Today among all other days to start again!

Hi hi. After 3 months, I'm back! Again! Gotta love how things remain the same when you're not looking...

This morning was the same as all other mornings, except that I seem to have developed a pain in my ass. I suspect it's from all my sitting in front of the computer, reading blogs. Among some are The Huffington Post, The Dilbert Blog, and LOCAL MAN. Yes, I've come back full swing to realize my interest in reading. Over the past few months, I've ingested:

• The World According to Garp, by John Irving - I don't know how a book can be so traumatic, yet funny at the same time. I actually thought this was going to be a political book about issues from the perspective of the farming world (with a name like Garp, can you blame me?), but I realized after reading the first line, that I was indeed mistaken. The only fighting I had to do was open to the first page, the book reeled me in with its first sentence and kept me absorbed, unknowingly. The best kind of book! It has the magic also found in Irving's "A Prayer for Owen Meaney," a book from my AP English days that I'm considering re-reading.
• The Accidental Asian, by Eric Liu - which motivated me, at the time, to look into getting involved in the Asian culture and reduce my tendency towards Asian self-hatred. I learned that most Asian mags/community are accessible on the West Coast. Go L.A.! I suppose my growling demeanor for Oriental-looking people has let up just a bit, but as always, I moved on to other things without a notion of closure. More to come of this, I'm sure!
• My Life, by Bill Clinton (Audio CD) - his voice makes me comfortable and puts me to sleep very nicely. He's a charmer for sure!
• I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov - who can resist good ol' sci-fi? This book's cover ($7.99 paperback) had Will Smith on it, but was NOT the same thing as the movie. At all. That's interesting... did I miss something, or was the title wronged?
• Foundation, and Foundation and Empire, by Isaac Asimov - These were the days that I forced myself to stay up till 3am to get in the last few chapters of this good stuff.
• Emotionally Weird, by Kate Atkinson - excellent use of language and semantics, good character writing, humor is slightly off-kilter.
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
• The Doctor is Sick, by Anthony Burgess
• An Ambulance is on the Way, by Jonathan Wilson
• 1/2 of Spirit Matters, by Michael Lerner
• 1/2 of Positive Energy, by Judith Orloff, M.D. - I thought I was too New Age-y, but this totally threw me for a loop! I know I spent 2 hours at the Coop deciding whether to buy the book (which I somehow did. Why, I'll never know for sure now), I doubt I'll ever be ready for this one.

and I'm currently working on:

• News Flash, by Bonnie M. Anderson - to continue my new interest in news media domination.
• The 158-Pound Marriage, by John Irving - trying to start this one to see if it's John Irving's writing I like, or just the subject matter.
• Understanding Islam, by Thomas W. Lippman - haven't started this, but at least I've got it! The hope for this one is that I'll be able to react humanistically towards the Middle East when I see war violence on TV rather than apathetically. Will knowledge bring compassion for me? I need more love to give...
• Whose Freedom?, by George Lakoff (Audio CD) - another voice that puts me to sleep quite well. Although I pull myself out of my dozing inebriation and try to latch onto comprehension, because really, this book is very, very good - the author is very very intelligent. He talks about manipulative framing by conservative think-tanks in the news, and how it's affecting the nation unconsciously in order to shift our traditional notion of "freedom" into a more submissive definition of non-action and dependence. On a lighter note, I really like these audio CD's with words rolling over you - it's like having someone reading you a bedtime story. (Argh, I'm not regressing here after 6 months of unemployment, really. *sob*)

I think all this reading is my way of psyching myself up to take on some sort of writing project sometime soon. Writing is the goal here. Such tension, too much fiber, not enough writing. Maybe that's why my butt hurts.