Yet Another Review

I completed another small book yesterday, Relax, It's Only a Ghost by Echo Bodine. A fun little book, it details the author's experiences ghostbusting (a term I despise, btw). In my fascination with ghosts (I spent much of last night watching Ghost Hunters on SciFi--a whole 'nother issues---why in the hell aren't they running the new episodes NOW?), I picked this one up off pbswap. I have issues with the author's "gifts"; I just don't think ghosts pick a house and hang out, sometimes up to twenty in a home. And the whole spirit guide thing? Don't get me started. But other than that, this was a fast, fun read, and interesting if most of it is true. As far as books on the paranormal go, this is one of the better ones.

Here's the link to my Amazon.com book review:
http://tinyurl.com/yr79z6

Visit and vote if you are so inclined. I can recommend it for what it is.

~taminator40

When a Piece of Your Childhood Dies

Today we went to a funeral, and as funerals go, it was fairly normal: Christian songs (about hope), prayers, and lots of kleenex. The service wasn't too long, and it was punctuated by humorous and sweet tales of the life of the deceased. But what sets this one apart is the fact that it's another piece of my childhood dying, a piece I didn't even realize was so important to me until now that it's closed for good.

When my friend Treva called Sunday morning to let me know her father was gone, I wasn't surprised because we'd been emailing off and on all week about how much his health had declined since his cancer was diagnosed last fall. But somehow, though it registered, it didn't *register* until we met at the funeral home last night. In the south, viewings are a fact of life, even though I don't approach the open casket anymore because I just find the whole thing ghoulish. But when I saw her dad, even though in my heart I don't think it was still her father, it was just so... well, sad. Lying there, a cold body who had lost his fine, beautiful head of hair, it just hit home that this very sweet man, with the off-beat, dry sense of humor ("Hi, I'm Cliff, drop over and see me sometime") was gone forever. Having known him since I was in kindergarten, his life was intertwined with mine in ways I hadn't realized until just then. He was the involved father I wish mine had been, cooking and fixing things around the house and absolutely adoring his wife at all times. I recall him helping to paint our dorm room on the sly, and I remember him as he walked his daughters down the aisle. Though I hadn't been around him as much in recent years, whenever I did run him into him, he was always the nice, fun, loving man I'd always known and always assumed would be there. At age 67, he still should be.

So while I can rejoice that he's with his Lord and no longer in pain, it still leaves a hole in my heart to think he's gone. He had two wonderful grandchildren who will miss him dreadfully, and a devoted wife and two daughters who owe him much. But he also had those like me, who knew he was a true man with integrity, a man who could teach two goofy kindergartners a song about being in love with a garbage man, and still retain his own dignity; and I will be poorer for his loss. If this is what it means to be a grown-up, it's not what I was thinking it would be, but I can learn to deal with it. I'm grateful I had the chance to know this man.

Rest in peace, Mr. Hall. You've earned it.

~taminator40

Lords of the North Review

I finished Lords of the North by Bernard Cornwell today. It's the third in the Saxon Chronicles, kindly lent to me by book buddy Beth. (Thanks!) While I liked the first book in the series, I really enjoyed The Pale Horseman (#2) and this one. Uhtred, our hero, is over-the-top in many ways but just too cunning and full of himself not to love. Here's the link for my amazon.com review:

http://tinyurl.com/2rc3ln


If you do decide to follow the link, please vote one way or the other. I like knowing others have read my reviews and have a feeling about them, pro or con.

On a side note, I'm really depressed that this is only read #11 for the year. I just haven't been reading as quickly as usual. I'm not even sure what I'll pick up to read next. With over 200 books lying there just waiting, you'd think this wouldn't be a problem, right? Wrong. I'm such a mood reader. Right now I've got a Teresa Medeiros book waiting for me and I hope it's the light, engaging read I'm looking for next. I just hate it when I feel like I can't settle on a book. I did pick up The Boy in the Striped Pajamas to see how it fit this p.m., but only a few pages in I realized that it wasn't what I'd thought it was going to be, so it got put aside and listed at pbs (www.paperbackswap.com). It's already been requested.

So I'll report tomorrow on whether or not the Medeiros book pulls me in. It remains to be seen. I think I'm turning into a grump.

~taminator40

Middle School Teachers...

Apparently the NY Times has decided that middle school teachers are a special breed. Well, duh. How many people do you know would willingly face a class full of surly, social, insecure adolescents on a daily basis, trying to improve their character and test scores at the same time? And while I complain continuously about them, I cannot imagine teaching another grade level, because frankly, who knows what you're going to get from day-to-day: the upset, the silly, the agressive, or the shy? I find middle schoolers the most frustrating people on the face of the earth, but also the most interesting.

Anyway, here's the article, and it's food for thought. Yes, I definitely agree that people who consider teaching middle schoolers should have special training or else they'll be eaten alive. I've seen it happen too often. Right now we have the nicest man on our staff, trying to teach these urchins, and they basically run amok every day in his class because he just doesn't have "it." And if I knew what "it" was, I'd bottle it and sell it and retire to Hawaii tomorrow.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/17/education/17middle.html?_r=1&oref=slogin


Have an awesome day!

~taminator40

And here we are...

And here we are, at spring break! I've been wishing and hoping for this week since Christmas, and it's finally here. Besides the being free of schedules, I think it's just the possibilities that lay out there for it...I could read until my eyeballs fall out, I could clean the house, I could go shopping, I could just veg in front of the tv....It's all out there and it's mine for the taking! LOL

But honestly, I'm not sure what we'll get up to this week. This is the first time in absolutely forever that Jeff is off the same week we are, and I'm not real sure how that will affect us. While I've complained in the past that he never gets stuck with the girls, I also like knowing I don't have to plan around him. He's already told me he's golfing a bit next week, and he's got something he has to go to for school on Wednesday. With that in mind, I may have to escape on my own for a bit, too. Though I'm such a homebody that I don't know where I'd go that I'd be as comfortable as I am here.

I'm kicking around an idea of going to England with some online buddies next summer (08). It was mentioned as a possibility and I think it might be growing into a reality. I can't imagine anything more fun than hanging out with these people who are just as interested in history as I am, and are nutty besides. Like I said, it's just an idea at this point, but I'd seriously like to look into it.

Well, off to play mind-numbing games and hide from the rest of the family.

~taminator40

Of Auras and Other Stuff

I've been recently conversing online with a buddy who is an author about her friend who can "read" past lives. Well, perhaps that's not precisely the way it should be stated; she doesn't do regressions--she can sense what happened at a certain point in history by "tuning in" to the correct psychic frequency. My friend does sessions with her friend for background use in her novels. After having been privileged enough to read many of these notes, I can honestly say I believe her friend is really accessing these people. She is also able to see auras around others.

So my next question is: Is this a gift you are born with or one you can acquire? I would love to be able to access historical figures because I'm nosy to begin with. Though at times the friend finds some things so unpleasant they make her physically ill, I do think I could probably handle it. Imagine being able to know who really killed the princes in the tower, or who Mona Lisa actually was. The possibilities seem endless!

I have to admit that I'm not particularly good at feeling vibes, though I think I might could be if I applied myself. But part of me wonders if, in my case, it would be more wishful thinking or my own projections than really tuning into the true vibes of a person or place? Can these things be taught and/or learned? The enquiring mind needs to know.

~taminator40

Reading and Stuff

Well, right now is not a good time for reading. I started Lords of the North by Bernard Cornwell, and while it's very good, I just can't seem to find the time to concentrate on it. I'm looking forward to spring break March 19-23 and maybe I can actually get a bit of reading done. But my house needs cleaning, too...there are just too many distractions that keep me from what I really want to do!

This is not going to be a good week at school. The week before spring break is never good with the kids. I'm just hoping that it goes by quickly. At least we don't have any major stuff going on after school this week, which is always a plus.

We spent the weekend with Jeff's family; his middle sister and her fiancee and his 3 kids were in town from Chicago for a wedding shower. It was so nice to see them--we love his kids and are looking forward to going to the wedding toward the end of April.

I'll share some pictures below. Enjoy!

~taminator40

Katherine, Ari, & Izzy Niko and Jordan

Review for Water for Elephants

I finished Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen last night. I loved this book! It has it all---love, intrigue, great relationships/characters...I could go on and on about what a delight this book is, but I'll treat you instead to my glowing review on Amazon.com. I can highly, highly recommend this one! Check it out and see for yourself.

http://tinyurl.com/2wbdty

~taminator40

Water for Elephants

I just want to post quickly about a book I hope to finish tonight or tomorrow...It's Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and it's fabulous! Set in a traveling circus in the 1930s, it's about Jacob, the show's "vet", and his relationships with the circus performers and the animals. It's also set in present-day, with an elderly Jacob telling us his story of the time he spent with the circus. It's a page turner! It's certainly picked me up out a mini-slump. Watch this space for my amazon review!

~taminator40

Review Update

A quick update on my Amazon review of Fall From Grace by Sandra Worth: Less than 24 hours after enquiring of Amazon what had happened, I received a reply that said there was some sort of glitch and my review would be instated today. And it is! Here's the link:

http://tinyurl.com/yv66m6

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Secondly, I ditched Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore yesterday. I just could not get into it--just way too silly for my tastes right now. So I picked up Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, and so far it's going well. Definitely a strange tale, but good. I really like the narrator. Hope it holds up well as I go on.

~taminator40