I don't actually read nine books at once

My little place in the blogosphere here has gone to shit.

I'm attempting to update, and so I will let you know that I don't actually read nine books at once (I just suck at reviewing them like I said I would). On the other hand, I do read about three or four books at once (just not nine -- that is crazy!)

So.

I have, in fact, finished:

1) Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk
I love anything by Palahniuk, so I'm biased. He is so delightfully disturbing and provides such brilliant social commentary through his tales. Really, I recommend anything he's ever written.

2) Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
Cute chick lit involving knitting and comraderie among women. Light. Quick. Sometimes you just need something like that.

3) Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
Classic. Love the drama in others' imaginary lives... even though I can't stand it in my own.

4) Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman
Love Klosterman. There were times I'd be reading this book and burst out laughing. In public. I don't do that too often. He's blunt. He's honest. He's hilarious.

5) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
The last of the Harry Potter books. Still undecided about how I feel about the ending. But it works.

Things I love. Right now.

Random things of late that make me ridiculously elated are:

Things I've Bought That I Love -- Mindy Kaling, writer/actress from the Office is absolutely hilarious. Her blog, which features other contributors but tends to be dominated by her own posts, is very fun. She'd be the kind of girl to go for drinks and girl talk and squeal over cute shoes/clothes/things with.

Aveeno Lip Conditioner, Essential Moisture with SPF 15 -- I have a ridiculous pile of lip balms/glosses, let me tell you. And this one little tube of balm goes with me everywhere. Even now that the tube is empty. The air in Alberta is super dry all of the time so my skin dries out like the desert. Not any more! I pull this little baby from my pocket, sigh that it needs to be replaced and attempt to get out whatever I can salvage from the tube. And then I look at it. Look at the garbage can. And put it back in my pocket. Why? Because I have a poor memory and this way I remember to replace it. Must. Replace. Lip. Conditioner.

The Jumbotron at the hockey game -- I went to the Oilers game with B last night. My first Oilers game. Aside from being disappointed in the Oilers (winning streak no more), my people watching skills have reached a new level. Favourite thing about the hockey game (other than the hockey part, obviously) is watching how people react the second they realize they're on the big screen. Ha! Hilarity! Even funnier? The people who try to hide from it.

Miraculous footwear?

Last week on Oprah (I think it was last week anyway), Oprah talked about shoes. Oh shoes. They will be my demise. Not usually am I uber-girly, though when it comes to a pair (or ten) of gorgeous heels or flirty flats it's a different story.

Oprah talked about how she loves shoes for the fashion side of things, though she can't usually stand to walk in them for more than a few minutes. Apparently she carries her shoes out with her onto the stage on her show and puts them on then. She's been known to be seen barefoot at the theatre with shoes in hand.

For most women, I think this is a fairly common occurance (I've been known to take off my shoes and frolick around barefoot anyhow). The solution to all of these problems? Cole Haan. Nike Air technology has been introduced to this new line of Cole Haan shoes to make them super comfortable and to support your foot in such a way as to prevent the "pretty but painful" issues that hot shoes so often have.

I currently have a huge crush on these babies: If only my pocketbook was as infatuated as I am... *sigh*

Why love letters have to die with the relationship from which they sprung

I'm a bit wordy -- forgive my title.

I used to be one of those people. The people who would keep mementos and letters and cards thrown chaotically into a box for future reference. The Pandora's Box of love letters and memories past.

It got to a point where I just couldn't do it anymore. 

It's not only hard to look back at bits and pieces of the good times -- relationships past, friendships from long ago -- it's misleading. To pick up old romance spewed from the pens of past loves and yearn for something that couldn't be and possibly never was. To see reality through the rose-coloured lens of loneliness (which, lets face it... is usually when these boxes of notes get dusted off). It's not a good thing. It doesn't help make things better.

It skews how we see our own current reality. We try to measure up what we have or what we don't have with what we thought we had a long time ago. We blissfully ignore the ugly yelling matches and the differences that separated us. We miss people who we have let go for a reason. We try telling ourselves that we miss the friendship we had with someone who, quite honestly, probably wasn't friendship material in the first place.

It's healthy to purge sometimes. It's good for our sanity. It helps us truly move on. 

Let's face it. It's hard to be truly happy with yourself or truly happy with someone else until you really let old flames flicker and fade out.

This post is dedicated to a friend who stumbled upon one of her own hidden-away letters. 

Because I dig words

Words of '07.

Personally, I love that "facebook" can be used in every context.

Cab-astrophe

New: An Ottawa-based group has released a report is recommending the city bring in more taxis to help people find rides home from bars and at night time. They are calling for at least 60 more taxis. Service in this city runs a little differently with over half of all cabbies owning their own vehicles. Owner-drivers can decide not to work evenings and weekends which is when the taxis are really needed. They call for a higher rate at night to attract more drivers to that shift. The city is also being encouraged to allow taxis from the counties around Edmonton to alleviate the stress. Most taxi drivers don't like the report. CBC Radio Edm.

If I were a cabbie in Edmonton I would be so not worried. The problem is less that there aren't enough cabbies and more that there are zero dispatchers. If you call the cab company and actually get something other than ringing or a machine, they'll tell you to go wait in the street because they are too short-staffed to connect you. And if they do connect you, chances are the cabbie will opt to pick up someone off the street as they travel the distance to where you are. They have a ridiculous amount of business. And they price gouge like it's going out of style. Dear Ottawa group: our city is not like your city. I've taken cabs in both, and this is a whole different world out here.

Want a cab? Walk to a hotel. Seriously.

"Jesus" fails to live up to the hype

Last night, the roomie and I did something we absolutely love to do together. We went to the Jube. For the past year we've been hitting up every "Broadway across Canada" event we can fit in, which really just consisted of The Producers (her Christmas gift from me last year) and Mamma Mia (my birthday present from her). For her birthday this year, I got her tickets to Jesus Christ Superstar, a show that she's been wanting to see since she took her musical Broadway class in university. Last night was the night.

We performed our regular routine of pre-show Starbucks and catch-up (these days we don't see all that much of each other, even though we live in the same apartment) and squirmed with excitement.

All of this excitement was for naught. I never thought I'd say that Jesus let me down. I'm a pretty easy person to impress, really. And it seemed like roomie and I were the only two un-enthusiastically clapping politely and remaining in our seats at the end of the show. The entire time I was just thinking about this article from the Journal back in November about how Edmontonians give the standing-O too freely.

In the "Stand Off" which coincides with the article, "Hal" says, "Edmontonians tend to give anyone recognizable a standing ovation. The quality of the performance isn't taken into consideration. It appears that some performers get a standing ovation just for being here."

I think this is definitely what happened here. Ted Neeley, almost 40 years after appearing as Jesus in the rock-opera, has resurrected his role here in Edmonton. Neither roomie nor I was impressed with his very 62 year old sounding voice in the role of a young prophet. He sounded old. His rock and roll wailing grew old fast. If you're going to make Jesus a rock star, make him a rock star.

Last night's show at least was riddled with technical difficulties. From the back of the auditorium we could hear the microphone feedback. We couldn't hear one solo artist who was obviously singing his heart out. Sound levels fluctuated often.

Not to say that there weren't good moments. There were a few good songs, namely the Jesus Christ Superstar title song and the section of the play which featured King Herod. The comic relief. The actor who played Judas was also extraordinary and personally, I feel his talent far exceeded that of Neeley.

Both roomie and I, neither of whom are overly religious, came out of the theatre feeling blasphemous. It irked us how Mary was portrayed for outright throwing herself at Jesus and claiming she's in love with him (whereas our impression from her Catholic and my Lutheran bible-studying upbringings lead us to believe otherwise) and for having it seem like Jesus was falling for her wanton ways. Yes, it's speculated by some that the two may have had a love affair, but there was much lost by this portrayal. Also, Jesus' mother Mary reaching out to Jesus from afar as Jesus wheezes and wails and begs for water on the cross? Someone gave that boy some water, yes? Not here. The two main women in his life merely watched while he died of thirst.

Also, I felt the ridicule of the crown of thorns, the throwing lots for his clothes, carrying the cross through the streets were all completely lost. Because the show didn't feature any of this, which is kind of big in the story. As well as the other criminals on the mount, one asking for a place in Heaven. That's the whole point of Jesus dying, yes? So the sins of others can be forgiven?

We felt as though this Jesus was whiny. Annoying. Very un-superstar. At one point roomie turned to me and whispered, "Will he just die already?"

For the Journal's bit on JCS, go here.