Two Things That Are Wrong With The World

Number 1)  The 9-5 Patriots beat the ever loving shit out of a team going to the playoffs and they are at risk of not making it?  I understand the justification for the system but give me an fucking break!  That's ridiculous.

Number 2) "HI!  I'm the Hampshire Mall!  We hear it's the holiday shopping season.  That's why we've decided to tear up half of our floor and re-tile it!  We hope the miles of caution tape, countless cones, and random, short yellow signs aren't an inconvenience as you fight with the other millions of shoppers!  Happy holidays!"  Yeah, go to hell.

Twilight in the Garden of Good and Evil

So I just finished Twilight tonight (the book, that is) and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised.  I liked it.  A lot.

Yeah, yeah, I know, many of you are now saying, "I told you, so!" But I want to say this, this is NOT a book that would normally like.  I ain't a fan of the romances, yo!  For instance, Jane Eyre angered me.  Infuriated me!  And that's the only true example I have because every other romance I have ever been assigned was not read.  Ever.

Anyways!  Yes, I liked Twilight.  I fell in love with that klutzy, pale girl displaced from Phoenix.  I admired the endearing qualities of Edward.  At times I even wished, I too was part of the Cullen Coven.  I was swept up in the build-up of the young love between Bella and Edward.  It was fun to witness.

There were heart-breaking parts, that I had an unexpected emotional reaction to.  When she left Forks for Phoenix, I understood why she said what she said, but I still wanted to slap her. The second scene in the hospital between Bella and Edward brought tears to my eyes (which was awkward since I was reading at work and had a customer come up in the middle of it).

Praise be to Stephanie Meyer for painting this simple, yet beautiful tapestry.  I have few critiques I would make on her style.  Obviously I am not a teenage girl (or am I?) so I'm not the target audience.  Because of this, I thought it was a pretty simple read.  After plodding slowly through Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, that was a great relief.  

I only had a couple quibbles with the book.  Knowing what I know about future books, I was surprised she didn't foreshadow Jacob Black's abilities more.  I was expecting some more feral terms when describing the boy, but hey, not a biggie.  The other thing was I thought Alice finding out about her origin was a bit convenient.  And by "a bit" I mean extremely. Besides the fact I felt the whole situation was convenient I also felt it was awkwardly wedged in there.

A small anecdote to end this: I was reading at work today when I teenage girl on crutches complete with braces and a head band came into the Sanderson Street facility at work.  Her mom went to the bathroom and while the girl waited she noticed I was reading Twilight and she almost exploded she was so excited.  Then it dawned on her that I wasn't a girl and that I was well past puberty (debatable) and she suspiciously asked me why I was reading it.  I told her I liked the movie so I thought I'd give the book a try and that I was not disappointed.  She gave me a shiny, metal smile and we had a brief conversation in which she told me how amazing the other books are and that I need to read them right away.

The Never-Ending Story

I went to Holiday Pizza to get dinner tonight.  As you may or may not know, Holiday is about 4 buildings down from where I live so I just stepped out the door and walked there to order my amazing turkey grinder.  

After I ordered I jaunted a little further into downtown to the Cumby's at the common and picked up a drink, some newspaper to catch up on "current" events and wrap Christmas presents (economic crisis), and a package of toilet paper.  As I was walking around I realized how much I loved the weather.  It was cool, but not uncomfortably so.  The atmosphere was a little moist, but not like misty or rainy.  I couldn't see the stars, but that isn't a big deal to me; seeing them less would make seeing them more important. I wanted nothing more than to find a friend and go for a walk but my desire to eat and my unyielding laziness prevented that from happening.

Hmmmm, damp, cool, cloudy.  Where is that like?