Today I…

… left the office feeling good about what I do and how I do it (a welcome change)

… received an invite to my cousin’s wedding in Florida and plan to go

… hugged my Gram twice and gladly met several of her neighbors

… enjoyed my first Tequlia Sunrise and got a tiny buzz

… started the new Book Club book (The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins)

… found out my old roomie and his fiance had their baby girl (and have dually noted the Baby Fever that is surrounding me)

… made plans to be poolside with KH this Saturday while Irish kicks butt during his Kickball League

… ran out of time to make all the phone calls that I want to make

… found my stack of cute notecards which means I can start creating

… talked to AT&T and discovered they failed to process my internet disconnect at my old place but have fixed it and credited my account

… jumped 10 feet in the air after lightning struck outside my office building, making the loudest “CLAP!” sound I’ve ever heard in my life

… started Season One of Gilmore Girls, just for fun

… cried over a segment I saw on Oprah

… laughed at the things I accidentally overheard while out to dinner with my parents

… had my heart melt when my younger brother shouted “love ya, sis!” on his way out the door to the Cards game

… sent Irish kisses over the phone

What was one thing you did today that stood out for you?

The Rest of Nora’s Life

What else is new with me besides TDH???

• Grad School. Ever-consuming, ridiculous amounts of reading, grad school. I love my class mostly because the teacher has a knack for making us read a case study about caviar or wool production and apply it to globalization, the international economy and outsourcing. I know more about sturgeon farming and the Kingdom of Lesotho than I ever thought possible. Apart from the fact that I am being a super-procrastinator this term, the course is going quite well.
• My apartment! I realized today I have spent a total of 10 days/nights in it since I moved in due to Canada, house-sitting for my parents, evenings at TDH’s and bridal shower/bachelorette fun. I’m super excited for this weekend as its my first entire weekend there. TDH is putting the bed frame together this evening for the cost of a home-cooked dinner. I’ll be putting up pictures and artwork. Then all that’s left is dining room table chairs, for which I have a plan: garage sales and flea markets. Four different style chairs. All painted the same base color. Each one has a different design on the seat that I’ll miraculously come up with.
• Jack. I’ve been watching my parents house (Darling and the Boss have been on white-sand beaches in Florida since Friday) so he’s been running with the pack. Despite the fact that my parents dogs are 12 and 14 years old, Jack gets them riled up and runs in circles around them. We go back to my place tonight and I’m already prepared for Jack to be “dog depressed,” for two days.
• Two weeks and counting until Mel’s Wedding. This year of weddings has been great for me because as a bridesmaid the experiences have been completely different. New Year’s Wedding. Indian/American wedding. Church/Farm Reception Wedding. And there is a light at the end of the tunnel. No one else is engaged. I’m not in anyone else’s wedding for the forseeable future! Which means I can save money. And buy dresses I want to wear.
• One Tree Hill. I’m completely into it. And I’m almost 25. Mondays at 9pm is for couch time with Chad Michael Murray and the gang.
• Present buying. TDH’s birthday is coming up. Not soon, but not that far away and considering his tastes are different than mine (he prefers older, antique, hard to find things), I have to get started early. I love buying presents. I love giving surprises.
• Other than that, it’s business as usual: Work. Sleep. Social life (mostly with TDH’s friends lately, I need to remedy that). Think about going to the gym since I’m not allowed to (again) and get grumpy because I can’t workout. Pine for clothes I want to buy. Read an excessive amount as I’m still on the Twilight Series and really enjoying Gentlemen & Players.

Nory’s Bookshelf

I don’t know if it’s because I’m dating a man who reads something other than the sports section, that Darling and I have turned our conversations into more serious talks (all good things, of course) or what it is but I’m reading many books at the same time:

• Twilight. I got sucked in and I’m glad for it. A friend confessed to me in a whisper a few weeks ago that she was reading the “Twilight series.” Due to her hushed tones I thought perhaps they were those bodice-ripping type novels, but no, it’s a vampire series book, which I’m sure many of you have heard of. I’m only 150 pages into the first book but I’m most definitely hooked. Bonus: TDH thinks it’s awesome I’m reading a vampire series. He loves them.
• A Farewell to Arms. It’s Hemingway. It’s classic. It’s not a hard read so long as you aren’t overanalyzing the symbolism to death like we had to in high school. And even though I’m not actively analyzing it I can see the meaning behind the words.
• Gentleman & Players. Ok, well, I haven’t started it yet, but it’s on my bookshelf begging to be read.
• International Business: A Manager’s Perpsective. Yes, this my book for grad school. So far, so good. Intriguing without being boring. Informative yet not fluffy, cheesy writing like some books try to do.

What’s next for Nory’s Bookshelf?

• Certain Girls (the new Jennifer Weiner). I love her books. It’s not deep, but she makes some good points.
• The Blind Assassin. Saw the book at Borders on Saturday and decided I should read it.
• The rest of the Twilight Series.
• Midwives.
• The Kite Runner. I think I’m the only person who hasn’t read it.
• Some sort of book about the Mafia. I saw a bunch of them the other night and I just feel like reading one.

I’m open to book recommendations so if you have one, please share! What’s your favorite book of all time?

Bookworm

Taking a page from Darling’s blog, I’m turning my attention to books today.

I finished Shadow of the Wind on Tuesday evening. It’s been awhile since a non-chick lit book made me turn pages as quickly as this one did. There are some excellent quotes throughout the book that of course I can’t recall about love, the human condition and life, not to mention a great plot full of mystery, intrigue and twists/turns at every corner.

I’ve moved on to A Farewell to Arms. I’ve read this book at least twice since college. The day it was assigned to me in my Lit class I started it and finished in. In a matter of about three hours. TDH is reading it after he finishes David Sedaris for the first time so I’m being a superdork and reading it again so we can talk about it. (That’s one of the great things about him… we love to read, so we read together and talk about what we are reading, why we like it, etc etc.)

Grad School starts on August 18th which means that my pleasure reading is going to have to subside which kind of makes me sad simply because I have two other books on my shelf begging to be read. Cry of the Dove, a book I randomly picked up at Barnes & Noble, didn’t purchase, and went back weeks later looking for it and The Tattooed Soldier, a book I bought for $3 based upon the back cover. I also have a list of books to read that is at least a page long.

I forgot how wonderful it is to be gobbled up by a story, reading as quickly as possible while still savoring the words and pondering the meaning. It’s been far too long and now that I’m back into my literary mode I’m hesitant to abandon it again.

To HB or not to HB…

So the Former HB has resurfaced again. I may have mentioned that the night of my first date with TDH, Former HB informed me, via text of course, that he’s purchased a home about a block away from me. He’s moving in next week. He’s asked me to stop by (don’t worry, I won’t be doing that).

And remember Book Club? Well he’s offered to host the August book club at his new house. I bought the book yesterday and started reading it this morning at Bread Co with TDH (he’s reading a Chuck Klostermann) and so far it’s actually quite good. (We are reading Shadow of the Wind.)

At any rate, my not attending Book Club set off a wave of emails of people asking if I didn’t attend because of the Former HB (no, I was slightly hungover and spending time with TDH); that they would kick him out of book club but they don’t think that’s nice (agreed, we are all adults); would I attend the next one (not sure).

I have a potential out-of-town bridal shower in a few weekends, which happens to coincide with the next book club meeting, which I told the head organizer who I supposed told the Former HB as he sent me an email saying he’s bummed I can’t make it but should feel free to stop by his house at any time.

So as I was reading the book today TDH asked if I was going to the book club hosted by my ex. I said maybe, but if I do attend, that he (TDH) is more than welcome to attend.

The question: Do I go to book club so people realize I’m most certainly not afraid to show my face or do I say screw it and wait until a month when the Former HB isn’t hosting?

A year of doing what…?

I think I mentioned that I joined a new book club: one with young professionals. Lawyers. Teachers. English majors.

Our next book is “A Year of Living Biblically,” by A.J. Jacobs. I personally voted for Suite Francaise, but obviously lost. I’ve never been a huge memoir fan unless it’s Mafia related although surprisingly Mr. Jacobs writes with humor and purpose. I’m 50 pages in and already hooked, not to mention the many random things I’ve learned about the Bible that I (sadly) confess I was unaware of.

 I’m off to read about Jacobs’ quest to grow a long beard, teach his child the Ten Commandents and wear tassles on his clothes everyday… among other things.