[ update on life ]

Once again, it has been forever since I've posted. Almost three weeks. Myyyyyy bad.

I've actually been really busy. To prove my point, check out this tiny screenshot of my calendar for this month:


So it's been a busy couple of weeks. I've been working down at the studio three days a week; there have been a couple weddings recently; I've actually had quite a few of my own clients recently; I've been having events with my Meetup group pretty regularly, as well as hanging out with some of the members outside of the group; and I just started working with another business, a health product that has actually been working wonders for both my back pain and my allergies since I started using it, and will also help me get out of the rat-race before I hit 30.

I also recently decided to make a serious effort to do more reading, less television-watching and less random-internet-surfing. Reading more and having more to do has equated to less general time on the computer, with means less blogification. I used to read voraciously when I was younger, and it recently came to the point that I couldn't actually think of the last book I had read. I have definitely successfully changed that: since the middle of April, I've read six books, and I'm working on a couple more.

One of the books I just finished (as in about an hour ago!) is The Bounce Back Book, by Karen Salmansohn. It is a great little book of 75 tips on "how to thrive in the face of adversity, setbacks, and losses." The tips are amazing for helping you through hard times in your life, both small and huge. It's a really quick read, and totally beneficial. Some of the tips are the types of things you should incorporate into your daily life whether or not you are in a particularly tough spot.

Some of my favorite tips, which I'm going to work on bringing into my everyday life:

#10: Happiness is a choice, not just a matter of genes or good luck.
#22: Give yourself 120-second recharging sessions.
#35: Don't just write a "To Do" list. Write a "To Be" list.
#55: Sing your heartache out.
#58: Cultivate the habit of zest.
#70: View change as chance.

(All quoted from The Bounce Back Book)

Obviously there are sixty-nine more amazing tips, and lots more detail to the six I shared with you. I highly, highly recommend picking it up. It's less than $15, and worth every single penny.

So after that crazy tangent, I'm once again apologizing for being away so long. And once again, I am promising to try to be better. I should post about the fun things happening in my life, instead of just doing the fun things, right?!? Indeed!

[ march 21: books i own but haven't read yet ]

I need to read more! I officially own too many books that I haven't read yet... it's wrong!

• Ovid - Metamorphoses
• Janet Evanovich - Two for the Dough
• Clive Cussler - Dragon
• Barbara Kingsolver - Animal Dreams
• Robert Ludlum - The Bourne Supremacy & The Bourne Ultimatum
• Gian Mario Villalta - Vita Della Mia Vita
• Daphne du Maurier - Rebecca
• Neil Gaiman - Stardust
• Jane Austen - Persuasion

I need to get going!

[ march 04: books i'm currently reading ]

I've always been a big reader. I'm the first to admit that I'm a huge dork, and would usually prefer reading a good book to going out. I've usually got a couple books going at one time, and now is no exception!

So, without further delay, here are the books I'm reading right now:

• One for the Money, by Janet Evanovich: My friend Kelly told me about Janet Evanovich, and said that her books were a quick read, and completely hilarious. And so far, she was right! This book has had me laughing out loud several times. Her series of books focus on Stephanie Plum, a novice bounty hunter living in Trenton. It's really fun.
• East of Eden, by John Steinbeck: I loved Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath, so when I saw this book on sale for practically nothing, I snapped it up right away. I'm only about a dozen pages in, but so far, I'm liking it a lot. I'm sure it will be another Steinbeck masterpiece.
• Harry Potter e Il Principe Mezzosangue, by JK Rowling: I'm slowly working my way through the Italian translations of the Harry Potter books. I was on the fifth book, but the stupid Post Office lost it, so I had to skip ahead to the sixth. It's good stuff, and makes me feel like I know Italian better than I actually do.
• Purple Cow, Transform Your Business By Being Remarkable, by Seth Godin: This is the March selection for the LWL AZ Read to Succeed Book Club. It's all about different ways to make your business stand out from others like it. Good read, so far.
• Attracting Perfect Customers, The Power of Strategic Synchronicity, by Stacey Hall & Jan Brogniez: This was February's selection for the LWL book club, but I didn't finish it in time for the meeting. But it's a great book, so I'm sticking with it. It's about not wasting time on clients who are just going to stress you out, because there are clients out there who are perfect for you.
• Women & Money, Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny, by Suze Orman: I desperately need to learn more about finances, and I desperately need to have more control over my financial destiny, so I picked this up a couple weeks ago. So far, so good!
• The Moment It Clicks, by Joe McNally: My boss actually gave me this book about a week ago. It's a collection of Joe McNally's photographs (he's one of the greatest photographers in the world), and they're put up next to his tips on how he got those shots. It's an incredibly interesting read, especially if you're a photo geek like me.
  

I love books! And I'm genuinely loving each and every book I'm reading right now! One of my biggest goals in life is to have a reading room / library in my home, jam-packed with all my favorite books.

What are you reading? What are your favorite books?

[ reading list ]

So right now, I'm working on three books.

The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived is one, which I've discussed before. I try to read about a few people every couple days. It's still extremely interesting, and I feel like I'm learning a lot about characters that I've heard about frequently, but didn't technically know who they were or what they did.


The second book I'm working on is Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I picked it up on a whim at Borders, because I've heard (from friends and various internet sources) that it's a must read. I've only read the first fourteen or so tales (or beads, as the author calls them), but so far I am loving it. It's the type of book that could keep me up all night if I let it. I find myself feeling more and more awake with every word I'm reading. I had to force myself to put it down last night, and will probably have to do so again tonight. However, tomorrow, I can read as long as I want, since I work from home on Friday, and I can be tired!



The third book I'm currently reading is Harry Potter e L'Ordine della Fenice. It's the fifth Harry Potter (Order of the Phoenix) in Italian. I put it down a while ago, and have read probably six other books since I last picked it up, but I've started reading it again. It's just as good as the English version (clearly) and I get to feel proud that I can understand it!



I've started to miss the days of reading voraciously. I used to read so much people thought I was making it up. But I just loved to read. I don't think I've lost that love. I just think I feel guiltier about reading for pleasure now. Like I have other things that I should be doing. Other things that are more important, more pressing, more necessary.

But, I have recently decided that I'm going to give myself some more time to do things that truly make me happy. Hence reading three books at once. I've also started watching Gilmore Girls again. It is one of only two shows (the other being The OC) that I watched religiously. I own the entire series on DVD, and they've just been sitting there, collecting dust. So the other night, while Jesse was having dinner with some coworkers, I popped in Season One, Disc One. And let me tell you, I fell in love all over again. Now I'm going to give myself the time to watch an episode or two every week.

And that show doesn't just make me happy and relaxed. It makes me want to learn. The characters are so intelligent and so well-spoken. Not to mention that at least a dozen times an episode, references are made to things I've never heard of, or have heard of but don't really know what they are or do.

I miss learning. I miss school.


TIATF:

Whatever the hell gene I have in me that makes me love school and love learning and love reading. There's nothing quite like reading to make a person happy. And there's nothing like learning to make a person feel fulfilled.

Also, I am thankful for my desire to give myself an hour or two (at least) to do nothing but be happy and do something that makes me happy. Reading and Gilmore Girls is a good start.

What could you be doing to make yourself happy? Why aren't you doing it?

[ right now i'm reading ]

Right now, I'm reading a book called The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived: How Characters of Fiction, Myth, Legends, Television and Movies Have Shaped Our Society, Changed Our Behavior, and Set the Course of History. Really f'ing long title, huh?


So far, I'm really enjoying it. It's a lot of fun, with people such as Midas, Santa Claus, Robin Hood, Godzilla, Luke Skywalker, and more. It describes how these made-up characters have shaped American society. It offers some fun anecdotes, lots of further reading, and a lot of "Oh, I never really thought of it like that" moments.

My favorite section so far (I'm about a third of the way through) is about Cinderella. Mainly because, it kind of shows Cinderella as, if you really think about it, what she really is: a whiny, pathetic princess.

Cinderella is pathetic, but we fall in love with the idea that the meek will triumph in the end. To this purpose, a fairy godmother provides her with elegant clothes so that she can attract the eye of the prince, who happens to be looking for a girl to marry. Decked out in her finery, Cinderella gets his attention at a ball where she is nothing but a clotheshorse. She has earned nothing. She deserves nothing, except perhaps back wages at home. And yet, she gets the prince to marry her. This is not the lesson we should teach our children. There are more important values than good looks, fine clothes and expensive trappings -- intelligence, independence, self-esteem, responsibility, and self-motivation -- none of which characterize Cinderella.

So very true, but you never think of it like that. It's always, "Oh how lucky Cinderella is. How amazing that she finally got what she deserved." But she didn't really work for it. She happened to fit a certain shoe size.

Makes ya think.

Anyway, the book kinda reads like Chuck Klostermann, who I love. Ironic, and witty, with truth put out in plain view. I recommend it.



TIATF:

My love of reading. Without it, I don't think I would have been half as successful in my life as I have been. I certainly wouldn't have been such a good student!

[ image from amazon ]