On the way to dinner tonight, I saw a strange license plate. OK, so it wasn’t so much the license plate was strange, as it was strange to see it on a particular car. We came up behind a Dale Earnhardt Signature Edition Monte Carlo.
Imagine seeing this car, including the Intimidator insignia, with a license plate of “I SILLY 1″. Not a good fit.
I want my motivation back. I haven’t been motivated to do much of anything for quite some time, well except maybe read. I’ve been doing a lot of reading, but as for the rest of stuff, not so much. I’m not motivated at work. I’m not motivated to clean up my house (but really, who is?), clean out my closets, reorganize the kitchen cabinets, etc. I’m not motivated to blog, though I have quite a few topics rolling around. I haven’t even been motivated to fix my e-mail, which has been bothering me more and more, or redo the transfer of my iTunes library to the new computer so I can maintain my ratings and playlists and get the iPod set back up to normal again from when I restored it. And the one that’s bothering me the most is I haven’t been motivated to dig into 3D graphics software which I really want to play around with.
Between work wearing me down and the lack of alone time with my boyfriend always around, my dad living here temporarily and my mom visiting often, I’m just always tired and have no energy to do anything at all. Maybe once my parents get moved back here and things settle back down to “normal” I’ll start getting a bit of the motivation back, but I’m not sure that’s going to cut it. And I’m not sure what exactly to do about it. I guess its one of those things you just need to power through, but I’m not sure how considering most of the stuff that so desperately needs to be done is the crappy stuff I really don’t want to do, like dishes, vacuuming, etc.
I want to have my computer’s e-mail working correctly. For some reason since I got my new wireless router (the old one went kaput), I’ve had trouble connecting to e-mail hosted by my ISP. The weird thing is my old computer is sometimes able to connect and sometimes isn’t, but my new computer has gotten connected once and never since. I’m thinking its not the router since the old computer sometimes connects. I would think a router problem would be more permanent – it either always connects or never connects. And what’s weirder is that I also can’t connect to the online version, though I’ve had other people try and they don’t have any problems at the same time I am. Also, I can always get connected to the online version at work. I can even have my work computer and home computers all connected at home, through my wireless router, with the work computer VPN’ed into the work system and be able to connect through the work computer, but not the home one. It’s getting pretty annoying, and I just want to figure out what’s wrong with it.
I also really want some of my grandfather’s homemade applesauce, but he never wrote down the recipe and we’ve long since run out of what he made. Store brands are close, but have never been quite the same thing. Since I ruined this one for most, if not all, of my readership during lunch, I decided to go with something else for my main “I want…Friday” post. But this one still deserved a mention. 
Both Debra and exp626 did this book meme, so I had to jump on the bandwagon. I’m just a little behind…
Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback? Mass market paperback. I don’t really feel the need to spend the extra money or extra bookshelf space on hardbacks, but I have for some, especially those I want to get my hands on right away, but I’m very particular about making my books match. If I get a series in paperback, I wait and continue in paperback. If it’s hardback, I spend the extra right away and continue with the hardbacks.
Online or brick and mortar? Brick and mortar most definitely. I have to check out the books, read the descriptions, and then search through the copies to find the one in the best shape. Plus, it’s much easier to peruse in person and get drawn in by cover art rather than perusing online.
Barnes & Noble or Borders? Borders. I really got into Waldenbooks when my family moved to Kentucky and the library wasn’t that great and there was only Waldenbooks or Joseph Beth, a local store similar to Borders and Barnes and Noble. I signed up for Waldenbooks Preferred Reader and used it back here at school as well. Eventually, I got a Waldenbooks/Borders credit card, and I’ve been hooked since then. I regularly get lots of gift certificates for more free books. What more could I ask for?
Bookmark or dogear? Always bookmark. I don’t want the pages tattered, nor do I crack the spine. There’s a reason I look for the most pristine copy. Once I’m done reading, the book looks pretty much like it did when I bought it, except for the fact that the pages aren’t quite as compressed.
Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random? Alphabetize by author, though this rarely gets done since all my bookcases are overflowing and the books are put in wherever they’ll fit. Really gotta work on that…
Keep, throw away, or sell? Almost always keep. I did just let my mom sell a lot of my old books in a garage sale, but those were mostly children’s books that I probably wouldn’t read again.
Keep dustjacket or toss it? Keep it, especially since most of the hardback book covers are quite boring without it.
Read with dustjacket or remove it? Depends on whether its in the way or it seems like I’ll end up damaging it. Most of the time I leave it on.
Short story or novel? Usually novels, but a good collection of short stories works for me too.
Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)? Either.
Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? Harry Potter. Though I’ve heard the Lemony Snicket books are quite good, I haven’t read any and I haven’t seen the movie either.
Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? Always at chapter breaks.
“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”? Not really either – both just seem too cliche for my tastes. But I’d take either story type.
Buy or Borrow? Generally buy cause if I like the book, I’ll want to have my own copy eventually anyway. But I do borrow from a friend if they suggest a book.
New or used? I’m too picky about the shape the book is in. I’ll buy a used book, but only if its in really good condition.
Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse? Recommendation or browse. I don’t tend to look at book reviews much.
Tidy ending or cliffhanger? If it’s a cliffhanger, there’d better be a sequel.
Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading? I’ll read any time I’m able to.
Stand-alone or series? Either way. I do like series for getting more story with characters I like, but I also enjoy a good stand-alone that I don’t get sucked into forever and have to sit and wait for the next book to come out.
Favorite series? Hm, that’s a tough one. I’d probably have to still say David Edding’s Belgariad and Mallorean series (same characters spanning two series), but I also like Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series, Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, and Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series.
Favorite children’s book? The only thing coming to mind at the moment are Dr. Seuss books.
Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? I haven’t really read much that has either been on or ended up on someone’s bestseller list.
Favorite books read last year? The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher.
Favorite books of all time? Anything by David Eddings. I’ll also read anything by Christopher Pike.
Least favorite book you finished last year? I liked all the books I read last year, so I don’t know what would be my least favorite.
What are you reading right now? I just finished reading Blue Moon, eighth book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton. I’m about to start the ninth book, Obsidian Butterfly.
I want to be sitting on a beach, in a hammock, reading a good book. I want nice, warm weather, a light ocean breeze, plenty of cheery sunshine, and no responsibilities whatsoever. Yup, that sums it up nicely.
Well, that’s what I’m trying to do at least. It’s been a crazy week. After working 40 hours in a week that should have only consisted of 32 working hours, only 2 of those actually dialed in on the holiday on Friday, I’m a bit burnt out. But I won’t complain too much about it. I didn’t get it nearly as bad as several others. As you may have noticed, there was also no “I want…Friday” post last week. That was a direct result of work. I was thinking of posting Thursday after work since Thursday was supposed to be the end of the workweek last week. However, I didn’t get home from work until about 7, and after eating dinner and logging back on for some more work, it was late before I even had a chance. After needing to log in the next morning for a bit and then scrambling to get ready for plans with my mom, it just didn’t happen. The rest of the weekend took precedence.
Mom and I went to see Premonition. It was a pretty good movie, but I didn’t care for the ending and there was one major continuity issue. We also went shopping this weekend, and I spent entirely too much money. And, with Easter dinner, I ate entirely too much food this weekend. I followed up on that by catching up on laundry and doing my taxes (yes, I’m a procrastinator, but I’m doing much better this year getting them all done a week ahead instead of the night before). Now, I’m vegging…well, as much as I can be while blogging.
The Lunatic Cafe, Bloody Bones, The Killing Dance, and Burnt Offerings, by Laurell K. Hamilton
The fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh books in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. I’m so totally addicted. I stayed up way too late last night finishing Burnt Offerings cause I was at the good part that was finishing everything up and I just didn’t want to put it down. And if you want to know my level of addiction, well, let’s just say the first three of these only took me a week to read. The last one took the longest mainly because of the holiday weekend with Mom visiting and other activities going on and taking me away from my reading. That’s partially why you haven’t seen any blogs lately.
These four added in another love interest, which is just killing me. I want her to end up with the vampire previously mentioned, but I also want her to end up with this new guy. She’s caught between then and unfortunately, so I am. I just hate the fact that she would not end up with either one of them, but I wouldn’t like her if she kept stringing along both, so I’m frustrated either way. These books also added in werewolves, wereleopards, fae creatures (human-like fairies), and a vampire council.
I’m starting to understand the R rating here. Yes, it’s got violence. Yes, it’s got adult themes. Yes, I’ve gotten into the stage where sex comes into play. One passage in particular was similar to a romance novel, but not quite there. Most of the scenes aren’t like that, though. Overall, I don’t necessarily consider it R rated, but I guess when it comes to books, my perception is probably a bit skewed. There’s a big difference to me between violence that’s described and violence that’s seen. The more I think about it, the more I could see how it could be R rated. If you translated this straight into TV or movies, it’d probably be quite violent and bloody. But I don’t see it like that. I picture it as more of a PG-13 movie, in which you know there’s violence there, but you don’t really see it. I guess it depends on who you are and how you translate the words to images that would determine your rating.
Anyway, tomorrow will be another run to the bookstore to get more. Being out of books in this series is probably the main reason I took a break to actually blog about them. Going to Laurell K. Hamilton’s website, I’ve found that there are seven more books currently out, and it appears as if there are going to be at least 22 books. Given how fast I’ve read through the first seven, the next seven aren’t going to take long. Then I’m going to go out of my mind waiting for each of the remaining books. Why is it that I get into these series when they’re well under way, enough to completely suck me in, but not far enough along to be anywhere near “completion” if they ever do arrive in such a state? I’ve got about three series going on like this right now. Once I get past these next seven books (and quite possibly blog them all in one shot) I’ll move on to something else, I swear. I already have a few picked out at the bookstore.
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