Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts

1. It's such a good thing that Smart Phones weren't invented when I was in college- I would have never paid attention in class. It was hard enough staying awake and focusing the way it was.

2. Did anyone else read about the Claire Messud interview snafu? I'm definitely not a fan, but I think things were blown out of proportion. An interview from Publisher's Weekly commented on one of her character's being unlikable and that she wouldn't want to be friends with her in real life. Messud irritatedly answered that we shouldn't look for friends when we read and wanted to know if the interviewer would ask that of male authors or male characters. Cue the feminists and the feminist-haters. One of my biggest pet peeves is people disliking books because they don't like the characters, so I agree with her on that, and but I'm not sold on the gender aspect.

3. Confession: I'm eating chicken again, and have been for a few months. Not just any chicken, though, it has to be free-range, vegetarian-fed, and antibiotic/hormone-free (read: expensive as hell). I only eat it a certain number of times a week, and am generally really picky about what restaurants I'll get it from (never, ever, ever from fast food places except maybe Chipotle). Bottom line: being a good vegetarian is hard. Getting COMPLETE proteins on a daily basis is really, really difficult. I was eating plenty of protein, but I wasn't consuming all the necessary amounts of the nine amino acids. Anyway, since starting back on poultry three months ago my body seems to appreciate it and at this point I'm going to have to keep it up. This is definitely not something I am happy about (in fact I hate it), but at this point my health is more important. Eventually, many years down the road, I'll give it a try again, and yes, I still think bacon is disgusting (I think all meat is disgusting, for the record).

I've been really conflicted about even mentioning this, but feel that since I've wrote about being a vegetarian in the past it was the most transparent thing to do. I don't give two shits about what people think about my diet, but I do consider myself an honest person.

4. My new favorite thing to do is set the incline really high on my treadmill and read while I walk. Pages are being read while calories are being burned and glutes are being toned. It's a win-win-win. An hour goes by so fast with a good book.

5. I think there will always be a "poor" kid inside of me, despite the fact that I'm not exactly hurting for cash (nor am I hemorrhaging it, so please don't ask for any). We weren't quite poor growing up, but there wasn't any extra money. Our birthdays and Christmases were modest, and we didn't get new things just because we were at the store. We had to save money we earned for things we wanted and my parents had no problem telling us no (don't get me started on  spoiled kids today). As an adult with a decent job I still tell myself no, all the time. For example, I've been wanting a stupid $15 book light for months but have put off buying it because I "don't need to spend the money." It's ridiculous. And when I finally bought it I couldn't squelch the momentary feelings of buyer's remorse. I want to buy things all the time, don't get me wrong. Money and I have a complicated relationship...

6. Yesterday I had to get new tires ($654 bucks later...) and spent an hour sitting at Starbucks reading. Why don't I do that more often? It's so nice to sit outside, away from artificial light and computers with a book. I hang out in my backyard all the time, but it's nice to actually leave the house with the purpose of finding somewhere to read. When I was in college my ex-boyfriend and I used to go to the local coffee shop every Sunday morning for breakfast and studying, a tradition I'd love to one day start again (except not with him... not that anything's wrong with him, it would just be slightly weird).

7. I'm gracing my mom with my presence for Mother's Day. I know, best present ever, right? I haven't been home for a year and a half, for various reasons, so I suppose I'm overdue (my mom has been down in my area several times, though, so it's not like I haven't seen her). We're going to spend the day in Yosemite with my two sisters on Saturday, which I'm pretty psyched about. I need

8. I think a lot of people forget that friendships need maintenance, especially those that we make as adults. Friends that have been around since childhood or high school are different- those are the people you can go months without talking to and pick up right were you left off. Friends that are more recent, though, need attention on both ends. I think it's something we all forget.

9. I love, love, love it when my students start petitions in the hopes of changing my mind about something. I received one a few weeks ago so that a kid didn't have to change seats (I wrote "rejected" and "denied" on it and pinned it to my wall) and today I received an email trying to convince me to cancel the plans I had for class because the kids were tired after a test they had this morning. Eventually they will learn that my classroom is not a democracy. I spent to much money on my education to not be in charge.

10. I might buy a bike. That is if I remember how to ride one, get over the sticker price, and curb my fear of getting a flat tire fifteen miles away from my house.