Come On Fall Break!

Just thought I'd check in and let everyone know I'm really NOT dead...just brain dead, if that counts. We are 7 weeks into school and my reading has fallen off majorly as my attention span has decreased--it seems my brain is flitting from one thing to another as I hit overload. School's been a bitch so far this year with a principal who leaves a lot to be desired, an assistant principal constantly on spin cycle, and generally declining morale. We're trying to hang in there but it's hard when your leadership is so poor. But enough about that...

Of course the fall television schedule has eaten into my reading time as well. I am a reality tv junkie. I'd join a twelve step program but I'm actually waiting for a television show to be developed around that theme (maybe there's been one and I just didn't know?). Currently I am watching Hell's Kitchen (which finishes in another week or two), America's Next Top Model, Ghost Hunters, Destination Truth, Survivor, and Project Runway. Oh, and The Amazing Race! Mix in The Office, Glee, and Vampire Diaries and you've got some major time occupying television.

But I AM reading. I finally finished An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, and while I can't review it here (check out my review in The Historical Novel Society, coming soon!), I will say I absolutely loved it. I've always loved Jamie Fraser, and this installment is no less wonderful. A couple of good cliffhangers, too! But it's a chunkster and it took nearly two and a half weeks to plow through 800+ pages. Then I decided that it'd be best if my next book was something completely different, so I've gone for Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, a young adult book about werewolves. Good so far, then who knows what I'll pick up next?

So that's a minor update on what's going on in the life of The Taminator. Fall break is October 19-23 and it can't come soon enough for many, many, many reasons. If I do nothing but rest and read, it will be successful. Until then, I'll keep plodding along, my brain fried and my hope resting in vacation time ahead.

~taminator40

A Carol Update

A quick little update on my friend Carol, who is battling lung cancer. We knew the tumor on her eye was improving because her vision is so much better; she's even gotten behind the wheel of her huge white Cadillac again! (Which, as I've often told her, isn't necessarily a good thing--Carol's a bit of an agressive (read "scary") driver). But the best news came from her doctor today...her lung tumors are definitely shrinking so the chemo is doing what it's supposed to do! We are all so overjoyed. I strongly feel that she's in excellent hands with the doctor she's seeing, and the fact that so many people, many of whom do not even know this remarkable woman, are praying for her recovery has to have something to do with her progress. She's mid-cycle of chemo right now, and then the doctor will move on to another form of treatment that he feels will continue to cause the tumors to shrink.


So for all of you wonderful people who have wondered, the news is good...and keep the faith that it'll stay that way. We all deserve a friend like Carol in our lives.

~taminator40