The Reading Corner is a place where books of all genres are examined and reviewed. Comments, questions and disagreement are welcomed. Grab some coffee and a comfy chair and make yourself at home.

Friday, August 7, 2009

August 10. The new August 14. Kind of.


The most frustrating thing about buying books online is, of course, the wait. The shipping. I got a friendly e-mail from Amazon a couple of days ago when I ordered my books saying the delivery date is expected to be August 10 (4 days before my birthday). I got that e-mail August 4 and figured, "Oh, hey, that's only 6 days -not bad at all, considering the shipping was free and I'm getting 4 books." Here I am two days later, having bitten off all of my fingernails and having begun spazzing every time I see a UPS truck pull onto the street. August 10, although only 3 days away, seems like it will never come. I want my books.

Yesterday I was in a pretty foul mood all day, so I avoided human contact as much as possible. Of course, without a car and sans my own room, it became kind of difficult. The internet/cell phone don't work in the basement and my little brother's room (where I sleep) just isn't built for solitary hanging out. There's nowhere to sit but the bunk bed or the floor...and I sleep in the bunk bed and I try to keep my electronics out of it and my butt goes numb after about 10 minutes of floor-sittage. There are no other viable (read: comfortable) areas in the house where I could sit undisturbed and be a bitch in peace. Alas for all involved. We lived, and I wasn't the only crab-ass in the house.

Today I decided to do something that would a) take my mind off the fact that my books won't be here for another three days and b) would put me in a better mood than the one I was in yesterday. Essentially I beat myself all to hell. 4 games of Wii tennis (all of which I won of course), 3 rounds against those infernal punching bags (there's really no way to win there -the punching bags explode and my arms hurt for two days), 15 minutes on the treadmill (accompanied by the band And Then There Were None -good stuff) and then 20 minutes of Wii fit exercises. These include lunges, the half moon yoga pose, hula hoops (yeah, really), ski jumping, jackknifing and those weird ab twists that supposedly tone your whole waist area.

By the end of all of this, my knees are shaking, I've downed two rather large glasses of water and my head hurts. But endorphins make you happy (remember the Legally Blonde line? Thought so. Not that I have a husband to kill, happy or unhappy as I may be, but the same principle applies). Hopefully this grueling workout will keep me slightly more cheerful than I was yesterday -and who knows? If I keep it up, maybe those ab twists will actually tone my waist. Not that I need that, but it never hurts to be in better shape.

However, all through these workouts, I was still half hoping the UPS guy would show up with my books, despite the fact that I'm wearing red Pirates of the Caribbean men's medium boxers that I got at Disney World and a pink and orange sports bra (my two least favorite colors in one garish garment that should never be exposed to the light of day. Boo-yah). He didn't, of course. It's only just after 11 right now, and UPS guys don't show up in my neighborhood until around 2 or 3, sometimes later. Cue heavy sighing here:_____.

The books that are coming are awesome! I'm really excited about them. They were all paid for by a birthday present from my dad, who is also awesome. His only requirement was the I get one specific book, called The Library at Night. It looks sweet.

The other three books I got were:
  1. The Time Traveler's Wife (the movie comes out on my birthday-August 14- and I've been meaning to read the book for ages anyway. Plus Eric Bana is in it. Win-win-win situation.)
  2. Secrets to Happiness: A Novel (chick lit that isn't really chick lit. I've read good things about it, and it's about time I found a companion to my favorite chick lit book, English as a Second Language).
  3. Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451: The Authorized Adaptation (you read that right. If you know what that means, give yourself 1 internet. If you don't, I'll tell you: it means I got Fahrenheit 451 in the form of a graphic novel. Two of my favorite things -graphic novels/comic books and Ray Bradbury's genius -in one package. I couldn't not buy that and remain a whole entire person).
So there you have it, folks. This is why I'm more excited about August 10 than my own birthday (well, kind of).

It's supposed to be a review day, but since I plan on applying for a (better paying) job at another site, I'm skipping it. I've put up 3 things this week anyway, so it's not like I haven't met my goal. It's all good. Anyway, I'm sure some of you need refreshers on what I've already written, so go check it out.

No comments:

Post a Comment