Something to think about

With my birthday came thoughts of getting older and what I'm going to do with my life, where I'm going, etc. These are thoughts I'm sure everyone has, no matter what age they are, but I'm at the point where I feel like I should be doing more with my life. I'm actually beginning to think about my future and where I'd like to be in the next 5-10 years and since I'm graduating in December, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Planning ahead is no longer a pipe dream. Anyway, I'm telling you all of this because it seems to me that I am living in a world where in an instant, I could be gone. And so could you. I got an email from a friend the other day telling me that a former co-worker had committed suicide earlier in the week. She was MY AGE. She had had a rough go of it the last year or so and I'm sure she felt this was the only thing she could do to make things better. My friend is not the only person to pass away suddenly, Tim Russert died just a few weeks ago and George Carlin only recently (not that I knew these people personally, but I think you get my point). I feel like I wake up everyday and someone else has passed away and this has forced me to take stock in my own life. As I said earlier, I've been doing a lot of thinking and I've decided that I'm going to take a page from Mr. Keeting's book and "Seize the day" (for any of you who don't know, that is a "Dead Poet's Society" reference. You should go watch it, it's a little slow at first but the end is good). Wish me luck!

ps-A Summer Reading List note: I have put down "Blonde" for now and am reading "The Heroin Diaries" a diary that Nikki Sixx (of Mötley Crüe) kept from 1986-87 while he was a severe heroin and coke addict. Pretty interesting read so far, I'd recommend it even if you aren't a fan of that kind of music. I'm almost through with it, so I'll head back to "Blonde" when I'm done. Darren also bought me "Son of a Witch" by Gregory Maguire. It is the sequel to "Wicked".

Oh Johnson County, I loathe thee

This post is in honor of Amanda's post about things that annoyed her in one hour. Mine is a little different because It's a post about how much I am annoyed by JOCO and it's pretty much an on going process, not just an hour.

1. Darren and I don't mow our lawn much (on average once every two weeks--usually longer), so you'd think when we finally got around to it that the neighbors wouldn't come over and criticize...you'd be wrong. "Could you please not cut your grass so short? It just kills it." Um, maybe that was my plan so I don't have to EVER MOW AGAIN.

2. Same Person--"Do you mind if I mow your side yard when I do mine? My wife and I are trying to sell our house and it just looks better if it's all uniform." Of course I don't mind if you mow my side yard, however that doesn't mean I'm going to mow my other side yard or front yard any more frequently...not to mention chop down the forest that is growing in the middle of the front yard (damn stump causes weeds to grow 10 feet high!). Good luck selling your house, though!

3. The night of my birthday party Darren called me over to the front window...do you know what I spied with my little eye when I got there?? A horde of neighbors standing in a yard a few houses down pointing at all the cars parked ON THE PUBLIC STREET! Jesus people, get a life!

4. Mothers in JOCO who don't have to work and have nothing better to do than go to the gym or make more babies and then go to "Baby and Me" classes. Enough said.

5. People in the JO who work all week and then get up early on Sunday to do yard work or vacuum their cars. Of course Sunday is the one day I get to sleep in after working two doubles in a row.

6. Wal*Mart. I don't really think this is only a JOCO thing, but when I go into Wal*Mart on the KCK side, at least I know what I'm getting in to. It really annoys me when people saunter in with their Vision card to pay for food for their ragamuffins and then pay cash for their smokes and booze (did I mention I usually go to the Olathe Wal*Mart? How can people afford to be on welfare and live in Olathe??)

7. JOCO Mothers who drive huge SUVs but can't really 'drive' them. What makes you think that you can drive a huge vehicle that you can't control and endanger me in my tiny car? Jackass.

8. See above--It also annoys me that you drive a car that gets 4mpg which causes gas prices to go up because you'll pay any price for gas, even $7 a gallon. Thanks for screwing over the poor man.

I'm going to wrap this up because Darren is wondering how much longer I'll be, but rest assured that my list of complaints is much longer than this. I, like Amanda, hate living with/near stupid people.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I finished this book at about 1am today and cried reading the last 15 or so pages. A quick overview of the novel is that it is about a young girl, Liesel, who goes to live with a foster family in Germany just before the outbreak of war. When she arrives, Liesel cannot read so her foster father teaches her how to read. They begin by reading a book that Liesel 'stole' from her brother's grave site; once she finishes this novel, Liesel begins to steal books from other places, befriending different people along the way. The narrator of the story is Death, which kept me on my toes since he kept saying things like "it would be a sad day when Rudy died, but that day wasn't today." This book is totally different than any other piece of Holocaust Lit that I have ever encountered. Even though it was 550 pages, it seemed much shorter and when I finished, I was left wanting more. 5 out of 5 stars.

My next Summer Read is "Blonde" by Joyce Carol Oates. "Blonde" is the story of Marilyn Monroe in her words; even though it is based on Marilyn's life, it is a work of fiction.

The Joys of Summer

I'm in my third week of summer vacation which thus far has been enjoyable. I've mostly been working but also hanging out with Darren and other friends as well as getting caught up on housework. However, I often think about the "good old days." You know what I mean, remember when you were young enough that you didn't have to worry about anything besides what you were going to be doing that day or what was going to be on TV that day? God, those were great times. I didn't have to worry about paying bills or making phone calls or whether or not asshole roommates paid rent.My impending birthday also reminds me of my age...not that I don't love a birthday, but turning 23 makes me feel so old and all I want to do is sleep til noon and then go outside and play kickball...but alas, I have to go to bed soon so I can go to work in the morning and fight traffic...*sigh* I think I'm going to go enjoy one of those awesome Icee pops...blue perhaps.

Update: I'm over halfway through The Book Thief and it is awesome!

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

I was told about this book in my Lit for Adolescents earlier this year. I assumed that it was a newer book, mostly because I had seen it before but hadn't realized that it was actually published in 1999. The novel is about a young man named "Charlie" who writes letters to someone he calls "friend". I really enjoyed to format of the novel, the letters and it was divided into 4 parts. I also liked that Charlie references different music and books throughout his story; often the music and books tie into what is going on in his life when he is writing. It made me smile every time he mentioned making a "mix tape" for his friends...and then I remembered that his story takes place in 1991. With all of that said, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I just didn't feel like the book went anywhere and it was a little cryptic towards the end ('Catcher in the Rye' anyone?) It wasn't a bad book and I'm sure that many readers could identify with what is going on in Charlie's life: family issues, drug use, school pressures, unrequited love, etc. Overall 3 out of 5 stars.

Since I finished this book almost a week ago, I am proud to announce that I have started reading my 3rd book of the summer! "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak. Even though it is along the lines of 600 pages, I hope to give my next review before my birthday (less than 2 weeks!). Until then, Happy Reading!