still struggling with these LARGE fonts, but truly, this novel was an enjoyable start to 2009 for me. It is the second time I’ve read it. Just as good.

1 Madame Bovary: Gustave Flaubert.

(17) The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
(18) Smashed by Koren Zaiklas
(19) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
(20) Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee
(21) I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe
(22) American Psycho (again) by Bret Easton Ellis

(12) Indignation by Philip Roth
(13) Naked by David Sedaris (for the 4th or 5th time…does this count?)
(14) The Exception by Christian Jungersen (for the second time in one year. On the one hand: see above re second time. On the other hand: it was that good that I wanted to read it again so soon.)
(15) Dry by Augusten Burroughs (for the 3rd or 4th time; it’s been that kind of month.)
(16) Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp (Yikes…sensing a theme here…)

10 – The Secret Lives of Pippa Lee by Rebecca (sic?) Miller – enjoyable.

11 – A Million Little Pieces by James Frey – I don’t care if he’s a lying liar; it’s still a good book:)

9. Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones – great! makes me want to read Great Expectations again.

8. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson: loved it, will certainly read it again

I’ve had a very intense week…no daily entries, although I’m sure there were good things to be said.

The positive thing today is 43 Things itself (holla).

Also, I am dog-sitting. Being a cat-person, this is fun and strange. How many times can a dog walk if there is a willing walker? Fuck. I’ll tell you when the day is done…lol….

As is obvious, I’m sure, by my username, I LOVE cats. Today was a particularly awesome day, cat-wise. I am cat sitting for a few days, and the cat is so sweet. His paws are huge, his eyes are green, and he loves looking out the window. On my way home, a cat dashed across the street (I almost hit him? I’ll assume). He had a mouse in his mouth and was clearly rushing home with the loot, delighted and anxious to show off. One of my crazy cats was acting…crazy… as I cleaned the house, climbing up my legs, jumping on my shoulders from random and unexpected angles. Weirdo. So funny.

I’ve been doing ok with this. Starting out, I just cooked and froze A TON of stuff. That was good, no doubt. Lately, I’ve been buying fresh stuff, eating local veggies, and eggs, and cheese. Today I made a great salad using fresh corn, red onion, oil, spice etc. It will keep for a day or two. Cooking for one can be sort of challenging b/c you want to use lots of fresh ingredients, but you also want to mix it up and not eat the same thing for, like, four days. I’m trying not to go by recipes, and just look in the fridge at the fresh ingredients, and toss something together.

I have been reading Gulag by Anne Applebaum for a looong time. It feels like forever. Realistically, it’s been several months. It is a mental block with me. I can’t move on to a new book until I finish Gulag. I read a few pages (MAYBE a chapter), and then I fall asleep. There are so many books queued up, and I am seeing so many ideas here…yeesh. My deadline is 48 hours. I am finishing this fabulous, important, sleep-inducing novel in 48 hours.

My toilet was broke, my landlord put in a whole new one. Within 2 days of me calling him. And he called me to tell me that we were expecting snow. I can’t blame him for the snow.

I just realized how long this goal has been outstanding: ew!!

It’s kinda funny. I’m going to try the bedtime floss.

I am travelling for work, and the people are so friendly. I watched the sunset last night, it was gorgeous.

Today I got some extra money; however, I also bought fast food, and a new purse online (and little cases and bags and charms – for christmas gifts! Hayden Harnett has awesome stuff on sale…) On the positive side, I’m not going further into debt. On the negative side, I’m not so sure that I’m getting out of debt. At least I have some Christmas gifts bought…?

I’ve been doing puzzles online. Surprisingly, I like them better than the paper ones. For higher difficulty, though, I think I will find paper to be better (for making notes in the margins).

Tinkering, tinkering…getting there…

I took one of my cats to the vet today, and there were lots of people coming and going with their pets. You could see how important the pets were to their owners / landlords. They were saying their names, and introducing them to the other pets, and making little ajdustments to keep them comfortable and calm. Awwww….so sweet.

Today I was dealing with a lady who is very mentally ill and she kept yelling and swearing at me and saying that my co-worker was the best, and I sucked and on and on. I never took it personally, but I wondered what magic thing my co-worker had done in the past to make such an impression. We talked about it after work, and she told me of a time several years ago when this person was hanging about, waiting for her father to pick her up (he was dead). Said co-worker bought her a sandwich and Coke and set her up at a table, and told her to eat and then walk home.

Small acts of kindess…huge.

Yesterday: I went to a short film festival, SO enjoyable.

Today: Good food and green tea – magic! I woke up feeling achy and painy, but my home cooking and tea brought me back to life. A much better choice than fast food, which would’ve put me back to bed.

I read about Podfitness from someone on this thread? Anyway, checked it out, and tentatively, it’s working really well for me. I can choose my type of workout and have my own songs mixed in. It’s free for 10 days, then you have to subscribe (bummer). I’ll see where I’m at after 10 days. So far, so good.