I just spent a week in southern Idaho for the Christmas holidays where I got to be supremely lazy--reading, watching movies, hanging out with my mom, youngest sister and her son.  Good times.  It was the perfect warmup for the next four weeks of supreme laziness that I get to have until my final semester (providing I pass my comps) begins, Jan. 25.  Naturally, there are all kinds of home projects that I could be working on during this period of ease and I am unmotivated to begin any of them.  As it it New Year's Eve (yawn), I feel that I should get to spend the day allowing brain rot to set in and have already watched the last three episodes of Battlestar Galactica season 4 (still have 4.5 to see), checked email, FB, exchanged my ticket for Il Trovatore to another night so that I can see Hey Marseilles at the Crocodile on Jan. 30, put on a $.50 album find--Adam Ant, Strip--and made a few "Happy New Year!" phonecalls.  All in all, I'd say it's been a very productive day thus far.  

Sometimes I have been known to write down some memorable moments of the exiting year.  It was kind of a rough one, so I'll skip that but will be happy to make note of several fantastic books that I had the pleasure of reading for my teen lit class.  Required reading that always felt like I was sluffing on my homework even though it was my homework; ain't life grand? 

In no particular order here are some recommended reading for the new year if anyone is reading this blog:

1. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation: Vol. I, The Pox Party, M.T. Anderson

2. Feed, also by Anderson

3. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie

4. Tangerine, Edward Bloor

5. American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang

6. Sharp Teeth, Toby Barlow

Happy New Year!

Sometimes I like to take study breaks while I eat.  Sometimes I like to watch a 30 minute episode of something while I take a study break and eat.  Lately it's been Sex in the City.  This particular episode, from the first season, Carrie is whining about the sex drought she and  Mr. Big are in (o, the horror, I know) while she and her friend, Samantha take a yoga class.  They are having this conversation using regular volume voices, DURING CLASS.  I realize that this program is full of fantasy and matching ultra expensive handbag and shoe combos, and I can forgive all that.  But the talking during the class (and every other "excercise" class they take throughout the seasons) without anyone noticing or seemingly caring stretches the limit of my suspension of disbelief threshold.