Monday, November 14, 2005

Catching Up with Gina (Rather than with Depeche Mode)

Exercise! Vigorous! Before work! I feel like a yapping terrier, and I'm not sure when/if the high will wear off. I adjusted my work hours slightly so I can exercise in the morning without having to wake up before the crack of dawn. Yay me!

*****

So Saturday? I was getting ready to go to a party at a friend's that I'd been looking forward to all week. I took a shower, shaved my legs, blah, blah, blah . . . and then I attempted to get dressed. This lead to a combination nervous breakdown/panic attack/pity party. I cried, threw clothes that didn't fit or looked terrible, and generally indulged in childish antics the likes of which I haven't seen since Teddy was two. (Ted was at his dad's, which gave me the freedom to freak out like that. It was kind of nice.)

I put on my fat-lady pajamas, ate some Peppridge Farm cookies, and went to bed with a book. I'm not proud of myself, but it wasn't all for naught. Did you see up there what I did this morning? Cardio and weights! Weights, people!

*****

I finally finished The Alienist, which I liked very much. It reminded me a little of The Silence of the Lambs, especially in certain parts, tied in with an old-timey-Sherlock-Holmes-but-in-New-York sort of feel. That Caleb Carr isn't the handsomest guy in the world, though. The author photo on the book flap made me laugh out loud; the Steve Perry circa "Oh, Sherry" look is a killer, especially when you throw in a resemblance to Stephen King. Wow.

I also read two books for school yesterday, Nory Ryan's Song and Meet Molly: An American Girl. Nory Ryan's Song is set in 1850s Ireland and made me cry. And the American Girl book? As much as I wanted to loath it for its ties to the American Girl Money-Making Machine . . . it wasn't bad. The writing was fine. It was light on actual history, but factual. And considering this is a book for girls in kindergarten or first grade, I won't complain too much about the lightness. In all, it was more than tolerable.

*****

And now, we dance. Okay, no we don't. We work. Or at least I do. For a while.

7 comments:

Caro said...

The only clothes left that fit me are sweats and stained t-shirts. It sounds like you and Babelbabe are working really hard though.

BabelBabe said...

good for you! i love that endorphin high!

why didn't you weear the tomboy dress? you always look cute in that.

re: american girl - there was an article in newsweek recently (I couldn't find a free link) about how conservative christians love the dolls but are now boycotting because the company give smoney to an organization promoting "girl power" which includes freedom of choice about your body and other unChristian things. so maybe they're not all bad. though after reading about the american doll parties in What Do You Do All Day?, wow, they do make my flesh crawl...

Gina said...

It's too cold for the Tomboy dress, and I didn't have anything that looked right over it.

I like the American Girl Dolls well enough (WAY better than Bratz, for instance), but that PLACE, with the TEA PARTIES! God. And you can shop for matching outfits/hairstyles for the kid and the doll. That's creepy and expensive.

Joke said...

Gina is right. That place is like a Stepford Wives Recruiting Station.

-J.

BabelBabe said...

Maybe it IS a recruiting station for Stepford Wives...there's a screenplay in there somewhere....

incidentally, joke, we missed you. glad you're feeling better and are back.

Sarah Louise said...

So glad you liked the Alienist. Don't get me started on the American Girls--when I worked for Fox (I mean Barnes & Noble) Books, I helped in planning and putting on two American Girls parties. My sister bought the Samantha doll with her babysitting money back in 1992.

I've never read one of the books, though. I think I'd like Molly the best.

Kathy said...

Caleb Carr's book that follows The Alienist -- Angel of Darkness (I think) -- is really good too. It uses the same characters.