Best of 2014

As I lay in bed this morning and contemplated coffee, I also thought about how I would be remiss in my duty as a blogger if I didn't do a year in review.

Back when we had cable, RNews had some sort of poet do a year-in-review poem * every year. I thought the poems were pretty wretched, as the rhyme was forced and the commentary about politics a little too cheeky for my taste. I know there are many people out there who disagree with my assertion regarding these poems.

So, I'm coming up with my own poem about 2014:

It's the end of two-oh-one-four
The year kinda sucked
Some things happened;
 some good, some rough
2015 will be better (I hope).

Don't worry, dear reader. I'm not quitting my day job to be a full-time poet.

As a librarian and an avid reader, I would be remiss if I didn't do a best-of book list for the last day of the year. There are two books that I really feel were my "Best Reads of 2014":

1. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy O'Toole. Yes, I know this didn't come out in 2014. However, it was one of the two best books I read this year. I loved the characterization and the humor. I still giggle to myself when I think of Ignatius J. Reilly's plan for the labor protest at the pants factory. So good.

2. Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by A.S. King. THIS book. WOW. This book changed my life.** It is in my top five favorite books of all times.

Dear reader, I would love to know what are your Best Books You Read in 2014. Leave a comment.

Happy New Year!

*Link follows to this year's poem. You're welcome.

** I'm not going into how right now, but just know it made a huge impact on me.

Why My Cats Could Be Characters in a Tolstoy Novel

A few years ago, one of my students decided that for the new year, she was going to read one chapter of Tolstoy's War and Peace every day. "There are 365 chapters of War and Peace and there are 365 days in a year," she told me. This sounded manageable, so I immediately decided that this would be my New Years' Resolution, too.

Like all of my resolutions, this was short-lived. I think I got maybe a quarter of the way into the book before I gave up, not because I didn't like it, but just because I got ennui. Anyway, while I was reading War and Peace, I thought to myself that my cats could be characters in the novel because, like Tolstoy's characters, each of my cats has many names.

Lucy Belle

Our cat, Lucy, has had many names in the four years she's lived with us. When she was dropped off to our house, she was Lucy Belle. She then became "Lucy Belle Bongo" for a short time, "Lucy Smells", when she did something bad in her litter box and "Lucifer" when she was naughty. Somehow, her name has morphed to be "Lulu Jones,"* which sounds like a character from a 70s action flick. 

On occasion, I call this particular cat "Cheese Girl" because she has a meow that sounds like the squeak from a fresh cheese.

An old picture of Truman Capote. She looks so resigned.

Truman Capote, our other cat, usually goes by "Trumie" because it takes a lot of effort to call "Truman Capote" when you need to see the cat. 

When I was reading War and Peace, I made up a story about how the cat was actually a countess during the Bolshevik Revolution and had to flee Russia with her diamonds sewn in the the hem of her dress to start a new life in another country. ** So, I decided her name would be "Madame Trumaniski". This became "Comrade Trumaniski" for some reason; then "Minski" because...well, just because. "Minski" became "Minced Meat" because they sound similar and then "Minced Meat" became "Meat" because it is shorter. 

So, I call this particular animal "Meat Girl" and tell her that she "is made of meat."

The sad fact about the Meat Girl is that she is sixteen, going on seventeen years old.*** My husband and I think that she might have feline dementia because she walked into the bathroom one day and meowed angrily at the toilet for a few minutes. Mark researched feline dementia online. One of the symptoms of feline dementia is the cat will sleep a lot. We can't tell if she really is demented because she always has slept, like, 20 hours a day. She could just be old and tired. Anyway, she comes when I call out either "Meat Girl" or "Truman", so she has some awareness.

I still have a good five days left of Christmas break. I think I may start to rewrite War and Peace and feature my cats as the main characters.

*My son and I sing "Lulu Jones" to the Counting Crows "Mr. Jones".

** Yes, I know War and Peace takes place during the Napoleonic Wars. It's just a story I made up for no particular reason, okay?

*** My kid read this post and said that I needed to make sure my readers knew this was a reference to The Sound of Music.

Eh, Call it a Comeback

My husband bought me the Hyperbole and a Half book for Christmas.* Before this morning when I woke up before everyone else to drink coffee and read my book, all I knew about Hyperbole and a Half was this post.

After reading a quarter of the book this morning and crying from laughter, I felt inspired to resurrect my blog. I feel that the author and I have a lot in common, such as awkward childhoods, stupid pets and a different point of view on situations.

So, thank you, Allie Brosh. And thank you, husband, for getting me an awesome read.

*Mark said the stories he read in the preview on Amazon reminded him of my stories. Coincidentally, my best friend, Amy, also received the book as a Christmas gift from her husband.

On blogging

Hello, dear reader,

I know I haven't posted awhile. First off, I feel like my blog posts are taken mean-spirited, which they are not meant to be. I know I posted about being a bridesmaid--I am truly happy for my sister and honored that she made me a bridesmaid. Anything I post about my family is meant to be in jest. So, I am sorry if I have offended anyone with this blog.

Second, a lot has happened over the past few months and I haven't felt like sharing my introspection with the world. Yes, I've been cutting back on social media in favor of quiet time.  I just don't feel like putting myself out there all the time.

I want to write more. I want to read more. I want to run more. I've been focusing on these things lately.

Will I continue to blog? Yeah, probably in the future. However, right now, I need to take a break from stuff.

Thanks for reading this post.