New Book

We finally finished reading Wicked, and it was a lot of fun---reading it together and discussing it every so often.

The book was, um, well, interesting. It was not at all what I expected. In some ways, it ventured too far from what I had in my head from the movie, The Wizard of Oz. But in other ways, I loved the insight and depth it had as related to people and groups and issues and feelings. And that's what made reading it with friends so good; we were able to discuss all of those things and gather even greater depth from the book.

A problem, though, was that for me, we took much too long to read it. This last segment I didn't read the book at all for about four weeks because I didn't want to finish it so far in advance of when we'd discuss it---too much time would have passed for me to recall in detail things to discuss. To read something with the necessary attention to be able to discuss it, setting it aside for four weeks was too much. And admittedly, I got a little frustrated when my reading buddies read ahead; one even finished the entire book when we were only set to be two-thirds through. At first thought, it would seem that would be "no big deal," right? Yes . . . except that when big things happen in the last third of the book, when secrets are revealed, when the plot thickens, when questions are answered, it makes it hard to discuss it without giving away too much and with being able to discuss it with the same curiosity the other two of us had.

Still, over all, it was a good thing to do. And so we've chosen our next book. this time, though, we're going to read the whole thing. It's a shorter book and so it shouldn't take too long; we've give ourselves six weeks. Even though it's grading time for us all, we have six weeks and so we have the flexibility of that time to read around grading . . . or as an escape from it.

Our next book is Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez and Kristin Ohlson. It's the story of an American woman who went to Afghanistan after the Taliban had been driven out to train Afghan women. From the New York Times review:

“Kabul Beauty School” is the rollicking story of one of the strangest
foreign-aid projects ever conceived, the creation of an academy to train Afghan beauticians. A surprisingly successful venture, it gives Afghan women practical training convertible into cold cash and personal power, a radical idea in a country where women have the approximate status of dirt.

I loved The Kite Runner and the glimpse it gave me to the inside of Afghanistan, so I'm really looking forward to another book that will open those doors. And I look forward also to reading this and discussing this book and all of the issues it addresses with my friends.

Reading Books

I’ve wanted to get back to reading for pleasure for some time. As the year began (which, for me, was when the semester began—after NYC), I started making it through my large stack of magazines that had been ignored over the summer and fall. And I was enjoying the reading. Of course, I still wasn’t back to where I wanted: enjoying books.

My first step had been reading a book for pleasure while traveling in Africa. It’d been so long since I’d done that, even choosing the book was difficult. (I blogged about that then.) But I did select a book, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, and it was wonderful! The story is a poignant look at a woman discovering who she is—and who she isn’t—in her late thirties. It’s funny, sad, heartfelt—all of what I wanted in a book then.

And so, beginning the year, I started reading my magazines (Body & Soul, Shape, Natural Health, and Fitness), giving me motivation for my “make me better” goals of the year, lifting my spirits with tales of success, and calming my soul with stories of peace and hope.

But I still wanted to get back to books. And just like that, I had my nudge: one of my girlfriend/colleagues whom I saw in NYC sent me and the other an email: let’s have a book club. She wanted us to read Wicked, primarily because that’s one of the shows we had all wanted to see on Broadway but were unable to. Of course, a book club with people when you live in states all across the US seems silly, but our plan was to discuss via an online chat. Technology—a helpful tool.

And so, I started reading Wicked by Gregory Maguire. First, I can say this is not a kid’s book! (It’s the story of “the life and times of the wicked witch of the west.” It tells about the wicked witch’s life before Dorothy. (Glinda’s in it too; turns out they were childhood friends.)) Oh no, though, not a children’s book. But it is fun.

Our first online chat, though, was hardly a success technology-wise. Alas, none of us was able to solve our tech issues either, but finally, Janet’s husband to the rescue: use his toll-free conference call system. Fabulous! And so, we all three call this toll-free number, put in a code, and we actually talk all together. It was great! First, we got to talk about the book, which is a little odd—especially if you’ve never read fantasy-type books before. (I was able to help the other two deal with this a little.) Also, of course, it was just great to talk to them both. We email regularly, but actually talking was nice.

Of course, the time set between our chats was too long for me. I read the first part much sooner than time for the first scheduled chat, and I realized I’d read it much too quickly for our time frame. Around the time I was figuring this out, I was in Target one day, saw a book, and bought it.

What? I can’t read two novels at once. That seemed ridiculous! You read one, finish it, then start another. That’s the way reading novels works! Who would be in the middle of two at once? Well, I would.

First, I needed another book to slow me down from reading Wicked too quickly. And second, I finally realized something: good grief, I watch and stay up with more than one tv show at a time. Why couldn’t I read two books at once?


It’s been great. The second book was The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. The book is about a man from Afghanistan and the tale of his childhood—and its relation to his adulthood. I finished it last night, and it was a fabulous tale. I highly recommend the book.

I regularly cry at the movies—taken over with emotional and powerful scenes. But part of that is the visual impact of seeing someone’s emotions, the music in the background, the “whole thing.” I get that. But not this: while reading The Kite Runner, I actually cried. Now that’s a powerful story.

It’s been made into a movie, and I hope to see it soon.

But now I need another book. Or maybe I’ll finally get to a couple I have on my book shelf I haven’t read yet—I have one by Deepak Chopra I’ve been wanting to get to. I have, after all, another five weeks before we discuss part III of Wicked. ;-)

Departure

Whew! It's been a very busy week. First, getting my exam finalized was much more time-consuming that I'd anticipated. I spent as much time writing it as my students likely spend studying for it; that surprised me. But I think it'll be good. It's very thorough and does a good job covering the broad topics we hit this semester. Of course, grading it when I return will be another very long chore. I just hope I can get it finished in a week.

Of course it's also taken time to get ready for the trip. As I type, I'm sitting at the Memphis airport, waiting on the flight for the first leg. It's just after 12:30 p.m., and it'll be 2:00 p.m. tomorrow (my time here) before I arrive--then another hour into Kampala. It'll be a long day!

From here, I'm off to Detroit, with a couple-hour layover before catching the almost eight-hour flight to Amsterdam. There, I'm meet up with my colleague from Seattle, and we fly the eight hours to Nairobi. Shortly after we land, we fly the short trip from Nairobi to Entebbe, Uganda. We have arranged a car to pick us up at the airport (after I buy a visa there) and take us into the capital city of Kampala---where we'll spend the next week!

I'm also really looking forward to a true vacation. Although I've traveled a lot lately, almost all of it has been work-related or to visit people. But finally, after the week in Uganda, it'll be pure vacation. Ahhh.......

I decided to go ahead and buy a book to read while away. I used to be an avid reader of fiction, but after law school, I essentially stopped. I still listen to a lot of books on CD when I have long drives, but I hadn't really bought many books. So my trip to the bookstore was a little interesting.

I really didn't want a romance sort of book. Puh-lease. The last thing I need to read about someone else falling in love with a falsely amazing man. ;-) And I wasn't in the mood for a mystery or murder type book. I like James Patterson and Stuart Woods, but that just wasn't my mood. And I likewise was not at all interested in a book about a twenty-something starting her career in New York. Good grief---how many such books are out there? The whole "devil wears prada" craze seems to have gotten out of hand.

I was going to get Alice Sebold's new book. But it's not in paperback yet, and I could not bring myself to taking a hard-cover to the beach.

But finally, I found the book: "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. This looked like a book I could really enjoy--and appreciate. Funny, though, I don't think it's fiction. It's about the author's year spent traveling and soul-searching.

I also picked up the a book by the guy who wrote High Fidelity and About a Boy--Nick Hornby. The on I got is A Long Way Down.

Alrighty. My flight's about to start boarding, and I'm going to head off. I'll post more over the next two weeks as I have internet. It's nice---leaving my cell phone at home and knowing some places will have nothing pulling at me.

:-)

Tour de Texas

Ahhh---final days in The great Lone Star State!

After leaving the girls that final Tuesday night, I headed home for one last night on River Birch. I was utterly exhausted, but I managed to get my air mattrress blown up before crashing hard. It seemed to be the first night in a couple of months I didn't have something to do---something that needed to be done, something that needed attention, etc. I could simply go to sleep. And indeed I did!

Up early the next morning, I finished loading the car with the last few things---Howard's goodies (he'd been at my friends' Jessee & Rudeene's place since Monday morning), clothes for almost two weeks, a box of needed things for my first night in Memphis (I'd get there late one evening, and the movers would be there the next morning) and my very empty propane tank. (The movers won't move a propane tank, so I let it totally empty so I could take it myself. I was assured it'd be safe as long as I let it completely empty by allowing my grill fire to burn out.)

Once everything was loaded, I cleaned the house a little more. I had vacuumed each room as the movers emptied it (having the vaccuum go on the truck last), so the only thing to do was wipe down some counters. I also got rid of the remaining items in the 'fridge and freezer; I had sold my 'fridge to the buyer; my rental house in Memphis has a fridge in it. I went ahead and left the extra unopened bottles of water, an unopened gatorade, and almost as an aside, I went ahead and left a sealed and unopened thing of deli meat. It seemed a shame to toss, and it was sealed---never opened. And it was good for a couple of more weeks. I figured if the buyer didn't want it, she could always throw it away. I was so tickled to receive the following email from her a couple of days later (the plant she refers to is a mother-in-law tongue plant I left for her that I started from the one the owner before me had left behind after she moved out):

Hi Jana,

I just wanted to say thank you not only for the plant (I love plants) but also for leaving that lunch meat in the refrigerator! I was focused on moving stuff in on my lunch hour yesterday, so I neglected to eat lunch; then while moving more stuff after work, my blood sugar must have crashed because I suddenly felt extremely weak and shaky and just HAD to eat immediately. I stumbled, trembling, to the refrigerator thinking, “Surely there’s nothing in there, but it’s worth a shot and I can pass out in the kitchen as well as in the living room.” Then I opened it and voila – FOOD! I grabbed it like a starving monkey and pulled out the plastic wrapped meat handing the outer container to my friend from work to check the expiration date for me. I said, “I’m eating this unless you see a reason to stop me before I can get into it!” He said “July 19.” as I crammed a big chunk of it in my mouth. Phew . . . still conscious.

You saved me! Today I ate lunch at lunch time.

I hope everything goes great for you there. I’m really glad to have met you. Give me a call or write any time.

And there ya go---a reason I left the lunch meat!

After having the car completely loaded and the house clean, I waited for a little bit to say good-bye to my neighbors Ray and Laura. Ray had just left to run an errand, so I waited a bit, visiting with Laura and playing with the kitties one last time. They are so cute!







Ray made it home, I said good-bye, and that was that. I was off. I spent over eight years in that house---the first house I bought. They were a good eight years, and the house was just right for all I needed during that time.

But no time for nostaglia then! I had errands to run! First stop, off to see the buyer (now owner) of my home to deliver her keys, garage door opener, and all the info I'd been compiling---security codes, important phone numbers, terminex transfer info, sprinkler system book, etc. Ah--and I needed to pick up the check for the sale of my 'fridge! That done, next I stopped off at the store to pick up some salmon I'd cook for dinner for Mom that night (of course, I had a cooler packed in the car), off to the bank for last-minute details of opening my new account (TN doesn't have Chase banks), and finally, I picked up Howard.

By noon, we were headed south, leaving Fort Worth, leaving Tarrant County. Deep breath, say good-bye in the rear-view mirror, and keep on a driving.

On long drives, I enjoy listenting to books on tape. (okay, technically, on CD, but I still call 'em books on tape.) Usually I borrow the books from my local library. Of course this time, I wouldn't be returning. So I'd bought my own book at Half Price Books in preparation for my trip: The Innocent Man by John Grisham. It's not your typical Grisham novel; in fact, it's not even a novel. Instead, theis book is about the Ada, Oklahoma convictions of several men back in the 80s. Fascinating account of the holes and horrible things in our "justice" system.

(I used to support the death penalty, but as long as we have things like this happening, how can I? I say that, then there are the other cases---like that of the murder of Lisa and Jayden in Fort Worth. They were murdered in their home---about two blocks from my house. Lisa was seven months pregnant, and Jayden was her son. Lisa had co-owned the nearby fabulous bagel shop, which now has a touching "In Memoriam" devoted to Lisa and Jayden. And the facts surrounding that brutal and incomprehensible killing make it hard not to support the death sentence given to the man convicted of the murders---Stephen Barbee. (CNN Story) It's a personal struggle within me, how I feel about the issue. But we also have groups helping sort through some of the mess of mishandled convictions. The new Dallas County DA, a TexWes Law alum, is even encouraging his office to look more deeply into what's happened in Dallas County by finally allowing some DNA testing to be done when warranted. In years past, it seemed the DA's office was more concerned with fighting such testing on any technicality it could. Finally, the office will allow the Innocence Project to recommend what cases really should recieve testing---and test 'em. For more info, see this Dallas Morning News Story and this Washington Post article.)

Anyway---so the drive's not that long with some great listening to do along the way.

The next two nights, I visited Mom and Aunt Emily---and finally got to see Sophie!! I'd really missed my kitty. While at Mom's, I got my old computer up and running for Mom. (folks, a "recovery disc" does not recover lost files; it does the opposite, returning your computer to day one, effectively deleting all files you have created since then.) I cooked dinner and lunch each day, tried to help out in other small ways, and had a nice time visiting with both of them. It was great to be able to catch up with my aunt a little, although unfortunately, our chatting left Mom feeling a little left out. It's tough sometimes when three folks are together and two of them get involved in a conversation. But in general, it was a very nice visit.

Friday morning, I helped load up Emily's car and loaded up my own. We all pulled out by about 12:30. Mom was headed to Emily's for a two-week stay at her house. After all, Emily had been away from her own home (and husband) for over two weeks. How wonderful that she would be able to help Mom out for the next two weeks at her own home!

I spent the weekend, of course, at Dad's. We had a great time visiting Friday night before everyone else arrived, then again at the end of the weekend on Sunday evening. (and I finally got to watch The 4400 this summer!) Monday morning, I once again loaded my car, stopped off at the clinic to say good-bye, and headed east on I-30.

The trip went well. Sophie and Howard made it just fine, happy to arrive at our destination late Monday afternoon. Of course, I've already written about those adventures. :-)

And driving through Texarkana, I was sad to leave Texas. Sure, I'll come back to visit. And what the rest of my life holds for me, who knows. But for now, it was off to Tennessee. I was Memphis bound!