Summer book club

About a year ago I sent out an email to various people I know asking for their book recommendations. I sent this email out around summer as reading and summer always seem to relate in my mind. (As a child I was a proud member of the Summer Reading Club at the local library and always had fond memories of this experience.) Well, today I stumbled upon the email with recommended books and I feel a bit guilty because I haven’t had the chance to get around to reading a single one of them. I know I will get around to reading these books in time and as further reinforcement will post the recommendations here.

Michael's picks:

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams link
King of Torts, by John Grisham link
The Eyes of the Dragon, by Stephen King link
The Once and Future King, by T. H. White link
The House at Pooh’s Corner, by A. A. Milne link
Ride the River, by Louis L'Amour link

Alex's pick:

She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb link

Very few people replied with book favorites and so I will send a new email asking for reading recommendations. If you would like to contribute to the list, feel free! You can email your book recommendations to: this little cat AT gmail dot com. I would love to hear your suggestions.

The other day was a pretty spring day. I had my first ever pasty, visited a new bakery-cafe and enjoyed a trip to a local park. Photos of the day can be found on flickr.

Speaking of photos, I'm feeling somewhat bummed at the moment. My dreams of purchasing a high end digital SLR camera have been put on hold (once more) thanks to the rather pricey repair of my car yesterday. Of course, fixing my car was a worthy decision as I need it for getting to point A to point B to point C. However, the timing feels a little wrong. I had just received back my tax money and was in a state of debating if I should treat myself to an iPod for working out, or a high end camera I've been coveting for some time. Well, the decision was answered as my car battery has been leaking battery acid fluid (yikes!) which was creating all kinds of havoc. Hmmm. I think I need more days like this one to put me back in good spirits.

I like 50 Sad Chairs. [link via camilla engman]

Driving blindly

My car has decided to start acting funny lately. Yesterday it wouldn’t start and my roommate and a strange tattooed man had to come to the rescue. Today all the warning lights came on and the arrow on my speedometer stopped working. Despite this, my car was driving fine! It was actually a little exciting not knowing how fast, or how slow I was going. I resorted to driving on instinct. I feel like I am going around 30 miles per hour... I feel like I am going around 50 miles per hour...

It was interesting not knowing but feeling my way along the road. In some ways it was a very Zen moment. I highly recommend resorting to not knowing but feeling at some point in the future. I imagine I must have looked like this on the road:



Perhaps someone is reading this and screaming, “But Rachel! This isn’t safe!” Maybe it wasn’t safe but what would you do if you had a final exam to get to? Would you push aside your academic future in order to attend to your car? I also realize I could have easily been pulled over for going the wrong speed limit. At this point I would have pointed to my speedometer, explained the arrow was broken and that I had been driving on instinct. Anyway, I wasn’t too concerned and now my car appears to be working fine. The lights are off, the arrows are happily telling me all I need to know. I called my parents and my Dad suggested the rain had something to do with it. Yes, it was the rain but now the sun is shining, why worry?

Cherry Blossoms are lovely

If I was in New York right now this is where I would want to be. Instead my feet are tired from standing and slinging coffee drinks all morning.

Oh, and a word to the wise... if you plan on paying your coffee barista there is no need to remove your money from the sock that you are wearing. This may cause the barista to silently look at you in disgust and wonder how you have made it into mainstream society.

At an older friend’s house she has a sign in her basement over her laundry machine which reads: “Don’t let school get in the way of your education.” Next to this sign is a poster of a gigantic, overweight basset hound smiling happily. These two separate images are forever engraved in my mind as one. It almost feels like the gigantic basset hound is the one delivering these words of wisdom. So today, as classes near an end and I begin to register for spring semester, I am beginning to feel those words more than ever.

I was in the math lab earlier discussing the one math class I would need to complete my degree. Unlike most areas in school, I felt small and slightly pathetic, as math is not an area I excel in. The student in the math lab picked up the textbook used for the low level math I needed and said in a rather off-hand way, “Yeah, don’t worry. This is idiot math. I’m sure you will be fine.”

I didn’t jump in to suggest, “Actually, I’m one of those idiot math people.” Instead I felt slightly defensive and wanted to say, “You may have your math but at least I have my humanities!” Which would have been an entirely ridiculous, unnecessary statement and so I kept my mouth shut.

As I review the situation in my mind my thoughts return to the words: “Don’t let school get in the way of your education.” I guess this is how I am feeling right about now.

Signs of Spring and Easter

Painting attempts at three years old

This photo set of a cat receiving a bath reminds me of when I decided at three years old to paint my own cats. Our house was being painted at the time and so I had access to real paint for the job. Thinking I was just being creative, I ended up dropping my cat into a paint can. It wasn’t until a few moments later when my parents discovered the young painter that was their child, and were horrified by the scene. Extensive cat washing in the sink followed. I suppose it must have looked a little like this. My poor cats survived the incident and continued to love me, no need to worry.

I am not a rock, I am not an island

Every day I feel like my world is expanding in new directions courtesy of NPR. I listen to NPR to be "in the know." I love the stories and creative methods of news-telling. I also love being able to start a conversation with, "Well, did you hear on NPR…" However, I’m starting to feel torn in all directions. Last week my heart was soaring because of the issues with immigration in the United States. I wrote a gigantic, emotional entry on the matter and later decided to not publish it because I decided it was “too political” for this blog. (Who knows, maybe I will publish this entry in the future.)

This week I am captured by the situation in Darfur, Africa. I listen to NPR while driving in my car and at one point this morning my mind actually thought the horrific thought: “How is the U.S. suppose to respond to Darfur when we have the war in Iraq and the disaster in New Orleans and a million other issues on our plate?” I realized, immediately, how terrible this thought was. There is no escaping the significance of genocide and no rational for allowing genocide to take place. I think I was just feeling frustrated because every day I hear about something sad or hurtful in the world and I don’t know how to digest it all.

In some ways I’m thinking about not tuning in to NPR as often. I know of several sources who advice not tuning in to the media in order to preserve one’s sanity. However, I don’t think being uniformed and living as an island is wise, either. Also, I appreciate NPR because it goes beyond typical news and I get the insight of Diane Rehm. I haven’t reached a final conclusion on the matter and in the meantime will probably be tuning in.

On April 30th (my birthday) a rally will be held in Washington D.C. to respond to the issue of genocide in Darfur. For more information, go here.

Feeling like a local

Life is feeling very peaceful these days. Of course, classes are hectic as ever but when I’m not being drained of energy from school, things are pretty lovely. Like now. I am sitting at Bombadill’s coffee shop watching a small dog out the window. He is a fluffy Cockapoo named Buddy who lives next door at the used bookstore. This tiny dog hangs out in the area free of a leash but is so well behaved he fits in quite calmly. I will have to bring my camera next time and take his picture.

If I had a dog I’d like for him or her to be this well mannered and friendly. If I had a bookstore maybe a cute dog would help draw in business. I know I’m always drawn in when I see a cute dog on the street. Often I’ll start up on a conversation with the owner and ask, “Can I pet your dog?” I’m usually a quiet introvert in public but the animal lover in me will cause me to suddenly switch over to extrovert tendencies.

As I type I am enjoying an iced Mocha made with great skill. Perhaps I should go get a water to go with it. If only every day of the week I could tuck myself away in some quaint coffee shop. I love working as a coffee barista but it’s grand being on the other side of the counter for a change of pace.

I stopped in at my sister’s house a few moments ago to let out her dogs. (Who were very anxious to see me and are probably heartbroken because I didn’t have time to take them on a walk.) I noticed my sister had left a gigantic bag of Easter candy for me on the counter. This reminded me of a conversation I had with my mom just the other day.

MOM: "Do you want Easter candy?"

ME: "No, no, I don’t want any candy… I don’t need it. Unless, of course, it’s organic."

Now I have a year supply of candy waiting for me in my car. It’s good to be loved.

Easter cooking finds

How to make your own Cadbury Egg cake. Actually, I would have made use of the egg shells. Maybe they could be sprinkled on with the frosting?

A window into the Pacific Northwest

I've been in love with the Pacific Northwest coast for a few years now. Sometimes I imagine I'd like to move to the area and settle in a cozy home by the ocean where I can look out my window and spot orcas pass by as I live off a diet of salmon and enjoy the simpler things in life. I picked up an advanced copy of Randy Sue Coburn's Owl Island and have been living the Northwest coast ever since. Ahhh. To be able to escape the present and live on an island so beautiful. 'Tis grand.

Enjoying

I enjoy studying covers of books, magazines, albums, advertisements and really anything with aspects of design. Good or bad. (Of course, I prefer the crème de la crème.) After browsing NPR’s World Café cd store I found the following album covers which I strongly endorse:




Note: my interest is the design content and not the music content. Although I suppose I will listen to these music artists in time. New music is always welcome. The album art is from the following artists: Willie Wisely, Josh Ritter, and Rocky Votolato.

Pretty birds

Over at Anthropologie I couldn't help but notice these decorative bird creations. My grandmother, Beatrice, loved birds and had her own bird figurines throughout her house. These little replicas remind me of the bird figurines she loved, except a more modern version which appeals to my aesthetic taste buds. I like the robin best.

Reading the Tao Te Ching

I find I have a special appreciation for the leisure that Sunday brings. On this Sunday evening I happened to run across my roommate’s copy of Stephen Mitchell’s translation of the Tao Te Ching. I decided to flip through the pages and found this excellent quote:

When people see some things as beautiful,
other things become ugly.
When people see some things as good,
other things become bad.

I think this ties in well with my recent readings on geishas.

I am also a fan of this passage:

Practice not-doing,
and everything will fall into place.

Of course, I’m finding this difficult to understand as I juggle between my classes and serving coffee at work. I like the idea life will flow and exist with purpose but without pressure and one must surrender to “not-doing.” I just don’t see how I can manage “not-doing” at this time in my life. Perhaps the “not-doing” will have to wait till later.

20 most important tools

Things that make us smart. I am all for number four on the list, the pencil.

Spelling fun

Now one can spell with flickr! I wrote out my name. Very nifty.

The sleuth within

This afternooon I felt a bit like the heorine of my childhood, Nancy Drew. Except, unlike Nancy I should have been carrying a pair of binoculars and had a little more savvy in my investigating. I am considering rereading the series for further tips. I loved the Nancy Drew series as a child but haven't read them in years. A second reading may be needed.

Jones introduces Jones Organics

Jones Soda has introduced a new product, Jones Organics. These bottled drinks are described as "fresh picked, hand squeezed organic teas." I have enjoyed the White Tea-Strawberry and Red Tea-Tropical. I am also a fan of their simplistic, effective design. (I admit, this is what first caught my eye.) This product is another example of organic products going mainstream. I just know these drinks are mighty tasty.