(Halfway) Off the Shelf

Reading
I've been trying to get into A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and every time I pick it up I get distracted, or remember homework I forgot I had, or realize I have five minutes to get ready for work. As a result, I'm only about forty pages in. It's disgusting and sad and eyeopening all at the same time. Dying of cancer really is an awful way to die. I think I'd rather just die quickly than know I'm sick and sit around waiting for the day when my family members don't have to worry about me. After all, they all know I'm not getting better.
I've read fifty pages of Angela's Ashes and I can't decide how I feel about it. It's so easy to forget that it's a true story, not a novel. It's written so calmly that I can't help but feel the person who wrote it never actually experienced any of the things happening. But he did. If I had ever lived the way the family in the book lived, I would write a book all about how horrible materialism and selfishness are.
Eating
My aunt bought me a sushi-rolling board last summer, and I just broke it out and made sushi a few nights ago. It took me several tries to make it worthwhile, but boy was it worth it. Delicious.
School
In AP Composition we read an article about Jonah Lehrer, the author who plagiarized and invented quotes for his book. I've been reading some of his articles he wrote before his validity was questioned this is my favorite. It's interesting because depression can be hereditary and several of my family members have been depressed at one point in their lives.
Music
One word: Oberhofer.
More than one word: That's a weird version of the song, but I can't find the album version.
History of Oberhofer: They're weird and sound that way. No one had ever really heard about them until they went on David Letterman...and people still don't really know how amazing they are. I always let people borrow their CD and I always tell them: listen to the entire album once. Hate it, I expect you to. Then listen to it again. Everyone so far has become obsessed after listening to the album for a second time.

Peace. Love. Rory.

"Sergeant Stubby and the Dog's of War"

This is a photo of the previously mentioned Rory (named after Rory from Gilmore Girls), my westie. I will never forget the day I found out we bought a dog. I was arriving home from a summer camp, when I saw my sister through the bus window. I remember turning to my friend Liz and saying "Oh my gosh, my sister dyed her hair!" And then, noticing the white ball of fur in my sisters arms, adding: "OH MY GOSH. WE GOT A PUPPY!"
My overwhelming love of dogs in general encouraged me to read the article "Sergeant Stubby and the Dog's of War" while wandering around McSweeney's webpage.

This article tells the story of the dog, Stubby (named for his tail) who was the first unofficial war dog. He was smuggled to France by his owner, Robert Conroy during WWI. The small mutt was discovered on the ship and was allegedly only saved because he raised his paw to his chin in salute to the commanding officer. Dogs are surprisingly very helpful in battle, described in detail by Robb Fritz. Stubby participated in seventeen battles himself. His superior abilities to hear and smell  proved to be an asset. In one instance he awoke, due to a strange smell. He started barking, awakening the soldiers, who quickly put their gas-masks on, saving their lives. Stubby was taken to a hospital and nursed back to health. He was named a Sergeant (the only dog in WWI to receive an actual military title) after he attacked a soldier who ended up being a German spy.

Stubby was a little inspiring hero, especially because he was one of the first American K-9 war dogs. It makes me think my dog is a little chunky and really lazy. But I doubt Stubby was a cute as Rory.

Okay. He's pretty cute.

Things that Occured to me at Work:

Literally as soon as I posted that last note, I ran around my house in a panic getting ready for work. I got home from work about thirty minutes ago and I decided to add all the random thoughts that came to me as I was greeting people, busing tables, and folding napkins.
1. In addition to reading Kaling's memoir I also read From Bible-Belt Pastor to Atheist Leader last night. My family is interesting because my siblings and I were all raised in our ultra-religious household, and all four of us are either agnostic or atheist. So reading about this pastor and his own little revelation was fascinating for me.  No one in my family is judgmental and we don't impose our beliefs upon others. I've never felt the drive to convert anyone as the man in this article does.
2. I am the most obnoxious laugher there will ever be. I inherited my strange laugh from my sister, who then grew out of it and sounds like a normal person. I hope I don't ever grow out of my laugh. That doesn't really have anything to do with anything. But I wanted to include it.

3. I'd have to include Rory in the watching category. A lot of the things I do include my dog or taking a photo of my dog. She's basically the love of my life.

Off the Shelf

Reading:
This past week I've been enjoying Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by the lovely Mindy Kaling. While not as deep as other selections, I've always been a fan of Mindy and her character on The Office, so it made for a good first book selection. Going into the memoir, I didn't really know much about her besides the fact her name was Kelly and she was a ditz. So in reading I kind of discovered an entire new human-being. One that had existed for 32 years, but I had never bothered to learn about in my 18. Her story is pretty inspiring to me because I've always wanted to escape to New York, even if I have no set plan. She moved to New York City when she graduated Dartmouth and lived with the income of a babysitter before becoming an assistant (to the) TV psychic Mac Teegarden. Mindy and her best friend Bren wrote a play called Matt and Ben, based on Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's sudden rise to fame after writing   Goodwill Hunting. Mindy Kaling is a writer, first and foremost. She emphasizes that. She writes many of the episodes of The Office, and now is staring in her own show. Her talent is present in this book. She's hilarious.

Listening:
Once a week I burn a C.D. of whatever the hell I'm listening to and take it to work with me. I walk into the back kitchen and give it away, receiving one of my own. The first week I started working, Austin and I started this tradition and it hasn't changed, seeing as we're both always listening to something new. I've got him hooked on Death Cab for Cutie and he's got me addicted to Mumford and Sons. We both have amazing taste in music, if you ask me. Listen to the Head and the Heart. They're my absolute favorite.

Watching:
Before this week I had never watched an episode of Seinfeld. My friend informed me that was absolutely ridiculous and brought me the first and second season. I sat down the other day and watched season 1 (consisting of only 5 episodes). I'm not crazy about it, but it is funny. Apparently it grows on you? We'll see.

Writing?:
I like the idea of writing so much more than actually executing the task. Writing...a way to get all your thoughts out. Articulately and accurately. And then when you're done, you get to decide if it's worth sharing, or if it's personal. But I don't really have much going on in my life to write about. Every once in a while I try to write a little everyday. But I just get bored with writing the same thing over and over again. Maybe I'll try again and stick with it. I like the idea of just adding a random sentence everyday. Someone suggested look at a picture of a memory and write about that. I think I'm going to try it with this picture. A lot of memories came with that evening.

What kind of reader am I...that's a tough one. Especially because I go through such genre phases. One month I want to read nothing but "crappy fiction" as my father calls anything written for a teenage girl in the last ten years. The next month I'll only read Jane Austin. Then I'm reading Carl Sagan. There's no rhyme or reason to my book-picking method. But I guess the most important fact about what kind of reader I am is that I, in fact, read. I'm always reading something new, or rereading Harry Potter. I think my love of books was inherited from my father, and grew as I was growing and watching my siblings read novel after novel.
I took Etymology because I like the idea of picking my own books. But I need somebody there, telling me I need to finish it. I have countless books I've started and haven't had the motivation to finish. Especially since my family got Netflix. So I guess my goal for this semester is to start reading as much as I did when I didn't have access to cable, the internet, and Netflix. It'll take some work, but I'm sure I'll get there.