I Feel Pithy Book Blog

Please Pardon My Nerdishness

This is my new G5. Isn't it beautiful? I just watched Napoleon Dynamite again last night, so of course I am tempted to use the word "SWEET".

And, look at this:

The inside is even cooler than the outside. If you will excuse me, I am about to go off on a nerdish rant:

This beautiful piece of machinery has two 2.3GHz processors, 2 gigs of memory, a 250 gig hard drive, a DVD/CD burner, and dual fan cooling system. Plus, there is a bay for me to add a second serial ATA hard drive. What more could a girl ask for?

I just retired my last mac and it was 6 years old. It was running OS X Panther and besides needing more memory, it was still in great shape. As a matter of fact, I passed it down to a coworker who wanted to play around with OS X. I love how well Apple's equipment holds up. The only problem is that this means I won't get another new computer until 2011. Which I guess is really a small price to pay.

Sorry, if this was too boring, but the nerd in me just had to share.

It all started a couple of weeks ago. I was having a fairly uneventful work day. I get this call. You know it's not good when the first words out of the other person's mouth are "I'm OK". My husband called to tell me that he had just been in an accident on I-85. Because, I hate 85 with the intensity of a thousand suns, my mind immediately latched on to what could have happened to him versus what did happen.

He wasn't hurt. The guy that hit him was in a company truck and was very nice about it. He admitted right away that it was his fault. The officer on the scene took down the information from both of them and then told them when they could pick up the police report. All of it was very straightforward.

It was sometime after he called me that events took a strange turn. Because the other driver was at fault, Hubby tried to file a claim with the information the guy gave him. Only, there was no phone number, and the policy number had been written by hand and was difficult to read. After trying unsuccessfully to contact the guy's insurance company, Hubby contacted his own company (Progressive). They looked into it and come to the conclusion that the guy was driving without insurance and that Hubby would need to file a claim on his uninsured motorist policy. So, while he filed the claim, Progressive would try to go after the guy.

Obviously, we were both upset and very confused. We were upset because of the guy's lack of insurance. But, we were confused because in the state of Georgia if you don't have car insurance, your license is automatically suspended. So, either the cop never ran the guy's license or for some reason his license came back as being current on his insurance.

Still with me so far? So, Progressive gets in touch with Hubby again. This time to tell him that the guy must have given the wrong card at the time of the accident. Because, guess what? The guy does have insurance and it is with Progressive. The very same Progressive that Hubby uses. So, finally, we are starting to feel a little bit better about this situation.

Progressive gives Hubby the name of a dealership to take his car for repairs. He takes it there and hopes that he will be able to pick it up on Friday. Yesterday, I get a call from Hubby, and he is NOT happy at all. While his truck was on the lot, someone broke into it. You read that right. Someone broke the window on the passenger side of the truck and stole his CD player; the CD player that his brother bought him for his birthday.

So, now we have to look at getting his window repaired and the CD player replaced. Progressive (the people who sent him there in the first place) is saying that we would have to meet a 500 dollar deductible before they can do anything. Yes, you read that correctly as well. Progressive, who didn't realize that they were the insurer of both parties for almost week, and who sent him to this particular dealership, are saying that they can't do anything until we pay 500 dollars out of our pocket.

I swear, the next time I see a Progressive Insurance commercial, I am going to flip them the bird. I know it's passive aggressive, but it makes me feel better.

Let's see. I have added a couple of new pieces to my portfolio. I am working on some non-technical documentation to round it out some. I am still reading, but when you love to read as much as I do, it gets difficult sticking to only banned books. So, I may review a book or two that is not on my banned list, but I will make sure to note that in the review itself.

It's summer in Athens, and you know what that means. All kinds of summer programs at the Public Library. Join the Adult Summer Reading Club, check out the "Name that Book Contest", learn what is on the schedule of events for the summer, and most importantly, make time to go to the "Friends of the Library Summer Book Sale". View all of that info Right Here.

I have been submitting bids for freelance contracts lately, and have gotten a couple of nibbles. I have spent the past week working on sample web designs and plan to add them to my portfolio as well. I have this plan to offer some free blog templates to my readers. I am working on those templates now and will work out the licensing before I put them up. So, check back for info on that.

That's all for now. I need to get back to the grind. Be sure to check back for my next book review. And check the The Southern Epicure for updates as I will be adding some new recipes soon.

I grew up watching shows like "The Electric Company", "3-2-1 Contact", "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood", "Picture Pages", and of course "Sesame Street". So, I am very worried about the fate of public broadcasting.

If you didn't know Big Bird is now on the Endangered Species list.

A House subcommittee has voted to drastically cut the funding for public broadcasting. That means NPR and PBS in case you weren't sure. They want to go one step further than that and completely do away with any financial support of public broadcasting in the next 2 years.

This means shows that taught most of us how to read, count, and share are going to be going away. Of course it will be the small rural areas that will be affected the most and the quickest, as they are already operating on shoe string budgets.

There is a petition going around that hopes to stop the "muppet slaughter". To add your name to the petition, go here.

I must admit that this is soley for selfish reasons on my part. I totally want any kids that I have to be able to enjoy Sesame Street the same way I did. And, there is something to say about children's programming that doesn't contain commercials for toys and a bunch of other junk.

Disclaimer: Be aware that moveon.org is a political organization. I am not in any way endorsing them, or their beliefs. So, if their politics are not yours, don't worry. Just don't join their mailing list. But, don't let their politics keep you from saving something so important. Even if you don't watch PBS, or listen to NPR, there will always be a need for commercial free programming in this country.

Check it Out . Thanks to a ground swell of support, the House decided against cutting the funding for Public Broadcasting. That means NPR and PBS can continue to offer commercial free programming. Yayy!

I have been re-evaluating what I want this site to be. My original goal was to focus solely on writing, the writing industry, and publishing. The only problem is that unless you are an insider, that get's pretty boring. So, I started adding personal posts. I like the personal stuff because it gives a glimpse of my personality to my prospective clients. But, I also feel like I can't use my true voice because it is (supposedly) my "professional" website.

Then, I decided that there is just too much for me to write about. I also realized that my personal style is so completely different from my professional style that I had to create another blog. Right now, it's called Fuzzy Candy. But, I don't like the title or the design as much as I did when I first started building it. So, the name will more than likely change, as will the design.

But, don't worry. I still plan to keep posting my banned book reviews here. I also will continue to post about local things here in Athens. But, if you are looking for swearing, stupidity, and general randomness that will be on the other site. I am re-dedicating this blog/web site to writing, reading, and literature.

So, look for book reviews, articles on writing, and information on publishing here. Look for discussions of movie stars, movie reviews, and ridiculous trivia on the Fuzzy Candy website.

But, like I said, the name of the site as well as the design will most likely change very soon. While I work on that, though, I will continue to post the random things that occur to me or strike my interest.

I have changed both the name and the design of my new "fluff" site. Have a look at Moody's Fluff Report when you get a chance.

Meanwhile, I am working to get my free templates ready for distribution. I also have a trip to the library planned today. So, be on the look out for additions to my 50 Banned Books List. What I am most excited about though, is that the new Harry Potter book was released today. And, since every Harry Potter book has ended up on the banned or challenged book list, that means that I can review it for this site as well. Since I read all of the others before I began the challenge, I wasn't able to review them for this project. Now, I have one that I can.

I have to say that absolutely love these books. Of course, I love anything that doesn't talk down to children.

I am in the middle of the review of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, in the mean time, check out the Fluff Report.

A month or so ago, I started using BlogExplosion. It was a way to get free advertising for this blog and two others. The extra traffic led to some major unpleasantness in my comments. While, I do monitor the comments, I can't do it every hour of every day. So, I do have a delay between when you submit and when the comment appears. I do this to protect from spam. I also do this to make sure that anyone who comments here is not personally insulted or attacked. Because I have had so many new visitors, I want to take this opportunity to clarify how the 50 Banned Books Challenge works.

First off, read the original challenge post .

With that out of the way, I should clarify a few things.

• This challenge is not about politics: Every group in the political spectrum has challenged some piece of writing. I will not allow politically charged discourse in my comments section. There are tons of political blogs out there just waiting for you to add to their comment count. It's not necessary here. The horse is dead. Beating it will just make all of us tired.
• The books I read will be diverse and chosen at my discretion: I am doing this so that I can read as many books on the banned or challenged list as I possibly can. Much of this depends upon what is available at my local library. If you know of a good banned or challenged book, let me know, I will look for it. I’ll read anything once. But, please don't lecture me on the books I choose to read and/or review here.
• Discussion is encouraged: I encourage discussion in my comments. I won't allow personal or professional insults. Attack the idea or the work; do not attack the person. As long as it somehow relates to writing, literature, editing, or freelancing, feel free to discuss whatever you want.
• I may review books that aren't banned or challenged: I read regardless of the challenge. Sometimes I will review or share books that have nothing to do with the challenge. Feel free to discuss them as well.
• Pay attention to your spelling and grammar: I won't catch every mistake in every comment (it is the internet after all). All I ask is that you try to use proper punctuation and grammar. All caps, internet abbreviations (i.e. 4 instead of four, U instead of you etc.) and excessive punctuation (multiple exclamation points and things of that nature) will not be allowed in the comments section.
• Have fun: Read the reviews and articles. Comment if you feel like it. Lurk if you feel like it. Get inspired to read something you hadn't considered. Have as much fun as you can from a literary type discussion. Just don't personally attack each other.
• Do not personally attack me: I do have control over what ends up posted here. Even if my automatic system lets something through, I will eventually monitor and delete anything inappropriate. If you have a problem with something I have written here, let me know. All I ask is that you not make it personal.

That's pretty much it. I reserve the right to add to these guidelines as I see fit.

I am typing this with one hand. I hurt my left hand in a really stupid accident at work. Until it heals, I won't be able to post very much. I have lots of updates coming. I just have to wait until I can get them typed out and posted.

In the meantime, check out my archives and other sites. I'll be back soon.

There was some confusion in my comments section about my "One Hand Typing" post. For those of you who saw that post show up in 2 other places, there is a perfectly reasonable explanation. I have three blogs that I maintain. Since I only had one hand with which to type, I typed it once and posted it in all three places.

I am not ignoring this blog. I am working. Right now, I am editing a couple of things and I have been trying to reorganize (i.e. actually organize) my home office.

I am working on a new design for my other blog. I am also working out some new recipes for my food website.

All of this has left me with very little time to update here. But, don't worry, I have a couple of book reviews coming soon.

So yeah, it has been quite a while since my last post. It's amazing how this whole blogging thing works. It's not like any other type of writing I have tried. When I first started, I assumed it would be like keeping a journal. The only difference being that it would be online. But, I keep a regular journal and the two are nothing alike.

Journaling is habit forming. Mainly, because keeping one is so easy. You don't have to have any special software, you don't have to have a computer, you don't even have to have anything interesting to say. Keeping a journal can be as interesting or boring as you like. It's easy because no one else will read it. When you write something for yourself there is no stress. It becomes something really easy to do. It can be as intense as describing a really horrible memory or as bland as cataloging your day.

But, blogging is different. At least it is for me. When I write something that I am going to post on the Internet, I want to make sure it is somewhat interesting. I want to make sure it is truthful as well as entertaining. At the very least, it should be informative. More importantly, I want there to be a solid flow- a beginning, middle, and end. None of these things are important in a journal. But, they make plenty of difference in a blog. So, when I get caught up in something work related, or I have nothing to say for a given week, it is easy to simply not post anything. And then it becomes habit not to post. The next thing I know, I've gone weeks without a single update. Which means fewer visitors, and in turn less revenue. Strange how it is all so related.

The funny thing is, there isn't a week that goes by that I am not doing something for this blog or one of the others that I maintain. Even if I haven't posted, I am doing something behind the scenes improve the blog as a whole. Here is a list of the things I am currently working on now that my editing projects have finished:

• Redesigning Moody's Fluff Report.
• Building an Amazon affiliate store for this website.
• Working on 3 book reviews for this website.
• Reading MFK Fisher's masterpiece The Art of Eating for my food website.
• Updating the server software for all of my blogs.
• Looking for other writing blogs that I can post about here

None of this stuff seems worthy of posting about. But, maybe I should talk about the ins and outs of site design or setting up an Internet store. Maybe someone out there will find it interesting. I personally wouldn't find it interesting. But, people are different.

All of this is to say that I will be posting regularly very soon. Some of the things I post may even be interesting or, dare I say it, entertaining.

May he finally be at peace.

Wow, breathing room. So, what have I been doing? I've been working. I work full time and have been working on freelance writing projects in my spare time. Spare time. You know those words lose all meaning when you work at work and then work at home only to return to work. Weekends? What weekends? There are only workends here.

Anyway, I've been writing book summaries for a website and I have to say, when I first started it seemed like a really good gig. Hell, it is a good gig. I mean I'm getting paid to read. Whoever heard of such a thing right? So, I'm not knocking the job at all. I am just so happy for a break. I turned in the last book on my list yesterday. I am waiting for approval so that I can submit my invoice and receive my next list. That gives me a few days before I have to work on my next one.

What's funny is that when I started doing this, I began keeping a mental list of all the things I would do once I got through the first list. The mental list had to turn into an actual list because my brain can only hold so much information, and I really can't afford to forget my phone number. So, last night, I sat down with a glass of wine and went over the list. This is when I realized that I am only ambitious when there is no time for it. Like I have a list of online training courses that I plan to take, and books I plan to review for this blog, and recipes for my food blog, and random blog topics I planned to have posted by now, not to mention website updates to the I Feel Pithy site. But, I didn't do anything. I sat there staring at my impossibly long list. Then I took a big gulp of my wine and started surfing the internet.

I tried to tell myself that it was only because I had worked so hard to get the last book summary turned in early. Honestly, though, I think I'm just lazy. I thought I would be depressed with that admission, but honestly, it's kind of freeing. I'M LAZY. Look mom you were right, I did grow up to be lazy all because you couldn't get me to clean out my closet that one time.

So then I started thinking about all of the really awesome books that I've read this year and realized the 50 books challenge was over a few months ago and I didn't even blog about it. Which I probably still won't do this time. This post is really about clearing some of the random detritus from my soggy brain tissue.

So, hubby and I were watching TV while I was surfing the net on the laptop and we realized something. Futurama was a really great show and we are so happy that it will be making a return on Comedy Central with all new episodes and everything. Only I heard a rumor that they may not be able to get the original writers back. But you know, Matt Groening has got to be sick of The Simpsons right? I mean its been 17 years. Man does that make me feel old.

So a high school senior's life time ago I started watching The Simpsons. Anyway, so if old Matt wanted something else, he could reconnect with his other awesome animated series Futurama. And if he comes back, he is bound to inspire at least one of the original writers right? See how I brought that full circle? Just when you thought I was going off on another tangent I bust out the original point again. Only that wasn't the original point of the post. It was just the original point of the Futurama part. There is no original point to the post besides the purging of randomness from my way overworked brain.

So then there is all of the crap that went down on the Gilmore Girls last season. I cannot believe any show could make me hate it's lead character with one episode. And, it just seems weird that the writers would risk the audience hating Lorelai you know since the show is about her. But, hate her now I do. I mean if you think your fiance isn't going to marry you because he is too busy spending time with the daughter that he didn't know he had, wouldn't you at least - I don't know SAY SOMETHING TO HIM ABOUT IT? I certainly would.

I tell you what I wouldn't do. I wouldn't turn into a big bag of crazy issuing "marry me now or its over" ultimatums to said fiance and then turning away before he has a second to think so that I could go and sleep with my baby daddy who never even bothered to pay child support and who thinks that buying his now 21 year old daughter a sidekick is a sign of mature parenting that will make up for the previous 20 years of neglect. Wow.

I remember when this show used to be comedy and within a single season it turned into the night time version of Days of Our Lives. Anyway, Luke was lucky to avoid that hot crazy mess. Because if he had married her then and there, he would have no self respect. But he also dodged a bullet because of her reaction. She didn't give him time to think before she took off and then she sleeps with her ex. The guy that has never been there for her or his child and who Luke hates because of his mistreatement of Lorelai. So, close one Luke Danes. Here's hoping there's a hot sports fan on her way to town in need of a cup of coffee. Because that self indulgent tornado of mass destruction called Lorelai Gilmore is for ever tainted by the skeeviness of Christopher.

So, Luke is lucky about the chain of events even if they will hurt for a little while. But what about me? In a single episode, the writers took away my sole reason for watching the show. Lorelai Gilmore. Well, there is still the food, so maybe its not as bad as all that.

Maybe I should stop now while my rambling still feels charming. Well, it still feels charming to me anyway. I think another paragraph or two and I'll start to get on my own nerves. Sorry if you have no idea what the Gilmore Girls rant was about.

I really am. After the catastrophe that was The Cat in the Hat and the ridiculousness of How the Grinch Stole Christmas I am extremely afraid of the latest effort to make a movie out of a Dr. Seuss classic. I don't want to see a big screen production of Horton Hears a Who

OK, its animated so maybe I don't have to deal with the caricature that Jim Carey Has become. But, how much do you want to bet that the animation will be based on Jim's facial ticks? I'm worried because I feel like the movie industry is doing its best to strip my childhood of all the cool parts.

And Dr. Seuss was one of the absolute coolest parts of my childhood. I swear if they touch the Star Bellied Sneetches, I am launching a nation wide protest.

Meet Charlotte.

WARNING: If spiders in any form freak you out, you may want to to look away. But, just so you know, they freak me out too. The only reason I was brave enough to take the picture was all the glass between me and the spider.

Charlotte built a web on the outside of my office building several months ago.

Just a minute...

I want to give you time to adjust to what you will be seeing, so just go with it.

As you can see, she has created her egg sack. Which, combined with the weather changes, means she isn't long for this world. The first time I noticed her all I saw was a small black dot in the middle of a huge and very intricate web. Every time I passed the window, I would tell myself that I needed to get a picture of the web if nothing else.

Over the months, Charlotte got bigger and bigger. I became impressed with her intelligence. Her web placement is perfect. It is located outside a second floor window in a corner of our building. The light glinting off the window attracts insects, but because she is in a corner of the building and up so high she has no need to worry about predators. Most of the office managers in the building have noticed her and they began calling her Charlotte- like the story- a month or so ago.

Of course, I thought I was the only person to see her from the beginning- but that's just what happens when no one else is around when a person finds something cool.

Yesterday Charlotte was three times the size you see here. So, she must have created that huge egg sack sometime last night or early this morning. Now, I know spiders are creepy. I think the only reason any of us have taken an interest in this particular spider is because she is separated from us by the double-paned completely sealed glass windows of our building. So, after seeing her egg sack many of us expressed our sadness that she won't be there for very much longer.

We got so used to following her slightest movements and noticing when she had caught something or had made a change in her web. Now, we all know she's going to die soon and it is a little sad. As we stood around marveling at the size of the egg sack we must have drawn quite a bit of attention to ourselves. Students who had been in the building constantly were only noticing her for the first time. Many of them were pulling out cell phones to take a picture of her. Others were shuddering at how creepy she looks.

But, those of us who worked there could only comment on how weird it would be when she was gone. There is no real point to this post. I kept meaning to take a picture of her to show my husband and I always forgot the camera.

Today I finally remembered to bring the camera to work with me. And seeing an egg sack that wasn't there yesterday makes me so glad that I remembered.

I love that Homer's friends always thought Marge was hot-except for that unfortunate episode about Marge doing the bodybuilding thing- because I like knowing that Marge had confirmation about her ability to do better.

But, she still chose Homer.

A little while back I reviewed a book entitled What Was She Thinking?: Notes on a Scandal: A Novel. I loved this book. It was so evil and wicked that it reminded me of reading a gossip blog. Even though its subject matter was a little on the disturbing side, it was such a perfectly awesome guilty pleasure read.

Well, I was meandering through the Apple Movie Trailers site and found that they are making a movie from the book, simply titled Notes on a Scandal. Now, I am always wary of books being made into movies. Its an incredibly difficult task. It is difficult enough to fit in all of the detail of the book without also having to worry about creating a character that still collectively resonates with individual readers' subjective imaginations.

I personally think one of the worse things you can do is see a movie after having read the book, if only for the sake of enjoying your 10 plus dollars. Although, having seen more than my fair share of movies after having read the book, I can safely say my belief systems and my actions are completely different.

However, when I watched the trailer, I became intrigued. I'm a sucker for good casting. Barbara Covett is being played by none other than the awesome Judi Dench. And Sheba Hart is being played by one of my own personal favorites Cate Blanchett.

This movie may not live up to the delightfully witty wickedness of the novel, but it has the potential to at least be good on its own merits. That is if its sticks to the main story of the book and doesn't try to go for the thriller genre which is what the trailer seems to indicate.

Either way, Bill Nighy is playing Richard.

Freakin Bill Nighy! I love that man. I always liked him but, ever since he muttered the line about having "ran it under a cold tap" in Shawn of the Dead I have LOVED him. I even forgave his turn in those awful Underworld movies because of my love for him. Its a pure love born of our mutual disdain for nonsense.

So, I will not only see this movie; I will reserve all judgment until I do. Which is really difficult to do when you see a trailer and can immediately tell the difference between the story you know and the story you are being given.

I honestly think that I love movies ALMOST as much as I love books. Books will always be my first true love. But, a good movie, or a movie that is so bad that its good, or even sometimes a plain ole bad movie, can entertain me the way a book can. The difference is that not so much of it is left to my imagination. Which is why I qualified it with ALMOST.

So, Notes on a Scandal? I'm totally going to see it.

Wow. Sorry guys. It has been way too long. I could break into an explanation about how busy I've been, but I've done that too many times to count. Lets just say that my regular job and the freelance work I'm doing always seem to ramp up around the same time.

Hope you had a happy holiday and are on the way to a great new year. I’ve got some things brewing myself.

First things first.

The book drive is still going strong. You may have noticed that I've even got a graphic for it. Yes, I know its fairly generic and you can probably find the template I took it from with a few clicks on the internet. What can I say? Its a start. I'll try and design something original when I get some other things settled. The design will have to wait though.

Right now, I am working on the internal stuff. There has been a change in guard at the shelter. Amy has moved on and I am now building a relationship with her replacement. I'm trying to make sure that the donations are tax deductible for those of you who might be curious about that.

So far, the donations through the wish list are tax deductible. For those of you who shipped your donations directly to the shelter I am kind of at a loss. I know- or I hope you get all the reward you need just from sending books to kids who need them. On the other hand, I know that getting a kick back tends to get people in the mood to give. So, I'm researching and will get back to you.

I do want to take this opportunity to thank a few people in the meantime.

• TheMom: She was the person to bring the shelter to my attention. This whole thing started as a birthday gift to her.
• Doppelganger: Her willingness to help promote this cause has been instrumental in getting it off the ground.
• Pamie: She gave me pointers on shipping that helped me make the process a lot smoother.
• Dr. John: He has proven that swag can draw attention to any cause.
• And finally, Everyone who has made a donation: Because of the way the wishlist works, I don't know who has sent what. If I did, I would thank each of you by name. I also have no idea who has shipped directly to the shelter. If you want to leave a comment telling me what you shipped, I will be glad to mention you by name. Otherwise, I will just have to say a generic THANK YOU to everyone who has helped get us to this point.

In my mind, this book drive is only just getting started. Its in the early stages where I still don't know what I am doing. I'm just bumbling along trying to get the books to a shelter that is more than 800 miles away from me. Maybe I should have started closer to home. There is definitely an argument to made there. But, I have to think that a commitment to one starting place is just as good as another when all you want to do is help.

That was actually a perfect lead in to my next paragraph. In case you didn't realize it, tomorrow is the MLK holiday. In honor of that, there is a movement here in town. Instead of taking a day off, how about taking a day on? The idea behind this is that you do something active rather than passive on the holiday. Instead of going to a lecture or viewing a film, how about volunteering that same amount of time to help others?

Check out the Official Page to find out more. Sometimes its not about the holiday. Its more about what you do to make the world a tiny bit better. So, maybe I don't feel so guilty about backing a charity so far away after all.

With that out of the way, I can talk about some other things I am working on. The freelance thing is going well. It makes me question whether or not I have what it takes to do it full time. I keep telling myself that its only because I have a full time job. But, I wonder if I have what it takes to make deadline after deadline. Sometimes I think if that were the only work I had to do then I would be one happy camper. Other times, I am so glad that I can pick and choose projects because I make enough in my full time job. It’s a crapshoot.

I’m also working on yet another redesign. This one is for my professional site. Its going to be much more textual than it currently is. I’ve got the majority of the layout and design working, I just need to add a little polish and bug control.

There is one other thing. You may have noticed (maybe not because it took me a while to notice) that the google ads no longer appear on my site. It turns out that the spam I’ve been fighting lately has taken a bigger toll than just my time. The only thing I can figure is I was the victim of a click attack, which caused google to shut down my account.

Now I am trying to decide whether it will be worth it to go through the appeals process. Since I’ve been a member of the program for more than a year and never received a single payment, it may be just as easy to go another route. Nothing against google, but I can just as easily make no money from any other blog advertiser out there. I just don’t know what this will cost me in terms of hits from google searches. They say the two aren’t related but you never really know for sure, do you?

Anyway, that’s all for now. Look for updates very soon.

Colin Firth is sexy.

I have been receiving comments about my emails bouncing back. If it is bouncing back, PLEASE CHECK YOUR SPELLING.

My email address is chasitymoody [AT] ifeelpithy [DOT] com. There is only one 'T' in my name.

I just wanted to let you guys know that I've sorted out some things. The email bounce back problem should be fixed now. It was a typo on a referring page. Also, I have updated the book list so that the blank journal is listed at the top. So, please update your book mark to wish list. I'll be updating it on past entries and anywhere else I can find it.

I'll be back soon with more book drive updates. In the meantime, check out the book drive's website to find out more ways to help.

Book Drive

Seems only two people have taken me up on the "triple your donation" matching program. If you are still interested, I will be matching your donation by doubling mine in honor of Mother's Day. The program ends Sunday May, 20th. So get to it people. Send one measly book from the wish list and the shelter will get three. You can't beat that.

Random Television Stuff

Tuesday night was the final episode of the Gilmore Girls. I loved the show. I mainly loved all of the constant food mentions. Here's how I decided to say goodbye.

Book Related

I just finished reading How Elizabeth Barrett Browning Saved My Life by Mameve Medwed. I devoured it in a day and a half. The writing style was clunky in places, but the book itself was so enjoyable that those parts could be overlooked. Who would have thought that a book that focuses on a chamber pot could be so engaging? I spent the entire read alternating between truly feeling for the main character, Abigail, and wanting to shake her for being so dense.

A while back I read Steve Martin's The Pleasure of My Company: A Novel. I wasn't as impressed with it as I was with Shop Girl. I think it goes back to my impatience with nonsense. The lead character, Daniel Pecan Cambridge, lived in a self created world of neurosis. Now, I like neurosis as much as the next person- I adore Silvia Plath's work. But there was something about Daniel's love of these completely fabricated quirks and eccentricities that really began to grate the more I read. The difference really is in the characters. I could relate to Mirabelle. Daniel Pecan Cambridge, not so much. And maybe that's the point. I definitely found myself voicing my frustration with the character of Daniel out loud. I definitely had to put it down because it seemed impossible that any character could be so intelligent and so obtuse at the same time. So, if Martin's goal was to thoroughly frustrate the reader before finally making his character move forward, he accomplished it with this reader.

I just started reading The House of Mirth. It seems I've read it before, but I don't remember it. So, I find myself falling in love with Edith Wharton all over again. Its been more than 10 years since I last read anything by her. Her style is even more beautiful than I remember. I am going to try to enjoy every second of it.

Self Promotion

My food web site, The Southern Epicure, has been nominated for a Blogger's Choice Award - Best Food Blog. Amazing. If you participate in things like this, I would love a vote. But, honestly, there are so many better candidates out there that I am simply surprised I was nominated at all.

That's it for now

Seriously. That's all I got right now.

So, you guys know I got a new job right? I am currently writing this post from a hotel room in Atlanta. We are here for 3 days of intense CS3 training. Yesterday's Photoshop class was awesome, although I had forgotten how hard it is to sit still and listen to someone talk for hours at a time. I really feel for those poor elementary school kids. It must be torture to have all that energy and have to sit still and quiet. I am 32 and don't have anywhere near the energy that an 8 year old has and I was sure I wouldn't make it.

Anyway, we are on day two and while the InDesign course wasn't as informative as the PhotoShop one, I am really looking forward to Dreamweaver tomorrow. Right now, we are all in our respective suites working so, I thought I would take a little break to post something. I know its been a little while. So, here's a bone.

Actually, I do have a post that I have been working on. I haven't posted it yet, because its fairly intensive and I have had to piece out small bits of time to work on it. Its also fairly movie geeky so beware. Hopefully, I will be done with it and have time to proof it in time to post it this weekend. I won't be home until Friday. My two direct supervisors and I are meeting with a company rep here in Atlanta Friday morning. We will be heading back to Athens after the meeting on Friday.

I have to say this has been a good time. I am really getting to know the people I will be working with. I have eaten at probably some of the best restaraunts in the world, and I am learning a lot about software that I have always wanted to be an advanced user in. Hopefully, I will get the chance to talk about this week with you guys. Right now, I feel like I barely have time to catch my breath- which I must say is kind of awesome. Its been a long time since I've been this excited about work.

Anyway, I'll get back to you guys this weekend. I think you will enjoy the post I plan to make then. And after that, I will post of my adventures in Atlanta.

So, very disappointed in the Dreamweaver training. Even more disappointed than I was in InDesign. Both classes were taught by the same person and that may have something to do with it.

Anyway, I am no stranger to Dreamweaver. Its what I used to build this site and several others. Its pretty much how I cut my teeth on HTML. So, I wasn't too worried when he started off talking about very basic things. As a matter of fact, I kind of zoned out a bit until I heard him say that Dreamweaver was basically a layout tool. It seemed a rather strange statement to make about something that has so many coding capabilities and made me question what he knew about HTML in general.

So, I'm sitting there trying my best to keep from looking as bored as I was. My boss was sitting next to me and she wrote me a note saying something along the lines of "he's going to start talking about table layouts." Sure enough, the second I finished reading the note, he starts talking about using tables to create your web layouts.

It wasn't until he started talking about ALT tags that my boss got really fed up. He basically told the entire class that the W3 Consortium would come after a business or entity for not using ALT tags in their web sites. At that point she wrote a note that said "This guy is a hack. Let's leave." I stifled a giggle and figured we would leave at the next break. Only she started gathering her stuff together, just as he started talking about the Assets Panel in Dreamweaver, she whispers "gather your assets." And we did. All four of us just walked out. Of course we helped ourselves to the complimentary sodas on the way out.

So, you may have noticed that I haven't written anything lately. It's not from lack of anything to write about. If I say I've been busy, it will sound like a cop out. But, really I have.

I have a new job. I'm kind of still in shock about it. It happened very quickly. A friend of mine told me about an open position in a different college at the university so, I applied. Because things work so slowly there, I didn't expect to even hear from anyone for at least a month. Only, they immediately contacted me about taking an aptitude test and and an interview. With very little time to prepare, I went. That night I got a call offering me the job.

I am going to be a web developer. Well, not really. That is the official job title, but really I'll be learning to be a web developer. Yes all those years of teaching myself html and cascading style sheets have finally come to fruition. I get to learn web programming as well as design.

My first day on the job will consist of my leaving for an intensive 3 day training course in Adobe Creative Suite. Their putting me up in a hotel with a pool and everything. But, here's the thing. I am really nervous. You see I have been at my current position for almost 9 years. Even though I've gotten really burnt out and over it, I'm really comfortable here. Its that whole stepping outside of your comfort zone thing.

I'm worried about the dumbest things too. Like, I worry if my brain is so set in its ways that it will refuse to learn new things. I worry that I will screw up something so major on their website that I will be fired on the spot. I worry that people will think I smell- I have begun sweating a lot more than normal this year and have been searching furiously for a clinical strength deodorant and am about to begin searching on line.

So, those are a few of my worries. Then there is the guilt. I have been where I am for so long that I feel bad about leaving. I find that there are all kinds of things that I just handled and now have to list out for the group until they get a replacement. I began packing up my things the other day and realized, I have seen 9 years worth of students graduate. I have seen and helped 9 years worth of graduate and post graduate students earn their master's and phD's. I have seen many of them go on to teach at the same college. Its been a long time. But, the thing is it IS time. Its time for me to move forward. And that is my biggest worry. What if I take this chance and move forward only to fall flat on my face?

I know thats probably a normal fear- or maybe it isn't and I am one of those people who fears success. I guess my biggest problem is that I don't feel like I can celebrate the way that I should. Different members of my family are going through hardships. They all say congratulations, but they are preoccupied. Then I feel guilty because I want them to be a little bit happier for me. Then I worry that I am not sympathetic enough to their problems.

The thing is I gave this job 6 weeks notice. So, now everyone knows I'm leaving and I have pretty much checked out and am feeling pretty isolated. I've been trying to busy myself, which has been very easy. I have inventories to take, instructions to update, student workers to train- I'm swamped.

But every time I get frustrated at work or feel like I'm moving on too soon, I think about the perks. I took my current job because I really didn't know what I wanted to do. I was really interested in technical writing and training. I was also interested in networking and computer hardware. But, this college couldn't afford to train me in any of those things. I had to learn it on my own and by being willing to research until I found the right answer. And that was cool, but it did nothing to help me find a focus.

I knew I wanted to go further in technology, but never thought I had the right type of training to do anything web related. I mean I can build websites, but I never really learned anything about design. I figured as long as I kept the designs simple and clean people wouldn't notice that I wasn't a designer. And now, here I am the perfect candidate for a group looking to mentor someone. Even better, this is a college that can and will invest in training for their employees.

When I was talking to the friend who told me to apply, I told her that I really did feel like it was time for me to move on to something else. There was a pause and then she said, "Chas, you were ready to move on 3 years ago." And she was right. She IS right.

So, maybe all I'm really doing is trying to convince myself that its ok for me to be happy about this. Which is silly because- and I'm letting you in on a big secret here- I prayed for this. Not this specifically, but about 3 months ago, I started hoping and praying that I could find a way to move on before one more computer lab was added to my roster of duties. I wanted to get out before I started hating my coworkers. I wanted a job that could take me further in the things I would love to know. I always wanted to be a real geek girl. And I think I am going to finally get the chance. So every day that I walked into the building, every morning when I woke up, I would just say "please let something happen to get me out." And then this happened, and it happened so quickly that I haven't really had time to second guess it. Which is probably what I am doing now that I have all this time on my hands.

Can you picture it? Me. A maven of PHP and Java and a whole bunch of other web technologies that sound like things I should know but don't. I know nothing about what my new set up is going to be. But, I do know that the atmosphere is Macintosh friendly and I won't have to work with students anymore. I'm sure I'll still have to convince myself that I have not stepped into a zombie movie as I drive on to campus every day. I'm pretty positive that I won't be able to escape whatever office politics are waiting for me. And, there is still the chance that my new coworkers will think I smell bad, but I do think this is the luckiest thing to have happened to me in a long time.

I think the moment when things will really sink in is when I wipe my hard drive. Right now, I'm so focused on all the things I have to do before I leave. Even writing a formal letter of resignation so that my boss could post my position as being open didn't have the resonance I was expecting. Instead, that was when the feeling that I was an outcast began. Maybe I hurt myself by giving such a long period of notice. Its not like they can afford to get mopey about my leaving them just before the start of a new semester. They have to get their act together and move forward too. I wonder if they will buy me lunch as a fond fairwell. Probably not, since I was the oe who always arranged the good bye lunches for people who were moving on to other jobs. So, all I can do is wait it out. And now, that all I can do is wait it out, I am trying to hold on to that sense of excitement I had when I received the phone call telling me I got the job. Of course hubby and I are going to the mountains for our anniversary this weekend. Maybe the serenity of the place will help me get a grip on whatever this is.

Anyway, thats what's been going on with me lately. I'll be updating you guys on the book drive and letting you know about some incentives I have in place in upcoming posts. Stay tuned.

So, Saturday we went to Mr. Blank's Carnivale of Black Hearts hosted by a friend of ours at Tasty World. I've said before that Halloween in Athens is an experience and everyone tries to make it a party. So, I tried to remember to take pictures this time. Only of course, I didn't get pictures of all the costumes I liked. The one I really wish I had gotten a picture of was a very petit woman-I think she was a drummer for one of the bands- dressed as Hulk Hogan. She even nailed the voice and called everyone "brother" all night.

You may or may not have noticed that I have been missing. Well, its like this:

I got hosed by my hosting company. I have since moved to another company, but unfortuantely, I had not exported my entries using the Movabe Type tools before my hosting company lost my database files. So, I have been copying and pasting my entries into a newly installed Movable Type interface on my brand new host. You may still notice some weird issues as I get things back up.

I'm very grateful to the Movable Type support community for all of their help and am also extremely pleased with my new hosting company, Hostmonster.

After I get all of my posts back and some redirects in place along with all my comments, I will then have to go about doing the same for my food blog. I am not sure if I am going to put the Fluff report back online. I may simply add a category to this blog and put all of those entries there.

This has been the biggest pain and has taken so much of my time and it will continue to do so until I am finally done.

So, updates may be few and far between until I get a handle on all of this stuff.