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So, yesterday I was so tired of my grinchiness, that I decided to do something about it – retail therapy. I was shopping online for a little while – looking for something for the last few people on my list. Ok, for everyone but 2 people on my list…and I came across a fantastic website that has all sorts of Scandinavian things, and in particular the Dalahast, or Dala Horse. This painted figure has come to symbolize all of Scandinavia, and particularly Sweden. I have a little confession: I have always loved Scandinavia, not quite sure why. I don’t have any Scandinavian ancestry (although I look like I was imported directly from Norway) but I am obsessed with their various traditions, celebrations and culture. I love it! So, it is with a bit of excitement that I purchased my first Dalahast, and double points to me because I purchased it for someone else. (Yay for anti-Scrooge behavior!) After browsing this website for about an hour, I decided to see if there were any retail fronts in Salt Lake that sell Scandinavian items. And bingo! I found one. The Scandinavian Shop (175 S. West Temple) has all things Norwegian, Swedish, Finish and Danish – from trinkets, to T-shirts, to candy & licorice and an amazing dalahast display. I actually found a horse that I loved, it’s black with a green & yellow bridle/saddle. Happy Christmas To Me. So, while my “bah, humbug” tendencies are not completely alleviated – I am started to feel a little better. It’s amazing what an hour or two of retail therapy can accomplish. )

Last night Berkley & I went to The Dodo restaurant at The Gateway. I have lived in Salt Lake for 5 years and had never eaten there – and I must say, I was quite impressed. I am still not feeling great so I just ordered a bowl of the chicken tortilla soup. Quite satisfying, actually. When I get feeling better (i.e. hungrier) I will go back and try something that qualifies as “real food.”

As we were sitting there I started to wonder what bird the Dodo was related to – and thanks to Wikipedia, now I know! (Don’t you LOVE the internet!?!) The Dodo evolved in South East Asia & New Zealand from pigeons and doves – it was about 3 feet high, flightless, and harmless. It nested on the ground and ate fruit. The last Dodo was spotted in the mid-17th century. Ok, I realize I’m a nerd and not everyone is as interested as I am – so if you want more information, visit the Wikipedia site.

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger. In honor of the DVD release, I decided to re-read this book before watching the movie again. For those of you who have seen the movie – I suggest catching up on your reading, and for those of you who have not – READ THE BOOK! Ok – I’m off my book rant now, time for the review. The general plot line: Andy is fresh out of college and looking for her first “real” job. She gets hired on at Runway magazine, as the Editor-in-Chief’s personal assistant. Only somehow during the interview process no one mentioned that her new boss, Miranda Priestly, was commonly accepted as the devil incarnate with better shoes. As her requests get more and more outrageous – bordering on downright ridiculous and even completely impossible, Andy struggles to maintain her previously normal life. Having worked for completely insane bosses before, I can identify with this story. (Granted, I have never been asked to get a copy of Harry Potter before its release date for my employer’s snotty kid – she’s got me there.) Of course I love the fashion references throughout this book – the descriptions of clothes, shoes, bags, designers and shows – but mostly I love the way Andy goes from a general fear of her boss to a downright loathing and then further to an absolute hatred. Again, having worked for the Boss From Hell, I can relate. There are certain types of individuals (who always seem to end up in management) who thrive on putting their employees down, threatening them and purposely doing and saying things to make them believe they are about to be fired. And this is supposed to be motivating. I realize that managers need to have their employees respect them -but you can respect your boss without also wanting to throw mechanical pencils into his face and strangle him with his own phone cord.

As a side note: my current employer is nothing like Miranda Priestly, the devil, or any other company I’ve ever heard of. I love my company, I like my boss, and basically, I have cushiest job in the world!

PREVIOUS POST: Employment

This post is not meant to advertise my current infirmaties, icky symptoms and sordid details. However – I feel very much like the individual pictured to the right – I am SICK! Which means I’m cranky, and when I’m cranky I tend to get a little bit more colorful – so I apologize in advance to those of you with sensitive ears. Last night I was curled up on the couch, half-watching something on TV and half-listening to the various conversations going on around my apartment. I thought a good, hot bath and a sound sleep would fix me. Unfortunately, no. This morning I woke up and literally felt like I was going to explode. I think my head is about 4 times larger than normal, my stomach is rejecting everything but rice crackers and water, and I REALLY wish I was home in bed instead of here at work – trying to pay attention and trying to get something done. (Uh, obviously not working out so well on either account.) I’m trying to stay hydrated, trying to somehow shorten the distance from my desk to the bathroom, and REALLY wishing I didn’t have a huge deadline breathing down my neck. Sigh… I hate being sick, and I really hate being sick and at work, and even more than that I hate the idea of being sick, at work, during Christmas…

This past weekend I went to see “The Holiday” with a girlfriend and, to be honest, I didn’t think it was all that great. I enjoyed it for entertainment value – but I won’t buy it, won’t rent it and won’t watch it again. First of all – Consider the implausibility of nice-guy Jude Law falling for the sometimes bitchy, fairly self-centered Cameron Diaz character in less than 2 weeks. What, is he secretley a Mormon? What adult in their right mind (again, Mormon’s excluded) will fall completely in love with someone who lives halfway around the world after a few drunken nights and a couple of country drives? (for Mormons: please substitute bowling for drinking)Particularly when that adult is not only looking for a girlfriend, or a wife – but someone to mother his 2 daughters (sorry to blow the surprise). That was one plot contrivance that I have a hard time getting past. The Jack Black / Kate Winslet romance seems much more plausible – and frankly, it seems like they are starting a much healthier relationship. They start as friends, a dinner here and there, chat chat chat – and at the end of Kate’s 2 week L.A. stay – they are just starting to date – I don’t even think they kiss more than once in the entire movie, and that may be stretching it. And I think my favorite part of the entire movie is when Jack Black is in the Hollywood Blockbuster singing bits and pieces of different movie scores – and when he starts in on “The Graduate” there is a tiny cameo of Dustin Hoffman (also in Blockbuster) making some snide comment about the whole scenario’s ridiculousness. Classic.

PS. Please forgive my possible crankiness – I haven’t slept well in 3 days and I feel like garbage that has been popped out of a tin can…. What’s with the getting sick at Christmas?!? Boo. Double Boo.

Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. “The greatest novel to emerge out of the tragedy of South Africa, and one of the best novels of our time” (The New Republic). I first read this book several years ago and absolutely fell in love with the powerful descriptions of character as well as social and political unrest throughout South Africa during the first half of the 20th century. This story follows a Zulu pastor, Stephen Kumalo, as he makes his way from the small valley of Ndotsheni to the great city of Johannesburg to find his sister and his son Absalom. The commentary on the breaking up of the Zulu tribe and its destruction by the racial unjustices as well as the lure of such an enormous city is poignant and heart-breaking. Kumalo talks about his dying valley, full of old men and young children who are starving and, subsequently, moving to the cities to find work in the gold mines, leaving their families behind. Kumalo’s love and passion for his people, his dedication to their preservation and his shame as his own family’s transgressions work together to build a character of much depth and strength. In Johannesburg the somber pastor finds himself in the middle of yet another racial war as his son is wrapped up in a criminal case against a white man, one that will be impossible for the humble family to win. Throughout the book, Kumalo learns many things about the city, about the breaking of his tribe, and about the future of his valley. He learns of sin and forgiveness – more acutely than his many years as a pastor could have ever prepared him for. He learns of love from both strangers and the friends from his village. And, most importantly, the reader comes to realize the amazing dichotomy that continues to pervert so much of the world – the hatred that can stem from differences. Cry, the Beloved Country illustrates that this hurdle can be overcome – although it takes a conscience decision to do so, and the ability to choose to accept others regardless of the consequences. If we are not constantly working towards this goal of global harmony – then we are allowing the opposite; fragmantization, social and political dissention as well as racial and religious injustices.

“In the deserted harbor there is yet water that laps against the quays. In the dark and silent forest there is a leaf that falls. Behind the polished paneling the white ant eats away the wood. Nothing is ever quiet, except for fools.“ (page 224)

PREVIOUS POST: Out of Africa

Elegance by Kathleen Tessaro. Do you have something that you do that is always relaxing, or know exactly where to get your favorite comfort-foods? My comfort-habit is reading, and particularly this book (I’ve probably read it 8 times in 4 years). This is the story of an American woman, living in London and her transformation from sad, frumpy, depressed wife who is (unknowingly) married to a gay man, into a scarily forward vixen, and finally into a composed, successful, single career woman with a promising romantic prospect. This is heartbreaking in parts and hilarious in parts – in short, Elegance is your definitive “chick-lit” type of read. And, as a guilty confession – I LOVE chick-lit! Particularly British chick-lit. I’ve never gotten into the heaving romance novels with half-naked lovers on the cover – but I love love love books about English girls, their habits, their jobs, their clothes, their boyfriends/lovers/etc. There really is no explanation for it, but after several books with serious subject matter I felt the need for something a bit, well, a bit more like this. You can make fun of me all you want (ahem… Berkley) for being a chick-lit lover, but please remember that it’s part of my charm. And reading a book in the bath-tub is much less damaging than binging on ice-cream, crouched in front of the T.V. watching Fabio and Esmerelda rush into each others arms and suck each others faces off…. I’m just saying, ya know, have a little perspective. ;o)

Saturday night I was sitting around with my friend Nate and he asked me if I’d ever been shooting before. I had, once, when I was 15 or something. But I’d only fired maybe 3 shots… I don’t think it really counts. He asked me if I’d like to go shooting, and after a minute I decided, “Hey, why not?” I actually did fairly well! Granted, I wouldn’t hire me to be a body guard, but for my first time – not too shabby! (And I have the target page hanging on my wall as proof if any of ye are doubtful.) The rush of getting that VERY scary-looking gun to fire somewhat on-target was almost indescribable! Granted, I was firing at a paper target 25 feet away (I’m a beginner!) and not at anything that was actually breathing, which I think would terrify me to no end. But, let all ye in cyber-space know that I went shooting and I wasn’t half bad! I wasn’t half good either, but hey – who’s really paying attention?

Well, I got about half of the lights up. The roof was covered in about 3 inches of snow and ice – and frankly, I wasn’t too thrilled about the prospect of sliding off to my utter demise. Some places were so icy that a) I couldn’t get close enough to the edge to hang lights anyway, and b) even if I had – the ice was so thick I wouldn’t have succeeded. So – family, you are up on light-hanging duty – good luck with that!

xox

Today I woke up to the sound of the maintenance guys scraping off the sidewalk. It snowed about 6 or 7 inches at my house last night, and I’m sure the ski resorts got PILES of snow (for anyone who is interested). It took me about 20 minutes this morning to clean off my car, oh to have covered parking! My commute to work usually takes about 20-25 minutes – well, this morning it took over an hour. The roads hadn’t really been plowed yet, and average freeway speed was somewhere around 30 mph. Not that I’m complaining, I’d much rather arrive late than arrive in a body-bag.

Confession Time: I’m not really a fan of snow. I think it is pretty and everything, but I hate the cold factor. Another Confession: I have never been skiing. Yes, I’ve lived in Utah (The Greatest Snow On Earth) my entire life and have never been skiing. Perhaps I will try it out this year – but then again, maybe not. We’ll see I guess. A few years ago I inherited skis, poles & boots from my aunt (she had double knee surgery and decided it was time to quit skiing), but I still haven’t tried them out. Sigh, it’s not the end of the world I guess.

PS Outside temperature in Salt Lake is 9 degrees… yes, we have entered single-digit temperatures. Let the Great Freeze-Out begin!