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Definitely didn’t keep up with that “one post per day” deal, but can’t say I’m surprised.  A lot happened between my last post and this one, some very (very) good and some very (very) bad.  Life.  I feel like I’ve lived three years in the first six months of 2009, and though it’s been crazy, I’m so thankful for the perspective I’ve gained.  Life comes down to relationships with other people and balance.  That’s it.  The other stuff really, really doesn’t matter. Aside from high thread count bedding and a nice wine.  And having occasional good hair days.  Really all you need.

Maybe I should just get a Kindle?

I’m staying at my mom’s house for the month, and we’re holding a garage sale next week to clean out some things that’ve been gathering dust in the attic. I’ve spent the last two days sifting through boxes of my old stuff, trying to decide what’s worth keeping and wondering how one person can manage to amass so much stuff. Keep in mind that my “stuff” that remains is after two rounds of purging the last two summers.

Having lost a good portion of my belongings in France and realizing how strangely liberating that was, I’m halfway tempted to set the remaining things ablaze and collect the insurance money. Just kidding, State Farm!  Haha!  Seriously, if there’s some house fire tonight it was NOT ME.  I have my sanity intact, thanks.  But stuff does weigh you down and takes time and money to keep up, and frankly, I’m tired of going through boxes of my college notes and out-of-focus pictures of my awkward years. The only thing that I’m having a hard time being rational about sorting through is my books. See, I’m kinda obsessive about reading, and books, and libraries, and old-book smell, and living the life of a shut-in if I’m reading something good. I have at least six good-sized boxes of them, and while I won’t mind selling off my microeconomics text (price paid: $110. Going price on Amazon: $3.00), I couldn’t possibly choose between my well-thumbed novels, biographies, and history books.

I purposely buy older books on Amazon so that they have that old, familiar smell (and okay, yeah, I’m cheap), and one of the few material goals I have is to someday have a library full of well-loved books; I’m not interested in collecting collector’s edition books or anything, I just love being able to browse and linger and pass hours away in bed. I’m more than willing to toss out old birthday cards and corsages from high school dances, but I have a visceral reaction when it comes to my books. I’ve also realized how much I miss being a student while going through my notes and glancing over required readings that I knew so well and felt so passionate about. Teaching may be the closest profession to being a student, but it’s no replacement.

My books also raise the question of what to do with them in the long run. I have plans to remain in France for at least the next few years, and I’m wondering at what point it will become worthwhile (and financially feasible) to ship them across the ocean. I miss my books. And there’s no chance in hell I’d get a Kindle.

:(

This is really depressing, especially the reader-submitted comments.

Testing

Posting now to fulfill my self-imposed requirement of a post per day while I’m in the States. All is well. Mexican food was awesome, send more margaritas.

How to Gross me Out

Make a cat food commercial, and show human food morphing into kitty chow. Am I supposed to be salivating? Is the cat? Do cats watch TV now? How does a cat merit crystal? They poop IN A BOX and cough up furballs.

Recipe for Tender Turkey Tuscany In A Savory Sauce With Long Grain Rice And Garden Greens:

1. Take Poultry broth, turkey, liver, wheat gluten, long grain rice, spinach, meat by-products, corn starch-modified, artificial and natural flavors, salt, calcium phosphate, soy protein concentrate, added color, potassium chloride, taurine, choline chloride, thiamine mononitrate, Vitamin E supplement, niacin, zinc sulfate, calcium pantothenate, Vitamin A supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), ferrous sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, manganese sulfate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, biotin, copper sulfate, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, potassium iodide.

2. Mix.

3. Can.

4. Place in crystal bowl, ding twice with fork, and purr with pleasure.

Serves one coddled feline.

Ding ding! Come get your meat by-product factory slub!