not doing well enough in school, not spending enough time with friends, pissed off at somebody and deciding not to be their friend anymore, tired of being fat, etc.), I would change it again. I've done it before break-ups, even if I wasn't the instigator, mostly because I made up my mind that something was going to change for me, regardless of what anybody else did. I've chopped my hair from below my shoulders to just below my ears in one go before. I make the stylists nervous. :)
So, this weekend was the beginning of a New Era. I highlighted my hair. While this may not be a big deal to some, it was an incredibly huge deal to me. Up until last weekend, I had never dyed my hair. Not once, not ever. And I don't have a digital camera, so you'll actually have to see me in person to see my new do. (It's blonde and strawberry blonde, so in certain lighting, it just looks like I had a nice summer outside--nothing too dramatic.) What's going to change, you ask? I don't know. I never know. But I just start trying new things until I find something that fits, and then I run with it.
What really makes me laugh is that when I got my mail last night, I had a postcard from some company asking me if my New Year's Resolutions had fizzled out. I laughed out loud. Fizzled? There is no fizzled.
The last time I did this, I had a list of 17 things I wanted to accomplish in order to be perfect. I think I accomplished 5 or 6 before settling into a nice comfortable routine. Maybe I'll pick up that list again. On the other hand, I like to think I've moved beyond believing that I can be perfect and will be happy to settle for slightly dented, but you never know. At any rate, I'm ringing in a new dynasty, and it's one with highlights.
Well, my pretty pattern is out the window. Today was the Daytona 500, which is the opening season of NASCAR for those of you who don't know. It was fantastic. I watched it with my Dad because it was his birthday today and I don't have to return to the Cities until tomorrow.
Another reason why the race was fantastic was that I got to watch Tony Stewart make a complete ass of himself. And I liked it. I've never liked Tony Stewart because I think he's got a temper on him and it makes him irrational and dangerous on the race track and arrogant in interviews. And oh, surprise, today was total proof of that.
The man spent all week whining about how everybody needed to drive more safely, and then he purposely sent a car carreening into the grass and then back through a line of cars into the wall. Miraculously, nobody else got involved, but I definitely watched a huge pile up last year in the Daytona 500. I like NASCAR better than Indie car racing because I think NASCAR is far safer racing solely because the cars are better built to protect the drivers. I've rarely seen anybody actually get hurt, but that's no excuse.
I was vaguely glad that Stewart had to eat his words. Like I say, I never liked him, anyway. I was rather disappointed that Kenseth couldn't leave it alone, though. I think he still could have won or come close if he hadn't had to go back onto pit road after he passed Stewart on pit road and nicked the front of his car as kind of an "up yours." I think it's become quite clear what kind of a moron Stewart is, so I don't really feel like Kenseth gave himself any extra credit by egging him on.
So, on the whole, it was a pretty good race, with Jimmie Johnson in a Chevy winning. I like Johnson, so that was all right. Also, my dad and I have an ongoing dispute about Stewart. For instance, he doesn't mind if Stewart wins because Stewart drives a Chevy; whereas, I root for anyone who isn't Stewart to win. And if Stewart wins, my day is shot. Dad's never quite understood my dislike for Stewart, so I felt slightly vindicated today. What can I say? It was only a matter of time before Stewart blew his top on the track. Thankfully, it wasn't more serious than a banged up car for Kenseth.
Well, kids, I had to break the posting pattern because another pattern breaker had an article in the paper. My second favorite author, Anne Lamott, had an article in the STrib today. (She used to be my favorite author, but then I was introduced to Terri Pratchet.)
I refuse to discuss abortion because I think it gets way to much press the way it is. You, on the other hand, can feel free to discuss in the comments. (But please, no fighting.)
I'm sorry that there's no Valentine's Day entry on actual Valentine's Day. I'm not bitter about the holiday; I just didn't feel well. Really and truly. Today is the first day I've been to work this week. I personally love Valentine's Day with all my single heart. Mostly, I love V Day because I buy myself fancy chocolates. And let's be honest. If I have a superhero weakness, it is fancy chocolates, preferrably the kind with milk chocolate outsides and fruit flavored insides. This V Day, however, I could not enjoy fancy chocolates because I was sick. That is the only reason it gets a small booo.
To be honest, I barely noticed Valentine's this year. Probably this is because I slept through most of it. So, my couch and I got to spend some quality time together. This is good because our relationship has been suffering. My couch feels that I am not home with it enough, and I feel that my couch needs to stop making so many demands on my time. It really takes something like getting sick on Valentine's Day to make you appreciate how much your couch really means to you, particularly when you need it most.
So, to recap, I like Valentine's Day, regardless of the fact that I am a single gal, particularly because I got to sleep through most of it without having to feel guilty, and my couch and I are working on growing closer together after this V Day.
On the whole, if I hadn't been sick, the day would have gotten four starships on a scale of five. As it was, it just gets two because, let's be honest, you can't give a day when you're sick more than two starships. That's just plain tacky.
FYI: This is to inform you that the calvary is not coming. You may have been under the impression that it was coming, perhaps to rescue you. Unfortuneately, this is just plain wrong. We apologize for any inconvenience.
I've been thinking a lot lately about why I work so much, primarily because everybody keeps asking me why I work so much, but also because of some drama that I can't discuss from my night job. This drama led me to think very vividly about what my life would be like without a second job before throwing me back into the reality that is having a second job indefinitely for the rest of my natural born days.
At first I thought that it was because the calvary is not coming. I.e. no one is coming to rescue me. But that could apply to working all the time, too. Nobody can rescue me from that either.
And you know what? I wrote all this crap--paragraphs and paragraphs, honestly, it was saga-worthy--about how it's all because of when I was in the hospital and it's because I'm scared because there is no calvary and bladiddybladiddyblablabla. I decided it was bogus, so I'm not going to post it. The bottom line is that I don't know why I do it. I kinda like the money, but when I see the money, it never seems like quite enough to cover the things I've missed. I like the freedom, but then when I think about it, I don't really have any freedom because I'm at work all the time. It's easy money, but so what? So is being a phone sex operator, but I'm not going to do that every night. So what is the real issue here?
I don't know why I work all the time. Same as I don't know why I eat so many chips, and I don't know why I worry all the time for no apparent reason about stupid things, and I don't know why I've stopped writing anything but the drivel I write on here. I don't know. And I probably don't want to know. The reason is probably ugly with incredibly large teeth. It will probably swallow me whole.
I will say, though, that I probably got one step closer to quitting last night when I heard strange noises (which I've decided were from the ventillation system but it's hard to convince yourself of that in the dark) and found myself wandering down the hallway looking for the source of the noises like the stupid blonde girl always does in horror movies. As soon as I opened a closet I'd never known was there, it dawned on me that this was possibly one of the more retarded things I've ever done in my life, and I immediately set the alarm and left. I made up my mind that the alarm company could deal with it. No one is paying me to be the next Scream movie.
Here's the book list. I didn't add authors because I'm lazy, and I didn't feel like it. I can't remember who wrote what, anyway. Mostly, I read a lot of books with pictures this month, but I enjoyed it. Hopefully you do, too.
Strata: This was an early Pratchett novel that really had much more to do with the origins of earth and the existence of faith than I expected. It was very interesting because it followed three characters who came from a society where extraordinarily long life was almost a given due to scientific advances in gene therapy. They visit what I can only believe was the prototype for his disk world novels. These three characters come from a society that builds planets. I was fascinated. It was remarkably serious for Pratchett.
Persepolis: This began my graphic novel month. I've been wanting to read this book for a long time. It's a graphic novel about a girl growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. I found it incredibly accessible, and it was a unique story.
Me Talk Pretty One Day: This is a collection of essays by David Sedaris. Most of them center around speech or "voice" (which I am using in the literary sense), whether it be about his early speech impediment, his time doing performace art while on drugs or his move to France and his language acquisition challenges. The stuff about France and him trying to learn French was pretty funny, particularly the line "I see you again yesterday." It's all about how he has the vocabulary of a small child in France and how everybody views him as a stupid foreigner. It was fantastic.
Creature Tech: This was another graphic novel recommended to me as a nice follow-up piece to Blankets from last month. Creature Tech is all about finding faith, and as far as my limited thinking capacity today can tell, living for other people and accomplishing something greater than professional success. I liked it. I wish there was more.
Anne of Avonlea: I liked this a lot, but it is, once again, a chick flick of a book. It's all about Anne teaching school in her home town, and it never fails to make me homesick.
Anne of the Island: This book had a little more spice than the first two in the series. It's all about Anne's days at college and how most of the women from her hometown discourage her. It's also about her finding the love of her life (after spending a good deal of time being stupid about it). I would have to say that this is my favorite "Anne book" so far.
The Christkindle's Gift: I am rather embarrassed to admit I read this bok, but I am keeping a precise list, so admit it I shall. This is a book my grandma gave me for Christmas. Like every book my grandma has ever given me for Christmas, with the exception of David Balfour and Black Beauty, it is a Christian romance novel. Nuff said. When I was sixteen, this was not a problem, but now they make me want to vomit. I could elaborate on the holes in the plot, the errors in the history, the lack of a credible setting, the preachy tone, and the little "lessons" that are clearly an agenda, but you should probably know that already. It was not as bad as some Christian romance, and I always read them and tell my grandma I loved them because I don't want her to feel badly.
Same Difference: This was another graphic novel, and I agree with the person who recommended it to me (yay Carl!). The title story is incredibly good and focuses on returning to your home and finding everyone the same or different in the same way they always were. Basically, it's about being 20 something and regrets and the lack thereof and forgiveness. It's also about being an Asian American. The rest of the book is pretty hit and miss. Most of the rest of it comes off as sort of whiney, but the title story is worth the read.
Mind Riot: This graphic novel is a collection of various artists' reflections on adolescence. It was pretty interesting. Some selections were better than others, but all had an introduction by the author, so you wound up getting a good background understanding of why someone would make a particular choice. I think the look inside the minds of the authors wound up being my favorite part of the whole book.
Only You Can Save Mankind: This is another Pratchett number that reminded me a lot of Ender's Game, and myabe this is what he is trying to spoof. In fact, I think so because the next one in the series is Johnny and the Dead (e.g. Speaker for the Dead from the Ender series). It's part of Pratchett's young readers collection, and it's about this kid who's playing a video game only to find out that he's fighting real aliens who then surrender to him. He has to find a way to save them from the other gamers. It was, once again, rather serious for Pratchett. It has some pretty funny moments, and I really liked the dream sequences.
Well, kids, that's it for the reads. Feel free to share your own in the comments.