Hand Washing

Since laundry is $1.50 to wash and $1.50 to dry here, I've decided to make it a personal goal to avoid doing laundry on campus this summer. I broke down and hand washed some underwear and my uniform shirt last night. I've done it before, but I always feel like I'm not doing it right. Woolite does produce a lot of suds and smells refreshing, so hopefully this system will work out on the cheap.

Super Amazing Soap of Awesome

I know its *just* dial soap....but it smells amazing. Its cheap, it makes me happy, and it looks fabulous hanging out with my new (and very unseasonable) scarf. Basically, perfection in a bottle as far as I'm concerned.

Life of Pi

I've finished the third book in my Bonus Book Project, Life of Pi. I read this book for the first time my senior year in high school as part of Katowich's Philosophy of Film and Literature. That class was one of the best classes I've ever taken, and I really think that Katowich's class and Dr. Ruehle's classes/office time changed my life. Its a part of my life that still makes me warm and fuzzy whenever I think about it.

Life of Pi always brings me back to that time and place. Its a great story that manages to be poignant, funny, and philosophical. I love the rich descriptions of setting in particularly. All and all, its a great story with a beautiful message. I'd definitely recommend it.

Are there any books that you associate with a specific time in your life and why? Have any of you read Life of Pi? What did you think about it?

Raining

I had to talk to the financial aid director on Thursday afternoon, and of course I didn't bring my umbrella. While I was talking to him, of course it started pouring. The wonderful lady at the front desk let me borrow her umbrella for the afternoon. It didn't rain very long, but I was really glad not to get soaked. I had fun taking pictures of her pretty umbrella after the sun returned.

Spring!

Its not the April showers, and its not the happy birds outside my window early in the morning. Nope, its a new, bright, and happy purse! Its official: its spring now.

Housekeeping + OMG Books (Edited)

These are all* of the books I have to move out with in less than a month. Um....I should get on that. I have this really intense love of books that always makes my frequent moves, well, interesting at best and horribly painful most of the time. Oh well.

The Bonus Book Project continues, but I'm still on book 3 (Life of Pi), which is a re-read. I really enjoy savoring it (its so amazing....) but I have so many books and I just bought 9 more! So many borrowed books too! So, here is my intended list of reading, roughly in order. It's probably going to take months, but I've got to start somewhere, right?

1. Ida B 5. Lord of the Flies

2. Good Omens 6. 1984 and/or Animal Farm

3. Moby Dick ** 7. Flowers for Algernon

4. Selected Shakespeare + The Inferno** 8. A Thousand Splendid Suns

* I've lost the Good Earth! OMG! I love that book. If I let you borrow it, or you're holding it hostage, please let me know. I'm rather attached to it.

** Moby Dick is a requirement for American Lit and Shakespeare and the Inferno are two I feel like I should have already read a couple of times. So, strictly speaking, they aren't "bonus" books, but if I read them before they are assigned, I guess they count.

P.S. My library thing books can be found here. I'm very slowly working at entering all of my books on to this nifty website. If you are interested, feel free to stalk my reading habits there.

Alchemy

I like coinage alright. A lot of people (*coughTheBoycough*) loathe coins. I think they miss the point completely. Change is one of those things that slowly accumulate in your life, ratting around your purse or your change dish, until one day you count it and find out that you actually have purchasing power.

Organizing change is fun and satisfying to my inner neat freak.

But even better than counting coins is turning change into books: 1984, The Origins of Species, Let The Northern Lights Erase Your Name, The Pull of The Moon, Rabbit Run, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Jane Austen Book Club, The Silmarillion, and Encyclopedia of Urban Legends. As part of Scottish Festival, the library on campus sponsors a fantastic book sale, and I happened to have change. Life is good.