Home again

I'm laying in bed at my parent's house, I've been awake for 2 hours.  I passed out around 8pm last night.  Oh, jet lag.  Also, I stayed up all Saturday night in order to make sure I made my flight on Sunday morning.  Luckily for me, Danny agreed to ride to the airport with me at 4 am, and stayed until 6am when I went through security.  He's good people :)

Europe was amazing.  I got to go back to Prague, my favorite city in the world, with one of my favorite people in the world.  The train ride was about 6-7 hours each way, but well worth it.  The whole trip, Budapest and Prague, still feels like it didn't actually happen.  Very surreal.  I got to see Brooke and Darcy (and the majority of the Americans there I met on Wednesday night), and I met some of Danny's friends (Bodwin, mainly).

Anyway, I'm about halfway through The Handmaid's Tale which is a really great novel so far.  Still very interesting and intriguing.  I would have read more, but Danny is quite distracting during long periods of traveling, and on the flight home, I'll just say I was exhausted and post-Amsterdam, so I spent the flight to Newark watching movies and falling asleep.

I'm going to try and finish The Handmaid's Tale this week, then get back to Memoirs of a Geisha. As for now, I'm going to get out of bed because I don't think I'm going back to sleep... it's been 2 hours already.

Nem nem nem

Here I am, in Budapest... stuck in a room with nothing to do but read.  I suppose for the sake of this blogging project it's not the worst, but I am getting very much like the woman in the room with the yellow wallpaper.  I'm about to start pacing and wearing a hole into the flooring of Danny's room.

The trip over was just fine.  I finished The Picture of Dorian Gray, which reminded me very much of Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Oval Portrait" (so much so that I often call Dorian the PORTRAIT instead of the picture... hmmm... subconscious?).  I love Poe and I love Wilde, so together it made for a lovely combination.  Currently reading The Handmaid's Tale, which I like, even though it is frustrating.  Dorian  was frustrating at times because Wilde loves to go on and on about Parisian things and fashion (sorry, Diana, not for me) but the premise was neat.  The Handmaid's Tale is frustrating in a literary sense because she slowly reveals things about this 'utopian' society, leaving me as a reader confused and needing to keep reading to put all the pieces together.  It's a good confused and frustrated!

Unlike sitting in this room.  I was supposed to go to the market with Brooke, but it's now 2 oclock and I have yet to hear from her.  Danny forgot he had class (or something, I don't quite get that) and is gone, so I asked his roommate to unlock the door for me (yes, I was locked in his flat.  Just another thing to make me start to go crazy) because I wanted to go walk around Oktogon by myself, since I am only in Budapest for today and tomorrow we go to Romania.  What I didn't realize is that the main door to their building locks, and since I am without keys, the code to get in the building, and a cell phone, I simply gave up and came back upstairs to sit in a room.  Again.  and since I don't know when we're getting back Saturday, but I know it will be late, and my flight Sunday morning leaves at 6:50am, I feel like I've wasted all of my time in the city.  Yesterday I was jetlagged and so my experience was slightly foggy, and today I've done nothing but shower and sit around. Yes, I did some homework and yes, I read, but I'm in Europe.

Why am I sitting in a room when I should be out exploring?

"It was the second thing that slipped right out from under me today. The first was my childhood."

Anyone watch Modern Family? If not, please get on that immediately.

I just read and finished Winnie the Pooh.  Precious.   I don't know how I got this far in life without actually reading the original, but it was very sweet.  The characters are different than they are in the modernized cartoon versions, and I think I like the original characters better.  I also really like how A. A. Milne is telling the story to Christopher Robin, and although as an adult reader, it is clear that the narrator sees C. R. as a child, C. R. has some really great lines.  At one point he tells Pooh "Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."


Heartwarming <3

Anywho, I leave in less than 48 hours for Budapest.  I'm freaking out.  Mostly because of the traveling, which always makes me nervous, but also because Danny has been iffy about skyping recently, so our plans are still very much up in the air.  I like to have a plan.  I'm not a decisive person and I don't like making decisions, but damn it!!  We need to figure things out!  I'm only in Europe for 5 days, and if we're going to Romania, we need to figure out where and when!  UGH it's frustrating.

That being said, I'm just about to put on some hulu stuff that's backed up (Always Sunny and I might re-watch Glee just for the Cee Lo cover...) and add some books to my kindle for the trip.  Currently I have Dorian Gray, and I just bought The Handmaid's Tale, Grendel, and Waiting for Godot.  The one great thing about the kindle is that if I can get wireless, I can purchase a book if I need another!

Happy travels to me :)

Never forget me, because if I thought you would, I'd never leave.
Man, I love Winnie the Pooh...

10 days left

That's right.  In 10 days I will be in Budapest, reunited with my Brooklyn for just under a week.  I'm not looking forward to the traveling, other than a chance to 1) read a lot. 2) plan lessons (don't judge me, I'm a huge nerd about my job). 3) have a 5 hour layover in Amsterdam.  Interpret freely.  I'm really starting to stress about the trip; how much to pack, should I check luggage to avoid the no liquids issues -- I have a lot of crazy hair that needs products to survive -- how will I manage on a flight to Europe by myself for the first time, what happens once I'm there, who's picking me up, who am I spending time with, etc. etc.  I don't want to act like I'm not excited, but I wish I had more positivity in regard to the trip.  I know all of my friends who spent a semester in Buda are jealous I'm going, and I promised Dan a keychain and Colin that I would go to some bar (I don't remember the name of it...) but I'm just so meh right now, it's hard to feel excited.

I've been reading The Tipping Point, and although I like Gladwell's style and his way of explaining things so I don't feel like a complete moron, I'm having trouble getting through it.  I tore through Outliers, but this one is taking much longer.  So here is the question: Do I start another book, and read two at once?  Do I have to get through an entire book before starting on another? 

I've read more than one book at once my entire life.  I read multiple books at a time growing up because I would start one, then get excited about another, so read that in the middle, or I'd borrow one and  have to finish it quickly.  In college, English majors read more than one book at a time every semester, unless you some how manage to take only one Literature course a semester.

I think I'll start another book at the same time.  The Tipping Point is non-fiction, so it's not plot driven, so I think it's a good choice for a double up experience.

Decent weekend so far.  McDaniel last night with the ladies, around the house now, trying to see if Diana wants to come over tonight, tomorrow is baking day, and Monday is the football game.  I have a lot riding on this game, so let's hope the Eagles win.

Off to the grocery store, then deciding on dinner.  I'll start book 2 tonight.

Are you a connector?

Okay, I think it's time to update on what my post from Wednesday was all about.  First things first, I apologize for any incoherence in this post.  I'm attempting to recover from McDaniel's homecoming weekend, where I spent the majority of the time drunk (sorry, mom) or laying with Diana in bed googling dinosaur jokes.  We drank four loko last night (don't even get me started) then went to the bar to drink more, after drinking all day at the football game.  I woke up this morning around 9, still drunk, fell out of the bed I'd been sleeping in, and realized that today was not going to be my day.  I'm currently in ugly sweats, watching the Eagles game, texting Colin Miller (hi Colin!) and preparing to grade final essays on The Secret Life of Bees.  I also have grad school homework, and lessons to plan.

Oops.

Anywho, let me explain the experiment with the last names.  Basically, your number determines if you are what is called a 'connector,' which is someone who has a lot of acquaintances and knows a lot of people.  Connectors are an integral part of trends and fads and epidemics.  I scored a 59, which is above the average for college aged people.  The average is around 21.  In a group of professionals in their 20's and 30's the average score was 41.  So my score of 59 is pretty high.  Does this make me a connector?  Do I really know a lot of people?  Do I not have a lot of close friends, and instead have a lot of people with a 'weak tie,' a friendly connection but not a deep connection?

Not sure how I feel about that, but I sure do know a lot of people.  I guess in the world of epidemics, I could start something in a small way.

On chapter 3 of The Tipping Point.  Hopefully finishing it up this week, then I want to move on to something fiction.  I like non-fiction, but it's not my favorite.  It is interesting, though.  I think after this, I'll try and finish up An American Childhood, which I really don't like all that much.  I'm trying to save the young adult and children's lit for later on in the experiment.

Have a fabulous week!  And to my regular readers, I know who you are, and I love you.  To my random readers, I hope you come back again.  And Max: this is really nerdy, but I'm still cooler than you.

Who do you know?

An interesting experiment from the book The Tipping Point.  Try it out, leave a comment with your number, and I'll explain in a later post.

"In the paragraph below is a list of around 250 surnames, all taken at random from the Manhattan phone book. Go down the list and give yourself a point every time you see a surname that is shared by someone you know. (The definition of "know" here is very broad. It is if you sat down next to that person on a train, you would know their name if they introduced themselves to you, and they would know your name.) Multiple names count. If the name is Johnson, in other words, and you know three Johnsons, you get three points."

Algazi, Alvarez, Alpern, Ametrano, Andrews, Aran, Arnstein, Ashford, Bailey Ballout, Bamberger, Baptista, Barr, Barrows, Baskerville, Bassiri, Bell, Bokgese, Brandao, Bravo, Brooke, Brightman, Billy, Blau, Bohen, Bohn, Borsuk, Brendle, Butler, Calle, Cantwell, Carrell, Chinlund, Cirker, Cohen, Collas, Couch, Callegher, Calcaterra, Cook, Carey, Cassell, Chen, Chung, Clarke, Cohn, Carton, Crowley, Curbelo, Dellamanna, Diaz, Dirar, Duncan, Dagostino, Delakas, Dillon, Donaghey, Daly, Dawson, Edery, Ellis, Elliott, Eastman, Easton, Famous, Fermin, Fialco, Finklestein, Farber, Falkin, Feinman, Friedman, Gardner, Gelpi, Glascock, Grandfield, Greenbaum Greenwood, Gruber, Garil, Goff, Gladwell, Greenup, Gannon, Ganshaw, Garcia, Gennis, Gerard, Gericke, Gilbert, Glassman, Glazer, Gomendio, Gonzalez, Greenstein, Guglielmo, Gurman, Haberkorn, Hoskins, Hussein, Hamm, Hardwick, Harrell, Hauptman, Hawkins, Henderson, Hayman, Hibara, Hehmann, Herbst, Hedges, Hogan, Hoffman, Horowitz, Hsu, Huber, Ikiz, Jaroschy, Johann, Jacobs, Jara, Johnson, Kassel, Keegan, Kuroda, Kavanau, Keller, Kevill, Kiew, Kimbrough, Kline, Kossoff, Kotzitzky, Kahn, Kiesler, Kosser, Korte, Leibowitz, Lin, Liu, Lowrance, Lundh, Laux, Leifer, Leung, Levine, Leiw, Lockwood, Logrono, Lohnes, Lowet, Laber, Leonardi, Marten, McLean, Michaels, Miranda, Moy, Marin, Muir, Murphy, Marodon, Matos, Mendoza, Muraki, Neck, Needham, Noboa, Null, O'Flynn, O'Neill, Orlowski, Perkins, Pieper, Pierre, Pons, Pruska, Paulino, Popper, Potter, Purpura, Palma, Perez, Portocarrero, Punwasi, Rader, Rankin, Ray, Reyes, Richardson, Ritter, Roos, Rose, Rosenfeld, Roth, Rutherford, Rustin, Ramos, Regan, Reisman, Renkert, Roberts, Rowan, Rene, Rosario, Rothbart, Saperstein, Schoenbrod, Schwed, Sears, Statosky, Sutphen, Sheehy, Silverton, Silverman, Silverstein, Sklar, Slotkin, Speros, Stollman, Sadowski, Schles, Shapiro, Sigdel, Snow, Spencer, Steinkol, Stewart, Stires, Stopnik, Stonehill, Tayss, Tilney, Temple, Torfield, Townsend, Trimpin, Turchin, Villa, Vasillov, Voda, Waring, Weber, Weinstein, Wang, Wegimont, Weed, Weishaus.

How many points did you get?  I got 59.

The Joy Luck Club and waving goodbye

So I finished book three.  Epic fail on my part, this has been going on for a month, and I can't even keep up with a book a week.  My life is all over the place right now, and my memoirs class is making it more apparent.  My theme for my writing is 'adult experiences,' which is not anything I wanted to write about, but it is what I seem to have fallen into.  There are things I'm writing about that don't have the distance I need to really reflect back, but even though it went on my "DO NOT WRITE" list, they are fighting to come out.

It's amazing the things we will put in writing or down on paper and share with complete strangers.  The 4 other members of the class and my professor have learned things about me and heard stories from my life that not even my close friends necessarily know.  And isn't that the way with literature, fiction or non?  As authors, interior thoughts are recorded for all to see.  If it isn't memoir or autobiography, it still comes from something deep inside of a writer.  All novels are, in a way, insanely personal.

The Joy Luck Club is obviously a huge part of Amy Tan's actual experience as a Chinese-American.  The story revolves around 4 mothers and 4 daughters and is told through each of their perspectives, alternating chapters and sharing life experiences.  The parallels between the mothers and daughters is something the children aren't sure they want to experience, but there is a mutual understanding and love throughout it.

[it's very hard to concentrate right now, because Tyson is snoring his doggie snores from Matt's room, and it's RIDICULOUSLY loud]

There are some stories that I enjoyed more than others, but one of the most touching moments in the story comes toward the end.  The premise of the novel is that one of the women has died and her daughter is taking her place at the Joy Luck Club meetings, bringing her into a world she doesn't truly know.  She learns that her mother had twin baby girls when she lived in China, and had to leave them on the side of the road with all of her money and jewelery when the Japanese invaded.  These girls are still alive, but do not know that the mother has just recently died. 

At the airport when Jing-mei is preparing to leave her father's side of the family in China and go to her half-sisters, she comments on goodbye's:

"And now at the airport, after shaking hands with everybody, waving good-bye, I think about all the different ways we leave people in this world.  Cheerily waving good-bye to some at airports, knowing we'll never see each other again.  Leaving others on the side of the road, hoping that we will.  Finding my mother in my father's story and saying good-bye before I have a chance to know her better" (286).

So I got to thinking about good-byes.  At the end of The House on Mango Street there is a story called "Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes" and it's about how you never really leave a place (or a person) behind.  When we say goodbye to someone, do we ever really mean goodbye?  If we aren't physically leaving them, but are emotionally leaving them instead, is it really goodbye?  Or is it just the only thing we have left to do or to say?  Even when someone dies, is it really goodbye?  If someone lives on in memory, it isn't the last we think of them, or have them in our lives.

The purpose of literature is to connect and explore and question, but is it also to preserve?  We take photos and keep journals in order to remember our life experiences.  Is literature simply a way for authors to preserve their life experiences, just told through a more comfortable and convenient medium?

Would I be better off writing my memoirs into a piece of fiction, or is it the truth of my experiences that makes it easy to write?

In any case, The Joy Luck Club was wonderful.  And I need to step up my game.  Next on my list? I might try The Tipping Point, work some non-fiction into my list.  I decided against Memoirs of a Geisha.  Too much Asian culture at once might make me go crazy.