Persuasion

Did you know about this Jane Austen tale? I didn't, until a friend recently let me borrow her dvd of the BBC version (thanks!). I was taken up with the movie just as I have been with all other Jane Austen films (excepting an awful 80s version of Northanger Abbey - picture late 18th century costume and storyline mixed with 80s hair influence and full-on 80s music). All films are wonderful and all have happy endings. Nothing like Tess of the D'Urbervilles or Wuthering Heights, thank goodness. What's strange is, and here's a confession of sorts, while I've read both of these sad stories, I have never read a Jane Austen novel. It may just be time to begin.

Elevator Usage

The elevator is a great invention. It facilitates people movement in very tall buildings; helps us move heavy/large/fragile items easily; and assists those of us who are in wheelchairs, using crutches, or suffering from arthritis or other joint malady. However, if you aren't taking part in any of the aforementioned activities or previously discussed situations, I think you should be taking the stairs.

At work, I find myself passing individuals waiting for the elevator on the 1st floor only to beat them to the 3rd floor by taking the stairs. Some persons I give the benefit of the doubt to, remembering certain activities or situations, but others I'm pretty sure could use those quadriceps and carry themselves up a few flights. The worst is when I spot a young 20-something waiting for the elevator with a tray full of food from the 1st floor cafeteria. I take a gander at his/her lunch choices: french fries, a diet soda, frozen yogurt. That meal practically mandates stair usage!

On the other hand, I see several regulars taking advantage of the stairs at work (There's even one woman who does her exercises every afternoon by walking up and down them for about 30 minutes). If they're carrying food, I've got to satisfy my curiosity, and I look at what they've chosen from the cafeteria menu: minestrone soup, breadsticks, and a fruit cup.

It's alarming how often lousy vs. healthy meal choices accompany elevator vs. stair usage. Do you think if I went to the cafeteria and watched what people bought I could tell whether or not they were going to take the elevator? Quite possibly.

Fresh Produce Gone Bad

My husband and I just can't seem to eat our fresh veggie produce fast enough (eating fruits, on the other hand, is quite easy)! It's not that I'm buying a ton of vegetables, it's just that we forget to eat them and I haven't got good ideas for making veggies a part of a meal. We like to pull out a carrot and enjoy it raw, but what should I do if the carrots are bitter? My first inclination is to boil the orange roots, but then they'll lose all of their vitamin A. And spinach, I buy it fresh and we eat some salads, but then the leftovers go bad (aka slimy).

Don't get me wrong, we actually enjoy eating vegetables (or at least I thought we did), but even our frozen broccoli is getting freezer burnt and that isn't a good sign. Does anyone have any good ideas of good, quick, veggie presentations? Or is this a case of, "Hey, it's really not that difficult. Just make sure you eat them"? I hope it's not the latter, but the longer this post gets, the more I think it may be that way.

The Kite Runner: A Review

Definitely don't judge this book by it's cover or by it's name. Maybe I'm one of only a few people who mistakenly thought The Kite Runner was a sweet story about boyhood friends; but come on, a small boy on the front, the thought of flying kites, what are these book cover designers trying to pull on me?

While this book is a story about boyhood friends, it certainly isn't sweet. In fact, this book is far from sweet. It is very intense. That's the best word I can use to describe it. I read it in three days partly because I wanted to stop thinking about it, put some closure to it. The other reason I read it so quickly was because this book is high throttle; new events were being thrown at me before I could really digest them (maybe that's for the best) , and I wanted to find out what happened in the end. The intensity never stops. You can never rest and possibly, that may be the point.

This story centers around two boys growing up in Afghanistan and follows them as they grow to adulthood. While they are best friends, they are complete opposites. In religion, in social class, in physical look, in faith and beliefs, and in what is emphasized most, character. What results is a narrative that's bound to be emotional, even for the stiffest of individuals. I'd suggest only reading it if you're up for a severe story.

Style - Layering

It started in high school and I've liked doing it ever since. That is, layering. One morning I went to school with a navy blue t-shirt, a fresh plaid button up, and a red sweater. A friend said to me, as if pointing out an obvious blunder, "You've got three shirts on!" That was the point. In college I didn't like wearing a coat, even on the chilliest of days, because I'd rather layer. Thin t-shirt, long sleeve tee, corduroy button up, sweater, and then a zip up sweatshirt. I was never cold walking to campus. And when I did get hot in class, I'd shed a layer and place it in my backpack, no huge parka to lug around for a day or stuff under my seat.

After college I've continued to layer, but I haven't been coming up with as many new combinations, seeing as I don't purchase clothes that often (insert sentence about cheapness and laziness to look through all of the sales racks here), and layering just isn't as fun as it used to be (although I still do it, sometimes looking just like I did in high school!).

This is where The Sartorialist comes in. Have you heard of it? Probably, I hear it's pretty big. However, I just came upon it while perusing through this blogosphere. I won't describe it because you can take a look for yourself, but let's just say it's put the joy back into layering for me (just in time for fall). The sartorial blog serves me much like my sister's old J. Crew catalogs did back in high school. Lots of photos of neat style ideas and cues, all of which are brought to you by everyday people (well, mostly everyday people, but some are bigwigs and smallwigs in the fashion world). Plus, the blogger can talk about a pocket square and what a south paw is all in one post. A catalog never does that.

photo from j.crew.com

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

We've all heard that it's the rough times in life that make us strongest. It's unfortunate that it's true. Punch-in-the-gut life experiences enable us to learn a lot about ourselves, build our character, have epiphanies about the world. True, we can do this by not getting the wind knocked out of us throughout life, but the learning seems to be at a slower pace.

Anne Frank was put into a real awful situation at an extremely horrible time in history, making her learning curve very steep. Sure, her diary is filled with the normal fare of a 14 year old (e.g., disliking peeling peas or thinking about boys), but very often she fills the pages with neat insights, thoughts on the workings of the world, and constructive criticism of her character. One of my favorite passages:

How noble and good everyone could be if, every evening before falling asleep, they were to recall to their minds the events of the whole day and consider exactly what has been good and bad. Then, without realizing it, you try to improve yourself at the start of each new day; of course, you achieve quite a lot in the course of time. Anyone can do this, it costs nothing and is certainly very helpful. Whoever doesn't know it must learn and find by experience that: "A quiet conscience makes one strong!"

This book is good because it was the real life of a young girl who was dealing with a rough situation the best way she could, and all the while trying to become better. How would each of us deal with such a situation? How do each of us deal with what we've got? This book makes you think about it.

Beach baby, beach baby

Whoa! Look at all of those people on the beach. That's what I like to see on a family trip.

The Midas touch

In a relatively quick amount of time, I've become quite familiar with the workings of the car I drive. I know the meanings of and have looked closely at worn out car parts including the sway-bar; brake knuckle (aka hub), pin, and seat; ball and socket joints; and shocks. I'd like to blame all of this mechanical education I've been getting to the patchwork quality of the city/neighborhood streets I drive, but that's another matter.

What's amazing is that I've learned all about this stuff in the past three weeks at the local Midas mechanic shop. They've surely got the Midas touch and it's in their favor not mine, because I keep having to go back one week after another. I always hope it's because of something they've made a mistake with so I can get the repair for free, but the three separate times I've visited in the past three weeks have all legitimately been for different problems. Before all these repairs began, I think my car had found homeostasis, but after one thing was fixed, another got upset. During my second visit, I'm sure the mechanics thought I a car-hypochondriac, but I am far from it. I'll have to admit, I'm one of those people who ignores the maintenance light, but I could not ignore the series of techno beats coming from my front axle.

At the end of three weeks, I'm on a first name basis with the mechanics. They're nice guys who'll answer any or all questions I have (even if it is because my business makes up 1/5 of their revenue stream for the month of August). They've even got to making me estimates in ranges before they have to "look at the parts inventory and talk with the manager," which I consider a great hurdle cleared. And the last time I went, one of them told a mechanic joke and I got it.

What happened?

How in the world did it get to be August 8th already? This whole week I kept thinking we were barely moving out of July and into August. And the other day, someone told me that summer is over. What? Not yet, I reply. I've still got a lot of summer left in me.

Golden Anniversary

Golden Anniversaries call for golden blogging measures,
yep, a wedding photo:

Celebrating 4 years of excellent times on the 4th.