Puppy!

This is a video of Lucy when she was a little pup - 8 or 9 weeks old, I think. She was ferocious even from the beginning! I'm actually posting this to test the waters of video-posting, but it doesn't hurt to try it with something adorable!

The Wonderful World of Reading

So I am a huge patron of libraries. I adore the concept that something in this world is free. I love that with a library card, any person can walk in, pick something up, walk out, and be all the better for it. I think one of the added benefits of libraries is the ability to place people on an equal footing. Even if you have the money, why buy something when you could borrow it for free? All that said, there are few things I find more thrilling than picking out a handful of books to sit and admire on your bookshelf while you wait for the perfect moment and mood in which to read them.

Chris and I took took full boxes of textbooks to McKay's Used Books on Charlotte Ave, and this is the coolest used bookstore I have ever seen!! They had about 8 people in the back of the store looking up trade-ins on the computer, and it only took about 30 minutes for us to hear about the small fortune of store credit they would give us in exchange for our books. This was a huge operation! Not only will I go there even in search of bargains and gifts, but I will never set foot in another used bookstore if I can help it. I've been in several where the trade-in value was minimal and the re-sell value too high to be worthwhile.

If you love to read, check out goodreads.com. I have an account there to keep track of what I read (so I don't have to remember), and to check out reviews from other people. There is even a way to mark reviews with Spoilers so you don't find out anything important before you've read the book.

Back in the Good Ol' Days

Chris and I were reminiscing on our way home tonight about the olden days when AIM was the thing to do. Not only was it the very first thing you do in the morning, but you spent hours during the day trying to remember inside jokes, compelling songs, interesting quotes, and funny things that happen throughout the day, in order to put them online for the friends who were there for the inside jokes, compelling songs, etc. In case you were in a coma 5 years ago, this is what most mornings looked like:

6:30 Snooze
6:40 Snooze
6:50 Snooze
7:00 Snooze
7:10 Snooze
7:20 Climb out of bed.
7:22 Turn computer on.
7:23 Check out who's already online (you didn't have to actually open AIM because it was set to open automatically, of course!).
7:24 Read away messages, most of which you read the night before for the final half hour before you went to bed.
7:40 Think up clever away message about being tired and late for class YET AGAIN.
7:53 Decide on the most clever away message and post it.
7:55 Throw on clothes, grab ponytail holder, and RUN to class.

This schedule was repeated in similar fashion throughout the day. You actually could not sit down at the computer again without posting a new away message, or adding to one (they get to be quite lengthy. You could probably use this blog post as an away message, come to think of it).

Those were the good times.

As much as I <3 Facebook, it really ruins the effect of the clever away message. Most Facebook Statuses are boring, unfulfilling, non-thought-provoking, and remarkably short.

What a shame.

Lesson 101: How to Relax

If you know me, you know I love to organize and to be organized. This is both a blessing and a curse. For example, everyday when I get home from work, I immediately do one of two things: sit on the couch and then have no energy to do anything for the rest of the night (literally-I get exhausted from boredom) or start picking things up and straightening the apt. If I do the second, I then decide the floor looks gross and I need to vacuum. While vacuuming, I realize that I also need to dust, wash dishes, do laundry, scrub the floor, and on and on, all very much in the "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" fashion. The last two weekends, I have spent all Saturday cleaning like mad, and then on Sunday, suddenly, I could relax in peace. I'm sure every other 24-year-old in the world innately understands this already.

But it was a revelation for me. I had no idea that after all that hard work, relaxing could be so sweet.

*This pic is not actually something I own, just a good example of things I drool over (apartmenttherapy.com).