Hot topics--books

Last year I was on a bit of a Pat Conroy kick, I know how corny and overwrought his books can be but damn, he is an excellent storyteller.

So, I watched Prince of Tides this past weekend and it was pretty awful (Nick Nolte and Barbara Streisand???) and honestly did not do the book justice. The actual book is tense, flowery, brutal and overwhelming. I was very surprised at how well done it was, and how poorly the film adapted it. It's a very long book with flashbacks that tell a horrible story, and the film pretty much glossed most of it over. Anyways, it reminded me of the strength of good stories and how powerful the written word is.

So, I looked up a few of his other books and autobiographies and recommended one to a friend. It seems that the richness of lived experience really 'shines' through Conroy's work, particularly the unvarnished, plain banality of evil that seem to permeate his books.

That said, I recommend Prince of Tides, Beach Music, The Water is Wide and The Great Santini...they're not easy reads, but excellent ones.

An In-Between Place

Now that the hustle, rush and hurry of moving, moving again and buying a condo have worn off...I'm bored.

For awhile (the first month of unemployment and the excitement of moving) I was glad to be off work momentarily, and have a chance to settle in, focus on my new life, new pony and be with my husband again. But now? I'm struggling a bit to define my days.

I'm going into a month and a half, almost two, of not working and it's starting to drive.me.crazy. I'm fine in the mornings, I go riding (or get into arguments with my adorable, terrible pony) and come home, have lunch, and go for a jog with a dear friend. I'm living the retirement lifestyle! Except...after I'm done jogging, now what?

I kind of get 'stuck' in the afternoons, whiling them away doing absolutely nothing important. What's this? Susan loafing around? Why, two months ago that would have been the dream, when I was working full time, hating school full time, and handling the household and freelance writing contracts. But now? I kind of miss it (well, not all of it, maybe like 50 per cent).

I have almost finished the entire Las Vegas CSI. And this is from someone who doesn't really watch much TV! (The Internet is more my vice, ouch!).

So, I'm finishing my thesis and doing it poorly, and applying to jobs with bated breath, but it feels so odd to complain about my (relatively) luxurious position in life. Honestly, I quite enjoy it but it gets lonely, and I seek to fill that void with 'busy' work. Things might improve when I'm not living alone *again!*.

Hmm, the tyranny of time.

Summer is the Champion

Well, I almost feel like this blog shouldn't be titled UpNorth anymore, it's a bit misleading as I certainly am no longer there!

But, I'm pretty lazy/not great with tech, so I will most likely leave it.

And some updates... In the month and a half (and a bit over that actually), we've bought a condo, I have been working on my masters research paper and finished a case study, moved my dear pony to a new boarding stable, and reconnected with tons of friends. Success right?

I'm still hedging about finding a new job, as it seems like the world's biggest curse (job hunting, that is)...Oh well, I have to suck it up and work somewhere eventually?

Guess it helps that the weather here is warm-ish, around 9-12 degrees everyday and today the sun is shining, the future is bright, and I'm where I was meant to be!

Also, Easter is coming up and you know what that means...Peeps! I love peeps!

And my pony was being pretty naughty today, he's been very spooky at the new boarding stable, which is in a pretty central location, but that means tons of stuff/distractions. For example, during the past week we have had to deal with:

• Tarps from the hoarder neighbour's flying around on a dark and windy day
• Hail bouncing off said hoarder neighbour's multitude of crap sheds full of junk
• Street construction (complete with power tools and flashing lights) outside the 'scary' side of the riding arena
• Two large scrapers/graders parked in the stable yard
• Dumptruck in stable yard that was dumping right next to the riding arena

Luckily, it seems that he's only bothered by the neighbour's crapload of stuff, not anything happening in his stable yard. Phew. Except he spooked at something (nothing...) today and slipped on the concrete near his cross-ties! Yeesh.