Saturday, November 5, 2011

Loose Leafing

Ok, so, once upon a time when I started my blog, I started it with the idea that it would be about my life and books. As the years went by, I started to buy into the lie that my blog needed to be focused, and that if I mixed in all these silly "life" things on my blog, my "book blog" would have no street cred. (Heh heh, a book blog with street cred. That's funny...). Then I made (over and over again) the stunning realization that I prefer book blogs where I get a glimpse inside the minds and lives of the blogger behind the book reviews. Given this staggeringly obvious realization, added to my dismal dirty little secret (shhhh, don't tell) that if I manage to read a whole 4 books in a month that's considered a big win in Meganland (yes, all you proper book bloggers put me to terrible shame), I've decided to loosen up and bring back the random life stuff. Probably once a week. If I can think of some good random life stuff.

- I went to the chiropracter this morning and when I scheduled my next appointment it came up for December 10th. December 10th! Can anybody tell me where this year went? And shouldn't I be out Christmas shopping??

- Today I faced one of my life's great fears. The automatic car wash. Stop laughing. I'm not talking about just any car wash that you drive into and the nice little automated arm goes around and sprays your car with any number of mysterious chemicals. I'm talking the one where you have to drive onto the little conveyor thing and put your car in neutral and it tows you through while any number of mysterious chemicals are sprayed on your vehicle and big floppy heavy duty cloths beat on your car and then some guy towel dries your shiny clean vehicle at the end. For some reason, I've always been mildly petrified about this particular car wash - maybe it's the stage fright of knowing when to put your car in neutral, how to maneuver your wheels into the conveyor-y grooves, when to drive away at the end. I mean, jeez, I don't want to look any more idiotic than some moron who would pay 13 freaking dollars for a car wash already looks. However, today I was feeling brave and forked over an exorbitant amount of money to try out the wash. It was not so terrifying, and my car looks like new, but now I have a new fear to face. Am I becoming one of these people who will actually pay $13 for a car wash? Jeez.

- One of the front page headlines on today's local (small town) paper has to do with conjecture that a big evergreen tree from what looks to be somebody's yard in the tiny town across from the river from where I live is being plucked for use in New York City's Rockefeller Center this Christmas. The transporting crew is the crew that normally does this apparently, and they have been taking care of said tree for months now according to the paper, and when asked about the destination of the tree, crews give a number for an NYC publicist. Could it be true? Magic eightball says....Ask again later.


Say, where'd you get that tree?


- Did you know that if you spend a grand total of two hours being wildly productive on a Saturday, it totally makes you feel like it's acceptable to do absolutely nothing of consequence for the rest of the weekend? I'm not sure if this is true, it's probably not, but if I don't accomplish anything until Monday, I'm pretty sure I won't feel too guilty.

- I think I'm trying to make a triumphant return to doing Zumba next week. I'm a little nervous because whenever I attempt to give Zumba a shot, one of two things happens... A) I attend the class, love it, get hooked on it, lose some weight and a month later the only class I have time to go to is suddenly and sometimes inexplicably cancelled forever or B) I manage to fall deathly ill or injure myself in some utterly unrelated way that renders me far too physically infirm to attempt anything more physically demanding than getting out of bed. Wish me luck, I'm afraid I'm going to need it.... ;-)

- Okay, a bookish tidbit for those that are hanging in there with me. I've been reading The Legacy by Katherine Webb since last weekend, and it is absolutely perfectly atmospheric and has reminded me how much I dearly love books where you get to roll around in the perfectly pitched atmosphere of the story.



So, what's going on in your life? Or perhaps, you'd like to recommend for me a few good atmospheric books...?

10 comments:

  1. I'm glad you've decided to add in some life stuff!! :) Good luck with Zumba. I'm ridiculous-looking when I do Zumba, so I have it on the Wii game at home and that's all, haha. :D

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  2. I agree with you - it's the personal thoughts that give a book blog its own personality. Otherwise, we all start to sound so much alike that we risk becoming totally generic. It's a fine line to walk, but you nailed it with this post. :-)

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  3. Amanda - I'm glad you're glad! LOL. I'm sure I look like a total idiot doing Zumba, but it's one of the only workouts that I've been able to stick with because it doesn't end up boring me. I try to work out at home, but find I do better with a more structured, motivating environment of a class.

    Sam - Thanks! I love a good book review and some interesting book talk and even the occasional meme, but it's those personal posts that make a blogger more approachable to me. I'm excited to break with some of the stupid blogging rules I've nearly unconsciously made for myself. :)

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  4. Someone in the town where my in-laws live had trouble with a car wash like that and actually hit and killed someone trying to drive on the conveyor thing so you have a good reason to be scared of those things.

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  5. Someone in the town where my in-laws live had trouble with a car wash like that and actually hit and killed someone trying to drive on the conveyor thing so you have a good reason to be scared of those things.

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  6. Thanks for sharing a little of your life with us! How exciting that the tree will come from your town! I always wonder how they find these trees - tree scout?

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  7. I love the little peeks into your life, Megan. You make me laugh no mater what you're writing about!

    I've never heard of THE LEGACY, but I love atmospheric novels, so I'm going to have to check this one out. Thanks for recommending it.

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  8. Ah, yes, me too. I've been through the whole horrible phase thing. I am definitely one of those people who prefer to read more than just book reviews/interviews, etc. Too much about books can get kind of dull. Sometimes, my blog becomes nothing but reviews and I actually begin to hate my own blog. Best to mix it up a little, I agree.

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  9. BTW, I'm just back to Zumba, myself. I occasionally hurt a knee, but my knees are just getting wonky with age, so if I feel a severe twang I go use the exercise bike, after. Stationary bikes are good for building knee strength. Best of luck to you. My gym has a tendency to suddenly cancel classes I've fallen in love with, too, although Zumba has been around for several years, apparently.

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  10. Love the post... and the your book reviews! Keep it up.

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