Okay, So ...

no posts from Florida this weekend. It's not that I wasn't thinking about you. It's just that traveling with my family has become such a mental strain, I couldn't find the time to de-stress and write for five minutes.

Who would ever have thought that of my near and dear, the easiest one to travel with is my husband?

Anyway, I'm back, all seems peaceful and serene, at least at the moment. I haven't heard from R today, so maybe she's still aggravated with me because, after all, I did take her to freaking Florida for the weekend and rented a nice car for her to drive around and basically stayed out of her hair, but I guess I was smothering her or stressing her or something. Or so she told me Friday night after we arrived, so it ended up that I did spend a bunch of time alone, because my sister never left her hotel room except for the actual bar Mitzvah, at least while we were there. (I did get to hang out with her in her hotel room a couple of times, with her husband there, as opposed to in my otherwise empty room six doors away, but I digress.) Anyway, I decided not to let anything get me upset, so it didn't; when I was alone, I sat and read, and several times, Wonderful Niece and her Wonderful Husband made sure to include me, and that was delightful. Flying twice in three days is way too much for me. Glad to be home.

Oh, school sucks, but perhaps that will work itself out. I asked one of our union reps today if they would supply me an attorney if I had to sue the school system under the Americans With Disabilities Act. She said probably. Then I asked if the same attorney would represent me when I had to sue the union for the same reason. So things are hopping at Bizarro Town Senior High School.

Off to see the GI doctor after school tomorrow for a little fine tuning. I dropped off my hearing aids after school today -- again -- to be sent back to the shop.

In other news, I am not bankrupt, and I still have my iPhone to play with, so I guess things aren't all bad.




watching THE GOLDEN GIRLS :: ENTRY #2119
READING: The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

Strange Day

First, I have Back to School Night tonight, which I hate; I'm leaving in about a half hour. Virtually no one comes to the library unless they're lost. I do have a bulletin board to work on -- it's a work in progress, not something I needed to have up for tonight, and anyway, I just thought of it today -- so that's something to do. Years ago, we would always have this in late October, and I would have a baseball game on the library TV, since it was usually during the playoffs. Too early now.

I had a very busy day at school, five classes in for ID cards. It's a strain for me to be on my feet that long, or on an uncomfortable stool in an awkward position, so I was pretty much hurting all day. Oddly, I feel better now, no idea why.

Speaking of odd, K's been oddly cranky off and on the last couple of hours. I am much more the pacifier than the confronter, so I was just letting it go. Oh, and I made that therapy appointment for next week. Not that the two are related ... [looks around and up at the ceiling] ... la la la la.

I am so packed for tomorrow's trip. All I'll have to do when I get home from school is put my last things in my carry-on, and I'm done. Unfortunately, here I am at the last book in the series I'm reading, and it's not out in paperback yet. I suppose I could download the ebook, but it feels kind of silly, since I have one of the library's two hardcover copies right here on my desk. I guess it'll depend on how heavy my bag is when I sling it over my shoulder tomorrow at leaving time.

Which should be fourish-something. I'll try to post over the weekend, maybe a picture or two.



watching THE GOLDEN GIRLS :: ENTRY #2119
READING: The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

After All

today was another day. (with apologies to Scarlet O'Hara)

So. I really did let myself get out of hand yesterday, but I got my control back, with a little help from my daughter friends, and today was a much better day, in general. We did go dress shopping, but before we went to J.Crew and the like at the mall, we went to Target, where K got two dresses, the same but with different prints, and she'll try them on and see which one looks better. Which was good, because the mall was a big fat zero.

She's like a different person, pulled all the way out of the doldrums. (Still needs to see someone, I think, but after the trip. Me, too.) She's not worried about the dress; if these aren't good, she has a few days to look, and is, after all, not employed, so she has the time. Does that mean everything works out? I don't know, I'm just happy she's happy. And I specified adjoining rooms at the hotel, and we have three seats together on the flight down. (We have no assigned seats on the flight back for any of us yet.)

In other news, I really cannot say what is going on with me health-wise, other than the Crohn's seems to be very nicely controlled. Other than that, I'm in a lot of pain all over most of the time. The worst pain is in my arms, shoulders to fingertips, and my feet. And of course, not wishing to be left out, my back went into spasms a few hours ago, and that's been nasty, too. I assume arthritis, but we shall see; more doctors to see after the trip. My sister was recently diagnosed with a form of arthritis, but with the pain, she gets a kind of debilitating fatigue. I don't have that; in fact, I'm less tired than I usually am. Go figure.

Despite the book title I have down there -- I'm still working on that -- I've been reading a YA fantasy series, The Olympians, by Rick Riordan. There are definitely some similarities to Harry Potter, but it is not at all a copy, and it's fun to read. (Twelve year old boy discovers that his father is Poseidon, has to save the world, yada yada yada. But it's written with humor and contemporary references and reads fast. I'm on book three out of five, with a mission to finish it by tomorrow night so I can get it back to school on Monday.)

My plan for tomorrow is to work on doing my hair better, with some new products I got. And a possible visit to or from R. And yes, now I'm fully packed for Friday's trip. Really.




watching L&O:SVU :: ENTRY #2116
READING: The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Catching Up

I haven't really written much since I've been back, mostly because I wasn't comfortable with some of the things going on here, but either they're better now or I am, so I can write a bit about it.

Disney World, as much as I love it, is a physically demanding adventure, and none of us who went along are spring chickens. We were all in pain to some degree the whole time. It did occur to us to get wheelchairs on the third day; we got two, and switched off from time to time. I don't think we could have made it otherwise. Next time I go, I will definitely get a scooter (a motorized wheelchair-like thingy), but that's for another time.

When we would get back to our rooms at night, we were beat. I would do what I had to do pretty quickly, which is my nature: put the dirty clothes in a laundry bag, take out clean clothes for the next day, get my shoulder-bag ready for the next day, and collapse. I had two great nights' sleep there, one awful, and two okay. But my sister would take hours to get herself together, both at night and in the morning, and slept badly every night, and that for only a few hours. She was in a lot of pain during the day, and medicated herself for it. She had migraines three days out of five, but kept on going.

When I talked to her Sunday evening, she had been sleeping off an on all day and didn't sound great. She was still in a lot of pain, an arthritis flare-up. On Monday, she told that this was all my fault, and that I should have taken better care of her while we were away. I cried off an on for the next few hours, and she hasn't spoken to me since, although I think we're on better terms after texting last night and during the day today. Obviously, this was not my fault, and she gave no indication while we were away that she needed more help than I gave her. I myself was limping and using a cane when I wasn't in the wheelchair or pushing her in it (I was still limping, but no cane when pushing the wheelchair, which was actually better than the cane.) None of us were in great shape. Even so, the particulars aren't important; I don't know where she got this crazy idea, and it really threw me off for a few days. Not that I thought for a minute that she was right, but it made me very sad, and also made me really question myself: if she thinks that I'm capable of that, of not taking care of her for some capricious reason, what else does that say? That I'm not the person I think I am? That she, of all people, can't read me the way I think others can, and if so, who am I?

So I've been dealing a lot with that issue, and even though I've decided that the issue is hers -- maybe her husband's, but I don't want to go there with her -- it's been hard. Here, it's my last week before school starts, I've had a lot to do, and this was hanging over me.

In the meantime, K still has no job. A good possibility was supposed to call her back today either way, but of course, they didn't. So she's still left hanging. But that district doesn't start until after Labor Day, so she should still hear from them either way early next week. It would be a wonderful job in many ways. Still keeping everything crossed.

My knee was much worse, so I went to the orthopedist yesterday and got a better brace for it. He also gave me an anti-inflammatory creme for my elbows and various aches; so far, it's done nothing, but he wanted me to try it before I go back for the cortisone shots in my elbows. He also gave me some exercises for the plantar fasciitis, which is much worse after all that walking last week. I can pretyy much only wear Crocs now, which is okay, I guess.

Believe it or not, I'm also partially packed for the next trip, back to Florida, on September 11. That's only a two night trip, and not much walking. I'm hoping that R will be willing to do the driving, at least at night. I'm so glad she's going with me. On this one, we're both taking small suitcases and not checking them through, so everything is nice and compact, the way I like it. I've already got my dressies packed to wear to the Bar Mitzvah, and even my underwear and socks. All that's left is two days of day clothes, make-up, and meds.

Speaking of dressies, we have another damn party to go to this Sunday night, for the Hubs' aunt's 75th birthday. This family just loves to have big parties at their country club; every party is there, and so, is identical to the last one. And 5:30 on a Sunday night? How do they think of these things? So we have to drive to the ILs first and pick up the MIL; the FIL is not attending, and then drive back there later to take her home. It adds time, but I have no problem with that. I also told her that I will happily either attend the party or stay with the FIL, if she wants me to; either choice is fine with me, she just needs to tell me how to dress ahead of time. R and the GF, who live closer to the ILs, are also going to offer to stay with the FIL, so I may have to after all, but I have no idea what I'm wearing, of course, since my dressies are, as I said, packed. On the other hand, how much do I care? I'll find something.

Speaking of people who don't return calls -- I was somewhere, yes? -- once again, my principal had totally blown me off. When he didn't see me on Tuesday, I emailed him with all my free time this week, and I got no reply. So let's see. School starts Tuesday, Wednesday for the kids. It appears that there will be two new members of my staff, but I don't know what their jobs are and they haven't been hired yet. It will be my job to determine what their jobs are, and train them. Clerks or aides or something, but I don't know, and I don't know what their hours will be. As it stands, I have no assigned lunch period, other than the one mandated by my contract, which means I have to have one, but as far as I know, no one is assigned to cover the library during either lunch period. I may have to close the doors when I go. I guess. I have no idea what to do, or if he will tell me what to do before Wednesday. Although I'm sure that if I lock the doors during a lunch period, it'll get back to him. I guess I'll have to find a union person on Tuesday to tell me what to do. *sigh* As I recall, this was supposed to be the year I was excited about starting over and doing everything new. Well, this is new. I just so hate to be unprepared.

I've been reading an interesting scifi YA series by Scott Westerfield called Uglies, which is also the name of the first book. It's not what I expected, but I like it a lot. I'm on the third book of the trilogy, but then he wrote a fourth as a follow-up, I guess because it was popular, so I have that next.

Well, there you go, the entire contents of my brain spilled out on the screen. Hoping to see R tomorrow, or possibly Sunday. It's a rainy day and rainy weekend ahead, actually colder outside than in, today. Looks like some frozen White Castle cheeseburgers for dinner for me.



watching THE GOLDEN GIRLS :: ENTRY #2110
READING: Specials by Scott Westerfeld

I Got Shpilkes

Shpilkes is best described as "having ants in the pants." Can't sit still.

I am so good at getting everything ready for a trip ahead of time that I had absolutely nothing to do today, but I didn't really have the patience to sit and read. I did nap for a little bit, I think, but otherwise, I have no idea what I've been doing all day. Unfortunately, my sister prepares for a trip by growing more and more anxious, and she's still packing now. (It's nearly 7:30 pm.) Ah well.

What else can I tell you? I know there was something else. I didn't sleep last night; I was up making new ringtones at 2:30 because I thought of a song I wanted as a ringtone and didn't have, and then I realized what the hell, I was awake anyway, so I got up and did it.

Let's just say I do not really travel easily. (Although that's not really connected to the sleep thing, that's just me.) I think the reason I go so overboard in preparing is that it's my way of dealing with the discomfort of being away from home and all that. I'm certainly happy about where I'm going, and I could certainly use some time away. But I am a very home-oriented person; I like being in my own space with all my stuff around me. Traveling is an anxious kind of activity for me. Also, I think that the Sibs and I are going to be less compatible roommates than we used to be years ago when we traveled more together, but that could just be the anxiety talking.

Anyway.

I am going to DISNEY WORLD tomorrow morning and we are going to have a WONDERFUL time and I will post pictures when I can and entries as well.




watching something :: ENTRY #2106
READING: The Coffee Trader by David Liss

Average Bear

Yogi has it better than a millionaire.
That's because he's smarter than the average bear.

I'm not so much calling myself an average bear, or smart or not smart. However, in very many ways, I probably do have it better than than a lot of millionaires, except, of course, in the having money department. I shall backtrack.

This has been not so much a good day, although it's mostly okay now. Once again, I fell asleep after four, and after a couple of hours of disturbing dreams, I woke up about 6:15, shortly after which it became apparent to me that I must have a UTI.* Ick. I slept for another couple of hours, woke up feeling pretty crappy, decided not to go out, and left it at that. At nine, I called the doctor's office and they called in a prescription for me.

The Hubs had a business appointment and K went out for a long walk, so I was here alone, which rarely happens these days. I thought this would be my golden opportunity to start a little packing -- it's only five and a half weeks until the Disney trip, so I'm getting a late start for me -- but I found there really wasn't much I could do at this point except put a few things inside the suitcase that I had had sitting on top of it. Oh well, I had some bills to pay, so I fired up Quicken. That's when the fun started.

Let's just say the family Chai is having its own little economic crisis and it all hit the fan today. It's always been a bad subject for me, but with the help of therapy and other stuff, I've managed the stress very well for awhile, but it fell on me hard today. The old familiar knot reappeared in its traditional place in my gut, and I was stressed out, more than I've been in ... well, a year, really; I started taking the anti-depressants a year ago this week. I was still holding on, though, I was managing. I just knew I'd need to have a talk with the Hubs when he got home.

K came home, we had lunch and such, and then, I guess it was around 3:00? Maybe? we had an odd bit of an altercation, this because she commented about something she saw in the backyard and I didn't hear her and said "What?" and she repeated it and I still didn't get it and must have said "What?" again, and she lost it. And I felt like shit, mostly because it makes me angry when she does this; I mean, I didn't ask to become hearing impaired and I don't personally enjoy it, and I was close to being a mess already. She quickly gathered up her things and retreated up to her room.

The Hubs came home moments later, and we talked. I told him that other than the obvious need for more money, it needs to be not my problem anymore because the stress is not good for me. And he took it, I think, and told me that the meeting he was at all day was in setting up a kind of new business plan and stuff, so, YAY! I felt soooo much better after I talked to him and got the weight taken off of me. And while I was adjusting to the knot getting smaller ...

K came downstairs, took the remote off my desk and switched my TV from Law and Order to a new channel we're getting called Boomerang. Why? Because there was a Quick Draw McGraw cartoon on -- she had been watching it upstairs -- and she knows that Quick Draw is my most favorite of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters. (They show the Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound hour every day at three.) It was an apology that worked for me, and after grinning like an idiot at the cartoon for a few minutes, I gave her a hug. (We also watched a very early Snagglepuss cartoon together.) Oh, and K had offered to make dinner (chicken parm) if I don't feel up to it.

(I mentioned to the Hubs that I have never gone so begrudgingly to Disney World; I wouldn't have spent a dime on a trip now, but I didn't have much choice, it being the wish of a dying aunt. The second Florida trip, in September, is something I could also pass on, but unfortunately, we didn't go to my cousin's first son's Bar Mitzvah two years ago because of a threatened hurricane, and not going to this one would cause a breach in the family that no one wants. I'm pretty much taking both trips against my will, which is not to say that I don't want to enjoy them when I go. I just wish someone else had paid for them.)

So, it's been quite the day for me here. Not so much ups and downs, but a long down followed by a nice little sequence of ups.

*For those that need an explanation, a UTI is a urinary tract infection.




no wait ... it's

no. more like


okay. I'll go with
and maybe one more
watching L/O :: ENTRY #2083
READING: ----- by -----

Identification, Please

It's possible that I'm overreacting.

Homeland Security, or the TSA, or someone or other, recently passed the edict that henceforth, all airlines tickets must show exactly the same name that is shown on the holder's legal, government identification. And therein lies the problem. (Or, if you're normal, no problem at all.)

When we bought our tickets for the Disney World trip, the travel agent booked us with our names, just our plain names. Oldersib Chai and Youngersib Chai (or the reasonable facsimiles thereof.) The new edict had already been talked about, but didn't go into effect until a couple of weeks later. Even so, I asked the travel agent up front if the names on our tickets needed to match the names on our ID, and she said not to worry about it.

My sister has the middle name she was born with, as well as a maiden name and two previous married names, as well as her current married name, so she pretty much goes with her basic current married name in all circumstances, which is as simple and sweet a name as Sue Smith. (That's not her real name, of course, but it's a name a lot like that.) Mine is not so simple.

First, I never had a given middle name. So my birth name, first and last, was something along the lines of Rozmari Mxyzptlk. This was fun growing up, let me tell you. I got my first passport when I was in college, so that was the name on it, and the name on my driver's license; it was my name, and the only one I had. I got married when I was 24 and acquired a lovely, simple Italian last name, and I kept the initial of my maiden name as my middle initial, becoming, in effect, Rozmari M. Chai. (Chai is not an Italian name, however, it's a Jewish good luck symbol.) This is the name I have used ever since. It's on my license, my tax returns, my paychecks. It's my name. It's my signature, it's my monogram. It's my name.

But when I renewed my passport, years after I was married, they just tacked on my last name to what I already had. The name on my passport is Rozmari Mxyzptlk Chai. And I signed it Rozmari M. Chai.

So, really, who the hell am I?

My plane ticket says Rozmari Chai, although I have absolutely no ID in that name. After searching for weeks on the Internet, I finally found something that says this won't be a big deal for the first few months. Henceforth, I shall buy any and all airline tickets as Rozmari M. Chai.

I cannot find anything anywhere about my passport. Is it okay? Do I need to change it? If so, how? What about the fact that I signed it differently than it's printed? (Let me also point out that I flew to Europe and back with this four years ago, and no one batted an eye. No doubt because there is no Rozmari Mxyzptlk Chai on the terrorist watch list.)

I'm going to try and call the feds one day this week, and if I ever get through, I will ask my question.

And now I think I'm going to take a pill.



watching FRIENDS :: ENTRY #2070
READING: ----- by -----

Big Finish at the Superbowl

Chai, you've spent weeks on the phone with your cousin and sister, trying to work out the details of this trip. What are you going to do now?

I'm going to Disney World.

Not that I'm not looking forward to going, but seriously, the craziness could all have been avoided. Ever since this first came up a couple of years ago, my sister has said that when the trip came to pass, we'd go to Disney World, which was, of course, all right with me. Then when my aunt actually died, and the trip became more than hypothetical, she said that the others didn't want to go there, which again, was okay with me. All along the way here, I'd assumed that she and normal cousin had agreed on this long ago. Which maybe they did. It doesn't matter anymore, because, you know,

I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!

We're going in late August, and having been there at that time of year, I can tell you that it is plenty damn hot, but you're in and out of air conditioning and sitting by pools and such, so it's okay. More details to follow, I'm sure, as it approaches.

In the meantime, crazy cousin vetoed Toronto because "it creeped her out." Hmm. I cannot imagine why this would creep her out, although her passport issue really made that impossible. What about the "sitting and looking at water" issue? I have no idea. Once Disney World was on the table, the two cousins were ecstatic, or so normal cousin told me.

I have mentioned the insanity in my family before, right?

So, I got many tasks done this morning after sleeping late, a good start to the vacation. We're leaving mid-morning tomorrow to head down to the ILS fo Easter brunch; I have no idea when we'll be home, but I wouldn't be surprised if they kept us there all day long.

So there ya go.





waiting for TWO AND A HALF MEN :: ENTRY #2024
READING: --- by ---

The Continuing Saga

You know, the more people you deal with when you're trying to plan something, the crazier it gets. And if one of the people is crazy to start with, well ...

You remember the cousins and the trip we're trying to plan. The number one crazy has several priorities, we've been told, for any trip she takes. One, she must be able to look at water. (Yes, ???) Her sister has clarified this for me: she will not actually sit on a beach, but she likes to sit in the hotel, preferably her own room, and look out at the ocean. So, seriously, WTF? She has also said that she wants to go someplace warm. But wait, aren't we traveling in the summer? Isn't every place, you know, warm? (We have no plans whatsoever to visit the southern hemisphere.)

So, in conversation with the normal cousin about an hour ago, we hashed out more of this, and then I said, well, hey, my sister says there are all kinds of packages out there; she's seen them in the newspaper. Such as? Well, I says, says I, I know this isn't what anyone wants, but there's this fabulous package to Disney World: five nights, airfare, park passes, and two meals and a snack a day, all for less than $650 a person.

Pause. More pause. Still, pausing. And she says, Wow. That sounds great.

Why yes, yes it does. It is certainly nowhere near the ocean, although there's a helluva lot of pools there, and warm? Yes, I think Disney World in August (when the package availability starts) should be warm enough for anyone who wants it to be warm.

What other packages are there? she wonders. The only other one I remember, I tell her, is three nights in Toronto for about $350, airfare and four star hotel. Well. That sounds great, too. (And no ocean in Toronto either, I might point out.)

So, normal cousin has okayed either of those (!!!!!!!) and is calling her sister to get her ... I don't know, input? hallucination? anybody's guess, here ... and then will call me back tonight or tomorrow to let me know which they prefer.

I'm perfectly happy with either one of them, although, Disney World, well, you know. I think part of the excitement for normal cousin is to go there with me, since I have the reputation of being kind of the ultimate Mouseketeer. I'd like to see Toronto, too, although I can't imagine that crazy cousin has a passport, or can get one in any normal stretch of time.

In real life, my baby turned 25 today, yay! We had a nice shopping excursion, and she's going out in a bit with her sister plus the Gentleman Friend, as well as several friends. When she woke up this morning, her daddy (The Hubs) had left an orchid plant for her on the kitchen table. Aww.

And I did get to sleep in this morning, and it was heaven. Tomorrow, too.




waiting for WIFE SWAP :: ENTRY #2023
READING: --- by ---

It's WHAT Time?

Today is the Slowest.Day.Ever. I cannot believe that it's only 10:15, third period, for gosh sake. I feel like I have already been here for weeks today.

It's because today isn't busy. I only have two classes scheduled, and neither one of them needs instruction; I taught them what to do on Tuesday and they're here in the library today looking for their resources. The counseling department is using our library classroom all day to teach juniors how to use college-searching software, so we didn't schedule any classes for instruction. And our computer network is slow, so there's no email, no access to the circulation system. In other words, I'm bored, and when I'm bored, I get sleepy.

But I do have a cup of coffee, which is meh cafeteria coffee, but still. Sometimes I take a sip of coffee and I feel like I'm consuming something intended for the gods on Mount Olympus. You know? It's just so good, life affirming, coffee is. I heart coffee, even decaf.

The last word I had on the Trip That Dare Not Speak Its Name is that my sister said "Why don't we just go to Disney World?" Now, I'm never opposed to that, of course, but she'd better make sure it's okay with the cousins, and she'd better make sure it's a cheap trip. She said she sees good deals in the paper every day; I said, well, I don't read the paper, so maybe you could check it out? I'm working all day and she's retired. I'll be glad to jump in when it's time to book stuff, but for now, yeah, maybe someone else who's not working -- that would be all three of them -- can do the legwork?

In the meantime, because I am who I am, I allowed myself the simple pleasure of looking over my Disney trip packing list, tweaking it here and there. If we go there -- wherever we go, actually -- I want this to be a simplified thing for me, so I'm working on packing simply. No computer, no extra cell phone, just the iPhone. If we do go to Florida or any other place that's humid, I'll let my hair go curly when I get there, so I won't need whatever else I do to straighten my hair here. The Sibs and I are committed to not checking luggage. This is a challenge for her someone who used to travel, even by plane, with the Costco size bottles of everything she needed. Our first trip to Disney together, she unpacked a foot-high container of baby powder and I laughed for ten minutes.

DW at the end of June -- when the cousins, it seems, really really really want to go -- is good and hot, but I've done it before, and it is Disney World, after all. (And did I mention that we also have to go to Florida in September, during freaking hurricane season again, for a Bar Mitzvah? That my cousin down there has three sons? The Sibs and I missed the first one last year because a storm blew in that then turned and blew out, so we could have gone, but we were chickenshits. This time, we've practically sworn in blood that we're going, and I am very fond of this particular Bar Mitzvah boy. But again, Florida in early September. Good plan.)

It's 10:30. Fourth period. I feel like I'm in Lost, and this has all happened already in the future, so we know how it's going to come out. Or something. Somehow, it's earlier now than it was yesterday. Hey, it doesn't make any sense on TV either.

Hours and hours later ...

Home, been home for ages, almost ready for bed. It's Friday, right? No? Shit.

Anyway, I went to my wonderful therapist today and she thinks I don't need to go anymore. Hey, I'm normal! (But you couldn't tell, right?) I can call her whenever I need to, etc. etc., but basically, I'm dealing well with things, she says. Oh, okay, I am, pretty much, until the next diagnosis comes along.

I'm going to settle in somewhere now. Good night, y'all.


waiting for TWO AND A HALF MEN :: ENTRY #2018
READING: Bel Canto by Ann Patchett