I apologize in advance- this post may run off in a few different tangents!
I was walking to get my haircut yesterday, and the woman who cuts my hair happens to be located right by a college campus. As I was walking I noticed a sign for an American Red Cross Blood Drive, but something on the sign struck me as odd. I stopped and backtracked to the sign and read it all the way through. Ah yes, this sign did indeed say "Free Gas Card with Donation."
I love my country and I am proud to be an American, but I knew this country was in the shitter 8 years ago when somebody (name shall go unmentioned) was elected and put in the White House. Hell, even my father (pretty hardcore republican) thinks that this unnamed person is the worst president of his lifetime. I hope I didn't give away who I was talking about (Bush... cough cough). But seriously, is the economy so bad that we are giving away gas cards to people who donate blood? I wonder if the number of donations skyrocketed when people were promised free gas for blood. I don't know it just seems freaky like for every liter of blood you donate we will give you a gallon of gas. That's right ladies and gentleman five bucks a liter, hows that for a deal!
And then I got to thinking, gas prices are through the roof lately, maybe I should go donate blood, but alas, I am gay, therefore no blood donations and no free gas. Wait that seems slightly discriminatory after all I have to pay as much for gas as all you straights. Ah, but my blood is diseased*, yes its called gay blood, and the last thing we need is gayness in the blood of straight people. Can you imagine if you got a blood transfusion of gay blood when you are straight, I think it would go something like this...
Wife: Thank god you survived that horrible car accident and they had blood in the blood bank that was a match for you.
Husband: Still woozy from surgery... yes honey I am lucky to be alive
Wife: But Honey they told me that the only blood that was available was from a gay man...
Husband: Well that explains why I am attracted to my doctor now!
I mean that would be awful if that gay disease started spreading like that, so now I understand why I can't donate blood. Oh yeah, and I also can't donate blood because I am deathly afraid of needles, like pass out for an hour afraid!
And this post was definitely a random one but I needed to post it to get these things out of my brain. It was bothering me and I wanted other people to know that. And now... I can go on vacation!
*Please note family members who may read this blog, my blood is not actually diseased but because I am gay the American Red Cross does not accept donations from me because I am at "high risk."
Vacation Mode
I don't want to do any work this week. I am in complete vacation mode. I have been since Monday. After all I had to leave early for an appointment. And tomorrow I get my hair cut at 5:15 which means that I have to leave work early again. And I leave for Chicago on Thursday, flight is sometime around 6 (guess who has to leave early!) OK, well maybe I am not in vacation mode it is more like pre-vacation mode where I am trying to get a ton of things done before I am gone for a week. To make matters more complicated this is a dual vacation (as in two destinations). The Doctor and I are flying with our friend SC to Chicago for the weekend and then we all fly back Monday and get in the car and drive to the cape for a week.
I am sure that the entire time will be loads of fun but the packing is stressing me out. There are so many things we need to do as well like go buy a case of wine so we have wine for the cape house. See tons of important things.
My reading is also in vacation mode. I finished reading Why You Are Engulfed In Flames by David Sedaris and I loved it. If you want to know how I felt about it I will recommend somebody elses review. What she was right on point... http://www.pajiba.com/when-you-are-engulfed-in-flames.htm! I am serious, read Jennifer's review. She is wicked smart and kinda funny. She also writes the blog Bibliotary that is listed in my blogroll! And because I was in the mood for more light hearted and funny essays I immediately went into reading I Was Told There'd Be Cake. The cover blurb compared this author to David Sedaris and this was the kind of reading that I needed to do while I was on vacation! Or at least while I think I am on vacation even though I have 2 more days of work left.
I am sure you will be reading more about my adventures in Chicago and on the cape but probably not until I get back, unless the beach house we rented has a computer and free Internet.
Until then... WOOHOO VACATION!
I am sure that the entire time will be loads of fun but the packing is stressing me out. There are so many things we need to do as well like go buy a case of wine so we have wine for the cape house. See tons of important things.
My reading is also in vacation mode. I finished reading Why You Are Engulfed In Flames by David Sedaris and I loved it. If you want to know how I felt about it I will recommend somebody elses review. What she was right on point... http://www.pajiba.com/when-you-are-engulfed-in-flames.htm! I am serious, read Jennifer's review. She is wicked smart and kinda funny. She also writes the blog Bibliotary that is listed in my blogroll! And because I was in the mood for more light hearted and funny essays I immediately went into reading I Was Told There'd Be Cake. The cover blurb compared this author to David Sedaris and this was the kind of reading that I needed to do while I was on vacation! Or at least while I think I am on vacation even though I have 2 more days of work left.
I am sure you will be reading more about my adventures in Chicago and on the cape but probably not until I get back, unless the beach house we rented has a computer and free Internet.
Until then... WOOHOO VACATION!
The Dog Ate My Homework
Well, not exactly.
The doctor has a dog, her name is Annie and overall she is a very sweet but hyper dog. She drives most of the friends crazy but I don't have that big of a problem with her. Sure she barks a lot but she is a beagle what do you expect.
And then yesterday she crossed over into the dark side on me. I am now with JCH in saying that she is an evil dog. I woke up on Friday morning to go to work, I hopped in the shower, cleaned up and went to go iron my clothes for work. I had hung a pair of pants in the closet and a shirt to wear and I just needed to press them and be out the door. I grabbed the clothes, thought it was funny that my pants were on the floor but didn't think anything of it until i laid them out on the ironing board and the seat of the pants were missing. When you are half asleep in the morning and you are getting ready for work and you notice that the seat of your pants are missing, well its a little disconcerting. I was confused at first but then the pieces fell together in my groggy brain. After all, I was warned that Annie had an underwear eating fetish and if you left underwear on the floor she was bound to eat it. So I rummaged through the Doctors pants looking for a pair that I could wear to work ironed them got dressed- gave the dog a few "bad dogs" and then was out the door to the bus.
I was about halfway to work when the absurdity of the situation hit. I could not believe that she had gone into the closet and pulled a pair of pants off the hanger and eaten them. She is seriously nuts. And here is the kicker... the doctor later noticed a pair of his pants missing the seat and she ate a hole in the bed sheet! I think it is time to up her medication.
The doctor has a dog, her name is Annie and overall she is a very sweet but hyper dog. She drives most of the friends crazy but I don't have that big of a problem with her. Sure she barks a lot but she is a beagle what do you expect.
And then yesterday she crossed over into the dark side on me. I am now with JCH in saying that she is an evil dog. I woke up on Friday morning to go to work, I hopped in the shower, cleaned up and went to go iron my clothes for work. I had hung a pair of pants in the closet and a shirt to wear and I just needed to press them and be out the door. I grabbed the clothes, thought it was funny that my pants were on the floor but didn't think anything of it until i laid them out on the ironing board and the seat of the pants were missing. When you are half asleep in the morning and you are getting ready for work and you notice that the seat of your pants are missing, well its a little disconcerting. I was confused at first but then the pieces fell together in my groggy brain. After all, I was warned that Annie had an underwear eating fetish and if you left underwear on the floor she was bound to eat it. So I rummaged through the Doctors pants looking for a pair that I could wear to work ironed them got dressed- gave the dog a few "bad dogs" and then was out the door to the bus.
I was about halfway to work when the absurdity of the situation hit. I could not believe that she had gone into the closet and pulled a pair of pants off the hanger and eaten them. She is seriously nuts. And here is the kicker... the doctor later noticed a pair of his pants missing the seat and she ate a hole in the bed sheet! I think it is time to up her medication.
The Final Decision Has Been Made
I decided on what books to buy and what books to put back. The final list is below.
Fiction
Candy Everybody Wants
Out Stealing Horses
Our Man in Havana
Finn
Drown
Seeing
Non Fiction
Better
The Nasty Bits
Smile When You're Lying
I Was Told There'd Be Cake
A Short History of Nearly Everything
This is the first time I think I have ever bought more fiction titles than non-fiction titles. I am excited about all of the books I bought and I got eleven titles for $84.94, not bad at all!
Fiction
Candy Everybody Wants
Out Stealing Horses
Our Man in Havana
Finn
Drown
Seeing
Non Fiction
Better
The Nasty Bits
Smile When You're Lying
I Was Told There'd Be Cake
A Short History of Nearly Everything
This is the first time I think I have ever bought more fiction titles than non-fiction titles. I am excited about all of the books I bought and I got eleven titles for $84.94, not bad at all!
Uh Oh
Well, the drama of trying to limit myself when it comes to buying books at my additional discount continues. Man, it is so hard managing a bookstore, you just want them all. Anyway after some vetting today I was able to eliminate one title from my previous list but I added five more. L over at BU made some recommendations and I couldn't help but pick some of them up.
I actually eliminated The Secret History of the American Empire, because it was not getting strong reviews and I figured it could never hold its own against his previous work Confessions of an Economic Hit man. Now here are the five I added to my pile, and I have to narrow it down to the ones I am buying by tomorrow.
Smile When You're Lying- A travel book about being a travel writer and the lies they tell in order to make everything seem wonderful and to sell advertising. It looks like a fun trip through the world.
Our Man In Havana- I have never read any Graham Greene and this book combines mystery and travel and satire and it seems like a good place to start.
The Nasty Bits- I loved Kitchen Confidential and I read Bourdain's blog on a regular basis (see link in sidebar) he is funny and truthful and I enjoy his writing style. I think this one will definitely make the cut.
Out Stealing Horses- besides it being a bestseller at the store I have heard very little about this fiction title. It was a NYT Book Review Best of the Year last year, I guess it should be worth reading. I hope. (Any thoughts)
Finn- the opposite can be said about this book, everybody that has read it that I have talked to loves it. L loved it. Maybe I will love it?
Please feel free to give me a hand again in the comment section. I find the decisions to be overwhelming and I can't really justify purchasing 11 books. Can I?
I actually eliminated The Secret History of the American Empire, because it was not getting strong reviews and I figured it could never hold its own against his previous work Confessions of an Economic Hit man. Now here are the five I added to my pile, and I have to narrow it down to the ones I am buying by tomorrow.
Smile When You're Lying- A travel book about being a travel writer and the lies they tell in order to make everything seem wonderful and to sell advertising. It looks like a fun trip through the world.
Our Man In Havana- I have never read any Graham Greene and this book combines mystery and travel and satire and it seems like a good place to start.
The Nasty Bits- I loved Kitchen Confidential and I read Bourdain's blog on a regular basis (see link in sidebar) he is funny and truthful and I enjoy his writing style. I think this one will definitely make the cut.
Out Stealing Horses- besides it being a bestseller at the store I have heard very little about this fiction title. It was a NYT Book Review Best of the Year last year, I guess it should be worth reading. I hope. (Any thoughts)
Finn- the opposite can be said about this book, everybody that has read it that I have talked to loves it. L loved it. Maybe I will love it?
Please feel free to give me a hand again in the comment section. I find the decisions to be overwhelming and I can't really justify purchasing 11 books. Can I?
I Need Help
Well its that time of year when I get an additional 10% discount on books. They call it employee appreciation and I call it torture. How can I not buy books when they are 45% off? Most book lovers would kill for a discount like that. This time I am narrowing it down to 8 to 10 books, last time I bought 15 and because my reading has slowed down a bit this year I have not finished them all from December. The problem is there are so many books I want to buy... please help me decide, here is a list of the books I have already pulled. I need to make a decision on which ones to buy by Friday! Ugh!
Candy Everybody Wants- I read this author's previous book, I Am Not Myself These days and enjoyed the ride- yes its kind of trashy but its summer.
The Secret History of the American Empire- this book counteracts the trash but I am not sure if it will be as good as Confessions of an Economic Hitman
Seeing by Saramago- I loved Blindness (except for the ending) I think I want to give him another chance to impress me
I Was Told There'd Be Cake- The cover blurb compares this author to David Sedaris, I love David Sedaris, as a matter of fact I am reading his new book now. Could this book live up to the praise?
Drown by Junot Diaz- this book is supposed to be amazing I am just not sure its for me.
Better- Gawande wrote Complications- this is his newer book. I liked Complications but I was even more afraid of hospitals and doctors.
A Short History of Nearly Everything- Bill Bryson is a god, I love his stuff, I always buy a Bryson. Don't try to talk me out of it.
All The Pretty Horses- Cormac McCarthy is another god (a much different literary god, Bryson is just hilarious and if you are laughing at McCarthy you are sick) but I may still be recovering from Blood Meridian.
So please help me decide what books to buy, write your suggestions in the comment section I need help!
Candy Everybody Wants- I read this author's previous book, I Am Not Myself These days and enjoyed the ride- yes its kind of trashy but its summer.
The Secret History of the American Empire- this book counteracts the trash but I am not sure if it will be as good as Confessions of an Economic Hitman
Seeing by Saramago- I loved Blindness (except for the ending) I think I want to give him another chance to impress me
I Was Told There'd Be Cake- The cover blurb compares this author to David Sedaris, I love David Sedaris, as a matter of fact I am reading his new book now. Could this book live up to the praise?
Drown by Junot Diaz- this book is supposed to be amazing I am just not sure its for me.
Better- Gawande wrote Complications- this is his newer book. I liked Complications but I was even more afraid of hospitals and doctors.
A Short History of Nearly Everything- Bill Bryson is a god, I love his stuff, I always buy a Bryson. Don't try to talk me out of it.
All The Pretty Horses- Cormac McCarthy is another god (a much different literary god, Bryson is just hilarious and if you are laughing at McCarthy you are sick) but I may still be recovering from Blood Meridian.
So please help me decide what books to buy, write your suggestions in the comment section I need help!
Happy 25th
Today is my sister's 25th Birthday. Its the one where you get cut off, as in no more presents from the family. HAHA! Except I already bought her a new cell phone for her Birthday, and I will probably always get her presents! She knows that, she has me wrapped around her finger!
JRH This Is Your Life
This past weekend was graduation, for the most part I enjoy graduation, and this may sound cruel but the rainy and chilly weather on one day followed by the oppressive heat was perfect for business. People just don't pack well for New England graduations so they all needed to come rushing in for umbrellas and jackets and then they needed shirts and hats the next day. It was craziness and long hours and on Friday I could not move from one end of the store to the next. They were packed in like sardines and the clothing was flying off the racks at an unprecedented pace.
By the end of Saturday we were all exhausted, we had hangers hanging off of us and size stickers covering our clothing as well as pockets full of size buttons but we had made it through the worst of the days and for the most part we were still smiling (and a bit punchy). With about 15 minutes left in the day a family walks up to the register and plops down an armful of items that I assume they wish to purchase. I begin by asking if they were here for graduation because they would get a discount. It appears that nobody in the group speaks English so I kindly punch in the discount plan guessing that they are here for a child's graduation. I begin ringing in the items and moving them to the side when the woman starts speaking to me in a foreign tongue. I'm sorry ma'am but I don't understand. I try to piece together what she is saying to me when she starts screaming in this foreign tongue at one of the other members of her family. I am so confused by what is going on and I am trying to with hold a laugh so I continue scanning and bagging all of the items in front of me.
Things seemed to have calmed down and I ask how they wish to pay for the $484.00 worth of gifts and apparel. They don't seem to understand this either so I end up miming and asking and finally getting a credit card. The inter-family argument seems to be rekindled as I wrap up the transaction and they walk out the door. Once they are out of sight I laugh and I think to myself... "is this really my life?!?!"
By the end of Saturday we were all exhausted, we had hangers hanging off of us and size stickers covering our clothing as well as pockets full of size buttons but we had made it through the worst of the days and for the most part we were still smiling (and a bit punchy). With about 15 minutes left in the day a family walks up to the register and plops down an armful of items that I assume they wish to purchase. I begin by asking if they were here for graduation because they would get a discount. It appears that nobody in the group speaks English so I kindly punch in the discount plan guessing that they are here for a child's graduation. I begin ringing in the items and moving them to the side when the woman starts speaking to me in a foreign tongue. I'm sorry ma'am but I don't understand. I try to piece together what she is saying to me when she starts screaming in this foreign tongue at one of the other members of her family. I am so confused by what is going on and I am trying to with hold a laugh so I continue scanning and bagging all of the items in front of me.
Things seemed to have calmed down and I ask how they wish to pay for the $484.00 worth of gifts and apparel. They don't seem to understand this either so I end up miming and asking and finally getting a credit card. The inter-family argument seems to be rekindled as I wrap up the transaction and they walk out the door. Once they are out of sight I laugh and I think to myself... "is this really my life?!?!"
HAPPY BIRTHDAY S
Yes, another birthday, another year older, even though rumor has it he is old enough to start counting backwards!
It Was Just So Cute
I finished reading Tell Me Where It Hurts, that book with the adorable cover about a day in the life of a Doctor at Angell Animal Hospital in Boston. It was such a cute heartwarming book about a man who lives to take care of animals. And as you all know I like animals more than I like humans! (Hmm, i just said that out loud didn't I?)
While the books was not the most beautifully written book and there were some flaws overall it was an entertaining read, especially for a first time author. So if you love animals and you like reading silly stories about them and their owners then I recommend Tell Me Where It Hurts. If you don't like cute fuzzy animals then you are not human, and you should not read this book!
While the books was not the most beautifully written book and there were some flaws overall it was an entertaining read, especially for a first time author. So if you love animals and you like reading silly stories about them and their owners then I recommend Tell Me Where It Hurts. If you don't like cute fuzzy animals then you are not human, and you should not read this book!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)