Yay for the cooler weather! My dogs are definitely appreciative, since they are now once again allowed to tramp through the greenbelt behind my apartment.

So a friend of mine at work (we'll call him the Severely Inked Vegan) had never read the Harry Potter books. When the Half Blood Prince came out, I and several of my coworkers went to a HP party across the street at BookPeople and got our copies at midnight. The next week was full of HP discussions and theories. The Severely Inked Vegan laughed and called us nerds. I brought him the first book. Each day, I asked whether he had read any. Each day he told me no. Finally, he asked, "ok, if I read a chapter tonight, will you leave me alone about it?" I agreed. The next day, he brought me the book back and asked for the second one. I brought him the sixth book today. He tells me he plans on finishing it by Monday.

I am glad to have introduced someone new to the books, but I am extremely jealous that he is getting to read and experience them for the first time. So here are some books/authors that I wish I could erase from my mind and enjoy reading for the first time all over again:

1. Harry Potter series, of course. I'm a hardcore HP fan.
   
2. All of Jane Austen's books, but especially Pride and Prejudice.
3. Orson Scott Card's 'Ender' series - I found and read Ender's Game quite by accident when I was about 10, and I didn't even know it was a series until I was in high school. The books are still coming out, and amazingly enough, they are still excellent.
4. This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald - I could never much get into his other books, but This Side of Paradise was magical. After the first few chapters, I remember thinking to myself, "This man is a genius. This is the most beautiful book ever written in the history of the world."
5. The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies - Davies is a Canadian author who wrote during the 50s-80s. The first book of his that I read was an early one (Tempest Tost) that was pretty awful. I don't know what led me to pick up another, but I'm very glad I did.
6. Agatha Christie - I've read every single book she has ever written, even the Mary Westmacott books. It took me a long time - there are over 100. But one day, I went to Half-Price, I went to Amazon, I went to BookPeople and I had a terrible realization: I had read them all. There were no more. It was a sad day. Granted, they aren't great literature, but I don't think I ever knew whodunnit before she told me.
   

What books would you choose?

I like the idea of a blog as a catalog of my life.

Things on my docking station/monitor stand at work:

1. Purple and white checked origami goldfish

2. Multicolored striped origami frog

3. Small stack of origami paper for use during frustrating conference calls

4. Several business cards from various people I've met in meetings recently. I never know what to do with them - I usually keep them for a month or two and then throw them away.

5. One large post-it note pad and one small post-it note pad, both green.

6. Small blue painted china turtle that I got at the Louvre gift shop last year. It's my lucky turtle.

7. Tin of lemongrass green tea mints from the tea shop I frequent (if you're in Austin, go visit and say 'hi' to Jonathan - he's really nice and knowledgeable)

Damn you Rita. I almost feel disappointed. It's like if you have a fight planned with a bully after school. You know you're going to lose and get the crap beaten out of you, but you've prepared all day and you've rallied your friends and you're ready for a showdown. Then the bully forgets and goes to fight with someone else instead.

Wow, that was a really tortured metaphor. Someone stop me, please. Anyway, Rita forgot to come by, but Houston sure was around...

Five jokes I like:

1. Why did the ant cross the mobius strip? To get to the other....um....

2. A pirate walks into a bar. He has a steering wheel growing out of his crotch. The bartender says "hey, pirate, why do you have a steering wheel growing out of your crotch?" The pirate says "argh, matey, I don't know, but it's driving me nuts!"

3. A hydrogen atom lost its electron and went to the police station to file a missing electron report. The police asked him "are you sure you haven't just misplaced it somewhere? Are you sure it's really lost?" The atom replied "I'm positive."

4. Heisenberg was driving down the Autobahn when he was pulled over by a policeman. The policeman asked, "Do you know how fast you were going back there?" Heisenberg replied, "No, but I know where I am."

5. Once upon a time, there was a king with a pretty daughter and an ugly daughter whose kingdom was being menaced by a dangerous dragon. The king sent out a notice all over the land that whoever could slay the dragon would be entitled to half of his kingdom and the hand of either his pretty daughter or his ugly daughter. A prince from a far off land heard the notice and rode across the land and slew the dragon. When he went to the king, the king said "Prince, you have killed the dragon and saved my kingdom. I will give you half of my kingdom and the hand of either my pretty daughter or my ugly daughter. Which would you prefer?" The prince thought about it for a moment and then replied, "Your majesty, since this is a fairy tale, I think I would prefer your son." (Thanks, Mr. Axe)

I feel like I want to say something about this, but I don't know what. It's starting to feel like a third-word country around here. Gas is hard to find, and shelves at the grocery store are looking kind of bare. I don't think Austin is equipped to host this many people. My stepdad had the foresight to make my mom, stepbrother, and stepsister leave from the coast on Wednesday morning to drive to my place. It still took them nine hours. My stepdad is on the Lake Jackson police force. He had to stay, so all we can do is watch CNN and pray that he's safe. We have trouble getting to talk to him because the cell phone networks are so busy. Somehow, in my head, I keep saying "this can't be happening, this is America." As if America is immune to natural (or man-made) disasters. I've never before realized what a cocoon my life has been. Maybe I'm growing up.

Or maybe I'm just being inane and maudlin. Whatever.

Wow, 2 posts in a day! Although I don't feel that I need a test to tell me my political beliefs, I love to take tests (did I just admit that?) and found this one on Jill's site.

You are a Social Liberal (75% permissive) and an... Economic Conservative (75% permissive) You are best described as a: Libertarian Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

Secrets about me (isn't that what a blog is for?):

• I will only eat one type of food at a time. For instance, if there are carrots and rice on my plate and I take a bite of carrots, I won't be able to eat any rice until all of the carrots are gone.
• I own three (count em!) iPods for no particular reason. They just seem to accumulate.
• While reading big intellectual books in public, I secretly like to reread the books I loved when I was a kid, so I curl up at night with Where The Sidewalk Ends or From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler or The Headless Cupid.
• I'm a tea snob - I drink organic first flush Korahkundah tea from India for breakfast. In a bone china cup, no less. With a fake British accent.
• I'm a free t-shirt whore. I will do (almost) anything for a free t-shirt. This Thursday, I have volunteered to spend all afternoon and evening in 100 degree heat at the Austin City Limits music festival for nothing but a t-shirt. I got one last year too.

ahhh...five secrets a day keeps the shrink away.