Rationalization for Settling

Still haven't heard back from the high school I applied to for the guidance counselor position, but I honestly don't really care. I was having thoughts about whether or not I wanted to work there, and my gut feeling told me that I wouldn't like it. It involves way too much "school stuff" such as scheduling classes, and I personally feel like I didn't get this degree to schedule classes for people. I want to be a counselor. My would be supervisor told me that I would do very little actual counseling if I got the job, and I just don't think I'm OK with that. So if they don't call, I won't be upset, in fact, I'll be relieved in a way.

Here's the rationalization part. I love the hospital that I work at, and I really want nothing other than to work there. My problem is the pay. It's horrible, and it's a hospital that's known for paying very little. I'm trying to find ways to come to terms with the low pay, but it's just not happening. I get along really well with everybody and it's the best psyc hospital I've seen in Louisiana. I feel like I'm becoming part of the team, they're giving me more responsibility, and I just feel like I'm in a very comfortable fit at this place. I've been putting the word out more and more to people there that I would like to work there when I graduate but that the pay would need to be a little higher. Maybe someone will hear that and suggest something. I've been told by my supervisor and one of the other social workers that they would like to have me and they can't wait until I graduate. That's very flattering.

Here's my rationalization: My ultimate goal is to go into private practice, which is hugely in demand right now in New Orleans. In order to do this I need my LPC. We have LPC supervisors at the hospital. If I can work my supervision being payed for into my contract, that would figuratively add $5000 to my salary ($100/week for 50 weeks). Once I have my LPC, I can start a private practice and supplement my income at the hospital with that. Or if all works well, do only private practice. I'd also have my foot in the door for private practice because we're always looking for outside therapists for our clients for after they're discharged. I honestly just want to stay where I am when I graduate, because I know I'd be happy, and to an extent, that matters more than money. At the same time, I need to make enough money to at least pay my bills. So what do I do?

I got the best complement today. One of my patients asked me if I do private practice, and I told her that no, that's why I'm in school right now so that I can get to that point. She then told me that she wishes I did, because I'm the first therapist that she's ever felt comfortable with and been able to open up to, and she feels like I've really helped her. That made me smile, and at the same time made me upset that she's never had a therapist that she could be comfortable with.

I guess what I'm getting at is that I know I would be happy at the hospital and I can do the type of work that I really want to do. I want to deal with clinical cases. And maybe I can find a way to adjust my life to be able to live with the salary. Eventually, the salary will be where I want it to be, I may just have to accept that I'm going to start off on the low end.

Like Looking in a Mirror

When I walked into group this morning I was very taken aback. One of our new clients sat there in his chair looking very depressed. He had longish hair, black eyeliner that was obviously smeared from last night, chipped black nail polish, and a Nine Inch Nails shirt. For those who knew me about 10 years ago, this sounds like an adequate description of myself. Talk about your transference issues! It got me thinking later in the day about how much life has changed since then and more eerily, how much things really haven't changed.

At 16 years of age, I was known to wear the occasional eye liner, dress in all black, write horribly depressing poetry, and read Poppy Z. Brite books while listening to Nine Inch Nails. My outward appearance has changed and my rebellion has gone away, but I still hold that love for all things artistic. Poppy Z. Brite has changed to Orson Scott Card, Nine Inch Nails has changed to The Shins, but the basic skeleton of my life back then hasn't changed all that much. And I think that's a good thing. I feel like I've shed the skin that needed to be shed from back then, but the insides have still remained the same, and I'm happy with that. I only hope that this client that reminded me so much of myself at his age ends up with as good of a deal as I got, and I hope that I can help him on his way there.

Eerily enough, on my way home I was listening to Lucy on XM Radio which is the "90's alt rock" channel. They informed me that Nine Inch Nails has a new album coming out on April 17th. Back then (in the 90's) I owned every Nine Inch Nails album and every single, all the VHS tapes and the books, and knew every fact about Nine Inch Nails and Trent Reznor that one would like to know. Now I don't even know about a new album until a month before it comes out. No hard feelings there. But I will be picking up that album on April 17th :)

Tim Sale: The Artist behind Heroes

Just a couple of hours ago I wrote a post about Heroes and mentioned the painter, Tim Sale who does Isaac's art. After a very helpful comment from Carl V., I discovered that I knew this artist and didn't even know that I knew him.

Tim Sale is a comic book artist that is brilliant! I know him from the Daredevil: Yellow mini series. I picked this series up a few years back from the local comic shop and I've always loved it. I've gone back to it quite a few times. The art stood out to me back then. I thought it was wonderful, and see now that Tim Sale is in fact a wonderful artist.

I also discovered a book that he did called Spiderman: Blue. Had no idea about this one. Must have come out right after I decided that I was spending too much money on comics and sadly closed my folder at the local shop. Spiderman's always been my favorite since I was a little kid and unfortunately I lost track of all the spin off books a few years back. I'll be picking up the TPB through Amazon. He's also done books on Catwoman, Batman (The Long Halloween looks great even though I'm not a DC fan), The Hulk: Gray, and has an art book out called Tim Sale: Black & White which chronicles many of his paintings and sketches.

Now that I think about it, I have made a few exceptions to my "no DC" stance when it comes to Batman. Arkham Asylum was great with fabulous artwork by the wonderful Dave McKean.

My prediction is that Heroes will release an art book with Isaac/Tim's work. I'd definitely buy that (wink wink to the NBC executives). I love discovering (or re-discovering) new artists!

I Love DVR

This is a post about nothing really. I just feel like blogging, so I decided that I shall just type and see what spills out onto the computer screen.

I have a new love in my life and her name is DVR (Yes, I'm a tad delirious from a very long day). In fact, I am currently DVR-ing Heroes even though I could probably just watch it now rather than recording it and watching it later. Now there's no more worrying about having to possibly skip class late on Monday nights to watch Heroes (yes I'm that addicted to this show). Heroes truly is a wonderful show. It's like a new Marvel movie every week. I was so excited when Marvel started doing all of their movies, now I get a new live action comic book every week. I love the art in Heroes that Isaac does. He would be the really cool guy who's eyes roll back in his head as he paints the future. The artist who actually does the paintings is named Tim Sale. I'd like to see more of his work.

I'm currently reading Cell by Stephen King, and I must say that it is much better than I thought it would be. I pictured a trapped in a phone booth kind of book, but it's totally not that. It's actually a really great zombie story so far. My little brother got it for me as a christmas gift when he saw that I was reading Lisey's Story. I didn't know if I would like it, but it's really good so far. I've never considered myself a Stephen King fan, but these latest books are great. Sure they're a little pulpy, but still a fun read.

Dinner time. Hope everyone's week got off to an ok start...mine was just long, and tomorrow will be longer.

And the Oscar Goes to....

The Oscars kept me up past my bedtime tonight, so I guess a few minutes to tell my thoughts on them won't hurt....

Guess I'll be seeing the Departed. It won the big two so I guess I'll check it out. I didn't think I'd like it too much, but then again I didn't think I'd like Million Dollar Baby when it won and it was great. I'd also really like to see The Queen and Volver...they both look great.

Pan's Labyrinth: I'm so proud of that movie. It won Best Art Direction, Achievement in Makeup, and Best Cinematography. You look at those categories and it's obvious that Pan's Labyrinth deserves all of those awards. Hands down, an incredible film. I would've liked to see it win more, but I was happy it got what it did. I definitely would've liked to see it win best original score. That music was so haunting and every time I hear it I fall right back into that movie.

I would've liked to see Children of Men win best Film Editing or something along those lines. That was such a terrific movie and I don't see how film editing gets much better than that.

I was so glad to see Marie Antoinette win Best Costume Design. I thought that was such a great movie, but I'm very partial to Sofia Coppola, she's an amazing director. I was glad to see it win something and would've been very surprised if it hadn't won that award.

It was great to see Jennifer Hudson win best supporting actress. You can just see the passion in her and she's such a humble person. I haven't seen Dream Girls and probably won't, but that performance was great. Beyonce just keeps impressing me at these award shows. I was shocked that it didn't win best original song, but then again, surprise surprise, Melissa Etheridge wins for An Inconvenient Truth. Could we scream Political Statement a little louder? And of course, An Inconvenient Truth also won best Documentary.

Go Helen Mirren! She's such a great actress and it was great to see her win Best Actress. I can't wait to see The Queen. Looks like she did an incredible job.

Ellen did a great job hosting. I love Ellen, she's just an awesome person all around and has the best sense of humor. Good choice there to have her host.

Other things I enjoyed about tonight:

- Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire presenting together. A definite shout out to all of us comic fans.
- Robert Downey Jr.'s joke about himself
- The dance troupe that did all of those really cool silhouettes
- The sound effects choir

Tips For Blogging MeMe

So I got tagged by Stephanie for this blogging tips MeMe. Like her, I had nothing much to post about today :p so this works...and it's pretty cool.

-Start Copy-


It’s very simple. When this is passed on to you, copy the whole thing, skim the list and put a * star beside those that you like. (Check out especially the * starred ones.)


Add the next number (1. 2. 3. 4. 5., etc.) and write your own blogging tip for other bloggers. Try to make your tip general.


After that, tag 10 other people. Link love some friends!


Just think- if 10 people start this, the 10 people pass it onto another 10 people, you have 100 links already!


1. Look, read, and learn. **-http://www.neonscent.com/

2. Be, EXCELLENT to each other. **-http://www.bushmackel.com/

3. Don’t let money change ya! *-http://www.therandomforest.info/

4. Always reply to your comments. ****-http://chattiekat.com/

5. Link liberally — it keeps you and your friends afloat in the Sea of Technorati. *-http://chipsquips.com/

6. Don’t give up - persistence is fertile. *-http://www.velcro-city.co.uk/

7. Give link credit where credit is due. ***-http://www.sfsignal.com/

8. Pictures say a thousand words and can usually add to any post.*-http://scifichick.com/

9. Visit all the bloggers that leave comments for you - it's nice to know who is reading! ***-http://stephaniesbooks.blogspot.com/

10. Stick true to who you are and let your personality come through in your writing. Write about what you love and share it with others. - http://chrisa511.blogspot.com


-End Copy-


I hate tagging people for things, so I'm taking the lazy way out :p If you would like to carry this on, go ahead! It's a simple one and I'd love to see the list as it grows. Hope this one comes back around.

Coming up later: The Harry Potter review....almost finished!

My New Room

So after a very long day of moving and an 8 hour work shift after that, I am officially settled into my new room. What a relief. Tomorrow will be what a Sunday was meant to be...a day of rest. Here's a broad picture of the room. The wallpaper doesn't look as bad in the picture, or maybe I'm just getting used to it. But everyone gasps when they see it.















I'm glad to just have my own space again. It feels great. I love the feeling of tranquility (in case you can't tell by the many buddhas and candles) and I like my room to be a peaceful place. And I think I've done the best that I can with this space. I'm actually happy with it. The wallpaper's even starting to grow on me. It's actually kind of neat, I would just never choose it. It has all these different old ships and then descriptions and measurements written by each one. Maybe if I were 5 it would be cooler. I also got to display some art that I've been wanting to for awhile. Megan did the two drawings for me and also did the collage in the middle. I've always loved them, now I can display them. And in the middle is my Luck's Dancer from Lisa Snellings-Clark.















And last but certainly not least, I finally have a bookshelf again. Though I only have maybe one tenth of the books I actually own with me. I'm constantly having to ship books off to my Gram's house because there's just never any room. Hopefully within the next month I'll have all my books with me again. We're getting 3 bookshelves for the living room and I'm moving all my books onto those. It'll feel so good to have them all with me again. Here's the beginning of a very good thing:














So now I shall retire after a long days work to the wonderful thing that I used to take for granted called "my room."

Looking Forward to Saturday Night

One would think that with a title like that, I have big plans for tomorrow night. But it is in fact the complete lack of plans that makes me happy.

We're in the process of moving right now. We're finally getting out of this duplex and moving on up to a full 3 bedroom house. Slowly moving towards our pre-Katrina state. The house that we're moving into is a palace compared to this place. I'm very happy about it even though my room has horrible wallpaper from the seventies with blue sailboats all over it. It's worse than what you're imagining, trust me. I'll post pics tomorrow. I like this house and it's right across the street from my Dad and Grandma. Could be a good thing I guess, but could be a bad thing....the latter is more likely.

The thing that I like about this house is that it's somewhat affordable for the salary I'm looking at when I graduate. So when my mom either rebuilds or buys another house, I can stay in this one. It would be perfect for me. Nice size master bedroom, and two small rooms which could be used as a guest bedroom and an office/library.

I can't wait to get all of my books back! They're all over the place since Katrina, and luckily Katrina didn't claim any of my books (took most of them with me). It will be so nice to fill a couple of bookshelves and then just sit back and admire my friends.

So that's why I'm excited about doing nothing tomorrow night. It's been a long week...feel like I got back from Florida a month ago, and it's only been four days. Stressful week at the hospital. Been moving all day today and tomorrow morning. Work tomorrow afternoon. And then I can sit back and enjoy my weekend, or what's left of it, in the privacy of my own room. What a nice feeling. It's funny what we take for granted until it's taken away. I guess Katrina did have it's good points if you can call it that. The name Katrina actually means a cleansing or to start anew. I found that to be very appropriate in a strange way. Funny how life works sometimes.

Banned Books Challenge

Just found a really great challenge online. Details at Fahrenheit 451: Banned Books. Basically, the challenge is to commit to reading as many banned books as you would like between now and June 30th. I've registered for 8. Most are classics that I have never had the chance to read *blushes* and I also put A Wrinkle in Time in there just because I loved that book as a kid and would like to revisit it. I'm posting my books on my side bar and will also post them in this post:


1. The Figure in the Shadows by John Bellairs
2. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
3. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
4. Grendel by John Gardner
5. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
6. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
7. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
8. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle

Anna, the Gym, and DeLint

Sorry, I really tried not to mention Anna Nicole Smith in this blog, but my God! This trial is like a damn circus. I've never seen anything like this. I feel like I'm watching Judge Judy. By the way, the judge actually did apply for a "judge judy" type show, but was denied. I guess this is his big break. The majority of this trial has absolutely nothing to do with where her body is buried. The video, Daniel's father testifying over the phone, the judge....it's nuts. Throw into that Brittney Spears' latest escapades and you really start wondering what the hell role models exist anymore for young girls. This is what fame has become these days. Geesh.

I'm going to the gym today. I'm making myself. I officially have tickets and hotel reservations in Mexico for May 22nd, so I really have to get into shape. No more belly!! I need to start watching what I eat more too. Not just to look good for the beach, I just want to get healthy all the way around. I'd be much more comfortable with myself and you never know, it may even help my migraines. I've had a migraine for the past 5 days. That's crazy, I've never had headaches for this long of a streak. None today yet, knock on wood.

Subterranean is publishing a very cool sounding chapbook by Charles DeLint with illustrations also done by him by the name of Old Man Crow. It's about a man trying to decide if he's a person dreaming of being a crow or a crow dreaming of being a person. 18 bucks for the limited edition, 80 bucks for the deluxe, signed and numbered editions. They also announced another book in the works by De Lint for a fall release date by the name of Promises To Keep.

A Very Gloomy Day

I woke up this morning expecting to see sunshine, what I got instead was that annoying rain that's slightly above a drizzle, yet not quite a relaxing thunderstorm. Rain that just plain stinks! In addition to that, the wonderful chill in the air has been replaced with humidity.

The internship was very strange today. Since we're an acute care unit, the clients were all completely new to me since I haven't been there since last Thursday. The weather was definitely reflected in the staff's attitudes. Everyone seemed to have a very short fuse today. I picked a bad day for not wanting to be there, because their moods just made my day feel that much longer.

My supervisor can be really tough to get along with sometimes. She's a great woman, I really like her, but she has this very blunt, harsh side to her as well. I didn't like her my first few days there, but the more you get to know her, the more you like her. Today was a blunt, harsh supervisor day. She was very short with me at times for things that I didn't know how to do. In addition to that, I always feel bad asking her to sign any paperwork for me because I feel like I'm putting her out. She didn't really choose to be my supervisor, she was more appointed to do so. So now, in a few weeks, I have to get her to fill out a mid semester evaluation that's like 5 pages long and I know she's going to hate it. We'll see. I'll try not to worry about that for now.

In good news, I got to do my first individual session with one of the children today. We normally don't do individual therapy, but there is only 1 kid in the children's (ages 4-11) group. So the group counseling session turned into an individual session. I feel like it went great. I had no problem getting to the 30 minute mark like I thought I would and the kid opened up to me alot.

Now I'll lay in bed and catch up on tv. Then later I have to pack more boxes for the move. At least this is a short week....

Lots of Fun Web Wanderings

While playing catch up on my blog surfing I found all kinds of fun stuff online. Book news, fun blogs, and a new addition to the blog roll.

Lots of new news on Neil Gaiman. Found this one the day before I left, but didn't get to post on it. Neil Gaiman appears to be working on a new book as is evidenced by this post. He started with a short story that is being worked into what looks like a novel that was inspired by his son riding his bike in a graveyard. Seems to be titled "The Graveyard Book". Or he may be talking about two different books there. Not really sure.

If you stop over at amazon, you find all kinds of great Neil Gaiman news by doing a search for his name. The first is a new edition of Stardust illustrated by Charles Vess that is due out May 2, 2007 and is published by Vertigo. This made me very happy as I never got a copy of the original with illustrations by Vess. Can't wait for this one. I love Charles Vess' work and his blog over at Greenman Press has been added to the blog roll.

Gaiman also has two other books forthcoming. The first is a collection of short stories called "M is for Magic". I believe that I heard about this awhile ago and it is supposed to be geared toward a younger reader. It's due out July 1, 2007. The second book is Interworld which is a collaboration with Michael Reaves. Also geared towards younger audiences with a release date of July 1, 2007. The cover for that one is great!

The next thing I stumbled across brightened my day tremendously. There is a wonderful blog out there called the Friends of English Magic. It's subject matter is everything Susanna Clarke, lots of Neil Gaiman stuff, Charles Vess stuff, and just all kinds of wonderful things that interest me. The title of the site is of course taken from Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. The Friends of English Magic was the name of the scholarly magician society in that book who were not practical magicians, but just studied magic. I discovered this site because I was getting lots of referrals to this blog from it. After some investigating, I found that the author of the site had some very kind things to say about my review of The Ladies of Grace Adieu on this post. Always good to get a nod from a site as wonderful as that one. They've also been added to the blog roll.

I also stumbled across a wonderful post by Carl V. at Stainless Steel Droppings that made me smile in a nostalgic way. A post all about Star Trek! Carl is a wonderful reviewer and I always look forward to the things he has to say about books, art, movies, and culture in general. This post was about the History Channel's Star Trek anniversary special and a great homage to the beautiful thing that is called Star Trek.

Finally, I came home to find that I had won 4 incredible books off of ebay that I really didn't think I was going to win. The first book is Dustcovers, a book that Carl told me about. It is a collection of all of Dave McKean's covers for Neil Gaiman's Sandman comic. Can't wait for this one. The second is Subterranean Press' edition of The Road to Lisdoonvarna by Charles De Lint. It is a signed, first edition, numbered (#424/2000) book and I got it for $9.99! How awesome is that. Next is The Alchemy of Mirrormask. Mirrormask is the wonderful cinematic child of Dave McKean and Neil Gaiman, and I have mentioned it before here. This book collects some of Dave's original sketches for the movie as well as paintings and shows the process from original ideas to completion. And last, but certainly not least is the Trade Paperback version of Black Orchid. This is a graphic novel that was the first collaboration of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean. Can't wait to read it.

This is all the news I have for now, but it seems to be enough to satisfy the palate for now.

Update: One more exciting piece of news. Just saw that Tori Amos will release her new album, American Doll Posse on May 1, 2007 to be followed by a world tour. yay!

Treasure Box by Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card has tackled many genres. He's done Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Speculative fiction, Biblical fiction, thrillers, political novels, and horror novels. Treasure Box fits into the latter category.

Card has written 3 horror novels: Lost Boys, Homebody, and Treasure Box. Each has it's own story to tell and each is unique. Treasure Box is the story of Quentin Fears (pronounced "fierce"). Quentin lost his sister Lizzy at a very young age. Since then, he has always felt a close, almost supernatural bond with her. After making many wise investments and becoming a millionaire Quentin meets a woman, Madeline, who reminds him of his long lost sister and marries her without knowing much about her. In meeting her family for the first time, Card gives us the perfect example of why we should not rush into a marriage when we don't know the person we are betrothed to.

Treasure Box is a haunting and thrilling supernatural ride from beginning to end. Card once again does not disappoint. He shows how he can tackle any genre and in doing so, become the master of that genre. Behind every Card book is a cast of strong, inspiring, human characters that the reader grows attached to. Treasure Box is no exception. Card has a powerful ability to portray his characters as living souls and someone that each person can relate to. He knows the human psyche and soul well.

I've read alot of criticism of Treasure Box, and I don't see why. I thought that it was a wonderful book from beginning to end. I've heard many people say that it "started too slow but gets really good in the middle." I don't think it started to slow at all. Rather than rushing in to the heart of the story, Card takes the time to build up his characters while at the same time setting up the story.

Card's done another wonderful job with Treasure Box, and I give it two thumbs up and a strong recommendation for someone looking for something more than another Stephen King novel.

A Well Appreciated Break From Life

I'm back from a beautifully, long weekend spent in Florida. Went to go visit Jroy for the weekend for her birthday and to visit Universal Studios and Downtown Disney. It was a blast.

Quick (or not so quick) synopsis of the weekend:

Friday:

After a nice, smooth flight and half a book (review forthcoming) I arrived in Tampa. Sat in traffic for a long time and finally reached Lakeland, FL where Jessica lives. It's a really neat little town. Lots of stuff to do and see. They have these little commune looking villages where elderly Canadians spend the winters and are lovingly called "snow birds". Interesting phenomenon. Didn't do much Friday night. We had the best sushi I have ever eaten at a restaurant named Gosh! It was delicious. Picture below of one of my rolls called the Paradise Roll. It was coconut shrimp, asparagus, cream cheese, and topped with fresh mango slices and shallots. Presented beautifully. Jessica had a caterpillar roll which can be seen here on her blog as well as her version of the weekend.


Saturday:

Saturday was great! We spent the day at Universal's Islands of Adventure. I had never been there. I have gone to Universal, but never this part. It's amazing. We started off in Seuss land, which was so cool. You really felt like you were walking through a Dr. Seuss book. Went on a couple of rides there and had our picture taken with the cat in the hat.


Another highlight was Jurassic Park's River Adventure. This was a great ride, and a wet ride. I wish that I had a scanner so that I could post our plunge into the water picture because it is classic. I have the fear of God in my face.

After Jurassic Park, we headed into a little place called heaven: Marvel Land! As soon as I walked into Marvel Land I felt like I was 5 again. It's every little boy's dream. Comic book stuff everywhere you look. Unfortunately, the only X-man that was available for pictures for me was Cyclops, my least favorite. But oh well... Made my way over to the coolest comic book store I have ever seen and picked up the Trade paperback version of Marvel 1602 written by Neil Gaiman. Good stuff.

That's the very short version of Saturday, a great day!



Sunday:

Sunday was Jroy's birthday. We started the day by touring Lakeland. The lakes there are so neat. They had beautiful swans, storks, pelicans, and geese all over the place. I wanted to take pictures, but never got around to it. The birds are all really friendly and will eat right out of your hand. I had never actually seen swans before, so this was exciting for me. They have giant swan sculptures all over Lakeland, kinda like our fish if you're from New Orleans.

After that we drove around and looked at all the Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in Lakeland. Apparently, Lakeland has the largest collection of his architecture. There's a whole neighborhood and a college done by him. He's one of my favorite architects. Not exactly what I was expecting. The architecture there was more plain than what most of his stuff is from what I saw. Still cool nonetheless.

Sunday night we went to downtown Disney. Very cool place that I wish I had more time to see. We ate at the House of Blues down there and then went to Disney Quest. Disney Quest is a five story building with virtual reality rides. I was a little disappointed in some of them, but still had alot of fun. They have a Cirque Du Soleil, La Nuba, that plays at downtown Disney year round, and I'd definitely like to go back and see it sometime.

Monday (Today):

Today was a quiet day. Just kind of hung around Jroy's apt. after the realization that I had gained 5 pounds in the four days that I was there. We ate alot of shit. Jessica's mom sent her a giant king cake from Haydel's which we ate a little more than half of. Haydel's is packing a porcelain trailer that says "Happy Mardi Gras" with their king cakes this year. That was great!

My flight home was very bumpy, but very relaxing. Had an empty seat next to me, which was nice. The flight was fairly empty which surprised me, but then again, people probably wouldn't fly into New Orleans the night before Mardi Gras. They've been here awhile. I've never flown at night. It was beautiful to see the city from the sky when we were landing. I really enjoyed it. Almost finished the book, which will probably have a review posted tomorrow. I've been reading Orson Scott Card's Treasure Box, which is great.

So that was my weekend. I had a great time and can't wait to visit again. Happy Birthday to Jroy! Thanks for putting me up. Had fun. I think I'm going to a crawfish boil at Chris and Angela's tomorrow. Not a big Mardi Gras Day fan.

Hope everyone else had a great weekend too. Glad to be back in blog land. Happy Mardi Gras everyone.

The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke

The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories is another masterpiece by Susanna Clarke. It is a collection of eight short stories set mostly in England in the early 19th century. The stories are absolutely magical. Characters include Mary Queen of Scots, the Duke of Wellington, Jonathan Strange, and John Uskglass (the raven king) among others. Each story has that wonderful, magical charm that she put into every page of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Fairies appear in many of her stories. I love her fairies because they are not your traditional fairies. One of my favorite stories in this collection is "Tom Brightwind or How the Fairy Bridge was Built at Thoresby". In this story, her fairy, Tom Brightwind, is six feet tall, has somewhat of a malicious side and has no wings at all. Another favorite is "On Lickerish Hill", which is Susanna Clarke's version of Rumplestiltskin.

What makes this book even more magical is Charles Vess' illustrations. The whole package of the book makes you feel like you hold a treasure in your hand. The cover is designed beautifully, the stories are magical, the pages of the book are antiqued, and the illustrations are just gorgeous. I feel special for owning a copy of the book. Charles Vess' illustrations are very Victorian looking and go wonderfully with the stories. I felt as if I were reading an old book of fairy tales from the 19th century complete with illustrations of the time and all. It's very easy to forget that this book was published in 2006.

Clarke truly is a master of her genre. She spins tales that become classics as soon as they're written and her use of the english language is simply beautiful. I can't wait to see what we can expect from her in the coming years. She has announced that she has somewhat of a sequel to Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell in mind, though it will probably take place after Strange and Norrell are long gone. I'm sure that whatever her brilliant mind produces next, it will be just as much of a pleasure to read as her first two books have been.

A Few Notes on an Early Weekend

Today was officially Friday for me, and a short one at that. I'm leaving tomorrow to visit a friend in Florida for the weekend and will return on Monday afternoon. So if the blogs appear to be slim this weekend, that is why. It's Mardi Gras weekend down here, and things have been rather quiet for it being so. I haven't been to any parades yet, but I've driven down Veteran's many times while parades are going on. It's been really empty out there. Not entirely sure why. Just not as big of a crowd as usual. Though I haven't been uptown yet, and I'm sure the parades there may be bigger in attendance. Throws have gotten better from what I understand this year. Lots of Fleur de Lis beads, and I heard that glass beads are making a come back. Pretty cool. One float that I saw being transported the other day that was hilarious had a giant Ray Nagin on it holding a chocolate bar. That was great. Sorry to those not from New Orleans if this paragraph made absolutely no sense.

In other news, Subterranean Press has posted a slew of new titles being published soon. Very excited about the Orson Scott Card and Charles De Lint books.

The blog officially went over the 1000 visitors mark today and is only a month and a half old, so thanks to everybody who stops by to read and leaves the occasional comment. I feel cyber loved....scary

Home from the interview

Today was the interview for the guidance counselor position, and I think it went really well! It's a little different than normal counseling, but I knew that going into it. Alot of this job involves scheduling classes with the students, keeping them up to date on TOPS, assessments, etc. but it also includes therapeutic work as needed with both the students and the parents. I was told that it's important to interact with the kids and go to football games and such, and that would be no problem for me. Gives me an excuse to be a kid again.

The most promising thing is that she said she's looking for someone with experience in the clinical stuff, pertaining to specific disorders. This is perfect because I'm fresh out of school with all kinds of clinical knowledge. She was excited about that and said that I could give a few pointers to the veterans over there. She also liked that I'm exposed to the different medications used to treat disorders, because they don't know alot about all of that. She said that she wants to start doing some groups at the school and liked that I had experience with that too. So needless to say, she was excited that I have the "fresh out of school" perspective. She also liked that I had an insider's perspective on how bad adolescence can get. I met with the principal and assistant principal as well, both of whom remembered me and said that they were glad to see me.

Pretty easy interview. Not as much of a problem as I thought I would have. So now I have to wait until next week to do the second interview. She said she'll "definitely be calling me soon," which sounds promising. I find about about the pay, etc. at the next step. I have a specific number in my head and they need to hit that. Oh! She's also an LPC supervisor, so I can get my LPC through her which rocks. That can cost a pretty penny. All in all, I'm excited and it will be nice to have summers off.

In the meantime, I have a splitting migraine. I took my meds, just waiting for them to kick in. So if you are awaiting a phone call from me *cough*jroy*cough* I'll call you as soon as this damn headache goes away.

Shtuff...

I received my books from Jason at Second Chance Book Adoption today and I must say, I was so very pleasantly surprised. Not only did I get 4 books in beautiful like new condition, but three of them were signed by the authors! Went back and looked at past books I bought from him and 2 of the Chuck Palahniuk books were signed as well. Today I got Someplace to be Flying, signed by Charles DeLint, Girl in Landscape, signed by Jonathan Lethem, and Lullaby signed by Chuck Palahniuk. Good deals.

Speaking of books, Neil Gaiman posted a couple of links to DreamHaven's bookstore website and I found so much cool stuff that I want to buy now! But we're moving in a couple of weeks, so I'll wait until the new address is being lived in. In their "New and Noteworthy" section, they have a story of Ray Bradbury's entitled The Homecoming that is fully illustrated in color by Dave McKean for $14.95, and Gene Wolfe and Lisa Snellings-Clarks Strange Birds for $10.00 (Save me a copy of these two ;) Strange Birds comes signed by Gene Wolfe and Lisa if you request a signed copy. The Sale section has some great deals too, one of which is Yoshitaka Amano's Hero Vol. 1, hardcover for $12.00. I hope these don't all sell out. Dream Haven was apparently broken into a couple of nights ago, and they really need the extra business. So support them!

Speaking of Lisa, I got the second part of my ebay order, another little red poppet, in the mail today. Goes well with my other one, yet unique in it's own way.

A Good Start

This Monday has been really good so far! Can't remember the last time I said that. I had a great morning at work. We had a really small group, but the patients we did have talked alot and made some progress hopefully. I didn't have to pull teeth to get them to talk today.

I got home just about 30 minutes ago, and waiting for me at the doorstep was a very welcome package with hands and hearts stamped all over it. Opened it up and it was my "lucks dancer harlequin" from Lisa Snellings-Clark. It's amazing. 1000 times better in person than it looked on the internet, and I loved it on the internet! I'm so happy. She presents her art to the buyer very well. She's great down to the last detail of the packaging. And I got a little note from her with a poppet sketch on it, and a little pink poppet magnet.

Lets just hope that the rest of the day continues to go well. I have class in about an hour. And then I have a brand new episode of Heroes waiting for me when I get home!

Happy Monday everyone....hope everyone has as good of a Monday as me.

2007 Grammys

This was one of the best award shows I've seen in a long time. I didn't realize how good of a year 2006 actually was for music. 2006 really just seemed to just fly by between Katrina recovery and my first year of grad school. But after tonight's show, I see that it was a pretty damn good year.

The Police were amazing as I was expecting. Sting is one of those artists who is just the master of everything he does. I loved the little slow part they added in the middle of Roxanne. Terrific performance and good to see The Police back together again.

I thought that Beyonce really did a great job tonight and showed how great of an artist she really is. She has an amazing voice and showed that she doesn't have to hide behind a dance track. This girl can really sing.

I was very surprised by Justin Timberlake. His song "What goes around comes around" was great. And who knew he could play piano. He has also really proved himself as an artist. He can tackle just about any genre.

My favorite performance of the night by far was Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend and John Mayer. It really doesn't get any better than that. Corrinne Bailey Rae is just amazing. I had never heard much of her music before, but will be buying her CD after tonight's performance. She reminds me alot of Feist. John Legend is someone who I never really paid too much attention too, but he's really good! John Mayer has become one of my favorite artists after his latest album, Continuum. I love to see someone play music who does it for the music. He's an amazing songriter, guitarist and vocalist. Terrific combination of talent on that performance and good to see John Mayer win best pop album.

Shakira gave a good performance with Wyclef. I love watching Shakira dance and she really does have a good voice...very unique.

Gnarls Barkley is just great. I love watching him perform. I also love how he can be nominated for best alternative, hip hop and R&B album. He's like a big melting pot of talent.

Wow is all I have to say about Mary J. Blige. That woman pours herself into everything she does and I don't think anyone can deny her being one of the best vocalists out there right now. Amazing performance.

Carrie Underwood surprised me. I didn't watch that season of American Idol, and I'm not a big fan of country music. But she did really great tonight. Lot's of talent in that girl. I was happy for her for winning best new artists, though I would've rather seen Imogen Heap or Corinne Bailey Rae win.

Christina Aguilera's tribute to James Brown was so good. That girl can sing like nobody's business. I always forget how great of a vocalist she is until I see her perform live.

James Blunt. He really is a good singer, but I am so freaking sick of that song. We get it. She's beautiful.

Loved seeing Quentin Tarantino present best record of the year. That man cracks me up, and he can make some damn good movies. Still trying to figure the difference between best record and best album.

Red Hot Chili Peppers were great as usual. No surprise there. Those guys have been consistently great since they got on the scene.

My one complaint for the night was the damn Dixie Chicks. I'm sorry, but I can't stand them. They just grate on my last nerves. I think that the Grammy's really went partisan this year between them and Al Gore. I just don't like them personally or musically. I know plenty of people disagree with me, but I'm not sure they deserved all the awards they got.

Really cool revelation, Scarlett Johanssen is recording her first album. Can't wait to hear that. She's an amazing actress and I just like everything about her. Wonder what type of music she's doing.

So that's my Grammy round up for the year. All in all, it was a pretty good show.

Mexican Dreams

We've solidified our plans for Mexico. We will be staying at the El Dorado Royale from May 22nd through May 29th. I can't wait. The resort looks beautiful. It's all inclusive and is located close to the Mayan ruins which I am very much looking forward to seeing. It looks like it's just going to be me & Megan and Chris & Angela. It's going to be so great! I graduate with my Master's on May 19th and this will be the celebration. I can't wait to relax on a hammock on a gorgeous white sand beach and sip cocktails all day. mmmmmmmmmm....

I went to Chris and Angela's last night to book the trip. They boiled crawfish which were quite good with king cake from Gambino's for dessert. Here's the sad part...I had 3 beers last night..THREE! And I woke up with a "hangover headache". How sad is that?! I just can't drink anymore. Every time I drink anything these days I have a hangover. Miserable feeling. So we attempted to book the trip last night, but my stupid bank wouldn't let me. Apparently, Capital One doesn't allow you to spend more than $2000 at a time...so how the hell do you book a trip? I think I'm going to call the bank and see if they'll lift that rule so I can book. But now I have to wait until the hold that the travel agency put on my card goes away before I can book again. Good Lord!

But I'm not complaining...all that matters at this point is that I will be in Mexico in a little over 3 months :)

Forest Rogers added to the blogroll

Wanted to let everyone know about an artist that I found through Endicott's blog named Forest Rogers. I've never seen his work before. It's incredible. From his website, it looks like he does beautiful sculptures of fairies, mermaids, and other fantasy creatures along with what he calls "liturgical work." He is apparently painting a mural in a Russian orthodox cathedral. Beautiful Work. He keeps an online blog which shows updates on his work and the creative process.

For those who live in New York, his work can be seen at Magnum Opus, a collection of art dolls located at The Divine Studio. Details of that show at Endicott's blog. One of Rogers' dolls, the fairy pictured above is up for auction on ebay right now and is over $600 with 2 days left still. Well worth it, but out of my range.

There is another doll maker named Beth Robinson that I found awhile ago. Her doll line is called "strange dolls" and can be seen here. All of her dolls are handmade and are well worth the low price that she asks for them.

Happy Saturday everyone!

The Science of Sleep

The Science of Sleep is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. Just finished watching it for the first time. It is the masterpiece of Michael Gondry, director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It is literally a work of art. The closest thing I have seen to it is Mirrormask, directed by Dave McKean.

The Science of Sleep is the story of Stephane Miroux. Stephane confuses his dreams with reality. He cannot tell which is which. Languages are constantly switched throughout the movie from Spanish to English to French. The movie takes place in France. Stephane falls in love with his neighbor, Stephanie, who lives in his apartment complex. She is one of the few people in his life who understand him to an extent. She is a creative type and is an artist, which attracts Stephane. Rather than mock him, she works with him in his dream worlds; creates with him; brings imagination to life.

Gondry shows us one of the most human movies I have seen in years. It is heartbreaking, heartwarming, charming, witty, and most of all imaginative. Gondry shows us what it is like to be Stephane. We experience this film from Stephane's eyes and his point of view, which is far from the "normal" point of view. But what is the normal point of view? Stephane's world seems very attractive to the viewer, but Gondry shows us that while it may look like an exciting way of viewing life, it is really a curse at times. Stephane's strongest and weakest points spring from his illness.

Why this movie wasn't nominated for any awards I don't know. As I said before, it is filmed beautifully, the art direction is beyond superb, Gael Garcia Bernal gives a wonderful performance as Stephane, and it is the first look (though it may be an exaggerated look) into mental illness that I have seen portrayed so humanly and so directly behind the eyes of a person. I highly recommend this film to everyone. May be a little artsy for some, but for people who like indie-type flicks, you'll love this one.

A couple of web wanderings

It's Friday at last! It's actually been a really good week. Things have been somewhat slow on the unit, but they have remained interesting. I find myself becoming alot more comfortable with leading groups and today led the children's group without my supervisor and I think I made some good progress with a couple of the kids.

In job world, 2 opportunities have opened up. One is of course the guidance counselor job I have been ranting about, and the second is a place called "New Beginnings" which is similar to my internship placement. I believe it's an inpatient facility for children and adolescents, and I may put my resume in there too. My supervisor recommended them. They pay slightly better than this current place would, but they're also in Hammond which is about an hour's drive away from here. So I'd either be commuting or moving. I think I'm putting most of my eggs in the guidance counselor basket for now. It sounds like a great position, and the lady who will be interviewing me sounds very enthusiastic. Good stuff.

Oh yeah, web wanderings. A couple that I wanted to share. The first comes from Neil Gaiman in his entry "Now We Are Six". This is the 6th birthday of Neil's blog, so to celebrate, there is a little tool at the bottom called "Neil and his Magnificent Oracular Journal." It's sort of like a magic 8 ball, only it's Neil in the middle dressed in a Swami costume. Ask him a question, shake the orb, and an answer shall be given from a previous blog post. Fun stuff.

The second thing may interest some people. Subterranean Press is offering free advanced reading copies of some upcoming books to people who either review for a living or have a high-trafficked blog. Authors are Elizabeth Bear, Connie Willis, Ted Chiang, Robert Silverberg, Cherie Priest, Joe Lansdale, David Marusek, and last but not least, John Scalzi. More good stuff.

Update: Interview at Brother Martin at 3:00 on Wednesday....Say a prayer for me!

Greenmantle by Charles De Lint

Greenmantle is a beautiful story, a hidden story. It is a story of love, murder, revenge, loss, past mysteries, resolution, friendship and the fantastic. This is the first work of Charles De Lint's that I have read, and I must say that he will be put on my list of must read author's after this wonderful book.

Greenmantle is the tale of "a mystery," a being that exist in our world, yet lives in a parallel version of that same world. He is a stag, a greenman, Pan, a goat, etc. Alice Treasure and her mother, Frankie, move to a very small country town out in the woods after winning the lottery. Ali discovers the sound of pipes playing in the woods and is changed by the sound.

Mix this story with a mafia story and what you have is Greenmantle. I never thought that I would be a fan of any story about the mafia. Just never been in to that genre, but De Lint works the mafia into a work of fantasy and it really works! What you get is a wonderful story with a strong human touch and beautiful, well developed characters, set in the real world, yet a fantasy world at the same time.

De Lint's writing style reminds me a lot of Neil Gaiman's. Common themes can be drawn between the two writers. Both are able to create a totally believable fantasy world within the modern world in which we live. Both focus on relationships between people and the power that is in those relationships. Both take ordinary people and make them into their own kind of heroes. Gaiman has a slight edge over De Lint, but that should not take anything away from De Lint. De Lint knows how to write a page turner that doesn't just have a driving plot (numerous plots at that), but he knows how to write well. He always chooses the right words and really makes this book an enjoyable and moving experience.


The cover art is wonderful and is done by David Bergen. Nice stuff.

Favorite line of the book: "I've been all the way there and back again - just like Bilbo."

Quick Update

Well, I got a response from my former high school saying that they are "really interested in setting up an interview" with me. Awesome! She thanked me "for my candor about my past" and said that she was looking forward to meeting me. So now I just need to fill out the 10 page application, fax my resume to her, and then set up my interview. Here we go!

Interesting note on the application. At least a page and a half of the application is dedicated to questions asking about if I am a child molester, pedophile, or sex offender. It's so sad that the world has come to a point in time where questions like this need to be asked in such detail on an application. I see this all the time at the psyc hospital I'm interning at and it really just pisses me off. It seems like this kind of behavior is just constantly escalating these days. When does it stop?

Harlequins and Pumpkins

I finally own a piece of art from Lisa Snellings-Clark. I own a couple of her little red poppets but I've been wanting a one of a kind, original piece of art. And that's exactly what I won tonight on Ebay. I won a Harlequin named "Lucient" who is incredible. I can't wait to get him and hang him on the wall. I tried bidding on quite a few of her unique poppets, but they all went way too high for my budget. "Sympatico", one of my faves, sold for $335! They all sold for a pretty penny, and I'm sure they're all worth it. Unfortunately, the pockets just don't go deep enough for me. Congrats to everyone who won some of Lisa's wonderful art!

In other, semi-art related news (music is an art), the Smashing Pumpkins announced their 6th studio album today entitled "Zeitgeist." It is due to be released on 07/07/07. I can't wait for this one. I saw them in concert in 1995 and it was such a great show. I was disappointed to hear that they had broken up awhile back, but now they're back together and a new album and tour is on the way. They have announced tour dates in other countries, most of them being in Europe, but none have been announced for the U.S. Can't wait to see them again. I really want to know who's in the band now, but they are being very mysterious about it. Obviously, Billy Corgan is still the singer, and I know that Jimmy Chamberlin is still on drums, and I'm hoping that James Iha is back on guitar, but who knows. I can live without D'arcy though. I thought she was hot when I was a teenage boy, but so did every other teenage boy I knew. Just hope that whoever's in the band, it's just as good as the Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness days. We shall see.

Things coming full circle

Wow...this is just blowing my mind....

First a little background info for those who don't know Chris (me).

In 1998, I was expelled from my high school for being around (and using) drugs. This is what ultimately led me to become a counselor, specifically a counselor who wants to work with children and adolescents. I had a hard time with those years and came out pretty damn good... at least I would like to think. I also think that the hard times that I went through give me an empathetic edge on some of the competition.

So today I get an email from one of my professors in my program. She emailed a lady telling her that she thinks that I would be an excellent candidate for a certain job opening and that she highly recommends me. Well I find out that the job she wants me to apply for is THE GUIDANCE COUNSELOR POSITION AT THE SCHOOL THAT I GOT KICKED OUT OF!!! Talk about weird.

So I emailed the lady at "the school I got kicked out of" and basically told her that I wanted to be honest with her upfront and understood that my unique situation could disqualify me from the job. But I also told her that my unique situation puts a unique spin on my being a school counselor for young guys. I told her what I've learned over the years and how I have a strong desire to help kids not end up where I did. Or if they're heading that way, hopefully turn them around.

So now I'm VERY anxiously awaiting her reply. I won't be disappointed if she says that I can't work there, but it would be pretty damn cool to go full circle to the place that actually helped me decide to do what I want to do now.

Just me trying to make sense of things

There's been something going on with me lately and I'm not entirely sure what it is. Maybe it's burnout. I just want out of school right now I think. Strange though. I used to love school, love learning. Now I'm just sick of it. It's gotten to the point where I'm so burnt out on school that I don't even want to get up for my internship, which is really bad. I love my internship and if I were in a normal graduate program, that's all I'd be doing. But this semester I'm expected to work 40 hours a week at an internship, counsel for 6 hours monday nights, and go to an ethics class for 3 hours on tuesday nights. And of course, the ethics class entails lots of presentations and papers which I somehow have to make time for.

On top of this, I've started contemplating going straight into a doctoral program in child counseling, but I'm starting to think that's not such a good idea. In fact, I know it's not a good idea. I need some time off of school. Time to go out into the real world. Time to get my LPC. But part of me says "there's no time like the present" and "if you don't go now you'll never go". So what do I do? I think I'm just going to let things happen as they happen. In the long run and with a little initiative, life has a way of working things out.

I just want to lay in my bed and read books for the rest of my life. Can I get paid for that? Oh how I envy the few book reviewers out there who actually make a living off of doing that. Or at least just drop something...preferably school. I just don't see the point in counseling a fake client in front of the class. That has no comparison to the real world at all. I'll never be in that situation, yet the clinic experience is supposed to give us "real world experience". Hello! I get that at my internship.

All in all, it is my choice to be in this graduate program, so I guess I can't really complain too much. I could have out at any time, but I know I don't want that. I'll have my master's in May and I just have to keep reminding myself of that. If anything, working 40 hours a week will be a breeze after this semester. Hell, it'll be a break.

blah blah blah....sorry for bitching..had to vent...but I feel a little better now, and I think I will take my advice and relax in bed and read a book until class at 5:30...and yeah, I left my internship early today.

The Long Day is Over

What a long day it was! I worked this morning on the unit, but it was a nice morning. The clients were having a collectively "good" day which made the therapeutic process much easier.

After that, I had my first day of counseling with my role played client. Since for some reason we can't get any real clients to take our offer of free counseling, the undergraduates are role playing clients for us counselors in training. I thought that mine went relatively well today. Today I basically just had to go over the HIPPA rules regarding privacy and then go into my practice and procedures. Next week I go into an intake. I don't like this role-played setting. We do this in front of the classroom in front of about 10 of our peers and 5 of our professors. Very intimidating, I feel like I'm defending my dissertation. Faculty members had some good things to say about me as well as a few things to correct. Mainly my language. I tend to say "um" alot and also ended a few sentences with "and other things like that". One teacher called this "diarrhea of the mouth". Not the most kind thing she could've said, but point taken. My main thing was nerves. Like I said, I felt like I was defending my dissertation at first and was very nervous, but as I continued I eventually got lost in the session and forgot that others were watching. I do so much better at my internship. I feel like I do a good job with clients when I'm not under scrutiny, and that's how the real world will be. I won't be doing a counseling session in front of 15 people in the real world. Which is why I'm not crazy about these role-played sessions. I could be doing this for real at my internship instead of being in class. But whatever, I'll make it work.

A few interesting things found in blog-land. "Why Do I Need a Title?" humorously describes the adventures of online dating in this post. Carl over at Stainless Steel Droppings gives a good fair review of Blood and Chocolate at this post. Literacy-chic has some good points to make about the recent HPV vaccine that is required of school aged girls in Texas at this post. Endicott Redux offers a link to the online Journal of Mythic Arts which is fascinating at this post. And in Orson Scott Card's latest column, he talks about the Harry Potter series and his take on Snape at the bottom of this post.

Hope everyone's day was good! I'm off to watch Heroes!

Super Bowl XLI

The Game:

What a game, what a game, what a game! I'm so happy for the Colts, and so happy for Manning. It was a big win for New Orleans too to have one of our own win the big bowl. You could blame some of it on the rain, but the Colts just played a hell of a lot better than the Bears. I couldn't get over the amount of turnovers in this game! That was nuts. All in all it was a great game, a great night, and a great victory. They're going to Disney World! Pro Bowl next weekend where we get one last look at Drew Brees this season.

Halftime show:

Prince rocked it! So many people were saying "why Prince?" That's why Prince! OK, so some people are still saying that, but I think he was great. Maybe it's because I play guitar and respect him as an amazing guitar player and one hell of a performer whether you like his songs ore not. Two complaints about the performance: 1. I wish he would've played all of "All Along the Watchtower" instead of going into "Best of You." 2. I wish he would've done "Kiss". But that's OK, he still did a great job and "Purple Rain" was awesome. Talk about bring you back. The whole show was great. Loved the stage, loved the lights, loved the fireworks, loved the marching band. I used to play sax in high school in the marching band, so marching bands always bring me back to fine memories.

Favorite Commercials:

#1 Sierra Mist's "Beard Comb-over"....come on, that was hilarious. I wouldn't mind watching commercials like that all the time.

#2 Budweisers Slap in the Face...I'm liking the new trend.

#3 Fed-Ex Ground's Don't Judge Things by Their Name...Harry, I-lean, Joy, and Mr. Turkeyneck...that was quite funny.

A Quiet Sunday

It seems like every weekend I change my opinion of Sundays. This Sunday has been sort of an uneventful one, one that is going by too fast. I really wish that I didn't have to work on Saturdays so that I could have a proper weekend, but unfortunately that is the only day I have to actually make some money, seeing as my internship is unpaid. At least the Super Bowl is tonight. I'm cheering for the Colts all the way. Damn Bears had to go and beat us. I'm sure there will be a few fun commercials along the way as well. Funny how people actually look forward to commercials one day out of the year.

Back to Sundays. They are meant to be a day of rest...but that definitely doesn't apply to me. Sundays are a day to play catch up for me. Do some reading for school, write some papers, tie up the loose ends from the previous week. Weekends just go by too quickly nowadays. Tomorrow's Monday already. The weekend just got here. Oh well, I guess I'll enjoy myself as much as possible for today and bury my nose in a book until the Super Bowl starts. Hope everyone else's Sunday is going ok.

Three Picture Books

I've had three picture books, or children's books if you may, sitting on my bookshelf for quite some time now. I hadn't gotten around to reading them yet, so I figured I'd devote my reading to those tonight. Every now and then I love to go back to the early days of reading.

The first book was The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Dave McKean. What a wonderful little book! The Wolves in the Walls is about what may be behind those things that go bump in the night. It's the story of a young girl named Lucy who hears wolves in the walls. Of course, her parents don't believe her until the wolves come out, and then all hell breaks loose. This is a great book for children who are afraid of night time noises. It shows that the source of the noises may be just as scared of you as you are of them. It's beautifull illustrated by Dave McKean. Like The Day I Swapped my Dad for Two Goldfish, The Wolves in the Walls can easily be mistaken for an art book. I don't think there's a better Writer/Artist duo than Gaiman and McKean. If you haven't already read this one, do yourself a favor and give it a read. There was a play put on not too long ago that was based on this book and unfortunately I didn't get to see it as it didn't come anywhere near New Orleans. I would've really enjoyed that.

The second book was Magic Mirror by Orson Scott Card, illustrated by Nathan Andrew Pinnock. This one was very strange, very different. It's subtitled "a fable for adults." Without the illustrations, this book would have been lost. Neat idea though. The story is about a queen, a king, and their son and daughter. The queen feels alone and turns to her magic mirror where she sees images from other worlds, other peoples lives, and the goings on of others. One day she sees a particularly disturbing image that drives her to an almost unfortunate fate, but her children intervene. So you're thinking medieval times, right? Well the illustrations make this not just another magic mirror fairy tale. The illustrations show medieval times, but mixed in there is modern society. The magic mirror is a sort of computer screen showing her news from the world and videos of other's lives. The castle has a remote controlled garage, the daughter is a modern day goth, and sea shells are cell phones. The illustrations are not really my cup of tea, but their substance adds to the story. While it is certainly not the best or most well known story of Card's, it's still worth the read in my opinion. It's very unique.

The final book of the night was Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson. This is one of my all time favorite children's books. I remember vividly reading this book as a child. I must have read it a hundred times, and it still makes me smile when I read it today. It is the story of Harold, a boy with an extraordinary imagination. Harold creates the world around him with a purple crayon. He leaves his room one night and goes on an adventure led by his imagination and a crayon. The illustrations are so simple, yet capture the imagination of a child so well. I got this book for Christmas from my sister and was so happy to have it again. I lost my original copy when my house flooded in 1995. This is definitely one that I will hold on to for my children one day. It's one of those classics that will always remain relevant.

So that concludes my picture book reading. Give any of these a whirl if you're in the mood for something light and enjoyable. Take yourself back to the innocence of childhood. And now, back to Charles de Lint's Greenmantle.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is the magical creation of Susanna Clarke. It is the story of the return of magic to England some 200 years ago. It takes place in a time when magic was no longer practiced in England, but still studied by many. Mr. Norrell, a practical magician, decides that he shall return magic to England, but has no idea how out of control a little magic can get when he takes on a task that proves to be bigger than him.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is by no means a page turner, at least not until the last 200 or so pages. The Washington Post describes it by saying that "Many books are to be read, some are to be studied, and a few are meant to be lived in for weeks." This is one that applies to all of the above categories. However, what keeps the reader reading is an interesting, constantly evolving story line and a sense of magic in Susanna Clarke's words. Her writing is exquisite and is captivating in itself.

As I first started this book, I was a little disappointed. I thought that the story was too slow and that it wasn't driving enough. The book is broken up into three parts. The first two parts of the book are spent setting up the tale, introducing us to the many delightful if not woeful characters, and setting a magical tone. When part three of the book kicks in, it turns into a page turner. When I got to part three, I appreciated the time she took in parts one and two setting the tale up. In part three of this book, you can literally feel the magic coming off of the pages. It's wonderful!

As you read the pages of this book, you feel like you are in fact reading history. The book is complete with very informative footnotes, and I found myself often forgetting that this was a work of fiction. She even incorporates Lord Byron into the book, a wonderful surprise. While he doesn't play a main character, he shows how capable Clarke is of spinning a convincing tale.

Portia Rosenberg contributes the perfect illustrations for the book. They seem to me to be charcoal drawings that are very reflective of what book illustrations may have looked like at the time of Mr. Strange and Mr. Norrell. Very fitting for this book. They contribute to the dark tone of many parts of the book.

This book is like reading a cross between Jane Austen and Neil Gaiman. Certainly a book of fantasy, yet so realistic at the same time...an oxymoron if you will, and I mean that in the best way possible. Susanna Clarke won the Hugo award for this novel in 2005 and I can think of no one more deserving. Quite impressive for her first novel. Truly a fascinating read. I can't wait to start digging into my signed, first edition copy of The Ladies of Grace Aldieu, Clarke's second publication, a collection of short stories that is beautifully illustrated.

Mr. Rackham

I wanted to share with the universe one of my favorite artists. Arthur Rackham was a truly wonderful illustrator. I first discovered his work through an ex-girlfriend. She had a love for Brian Froud which eventually led to a love of fairy paintings and drawings. So every year, I would buy her a "fairy calendar". The calendar I would get her always had a painting or two of Arthur Rackham's. I just love looking at his paintings. I love his color schemes...shades of brown, black, and other more melancholy colors. Almost sepia toned paintings. They always remind me of the classic childrens books and fairy tales; Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, the Brothers Grimm. He did illustrations for all of these books. His paintings are magical in themselves and go well with the above mentioned stories. They are very antiqued looking and a perfect match for what a fairy tale painting should be. Enjoy.

A well appreciated day off

My alarm went off this morning at 6:30 and I had the pleasure of turning it off and sleeping until 10:00 because I had decided that today needed to be a day off. My supervisor was off today and there are 2 other interns who work with the other social worker on the unit, so my services were not needed today.

So I awoke finally at 10:00 and decided that I would go to PJ's and enjoy a cup of coffee on my day off. On the way there, I decided that I should take advantage of this day and get some links taken off of my watch. So I went to the jewelry repair stand in the mall and got 2 links taken off, so I can finally wear my new watch. While I was waiting for the watch to get fixed I went to look around Dillards and found some stuff. They're having a big sale this weekend, so I got 2 dress shirts which were normally $79 a piece for $10 and $14. Not too bad, eh? Also got a pair of khaki cargo pants that are nice and destroyed and came with a belt for $11, regular $40. Good deals!

So after all that, I started heading to the coffee shop when I realized that I needed an oil change. But if I was getting my oil changed, I needed a book to read while I was waiting for my car. So I went to Barnes and Noble. Picked up Charles de Lint's Greenmantle which is great so far and I'm only about 50 pages in. Urban fantasy has got to be one of my favorite genres. Also picked up Norah Jones' new CD, Not Too Late, which is ok so far, but I always like her albums best on 3rd or 4th listen.

After the oil was changed I finally made it to PJ's where I got my coffee. For some reason, the coffee shop was very smokey which was strange. So of course I asked if they had burnt the muffins. But they said that they hadn't and it had been smokey all day and no one knows why. Doesn't sound too promising.

All in all, it's been a good day so far. Funny how going to get coffee can turn into such an adventure. Random...