Book Review #1

I have been reading quite a lot lately, for book club and for pleasure, and I felt the irresistible urge to seriously question a series of books I have been reading.

Darkfever, from the Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning

At first, I really liked the series. The main character was named MacKayla!, has a Basque love interest!, and it was about Faeries! And the first book was GREAT! The second book was good. And now the third book is so boring, I am have to peel my eyelids back and pound copious amounts of caffeine to stave off the oppressive wave of sleep descending upon me.

First of all, I understand that when I read a series of books, that there is bound to be some repeat of previous stories. This book had 30 pages of it. THIRTY! That's a third of the book right there! Then there is the main character. I'm all for a character who has to find out more about herself, and in the process make some mistakes. That's the whole point! But in the third book of this series, Faefever, MacKayla goes around whining about pretty much everything, and rehashing things that have happened to her in the past few months. MORE rehashing? Ugh, no thank you. But I hate it when the main character keeps making THE SAME mistakes! What was it that Einstein said about that? Yeah, it makes for a stupid character.

If you can't write a plot, then don't. I just hate it when I feel like I am skimming the book and not missing out on anything because the characters keep repeating themselves. It is as if the author took the last two books' manuscripts, threw them in a bin, and then shuffled the pages back together and said, "Voila! A NEW book!"

That being said, I am still going to try to finish these books. It is a major disappointment for me because the first one was SO GOOD, but I will slug through this one at least. Just to make sure. But if you are going to read books about Faeries, read the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Now, THOSE are great books!

Catching Up....

Well, since it HAS been so long since I have last written ANYTHING, I figure a little catching up is in order. As some of you may know from the ever-present Facebook (*1), I have bought a home, got a boyfriend, got a new job, and adopted a dog. In that order. Kinda crazy, huh? So things in my life have been kinda hectic. I figure I better just get all of that out of the way before I move on to other subjects that are bigger and better. (i.e. My Birthday (*2)) So, moving on from here. I am anticipating lots of updates, pictures and stories. I hope you look forward to them as I do!

*1: Is it just me, or does anyone else hate Zuckerberg as much as I do? I mean, how rude can you be to your friends? And don't give me that whole, "Oh, well there are two sides to every story" bull shit, because half the movie was taken from deposition transcripts! So, we find out how brilliant everyone is at Facebook, and then their stupid programs get fouled up every time I log on. FRUSTRATION ABOUNDS! Ugh. I just want to look at other people's pictures; is that too much to ask?

*2: It is officially my birthday soon. Many, many people have wondered aloud to me why I am so excited about my birthday, as I am a grown woman, and getting older usually isn't a good thing. I always tell these people (my mother, usually) that it is the only day of the year that is about Me. And my A-type personality loves it. No one can deny me that. NO ONE!

Oh, Holy God

Lorna set a fire under my ass. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!!! I know it has been about a year since I last posted. I know that I am a slacker. I know that and more. But here's the dealio: I'M BAAAAA-AAACK! And I will be writing with a few other fantastic women on another project; more details to come. So, this is the first of many more entries to come!!!!

Project 365: Day 5

I was babysitting the tiny one, and this is the picture she took of me. I kept telling her to move her fingers, but taking the picture is way more exciting for her than the end result.

PS: You may have noticed I missed a day. Whatever. I think I am doing pretty well, and I am trying not to dwell on the negative.

Project 365: Day 3

OK, I cheated on this one. I MEANT to take a picture of the sushi I ate, but I ate it too fast! My friend, Sarah, took me out for my birthday. Birthday Sushi!! I totally heart Birthday Sushi.

Project 365: Day 2

Day two of my yoga routine. When I was in college, I used to do yoga quite at bit at the house on 4th St. and I used to go to the gym on Friday nights before a huge night of binge drinking. It helped with the digestion. But it has been many, many moons since I have watched my videos. I decided since I can't really afford a gym membership right now, I might as well as use the stuff I have.

I am sore, and not flexible AT ALL, but I am starting to feel better already! Hopefully this summer won't be full of pants and not shorts!

Project 365: Day 1

Today, the first day of Project 365, I took a picture of my dinner.

Ever since I moved into my new condo, I have been trying to make dinners at home. I find it very hard to make dinners for just myself for a couple of reasons, but mostly because I usually hate leftovers.

Tonight I made bacon wrapped salmon with mashed potatoes. Everything tastes good with bacon, right?

Project 365

My friend, and fellow blogger, Lorna started a new scrapbooking project called Project 365. She takes a picture every day and scraps it. I decided I wanted to do this, but I simply can't do another scrapbook! So, I decided maybe, just maybe, it will help me to blog every day.

Or at least once a week.....

Here we go!!!!

New Year, New Home

Not everyone gets a new house and new carpet for Christmas!!

Mom and Dad and I spent the entire Christmas Weekend cleaning and fixing the condo to be ready for move in. Dad had a cold (which I promptly caught and turned into bronchitis), but he had the carpet ripped out in about a half an hour. Then we spent the rest of the day pulling up staples from the floorboards. We tried to put a new door in - a brand new one that we found in the garage! - but it didn't have any grooves cut into it, and I certainly don't have the tools for it. So that didn't turn out well, but the carpet demo was HUGE, and saved me (Mom & Dad) $300.

More good news: I found computer speakers that I was hoping would be able to hook up to my laptop and blast my iTunes throughout the place. It took me some time to figure it out, but I did it.

And the best good news: Condo association fee is $50 LESS a month than I had anticipated!! That means I bought this place for EXACTLY what I wanted to spend on RENT! How awesome is that? I am pretty pleased with the situation, and I will be even more pleased when I am feeling better and I can actually move my bed into the place so I can sleep there!!

I'm Back. (I Hope!)

I have spent the past 4 months trying to buy a home. A little condominium on the border of Reno & Sparks, close to a lot of different things, and the perfect size for little 'ole me.

First, I tried looking for an apartment to rent. It was just too expensive for the dumps we saw. In one apartment there was a giant stain on the carpet, and I swear it looked like there had been a dead body!! It was at that point that Dad said that he would give me a hundred dollars a month just so I could live in a better place.

Then my grandpa made the suggestion that I should think about buying a condo or a small place myself. And I thought, well, why not? I can qualify; that's for sure!

So I started the process in the beginning of August. And here I am, getting ready to close on my condo on THURSDAY!!!

Here are some pictures to help you get an idea of how great it is! It isn't much, but it is MINE!!

The Kitchen.

I will have more pictures to come, since I will be starting the moving process next weekend!! Yippie! I hope to keep you all updated on this process, too!

Wow, Miracles Really DO Happen

As some of you may know from my posts on Facebook, I am currently dating a man. I know, I know. As Em says on Facebook all the time: I am a dating machine. I can't help it. I refuse to give up. I feel like so many others have already given up on me, that I refuse to do it to myself.

Anyway, this guy (I have no nifty nickname for him yet) is great. There for a second I thought this other guy might have been interested in me, and I thought I made it known I was interested in him, but either he didn't get the hint or he was interested in me. Either way, he never made his move, and the new guy did, so c'est la vie.

New guy. Mr. No Nickname. He is not perfect. But he is super interesting. And most importantly, he accepts me (and others!) for who they are. He appreciates the fact that I do not immediately judge people at first glance and only dislike others once they have wronged me, and even then I forgive most of my friends for previous wrongdoings. (You know who you are.)

Doin' Good

For the first time in a very long time, I am doing well after a breakup. I know I made the right decision, and I am really happy with it. Sure, I get a little sad sometimes when something reminds me of him, but then I just remind myself (sometimes not so gently) that I do not miss him, I just miss what I thought he could have been.

And I think that has been a lot of my problem in my life. I miss a variety of things, but did they ever actually exist? Or is it all a figment of my imagination? Did I imagine that one boyfriend in college really liking me as much as I thought he did? Did I convince myself of that at the time because it was more interesting and (a lot) more fun? Of course, I am willing to admit that there is always a bit of exaggeration in all memories. (That was my focus of my master's comp exams, so of course I know it better than most.) But I have finally came to the conclusion that my biggest disappointments are my own fantasies.

I have blamed Hollywood for quite some time, despite my fascination with everything movie-land. From the time I realized that not ALL girls get the guy, I was in for a world of disappointment. It has only taken me 32 years to realize that world doesn't exist. Except for in my head.

Alas, It Is True

Odd, seeing this post is right after a picture of us together, but as of today, the dude in the picture below and I are no longer.

I know. It came as a shock to me too when I realized I was happier thinking about us breaking up than staying together. Here's the skinny.

One day last week, yours truly was not feeling so well. I had a headache; I was tired. I was on the phone with Mr. Smarty Pants and he made fun of me one too many times. I requested that he stop making fun of me. He persisted. I explained how I didn't feel well and could he please stop making fun of me. He persisted. I explained that I WAS P.M.S.ING and he needed to stop or I was going to hang up. He replied, "You need to stop being so sensitive. I'm not making fun of you to be mean. I making fun of you to make myself laugh."

Now, this "man" has been married before and had a child with a different woman. He knows the workings of a menstrual cycle. And perhaps the reason he is not with the other two women any longer IS BECAUSE HE IS A MORON WHEN IT COMES TO WOMEN.

So, I was angry. I didn't say anything, nor did I hang up. I let him have his little "funny" attack on me. I politely said good bye and hung up. I calmed down the next day, and I called him to explain why I was upset the day before. I calmly (mind you: this is ALL NEW to Micaela. Micaela doesn't do calm angry. She does Angry angry) told him that it bothered me that he didn't respect my wishes when I asked him to stop making fun of me, and that it made me feel like he didn't like me at all. He laughed and said I had anger issues and that I needed to talk to my therapist about it. Can we say Master Deflector?

Oh, anger issues, huh? He hadn't even SEEN anger issues yet! Had he talked to some of my exes? Some of my friends? Someone who had actually SEEN me angry? No. He just didn't want to talk about it. When I said that we could talk about it later, he said, "No, I don't want to. I only want to talk about fun things."

I, trying my hardest not to scream profusely at him at the top of my lungs, decided I would try to use my new anger-management skills. I thought about it. And I thought about it. And I thought about it some more.

I came to the conclusion that if this person is 40 years old, he will never change. He will always push my buttons when I am "sensitive" even when I request him not to. I also realized I am a communicator and he is not, and that I could not live with someone like that for the rest of my life. I decided that rather than suffer through a grueling three months to see if "we can work it out" I would just break it off now.

The immense sense of satisfaction I got from that realization was profound. I knew I had made the right decision when all of a sudden I felt at ease with everything. Nothing was bothering me. Everything seemed right with the world again. And now I am off to update my online dating profile.

You Asked For It!

Here is proof that he exists.

Hey, Kids!

Well, after a very nice and relaxing weekend in Idaho (thanks Mom & Dad!) I am back in Reno. Getting ready to move at the end of July. Where to? Who knows? I am trying not to stress out about finding a place, but thanks (again!) to Mom & Dad, I am now stressed about it. But I am feeling good: I got a couple of boxes from work today and started packing my books. Man! I have a lot of books. But the conclusion I came to is that I always feel better after some cleaning.

When I was in college and living in a giant house right on 4th St. in Pocatello, I used to clean all the time. One time I gassed myself and my roommate out of the bathroom because I used too many different cleaners at the same time and the window wouldn't open! Another time, the same roommate came home to find me frantically cleaning out the spice cabinet (which in our house, was not a pretty sight). Immediately, she asked, "What's wrong? What happened?" My response: Oh, nothing, just broke up with my boyfriend and the only thing that makes me feel any better is cleaning the shit outta something.

This weekend, Mom and I watched many, many hours of a show called Clean House, which I usually cannot watch because it is on the Style Network, and alas, Dish does not provide that with the basic service. So, I got my fill of the show while I could. I realized while watching this amazing show (which is about a team that goes to people's houses and cleans the clutter out) that other people do not get that same satisfaction that I do of cleaning that I do.

So now I am going through all of my magazines and keeping what I need and recycling the rest. Things I need: pictures of Bono. Pretty much all I have found so far. But even doing that brings such a sense of calm to my mind, that I sometimes wonder why I don't clean all the time? Why don't I do this for a living? I would be really good at sorting through other people's stuff!

Dear Anonymous

You are exactly the reason I don't like to write about my happiness. People who complain about my complaints I have no beef with. But people who call me an idiot and not cool on my own blog I do have a beef with. If you say nasty things about me when I am complaining, then I can only imagine what you will say about my happiness, and that, my dear, I simply cannot abide.

Hi There! Long Time, No See!

I have heard it all before.

"You don't blog anymore."

"You aren't writing anymore."

But I have a good excuse. I'm happy!

I know it seems odd, but when I am happy, I can't write about it. I just can't do it. Everything I have to say seems so lame and cute and trite, that writing, well, makes me hate how happy I am.

For some reason, I feel I can express myself better with words only when I am angry. But when I am happy, all I feel like saying is stupid driveling shit that makes me want to puke on any other given day.

For instance, "I like him." Oh, God, I am making myself sick. Who cares? Who honestly cares if I like this guy or not? No one wants to hear me go on and on about how fantastic he is, and what other funny thing he said the other day. No one. And I don't blame you! Not at all! And my friends have to put up with it when I am talking because I adore talking. And I want to make myself puke then, too.

When I am happy and I sound like a teenage girl with a crush, I feel so dumb. I just simply don't know what to do with myself. So, rather than write, I wallow in the cheesy, boring to everyone else but me, lovey-dovey world that I am in right now. Suffice to say, I am happy! And having a good time.

And I won't bother you with it.

For Everyone Else (i.e. THE NON COMPLAINERS)

To everyone else who reads my blog (which I can hardly count myself in that category anymore!):

I heart you all for the following reasons:

1) You read my blog and think enough (or not enough) of me to comment. How lovely! I complain about something, and you get to respond! What a fantastic world we live in! (And although that sounds VERY sarcastic, it is not meant to be in the slightest.)

2) I have been trying not to be so down & out on the blog lately, and as I was discussing with The Doc last night, I have a very hard time writing when I am happy. I only have something to say when I am sad. When I am happy, I am usually out doing something that does not involve writing anything, such as going to Portland with friends or missing an awesome three day music festival.

3) Your comments make me want to be a better person.

(Who am I kidding? They don't. And they certainly don't make me want to read any children's vampire books any more, either.)

For Heather

If I prick you (hee hee, I said prick) then you do bleed, as I have seen you do many times BECAUSE WE LIVE TOGETHER, FOO!

I also heart you for the following reasons:

1) IN SPITE OF FORGETTING ABOUT BONO, you saw U2 with me. It is like going to Spain with me. Oh, wait, we did that too.

2) You put up with my blubbering when I need it (which seems like on a daily basis).

3) You put up with pretty much everything I do, from blowing my nose obnoxiously loud to not drinking milk as avidly as you & Mr. Heather do.

4) You have killer puppies.

For Amanda

I heart you; let me count the ways.

1) You always call me on my shit.
2) You complain about not being mentioned in my blog.
3) You could care less that I could have gotten some from (possibly) my future husband.
4) You are Miss Amanda, soon to be Mrs. Amanda.

And I didn't get very many good pictures from the weekend. Honestly, you saw them on my facebook. Seriously lame.