The First Unique Addition

It's been over a fortnight since I decided to revive my 101 goals, and yet, my blog has already fallen to the wayside. The major problem right now is that I don't know where I'll be in a few years. Heck, there's a gaping black void in the part of my brain that processes forethought, and after I graduate next Spring, I will be stepping straight into it. I'll be sucked by sheer force of vacuum into despairing nothingness unless I scheme up some sort of rudimentary projection of the future.

And here I am, trying to impose a list of 101 things to accomplish in between now and the two years that follow the void. This is wild stuff.

So perhaps the most practical thing to do is start with the basics, a foundation if you will. Regardless of where I am or what I'm doing, there will always be need for certain goals. Here are some big ones.

1. Move out of my parents' house.

Now listen, I've done this before and I won't be ashamed to say that I've also undid this before. During my freshmen year of college, I pooled all my graduation money into providing for myself while I lived in the dorms on-campus. Some may say this was only a partial move-out being that I went home every weekend to do my laundry, but the transition made may mom cry and by that accord, it counts. I moved home a year later.

Then there were a series of moves, from Portland, Oregon and back to South Korea and back to Germany and Italy and back as well. Some of these I knew would be long-term temporary, but I will say that Portland was intended to be forever. The next move that I plan to do, well, I want to it to represent a true foray into an entirely independent future. I'm old, I'll have a degree, it'll be high time that I struggle properly like the rest of my post-grad peers.

And with that, I have begun my list of 101 Things in 1001 Days - Generation II

101 things in 1001 days

Nearly three years ago I embarked on an endeavor that went like this: Achieve 101 goals in 1001 days.

For the first year, I worked diligently at it, going out of my way on numerous occasions to get things things done (ie. #71. Learn how to drive a stick shift vehicle, and #34. Create a mixtape every other month and send to friends and family). However, my enthusiasm petered out once I conquered all the easy tasks, like #11. Find and write to a penpal in another country and #28. Purchase and carry a notebook to jot ideas as they come.  When I was left with tasks that required some sort of long-term dedication from me, well, I failed to commit.

In the end, I had a list that was more than half incomplete, with only 30 true achievements, 11 still en route and 59 that I had either failed to start or simply failed at (#18. Maintain a weight that is under 108 lbs, ahem). With exactly one month left, there's no other way to feel other than down-hearted. This list was my baby, my bible, my one true side-kick during a time in my life when everything was in flux. I was living in Europe and recovering from a breakup, making new friends and staring new jobs. When I didn't know how to press forward, I turned to my list and started from the top.

However, it was my long-term neglect that resulted in an untimely blog death. The Nickel Penny Mission became a site covered in a thin layer of cyberdust, collecting metaphorical interwebs as I turned a blind eye.  Though, despite the fact that it was a gradual failure, I had walked away with so many gains (#78. Abstain from biting my nails and #81. Find a home for all the clothes in my junk bags) and because of such things, I am willing to try again.

101 Things in 1001 Days... Generation II

34. Make a mixed tape every two months and snail mail it to friends and family

OCTOBER 2008 - Installment 1 - GERMAN SEND-OFF PLAYLIST

This CD was made for my German send-off Party on October the 17th. If you were given this CD, chances are I am listening to the same songs (sans the German ones. Those were to serve as reminders to where I'd be). This is probably one of my favorite mixes to date.

1. Cabaret - Wilkommen
2. Her Space Holiday - Same Song Sing Along
3. Miniature Tigers - Cannibal Queen
4. Adam Green - Tropical Island
5. The Magnetic Fields - Strange Powers
6. Mason Jennings - I Love You and Buddha Too
7. Noah and the Whale - 5 Years Time (Sun Sun Sun)
8. Laura Marling - New Romantic
9. Soko - The Dandy Cowboys
10. Nina - 99 Luftballons
11. Toby Goodshank - Raw Peehole Gospel
12. Chairlift - Bruises
13. Benji Hughes - Tight Tee Shirt
14. Lucy Schwartz - I Don't Know a Thing
15. Cheese on Bread - Modern Art Gallery
16. Ben Sadock - Pity the Fool
17. Emma Dean - 3 Meals
18. Wayne Newton - Danke Schoen

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2008 - Installment 2 - RUNNING FROM IT

This playlist is a little more upbeat despite being heartbroken to the point of malfunction (occasionally). These are the songs that I listen to when I run, which is the reason for their almost un-Nix qualities (wait till you hear number 4 and 12, wouldn't have listened to those a few months ago). I love love love the selection, and listen to it even when I'm folding laundry or making beds. Anyway, enjoy! ps. My computer hasn't been burning correctly for a while which is why the CDs will be sent when I return from the UK and Ireland.

1. Sam Hart - Mario Kart Love Song [found him on YouTube! Watch him at Blinktwice4y]
2. Lily Allen - Don't get me wrong [First heard this while shopping in Paris. It was nearly impossible to find]
3. Laura Marling - Crawled Out of the Sea (Interlude)
4. Metro Station - Shake it!
5. Miniature Tigers - Dino Damage
6. The More Assured - All in Your Head
7. The Maccabees - Toothpaste Kisses [Cutest song ever]
8. Amy MacDonald - Mr. Rock and Roll [Kate played this song while cooking lunch one day and I had to track her down].
9. Bombay Bicycle Club - Ghost
10. Noah and the Whale - Rocks and Daggers
11. Beck - Sexx Laws [You gotta love this song]
12. The Ting Tings - Shut Up and Let Me Go
13. Pete and the Pirates - Mr. Understanding
14. Those Dancing Days - Those Dancing Days
15. Born Ruffians - Hummingbird
16. Kate Nash - Merry Happy
17. Bombay Bicycle Club - Open House
18. Soko - I'll Kill Her [This is where music reflects my reality].
19. Thomas Tantrum - Work it
20. Miniature Tigers -Hot Venom

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009 - Installment 3 - TRANSITIONS

This is a special compilation for the songs within have been accumulated from my travels through England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, my move to Italy and my visit to the US. Once again, many of this songs I hear in subways, pubs, cafes, YouTube, other people, etc, and nearly every song here has a story. I hope you find ways to enjoy this mix as much as I have. Introducing the 3rd installment - Transitions.

1. Alphabeat - 10,000 Nights of Thunder [This song I first heard when I was sitting in my neighbor, Kelly's, apartment, crying for the first time since my grandma had her stroke. It was moments before that I realized that my grandma was going to die].
2. This Providence - A Wolf in Sheeps Clothing.
3. Angus & Julia Stone - Paper Aeroplane.
4. Ambulance LTD - Anecdote.
5. Kristoffer Ragnstam - Swing that Tambourine [I first heard this song while I was sitting in an airport, either SFO or JFK, on my 37 hour trek back home to Hawaii. For some reason they play excellent music at these airports. Anyway, I scribbled down the lyrics and hunted for the song as soon as I got home].
   
6. Iglu & Hartly - In this City
7. Scouting for Girls - Mountains of Navaho [In my apartment, I have access to other peoples' itunes music via Limewire. I was browsing through someone's collection when I stumbled across this artist and fell in love instantly].
8. Pomplamoose - Hail Mary [This is a side project of Jack Conte, (see track 15), and his girlfriend. I first found their band after obsessively watching Jake Conte's VideoSongs on YouTube. The Hail Mary VideoSong can be found at this link!]
9. Palomar - Albacore
10. Moneybrother - Reconsider Me
11. Boys Like Girls - Hero / Heroine [My weird obsession with the Twilight series has put me in the strangest mood in which I appreciate, and dare I say seek out this genre of music. Still, I can not deny it! I love this song!!!]
12. The Matches - AM Tilts [This song is so badass, love it].
13. Steve Earle - The Galway Girl [Needless to say, I first heard this song in a pub in Ireland being sung by its patrons. Know this track and you've got in made in the Green Isle].
14. Her Space Holiday - The Boys and Girls.
15. Jack Conte - Eat [As mentioned above, the creator of the VideoSong. A VideoSong is a new Medium with two rules: 1. What you see is what you hear (no lip-syncing for instruments or voice) and 2. If you hear it, at some point you see it (no hidden sounds). Extremely interesting concept that makes for visual/audio art. Link here!]
16. The Moths! - Wild Birds
17. She & Him - Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? [The Lead Singer, Zoey Deschanel, is also the female lead in the movie Elf. I watched that movie last week and fell in love with her old school voice as she sang in the bathroom. By chance, I found her band, and downloaded immediately].
18. 3OH!3 - Don't Trust Me [HAHA, first heard this on YouTube from the user WasteTimeChasingCars. He's dancing to it and it's nothing special, but I couldn't stop singing the chorus to the song. Link here].
19. The Inconsolables - Hoverfly.
20. Lily Frost - Enchantment.

MARCH/APRIL 2009 - Installment 4 - WHOLE

1. Eisley - Marsh King's Daughter

2. Florence and the Machine - Dog Days are Over

3. Mystery Jets - Two Doors Down

4. Ida Maria - I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked

5. Cage the Elephant - In One Ear

6. P.T. Walkley - Audrey Macy

7. Tim Myers - The Lucky Ones

8. Newton Faulkner - Gone in the Morning

9. Thomas Cunningham - Swell

10. Katie Costello - Kaleidoscope Machine

11. Arisa - Sinceritá

12. Santigold - I'm a Lady

13. The Lonely Island - I'm on a Boat (Feat. T-Pain)

14. The Enemy UK - Had Enough

15. Mystery Jets - Young Love

16. Florence and the Machine - Kiss with a Fist

17. Young Knives - Up All Night

18. The Hoosiers - Worried About Ray

19. Thomas Cunningham - Long Goodbyes

20. Charlene Soraia - Distorted Thoughts

21. The Hoosiers - Goodbye Mr. A

22. Katie Costello - Songbird

23. College Humor - Flame War

MAY/JUNE 2009 - Installment 5 - FALLING

1. Kid British - Our House is Dadless

2. Golden Sivers - Arrows of Eros

3. Harlem Shakes - Sunlight

4. Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position

5. Le Corps Mince de Francois - Cool and Bored

6. Boy Crisis - Dressed to Digress

7. Micachu - Abandon Ship

8. Dan Black - Alone

9. VV Brown - Crying Blood

10. Outkast - Call the Law (Feat. Janelle Monae)

11. Miss Li - Dancing the Whole Way Home

12. Lily Allen - Fuck You

13. Fryars - The Ides

14. TV on the Radio - Lover's Day

15. Marina & the Diamonds - I am not a Robot

16. Golden Silvers - Please Venus

17. Micachu - Golden Phone

18. Mina - Le Mille Bolle Blu

19. Hockey - Learn to Lose

20. Two Door Cinema Club - Something Good Can Work

21. Larrikin Love - Happy As Annie

22. Billie The Vision & The Dancers - Summercat

JULY/AUGUST 2009 - Installment 6 - WANDERING

1. Kate Miller-Heidke - Can't Shake It

2. Lily Allen - He Wasn't There

3. Hockey - Too Fake

4. Lisa Mitchell - Coin Laundry

5. Little Birdy - Harido

6. Bertie Blackman - Thump

7. Art vs. Science 0 Parlez Vous Francais?

8. Ana Laan - Paradise

9. The Basics - Just Hold On

10. Bluejuice - The Reductionist

11. Hungry Kids of Hungary - Old Money

12. Loe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong

13. Little Red - Coca Cola

14. One Night Only - Just For Tonight

15. The Pigeon Detectives - Romantic Type

16. Royworld - Dust

17. NeverShoutNever! - Trouble

18. Calvin Harris - Ready for the Weekend

19. Frankmusik - Better Off As Two

20. La Roux - Bulletproof

21. Chris Garneau - Dirty Night Clowns

22. The BPA - Seattle (Feat. Emmy the Great)

23. Q-Tip - Life is Better (Feat. Norah Jones)

24. Das Pop - Never Get Enough

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2009 - Installment 7 - DECISIVENESS

1. Gunarolla - Canadian, Please

2. Little Red - Waiting

3. One Night Only - You and Me

4. Pomplamoose - Mister Sandman

5. Frankmusik - 3 Little Words

6. Little Red - Witchdoctor

7. Little Birdy - Summarize

8. Jace Everett - Bad Things

9. Fun - All the Pretty Girls

10. Friendly Fires - Skeleton Boy

11. Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling

12. Das Pop - Underground

13. Hirose Kohmi - Promise (Staple for the "Geddan" meme!)

14. Annuals - Sore

15. Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band

16. Matt & Kim - Yea Yeah

17. Facing New York - Cops on Bikes

18. Swimming with Dolphins - Pajama Party

19. The Gay Blades - NHDN

20. Annuals - Hardwood Floor

21. The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - The Golden Age

22. Fun - At Least I'm Not as Sad (As I Used to Be)

23. David Hasselhoff - Looking for Freedom

82. Get a professional massage or full body acupuncture.

I spent the summer of 2009 roaming around Italy, France, Thailand and Dubai. While in Bangkok, I had the opportunity to get a full body massage and it was amazing, to say the least. I was with John, John's mom and Jason, and we had a room all to ourselves. We were first required to have our feet washed, which the masseuse did for us. Then we changed into what I will consider to be pajamas just because the shirt and pants were so thin and baggy. We then laid on our respective beds where our personal massage lady joined us and proceeded to bash out body in ways that only Thai people can tolerate.

John and Jason got the two youngest and best looking girls while John's mom and I had the aunties. Go figure. I don't need on hot bod on me anyway.

We had our whole bodies pounded out for an hour with tiger balm rubbed into our pressure points. By the time we left, we were but jelly. Still, wonderful experience that I wish I had had time to repeat. :)

82. Complete.

95. Nurse someone back to health.

My job entails me to take care of two children, and during the summer/autumn transition, the youngest one came down with a fever and a the standard cold. I rose early every morning to tend to her, making her comfortable while forcing water and rest upon her. Within three days she was fit as a fiddle and I am not able to cross number 95 straight off my list :)

The Nightmares Continue.

Last night I dreamt that my mom, brother and I were driving along a sea cliff, similar to the road near the blowhole and sea life park in Hawaii, except the drop in my dream was miles above the sea and straight down. My brother was driving, my mom riding shotgun, and I'm in the back, looking out at the view. Then, we take a sharp curve, and instead of rounding the bend, we shoot off the road and start plummeting.

The interesting thing about this is that I was only afraid for the seconds before we actually crashed through the aluminum barrier and started to fall. Any time after this moment, in my eyes, was unchangeable. Although we hadn't died yet and although we hadn't crashed into the water, I instantly understood my ultimate fate and reasoned that it would be pointless to fear.

Because the drop was humungous, I had a lot of time to tell my family that I loved them. Then, in a very Italian way, I kissed my mom on the lips and then I kissed my brother on the lips and rolled my window down. Although it would be nearly impossible to survive such a long drop, I still remembered that it was easier to escape from a submerged vehicle if the windows were down, as it equalized pressure from inside and outside the car, enabling you to open the door and swim free.

I also hear you're always supposed to wake up before you hit the bottom in a falling dream, but once again, I continued to dream and witness as our car smashed into the surface of the water. Something similar between this dream and the elevator dream I had the night before, was that right after impact, I omnisciently knew that everyone had survived. I was bashed up, just like I was in the elevator, but I was alive. In both dreams, I woke up before we were rescued, and I can't say if we survived past that point to continue with our regular lives.

I have no idea what this means really, and I have to say that the consistency of nightmares are beginning to worry me. Is there a deeper meaning to falling in your dreams?

24. Read a book every month.

October: Read two, am working on three! Both were started and finished within the time that I've been in Germany (About one week now). Thank you long plane flights and jet lag.

1. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max.
   This was I book that was introduced to me by a friend and then given as a gift before I left for Germany. The contents range from overdrinkingbarfighting to sex. It's a disgusting man book that makes me a little sick to think will be getting out into the hands of thousands of testosterone worshiping males. This book serves as an example than men can, in fact, take advantage of women (or "Sluts" and "Whores" as is often referred by Mr. Max). Why did I read it? It was so obscene and vile, a lifestyle so opposite mine, that it almost felt like anthropological work. I now consider myself sorely educated and, at best, a little more weary of men.
   
2. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares.
   First off, that movie is a little guilty pleasure don't judge me. Cute rich girls living abroad, swapping pants and having dozens of coming-of-age moments! You know, I may be in my early twenties, but my teenage interests are suppressed somewhere. In fact, this book was read in honor of the teenage interest liberation movement. Besides, I bought the book at the thrift store for fifty cents, come on, allow me one cheap indulgence. ps. Yeah, I enjoyed it.
   
   November: I have a lot of free time here which is why I'm pumping through books. I started this a few days ago and wrapped it up on the first day of November.
   
   
3. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. I have free access to the bookshelves in the house, so when I feel like being around spines, I'll peruse the family's collection of old reads. I had never heard of this book before I picked it up, but seeing how it was Oprah-approved, I decided to give it a shot. The Reader was like an awkward blind date where you start off not knowing what to expect (though secretly expecting something great) and being sorely disappointed the whole way through. I kept assuming that it would get better, but the book had peaked in the first quarter of its tale. This was originally written in German, and I was constantly reminded of its translation the whole way through. Pity. Not recommended. Sorry Oprah.
   
   
4. Gods Behaving Badly - by. Marie Phillips.
   I'm a sucker for Greek myth, I can't help myself. So when I stumbled across this books while staying at Kate's house, well, I just had to pick it up and flip through it. The books takes the immortal gods and goddesses and fast forwards time until they are living life in the 21st century. Powers fading from disbelief, modern mischief, and shenanigans only gods could do. It was an interesting read the whole way through, though knowing mythological history may heighten the experience. Nothing profound, but comical (and yet possibly forgettable) in the least. On second thought, I do have my biases. I have favorite Greek gods and I dislike them being portrayed as antagonists.
   
5. The History of Love by. Nicole Krauss.
   I started reading this book in Hawaii, and as my bad habits go, I would have left it where I stopped it - the middle. Of course, being in Germany with only a selection of books leaves you breaking old habits to fulfill blank moments during babysitting nights. I picked up where I left off and finished it in two days. I appreciated the authors writing style as it resonated with my own. The entire book is full of dog ears, not to mark where I stopped, but to indicate the places where her words moved me. "She was gone, and all that was left was the space where you'd grown around her, like a tree that grows around a fence. For a long time it remained hollow. Years, maybe. And when at last it was filled again, you knew that the new love you felt for a woman would have been impossible without Alma. If it weren't for her, there would never have been an empty space, or the need to fill it." Everything read like poetry. When I reached the end, I cried and felt a newer deeper sense of love for things. Slow read, but fulfilling.

December: Although I started a grand total of four books this month, I only managed to finish one. This is a bad habit actually, where I get so excited for a new book that I don't bother to finish the one in my hands. To justify my underachievement here, I just want to state that I left Germany mid-December for an 18 day sojourn in the UK and Ireland. Ironically, the one book I completed was started and finished while in Scotland.

1. Myst by. Rand Miller and David Wingrove
   While in Scotland, I stayed with a friend who had an enormous bookshelf. As is usually the case, I stood before it and browsed the selection, interested in a finding a new book to replace the one I was already bored of. I remember playing this game (Myst) briefly many years ago, and it was this vague memory that intrigued me to pick up the book and read. Interestingly enough, for a book based off of a computer game, it was amazingly done. Throughout the book, there were subtle parallels depicting authors as gods and literature as reality. How true! The entire thing was cleverly done and is definitely recommended.
   
   
2. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling.
   I first saw this book in an assembly of airport bookstores during my holiday travels between the UK and Ireland. I had hardly an inch of space in my backpack and each time I saw this book, I always always picked it up, carried it around the store in deep contemplation, and then put it back on the shelf when it was time to go to my gate. Finally, on my way from Scotland to Ireland, I bought it. When I arrived at the Dublin Airport, they had just fired about 3 guards and the line for non-EU passports was comparable in length to the Dumbo attraction in Disneyland during peak season. It took me two hours to go through immigration, and in that time alone, I started and finished this book with time to spare. It was entertaining, and I liked how it still had the essence of the Harry Potter series within it (though no mention of Harry Potter directly). Composed of five short wizarding stories, good for all ages!

January 2009: January was a strange month. Returning from my trip too tired to read and too overwhelmed to blog. Then, I spent the last two weeks desperately trying to find a place to live as it was the halfway point when I found out I was losing my job. So, in the midsts of packing, I'll share the one book I managed to complete.

1. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
   I have seen this book around, often and over a long span of time. While looking for a new read, I found this in my host moms bookshelf and decided to give it go. Best decision of January. I kept myself up until 3 in the morning most nights just to read as much as I could. By the final pages, I had decided. This was one of my top five favorite books. Recommend it
   
   
   

FEBRUARY 2009 - Almost as if to make up for my lack of reading last month, I over indulged and consumed more that 2,500 pages of literature. Five books in all, a record read thus far, and I owe most of my accomplishments to the slight addiction I've had to the Twilight series and two 35 hour plane rides from Italy to Hawaii. And then of course, jet lag. 

The Joy Luck Club - by Amy Tan.Growing up in an Asian American family, it was almost destined that we would all watch this movie together during a family gathering. I remember how intently all the adults sat and watched as if the stories that were being told on screen emulated their reality. Everyone cried and I was too young to understand way. Despite this, the image of the move and my families reaction remain, and when I found this book in The Moms library, I immediately put it next on my reading list. Short but sweet, a must read to anyone of Asian decent.

Twilight - Stephanie Meyer

The book that started an addiction. I remember the first time I ever came across this book. I was in South Korea, hanging out in the YMCA doing goodness knows what, when I came across the reads of our youngest volunteer, Morgan. Being abroad with little access to English literature, I took it upon myself to peruse her selection, coming across this one and scoffing. "High schoolers," I thought, and walked away, assuming myself to be far better than young adult fiction. Six 

months later and I realize that Twilight has become a craze, yet still sticking to my guns that it was ridiculous and beneath me. Then, while in London last December, there was a Twilight movie poster on a the side of a bus stop right in front of my hostel. I walked past that thing like eight times a day, and by the time I left for Scotland, I was determined to watch the movie. Wait, not determined, I was obsessively needing to watch the movie. I often try to read the book before I watch the movie, so I found a bookstore here in Italy, bought the book, and consumed it, devoured it in hours. Yes, it's good. I would read it again. I'm addicted.

New Moon - Stephanie Meyer.

The day after I finished Twilight, I scoured all of Torino, visiting five and a half book stores searching for the sequel. None. It wasn't until a week later when I was laying over in New York did I get to purchase New Moon. I finished it by the time I was in Hawaii. Not nearly as good as the first, in fact, I feel as if Bella lost a lot of the character that made her so lovable in the first place. The romance between human and vampire was what made Twilight so amazing in the first place, and yet, all of that was lost here. I would say it isn't recommended, but still, I would read it again just to experience the entirety of the series.

 

Eclipse - Stephanie Meyer.

I once again needed the third novel to feed the vampire flame within me. Ironically, my own local Borders was out of stock, and I had to rush reserve the copy at a bookstore in the next city which I picked up after visiting my grandma in the hospital on my first day in Hawaii. I actually don't remember much of this book, and I don't know if it was because it was overshadowed by the grief of losing my grandma or because it wasn't exceptional in the first place. I do remember stopping at one point, deciding that I hated it, and then putting it down for a day or two. Of course, I came back and finished it, later noting that the end was far better than the beginning.

Breaking Dawn - Stephanie Meyer.

And then lastly, by the end o

f the week and my stay in Hawaii, I ran out yet again to pick up the last book in the series, Breaking Dawn. I finished this massive novel on the plane ride back to Italy, which is a show of dedication if I may say so myself. The beginning held the romance that I missed in the last two books, the middle got strangely creepy and extraordinarily sci-fi, and the ending picked up though lacked a certain element of action that I desired. Still, an interesting twist on the series. Do I recommend it all? It really would depend on what kind of reader you are.

MARCH 2009

As if I were trying to counter balance my excessive reading last month, I managed to finish only one book for March. Pathetically, I noticed how little time was left in the month and downloaded the audiobook to maximize time. I needed just one book afterall!  

The Host by Stephanie Meyer

I "read" this via audiobook, which may or may not count, I can't say. Also, I'm not sure if I hated The Host because of the actual content or the person reading it, as the reader had annoying inflections and a terrible reading style. Still, I'm pretty sure I would not recommend this book. I don't have much to say besides the fact that it was cliche and predictable. Blah.

APRIL 2009

Time in Italy exists in a way that differs from everywhere else in the world in that it goes by a lot (and significantly so) faster. I can hardly believe I read as much as I did, and really, it amounts to nothing. 

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Completely full of good humor and inspirational experiences. I loved the book despite it having taken me three months to complete. I recommend it for anyone who is feeling hopeless.

MAY 2009

Confessions of a Shopaolic - Sophie Kinsella

Mediocre. Go figure.

A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby

Super excellent. Recommended!