Seriously Love It

I usually don't miss Alaska. The cold. The dark. The starting the car 20 minutes before you drive because it's 40 below. Did I mention the dark?

But then sometimes I come across something like this blog post about voting in Alaska...and well I kind of miss it. The sod roofs. The mush dog trucks with a dozen puppy heads hanging out the window loving life. The northern lights.

And I'm glad I still have some family in Alaska I can come visit.

Empire State Building - Lights

I can't believe how dark it gets here at night now. I'm still at work for another hour and a half and it's already dark. Sigh. I'm actually lucky though because for some of my day I have a view of Mid-Town East about thirty floors up. I like looking down on the chaos a lot.

So I'm sitting here and from different angles I can see the Empire State Building AND the Chrysler Building. (My favorite is still the Chrysler Building). And I notice that the Empire State Building is lit up, not with the usual green and red, but with purple. Hmm. Weird.

So of course I Google it. Apparently the purple and white is in honor of the March of Dimes.

I didn't see the building at night yesterday, but apparently it was red, white and blue in honor of Vetran's Day and the Intrepid Museum Re-Opening. My brother will like to know that. Last year when he came to visit, he walked all the way down to the pier where the Intrepid is supposed to be...and it was gone. It's been MIA for renovations.

Tomorrow until November 25th, the Empire State Building's lights will be all white.

Here's our secret place we go for drinks and a view of the building.

What to do

Obviously I am procrastinating. I have a TON of homework to do and since I've been under the weather my brain has turned to mush. I just re-read the text book lines over and over and over.

So while I try to understand the six phases of the Database Life Cycle (DBLC), head on over to Old Red Barn Co. and try and win one of three quilts. For FIFTY extra entries you can do a YouTube video for it. I would LOVE to make people do something like that.

Also head over to The Handmade Quilt for a chance to win another quilt. This one is for a good cause.

By the way, how does Old Red Barn Co. get such nice photographs...where does she live and what kind of backyard is this:
Seriously, if we had a backyard, it would have dead grass, dead trees, and a dog or two tugging on the quilt. Sigh...

O wait...we used to have a backyard (in Las Vegas). Let's see how it looked:
Hmmm. Dead grass, check. Dead tree, check. Dog or two (Charlie and his little buddy Koa), check. Hmmm...maybe I shouldn't win a quilt.

1001 Update - Miss Lonelyhearts

For a while now I've been trying to remember the name of this novel. I read it back in 2003 when I was studying abroad in Wales. I took some great classes there and one I took for fun was a class called "Crisis of the American Self". No kidding. Did you know they have "American Studies" majors? I mean, it makes sense. But it still boggles my mind.

Anyway, along with The Catcher in the Rye, A Farewell to Arms, etc. we had to read Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West. I really loved this novel and was surprised I hadn't heard about it before. Have you?

It was published in 1933 and is set in New York City during the Great Depression. The protagonist of the story is a guy who writes an advice column for the newspaper, known as Miss Lonelyhearts. He is basically a big joke for the newspaper. Obviously after reading so many letters for advice he becomes very depressed and alcoholic. Obviously he gets into brawls and all that stuff. But at the same time it's pretty funny. It reminded me of a black and white movie...the one where the detective is sitting and smoking and the gorgeous lady asks for help. Picture that only the detective is a newspaperman pretending to be a lady writing an advice column. Definitely a black black comedy if you like that sort of humor.

I remember reading this and wondering why I hadn't heard of it before. It wasn't until I was perusing the 1001 To Read List that it popped out and rang a bell. I am definitely going to re-read it.

Oh, and I just love some of these covers. I don't remember which one I read (I think the duel novel one) but I'd love to own an old version:

Run - Ann Patchett

I found a hard cover copy of Run by Ann Patchett at the 96th Street Library Branch. It was missing it's jacket so I assume this is the cover it had. I don't think the cover says much about the book. I always thought it was bubbles or water (it's snow...I think). I wanted to read this after reading Bel Canto this year. Oops, just realized I never reviewed that one either.

I was a little nervous because Bel Canto was pretty sad. And I didn't really know what Run was about. So I just gave it a go.

I honestly liked Run. It wasn't what I was expecting. But I can also see why people might lose interest in the book.

My synopsis:
Bernadette Doyle has always wanted a large family. Coming from an Irish family, that's just what she was used to. So after having a son and finding it impossible to have more children, the Doyles adopt a child. He's African American and shortly after his adoption, the birth mother decides her two children should be together and her older fourteen month old son lives with the Doyles as well.

The two boys, Tip and Teddy grow up as the Doyle's children and never look back or wonder about their birth mother. Bernadette died when the children were younger and they pay homage to the memory of the mother they knew, not the one they didn't. One winter night, worlds collide when a car accident brings together the Doyle family and the family Tip and Teddy never knew.

While this story is sometimes slow, I thought it was very moving. I really liked the characters and the struggles they went through. While it touches on religion, race, politics, and family I honestly thought the family aspect was what made the book. And I thought her writing was very visual. I could imagine the scenes as if they were in a movie. And while there are sad aspects in the book, I never felt like it was a sad book. It's one of those books when you finish the last paragraph and smile because it all worked out ok.

But I could see that the slowness of the book might be a turn off. And it's about character development, not so much as action. So if the characters or writing didn't draw you in you might be tempted to quit.

I thought this cover was more telling about what the story was about:And while a little girl plays a huge part in the story, it's set in the winter so this is a pretty poor choice for a book cover:Also Reviewed By:
She is Too Fond of Books
Medieval Book Worm
Under the Dresser
Fizzy Thoughts
Book Club Girl
A Girl Walks Into A Bookstore

Allergy Help

I mentioned in this post that I've been a little under the weather due to some extreme allergies. I recently had a blood test done and these are the foods my doctor said I should try and stay away from for a month:

Cow's Milk
Carrots
Celery
Corn
Apples
Barley
Green Bean
Oat
Wheat
------
Citrus
Tomatoes

Does anyone have any cookbooks or resources they know of for cooking/eating without using cow's milk, corn, oat, and wheat?

Where I Find Books

Remember back when I held this contest, I threatened that if no one wants my books they will be stuck on my apartment basement's bookshelves. Well here's the dungeon:We are lucky Manhattan-ites who have in their building A) an elevator and B) a laundry room. I was so excited to find a bookshelf in the laundry room...although I've NEVER seen anyone just sitting around waiting for their laundry. Our building has great people and we are all pretty trusting.
And here's just up from the laundry room. Yet ANOTHER bookshelf.
Aren't the decorations great! I love that our building makes an effort. I've found quite a few little gems in these two bookshelves. And of course I've left a few books.Just another place I find my books.