Pigs, Men, and Joni

"The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which."

I finished Animal Farm this weekend... wow, is all I can say. What a fantastic novel! The quotation above - the last line of the novel - was my favourite line of the book, and so poignant, but the whole book was just great! I'm thinking of going on a dystopian kick, but I might have to break it up a bit so as not to get in a rut. I moved from Orwell to Michelle Mercer's Will You Take Me As I Am: Joni Mitchell's Blue Period. I haven't read non-fiction in a while, and I don't think I've read books about any musicians other than John Lennon/The Beatles, so I'm excited to get some insight on Joni, even if it is about a particular album and time in her life. I love it so far, so I'm feeling good about the choice!

With A.F. finished, I'm half-way done rc-3 and half-way done the year 2011. Right on schedule!


In other news, I believe my computer is kaput. My Fujitsu Lifebook. My loyal friend. It's been 5 or so years now since I bought it, so it may be that it's just bitten the dust, for which I will forgive it. However, I'll wait to confirm the diagnosis with a PC doctor. I'm also hoping I can save the contents of my hard drive, but if not - I'll live. Unfortunately if it is dead, it might be a while before I get myself a new one. Between my iPhone and my work laptop, I think I'll manage, but since my latest purchase (a car!!!) set me back a bit, I think it's best that I wait a little while before investing in a new comp. When the time comes, you can be sure I'll reach out for your suggestions. It might be time to convert to a Mac, but we'll see.

Milestones - both arbitrary and totally exciting!!

Life is all about celebrating arbitrary milestones, so...
HAPPY 286th POST, SUGAR & GRAVY!!!

In other news...
I GOT A CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!! Now that I have it, all I want to do is drive. I was so excited to drive to work today that I left my apartment at 7:30am, went to Tim Horton's for a coffee (sweet drive-thru luxury!!!) and timbits for the whole office, and then got to the office before anyone else. It felt SOOOO good!!!

So - that means the Driving Challenge is officially over. Achieved much more quickly than I thought, it shall be deemed a total success, and I couldn't be prouder or happier!


In other other news...

1. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
2. The Girls by Lori Lansens
3. Live from New York by Tom Shales & James Andrew Miller
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
5. The Divinity Gene by Matthew J. Trafford
6. 38 Witnesses: The Kitty Genovese Case by A.M. Rosenthal
7. I Met the Walrus by Jerry Levitan
8. Saturday by Ian McEwan
9. Bossypants by Tina Fey

rc-3: 9 books down, 11 to go... nearly half-way done the year and nearly half-way done the challenge. Things are moving along well.

Bossypants was awesome!! I wasn't sure I loved it at first, but that was mostly due to the fact that I was transitioning from a serious fiction book (Saturday) to a scattered humour memoir. I say "scattered" because it jumped from story to story without necessarily any chronological order, or any other logic, for that matter. However, the further I got into the book, the more its scattered nature became part of its charm. Each chapter was essentially anecdotes about Tina's life, "advice" she has for others, and just neat stories about "Saturday Night Live" and "30 Rock". It was a great book, and I'd like to re-read it relatively soon to pick up on more subtleties.

I've moved from Bossypants to George Orwell's Animal Farm. I've never read it (or 1984 either... I'm a bad English grad), but it's a short novel, and so I thought it'd be a good transition from humour back to (most likely... though I don't know what I'm reading yet) fiction. I'm about half-way done and I absolutely love it! So satirical, so ahead of its time (in some ways, but obviously not in others... perhaps it's better to say that it's still relevant), and really enjoyable.


Life is good. No complaints.

Saturday on Saturday

I finally finished Saturday by Ian McEwan. When I say "finally", it's not because it was a drag to read, but just because I feel like I've been reading it for a while... and also, because it's the last of the 4 books that nice woman lent to me. She lent me By Nightfall, Bel Canto, and The Girls, too. I feel bad that I've had the 4 books for this long (maybe 10 months), but I thoroughly enjoyed all 4, and didn't want to let them go until I finished them all.

Saturday was a delight to read! It took place over the course of a (surprise!) Saturday in February 2003 and was very post-9/11 and extremely interesting. I loved it! I think I may have another Ian McEwan book on my bookshelves, so maybe I'll check that out soon.

So... RC-3 is now at 8/20 books. I now have 7 months to read 12 more books. Not bad at all!

1. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
2. The Girls by Lori Lansens
3. Live from New York by Tom Shales & James Andrew Miller
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
5. The Divinity Gene by Matthew J. Trafford
6. 38 Witnesses: The Kitty Genovese Case by A.M. Rosenthal
7. I Met the Walrus by Jerry Levitan
8. Saturday by Ian McEwan

Next on the reading list is... Bossypants by Tina Fey!!!!! I ordered it and will be picking it up from the post office later today. I can't wait!

DRIVING + rc-3 UPDATE!

Ladies and gentlemen... esteemed blog readers... general public...

It is with the greatest pleasure that I announce to you that I PASSED MY ROAD TEST!!!!!

After all these years, the thought of being able to drive seemed like a mountain beyond my ability to climb, but I proved that mountain wrong today. Turns out it was a molehill.

SO...

1. Get my G1 by December 31, 2010.
2. a) Register for driving lessons by February 28, 2011.
   b) Book my road test by May 31, 2011.
   c) Get my G2 by August 31, 2011.
3. Get a car by December 31, 2011.

I finished 2 a) and b) much earlier than expected, and needless to say #3 will be completed ASAP. I'd like to buy a car by June 30th... and I think it might even be earlier than that.

Anyway, I'm just so proud and happy and feel a sense of accomplishment like never before. LIFE IS GOOD!!!!!

In other news, I'm still reading Saturday, but I paused to read another book, so I'm 7 books in and 13 to go in 7 months. I CAN DO IT!

1. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
2. The Girls by Lori Lansens
3. Live from New York by Tom Shales & James Andrew Miller
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
5. The Divinity Gene by Matthew J. Trafford
6. 38 Witnesses: The Kitty Genovese Case by A.M. Rosenthal
7. I Met the Walrus by Jerry Levitan