serendipity

i love books. they are my favorite things in the world, besides photographs. i love libraries and bookstores - wall to wall goodness. in libraries (and antique bookstores) most of the books are so good and old and the pages are yellowed and the spines are broken (which is a really horrible thing if you're my brother. if you're my brother you won't let your little sister borrow your books unless you stand over her and make sure she doesn't open it all the way so as not to bend or break the spine. but then again, if you're my brother you think that women should never change their last names, you shouldn't lick stamps because the government could have access to your DNA, and you're freakishly brilliant). but these old books, you know that people have poured over and loved these pages before you. it's really amazing and humbling.

in bookstores, it is opposite magic. these books are brand-new and waiting for you. they are clean and shiny and perfect. you get to own these pages and they are all yours. a different kind of fun; not better or worse, just different.

i am never happier than when i am surrounded by books.

wednesday night i went to books-a-million (god what i wouldn't give for a davis-kidd or a barnes & noble - but it's jackson) with my roommates. like i said, i'm in a bookstore, so i'm already content. as i'm looking through the (miniature) lit crit section, i see a book that is obviously out of place. the word "McSweeney's" catches my eye, so i pull it of the shelf.

which begins my list, and the reason for this blog...

REASONS WHY THIS BOOK, MOUNTAIN MAN DANCE MOVES, WAS ABSOLUTELY THRILLING TO FIND

1. mcsweeney's. dave eggers is an editor for this company. dave eggers wrote A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genuis, which is aptly titled. dave eggers is one of the most clever men i've ever heard of existing, and i'm pretty sure he's my soulmate. so mcsweeney's owns, as far as i'm concerned.

2. lists. casey and i like to make lists. of anything, really. we make lists of things that we are good at, of potential names for the goldfish babies that our current goldfish might be having, of undesirable traits for our ideal man illustrated by men that we already know, of celebrities that would surely be friends with us, of people that we would put on an island if there was an island for stupid people that was devoid of warning labels... so anyways, we obviously make lots of lists (and they usually feature scott speedman). it's one of the things that we do. this book - is a book of lists. all it is, is a book of lists. and they are funny (see bullet point #1).

3. unicorns. casey loves unicorns. since casey loves them, i love them, too. nothing makes me happier than finding a unicorn somewhere if only so that i can then tell casey about it. unicorns are good. the cover of this book?


and there are lists about unicorns scattered throughout.



so things just really don't get much better. and my smile really doesn't get much bigger than it did when i realized the treasure that i was holding in my little, unworthy (but beautifully shaped) hands.

i love west tennessee

at the risk of appearing like i don't have anything to do, i'm embarking on my second post for today. ok, ok... i don't have anything to do.

however, something just happened to me that i feel like i need to share.

by no means do i think i'm a "looker" or anything like that, but i am not too unfortunate. put that together with the fact that many nursing students are at least middle-aged and many more are generally unattractive, and the result is that some of the younger male nursing students like to talk to me sometimes.

well, "j" was in here just a few minutes ago turning in some papers, and he began to flirt with me. i can handle flirting. i could not handle what this guy was doing, though. he began to regale me with tales of his hunting adventures. apparently, "j" shot a "6 pointer" this morning, but then could not find him. i'm just guessing he meant he could not find the dead carcass of the previously animate and majestic creature.

he had me at "blood trail."

scout

can you picture the position i'm in if i say that i'm laying in bed holding a stuffed animal? probably. so that's how i'm laying last night, but i wasn't holding a stuffed animal, i was holding my cat. it was the most precious thing that has ever happened to me. she woke me up at 5 a.m. to nuzzle, but how could i be upset with that? it was almost a relief when she decided to move, because i sure as hell was not going to ruin our arrangement. i just hoped she'd want to move by the time i had to get up.

i've always liked dogs better than cats, despite my name. but i have never loved an animal like i love scout. it's unreal. and she loves me, too, which is the probably the craziest part. this little tiny creature cannot be close enough to me to suit her. i'm probably the most important person in her life, oh my gosh what a responsibility. what else could i need?

i'm so excited about taking her with me to grad school (if i ever actually make it there). i don't care how new and scary a place is going to be, or how alone i'll feel, i can come home to my kitten. she's already been a comfort so far this year, and as impossible as it seems to me, i love her more all the time. such a good companion. is it weird to be so crazy about a pet?

loving a child is going to be completely overwhelming.

i hate that techno song

i've decided that my favorite color is blue. or rather, that it must be blue. every time i decide to notice what i'm wearing, i swear it contains about 14 shades of blue. i'm currently wearing teal shorts, a purple tank, and a royal blue t-shirt. this happens all the time. i must love blue, unconsciously. i wonder what that says about me.

i think i either have a fever or an iron deficiency. or as my mother so kindly put it, "are you sure you're not just depressed?" thanks, mom. i wasn't BEFORE.