Something to Keep You Guessing ...

You may (or may not) recall a month or so ago, when I said that I realized that my blog was three years old, I mentioned that I would do something to celebrate, but I wasn't sure what it would be. Well, I've decided that it will be another contest of a sort.

This post you are reading is my 432nd post. I try to post often, but some weeks are better than others, depending on what else might be going on around here. So I'm going to let you try predict something:

When will I write my 450th post?

Here are the rules:

1. In order to participate, you must send me an e-mail (thekittyknitterATverizonDOTnet), or leave a comment on THIS post, saying when you think I will be writing my 450th post. For example: "I think it will be on November 29th."

2. You must also let me know if you would prefer: a) a knitting-related prize, b) a reading/book-related prize, or c) either one.

3. To participate, you must leave a comment/send an e-mail no later than October 10. If there is more than one person who guesses the correct date, I will do a random drawing to determine the winner. If one person guesses the day before, and another the day after, but no one guesses the actual date, I will do a random drawing to decide the winner.

4. If no one comes even close, I will make a contribution to the charity of my choice.

Please believe me when I say that I have no more idea than any of you do, when this post might occur. And I am too lazy to plan it out, so it will truly be a matter of luck for anyone to guess the correct date.

The prizes? Well, I'm still thinking. I will definitely have something in mind for either knitters or readers, in the event that the winner is only interested in one aspect or the other.

(If I have made this as clear as mud, please let me know.)

"Good luck, Wilbur ... and everyone else, too!"

Something Wicked This Way Comes ...

Yes, even though I am the world's biggest chicken when it comes to scary things, I've gone and signed up for the R.I.P. IV. In the past, I've read others' reviews of books they read for this challenge, and thought it sounded like fun. Usually though, it was nearly over by the time I realized it had even started ... but this year I found out about it at the beginning, so I have chosen

Peril the Second: Read two books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose.

I will be reading: Her Fearful Symmetry, by Audrey Niffenegger; and, The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins.

I think this will be a lot of fun, and since I have a lot more reading time than I used to, I shouldn't have any trouble finishing both books by October 31.

(BTW, Lisa - you should sign up too!)

**********************

In other news, today was a day off, so I met Carol for lunch. We had a blast, and laughed ourselves silly! It had been months since we had seen each other, so it was fun to catch up in person, instead of only online. (In the interest of full disclosure, this may have been the reason some of you had the sensation of burning ears around noon ...) It sure is nice to be with someone who gets my sense of humor - the people I work with are nice, but I think they are fearful that I am flirting with commitment to a mental health facility. I'm not sure they have ever "gotten" any of my jokes - even those that are actually jokes that people tell one another.

Oh well, that's what true friends are for, right?

Falling Forward

Every leaf speaks bliss to me,

Fluttering from the autumn tree.

-Emily Bronte

I have to admit that I love this time of year. The change in the weather (today's temperature notwithstanding), the anticipation of the fall and winter holidays, and even the shorter hours of daylight. Unlike most people, I welcome the days when the darkness comes earlier, because to me that is part of the change of seasons. When spring and summer come and the days stay lighter later, I am just as happy about that.

This is also the time of year when I tend to make plans for myself, much more so than in January when everyone else does. Maybe it's a left over mindset from all the years that fall meant the beginning of the school year, I'm not entirely certain. I've spent the past couple of days going over all sorts of knitting projects, sewing projects, and things I want to get done in the house and outside in the garden.

Over the years, I have learned that I have a tendency to get carried away with such things. This means one of two things happens: a) I feel overwhelmed, and don't even get things started, or b) I feel like a failure because I haven't been able to complete everything in the time frame I have set for myself. So this year I am working on lowering my expectations. Because I am the only one who is creating these deadlines for myself, so after years of angst, it has finally occurred to me that I'm the one who can make the decision to change the way I do things and make plans.

As a result, I'm feeling hopeful instead of already a little bit wary. I have made myself a very general list of projects, and put them into different broad categories. (I may not be working at the moment as a cataloger, but some things don't go away ...) I have decided that getting any of the items on the list accomplished will mean success, regardless of whether or not the entire list is tackled.

See? Already, it's better.

Now, if I could only force people to call me for interviews for jobs and then hire me ... sadly, there is only a certain amount of control I have over that aspect of my life. I can only hope that there will be some leftover good karma floating around in the universe that will make a stop at our house before too long ...

Good Times

During the last week in August, The Tim, Sebastian, and myself all headed to Fenwick Island, Delaware, where my sister and brother-in-law from West Virginia had rented a house. All of the nieces, nephews, and the grandson were going to be there, so we decided to visit for a few days. Some people might call this horning in on someone's kindness, but we call it VACATION!!

The house was really nice, and was located on the bay side of things. There was a dock down a little path to the side of the house.

As usual, my amazing photography skills illustrate just a taste of what the area was like.


This naked tree in particular intrigued me, as everything else around it was really green ...

But you didn't want to see only "scenic" shots, did you?

Zach - when did he stop being a baby and become a kid???

Zach was quite selective about his companions. Mostly he wanted to be with my sister (Gram), but occasionally others could grab a minute or two.

<-- Zach agrees to play a computer game with his Aunt Annie.

--> Zach and his best friend Seb. Anything Seb does is fine with Zach.

Zach [barely] letting me get a picture with him.

--> The Tim and I relaxing.

And my very favorite picture of all - GROUP CANNONBALL!!

We got all of the guys to do a group cannonball dive at the swimming pool that was part of the complex where the vacation house was, and my niece Julie got this great shot. It was pretty hilarious in person!

If only it didn't feel like it was such a long time ago ...

Just Play It Cool

This week's 10 on Tuesday topic was one I thought would be fun, and I decided that I would literally list the first ten things that came to mind.

10 Things You Think Are Cool

1. Animals.

2. Music.

3. Books.

4. The ocean.

5. Mountains.

6. Knowing how to read and write.

7. Knitting.

8. The Grand Canyon.

9. Old and ridiculously cornball movies.

10. Kindness.

Penitentiary Life, Weeks 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24

Yeah I know. Talk about a long-time-no-penitentiary-post! August was not my best month. It was suckingly hot and humid, and if it makes you feel any better, it turned out to be a month that I got behind in everything in all parts of my life. I hope it makes you feel better, 'cause it didn't to a lot for me to be honest ...

Anyway, in spite of heat and humidity, with a few weekends of incredible storms, life at Eastern State continued much as it had for the earlier part of the summer. There did tend to be more visitors, as a lot of people apparently took their vacations in August (I did), so there were even more opportunities for people-watching, which is not an official part of my duties, but something I consider to be a perk!

Based upon aforementioned people-watching, I have come to the following top 5 conclusions:

1. Punks and Goth types apparently do not suffer in hot and humid weather. There they were, wearing black leather vests, pants, boots, you name it, with LOTS of jewelry and hardware, and their usual makeup. They walked around looking as if they never even broke a sweat. (I, on the other hand, appeared all month to have just finished running a marathon in the desert. One day, I was talking to a visitor, and I moved across the space to get a map for her. I noticed that I had left a puddle of sweat where I had been standing. Seriously.)

2. Teenagers from any country will frequently roll their eyes at their elders. For whatever reason, this was reassuring.

3. Yes, thank you very much, it was hot enough for me. Ha ha.

4. People are way too spoiled by air-conditioning. Don't get me wrong, I love air-conditioning in that kind of weather as much as the next person. But there were a lot of people visiting who seemed to take it personally that the penitentiary was not appropriately cooled.

5. Lots of men wear dark socks with sandals. I had thought this was a primary condition of visiting Washington, DC, with your family, where we called it the "Tourist Dad Syndrome." But either I was incorrect, or the condition has spread more than swine flu.

In other news, my favorite tour ever took place during these weeks, a group of elderly men from a not-quite-nursing-home place across the bridge in New Jersey. Their activity director had apparently planned the outing, which from what I could tell involved having lunch first, and then coming for a tour of the penitentiary. They told me that the youngest among them was 62, and the eldest was 97.

I am not sure if I have mentioned it here, but for whatever reason, older men have always liked me. I have no idea why, as I don't necessarily treat them any differently than I do anyone else, but there you go. So this group had a couple that were my best friends during the tour, and had all kinds of corny jokes to tell me, which made me think of both my father and father-in-law. For instance, when we were on the baseball field, one of them said, "Did the prisoners get in trouble if they STOLE a base?" It was like a trip to the Catskills without ever leaving home!

Most of them seemed to enjoy the tour, and it was certainly interesting to hear their questions and observations as opposed to those I have gotten from groups of kids. The killer for me was at the end, when I was saying goodbye to them, and one man told me that it had been an enjoyable tour, and that I was "a swell gal." It made me feel like I was in one of the old movies that I love to watch!

I also worked with a couple of photo groups. The first was a group of people who were taking a workshop class with a local expert. They were learning the nuances of high dynamic range photography, which was something I had never heard of before. They were pretty self-contained, so I didn't really find out a lot, but there were a couple of people who showed me what they were hoping to capture in their photographs. Overall, they were a friendly bunch.

The other group was another workshop, but for those learning how to frame a shot, set a scene, etc. They brought three different couples dressed as brides and grooms. This led me to become certain that I could never stand to be a model or a professional photographer. The amount of time it takes to get things just right would make me want to scream. The models spent a lot of time moving millimeters before they were in the poses that the photographers wanted, and there were so many do-overs, it gave me a whole new respect for people on either side of the camera who can stand the monotony!

Now that most schools have started again, and a lot of people have taken their vacations, things have quieted down somewhat during the week. But now it's time for Terror Behind the Walls to get started, so there's still a lot happening, and I'm sure that will bring some extra daytime visitors with a whole new bunch of stories.

You May Be a Winner!

Well, if your name is Sprite (The Day the Falls Stood Still), or Marie (East of the Sun), that is! I feel bad because only three people expressed interest in the books, but they were all interested in the same ones ... Joan, if you are interested in any of the others, let me know. Otherwise, I hope you'll have the luck of the draw next time.

Marie, please send me your mailing address. You can send an e-mail to thekittyknitterATverizonDOTnet. Hopefully I can get things in the mail to both of you next Tuesday or Wednesday (my days off).

If the rest of you have any interest in any of the other available books from the August Book Report, let me know. Otherwise, I'll offer them on Ravelry, or eventually to the public library.

That's it for now, folks!

09-09-09

Honestly, you didn't really think I could go without posting on this day of all days, did you? I am a number freak, though I suck at all math-related things ...

This post will be Q's, A's, and anything else that occurs to me ... but I have decided there will be nine things, in honor of the day.

1. In a comment to one of my posts, dmaxi says that her Mum used to sing: "What did Delaware? She wore a New Jersey." She wondered if this was a real song? Well, I can't say anything about a song, but my mother used to always say (usually to my great annoyance), "If I wear my New Jersey, what will Delaware? Idaho, but Alaska." Grrr!!

2. Mary asks how I decide what book to read, and where I get them? Hm, I don't really have a specific answer for this one. A lot of times, I just feel in the mood for certain types of books, i.e., mysteries, biographies, and so I'll look for those. Other times I will admit that the cover of a book will make me take a closer look. Sometimes I actually have a specific title in mind, and will look for that. As far as where I get them, well, I receive a lot for gifts, since friends and family know I love books. Sometimes it will be years before I'll actually get around to wantint to read them. Tim will often get books for me, since a) he knows I love to read, and b) he gets a discount! He also brings Advance Reader Editions home when no one else at work has taken them, and he thinks I might like the book. I am also a regular user of our public library, which sadly is now closed a lot more of time due to short-staffing. (I shall refrain from rambling on about that issue. At least for now.)

3. Kim thinks I am a wonder, for how much I read. Well ... it's true, I do read a lot, but my current amount of reading is directly related to my current job at the prison. During times when it is not busy, we are allowed to read. Trust me, even reading a boring book is entertainment when the other option is waiting to see if/when the rats will show up!

4. Obama's address to school children in the US today. Oh my God, I was almost afraid to get up this morning, in case there would be thousands of socialist schoolchildren running around, who now had the career ambition to be part of a healthcare death squad. Only in America could a speech encouraging kids to stay in school be viewed a suspicious and with a political agenda. (Of course, it was different when Ronald Reagan (don't get me started) did it ...)

5. Chris wanted to know if I felt that I always needed to finish a book I've started. The answer is no, not always. Lots of times I'll keep reading because I think a book will either get better, or suddenly grab my attention. This happens often enough that I usually try to finish a book. But there are times I just can't take it. For instance, I tried really hard to read the book Evening, by Susan Minot recently. But in the end, it was boring to me and I didn't like any of the characters so I just returned it to the library.

6. Brigitte wants to know how long it takes me to knit a pair of socks. It used to always take me months, even if I worked on them constantly. But my time knitting socks last year for Christmas gifts gave me enough practice that I am much faster now. When I actually stick with it, I can usually knit a pair of basic socks in a month or less. New techniques or patterns take me longer, and sometimes, a pair in progress will sit for months before I pick them up again. But I do enjoy socks, and [sadly] they are still usually finished sooner than most other projects I start ...

7. I know I haven't had any penitentiary tales for you for a few weeks. August sort of blended all together, and I lost track of what happened when. But I promise some kind of "summary" post soon.

8. Thanks for all of your good wishes for my job search. Surely they count for something!

9. I wish I would stop picking at my cuticles. They are a mess. And the really ironic thing is that people's hands and nails are always one of the first things I notice ...

August Book Report

First of all, who knew it would be September so quickly? And second of all, why were a couple of the books I read in August real losers?

In any case, here's what kept me busy.

A Girl from Yamhill, by Beverly Cleary. What a disappointment this book turned out to be! It's a memoir of the early years of Beverly Cleary, writer of the Ramona Quimby and Henry Huggins stories for children. I was always a big Ramona fan in particular, but loved just about anything I read by Cleary.

A co-worker loaned me this book, and I read the entire thing, but I wish I hadn't. It basically details her life as a young girl, until she leaves to go to college. She starts out on the family farm in Yamhill, Oregon, and the bulk of the book takes place when the family moves to Portland.

Beverly Cleary's family life sounds very dull, stilted, and like there were not many happy memories. Her parents come across as discontented, and at least from her perspective, not very emotionally attached to their only child. There's no terrible tales of abuse, but a lot of benign neglect, or insane control over every aspect or her life. She is taken care of, but not necessarily paid attention to.

At the same time, she doesn't write about herself as someone all that appealing, so it's hard to get too wrapped up in the whole story. There are not parts of the book that seem to have any life or spirit to them.

I would recommend skipping this one. I wish I had.

Evil Angels Among Them, by Kate Charles. This is another new mystery series to me, and I want to read at least one of two of the earlier books after finishing this one.

The story takes place in a small English village, where the minister and his new wife have returned after their honeymoon. When the wife starts receiving mysterious phone calls, talking about sexual activities, her happy world begins to crumble. In the meantime, one of the town busybodies is making life miserable for new arrivals, and there are controversies going on among the church council. Add a murder of one of the villagers, and it's another instance of a small town with a lot going on!

The "detectives" in this series are Lucy Kingsley, and artist, and her boyfriend, David Middleton-Brown, a London solicitor. They arrive in the town at the request of the minister and his wife, who are friends of theirs, to find that there is a lot more going on than meets the eye.

This was not a perfect novel/mystery, but a good read, with interesting characters, and enough twists and turns to keep you guessing.

*East of the Sun, by Julia Gregson. Let me start off by saying that I'm not 100% certain why this book appealed to me as much as it did. Yes, it's well written, and the characters were interesting, as was the time and setting. But maybe it also had something to do with the fact that as the characters were dealing with the excessive heat and humidity in India of 1928, I was at work dealing with the excessive heat and humidity of Philadelphia in 2009 ...

Anyway, this was an enjoyable read. The main character in the story, Viva Holloway, is an aspiring writer who lived in India with her late parents and sister as a child. At the beginning of the novel, she has placed an ad in a London paper, offering her services as a chaperone for anyone who has a child that is traveling to India. Though she calls herself "experienced," and "knowing all about India," the truth is she has gotten it into her head to retrieve a trunk belonging to her parents that someone wrote her about, years ago.

She ends up chaperoning two young women, Rose - who is getting married - and Tor - her bridesmaid - and Guy Glover, a young man expelled from his school and being sent home to his parents in India. They embark on a sea journey that is not quite what any of them expected, but with the exception of Guy, they become good friends.

Once in India, the book covers each person's experiences and manages to keep them involved with one another. They are there at a time when Gandhi is coming into power, and many Indians are less than thrilled with the British being in charge. This aspect of the story, as well as the problems of Guy Glover, put a dark cloud over a lot of the story, but does not ruin it.

I found the female characters to be interesting, particularly Viva. She is a little bit too modern for her times, though in the end, she seems to want a lot of the same things as her contemporaries. Women's roles, activities, and interests were so incredibly restrictive at the time, reading the book is as much a sociological study as anything else. Which is not to say it's all "intellectual" - just that it can be enjoyed for a number of different reasons.

I thought the author managed to write a book that is entertaining as well as thoughtful, which is never an easy combination.

*The Day the Falls Stood Still, by Cathy Marie Buchanan. This book was a great read! It tells the story of Bess Heath, who is a 17-year-old at the beginning, as she leaves her junior year at Loretto Academy, in Ontario to head home for the summer. She learns once she is home that her father has lost his job, and her sister's engagement is called off. Her mother has started taking orders for dressmaking, in order for the family to survive. The family is falling apart, and Bess learns she will not return to school.

The story begins in 1915, the beginning of the hydroelectric era of Niagara Falls. The Falls are as much a character in this story as any of the humans. Bess meets Tom Cole, when he offers to carry her trunk from the trolley to her home on the day she is leaving Loretto Academy in the company of her mother. He appears to be a loner, and someone who does not have any permanent, respectable position.

Bess' story, and that of her family, takes a dramatic turn when something tragic occurs involving her sister, Isabel. Tom Cole is the one who brings the news, and in spite of herself, Bess is drawn to him.

There are also all types of people - business and daredevils - who see the Falls as their future and their fortune.

The story of Bess, her family, Tom, and Niagara Falls makes for compelling reading. The ending I must warn you is sad, but don't let that put you off from reading the book.

By the way, the character of Tom is based on the life of William "Red" Hill, who is a legendary character for those living around Niagara Falls.

Coastliners: A Novel, by Joanne Harris. Apparently, I am on a kick where I read books that don't turn out to be that enjoyable. Having enjoyed two other books by Joanne Harris, I thought this would probably be a good one too. Not so much.

This is the story of a group of families who live in a village on an island off the coast of France. The narrator, Mado (short for Madeleine), returns to the island after her mother's death in Paris to visit her childhood home and see her father. (She and her mother left years before.) Upon returning home, she finds that most of the people she remembers are still living there, still fighting the same age-old feuds, and still harboring the same suspicions towards outsiders.

The writing is descriptive, and parts are pretty interesting, but I never really felt like I cared much what happened to any of the characters. There are all kinds of struggles among the people, for land, money, love, etc., but I couldn't really work up the interest for what was happening. The ending was especially unsatisfying, as far as I was concerned.

There are people I know who would probably like it a lot more than I did, but in general, I can't say I would recommend it.

*Addition, by Toni Jordan. I read an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book, and I really enjoyed it. The main character, Grace, leads her life according to counting. She counts everything, and numbers rule her existence. She has had to stop working at her teaching job, due to her obsession overwhelming her. She is also very conversant on the life of Nicholas Tesla, and keeps a framed picture of him next to her bed.

Yes, Grace has serious problems throughout the book, related to her counting, and also related to the results of therapy to get her to stop counting. Her relationships with her family are strained, except for one niece in particular who seems to "get" her. She begins dating a guy and he talks her into therapy for her problems. The therapy helps her stop becoming so involved with numbers, and living her life accordingly, but a lot of the things that make us like Grace begin to disappear.

I liked this book because it was different, and it was sloppy. Things didn't tie up into a neat bundle by the end. Were things improving? Yes. Would they ever be perfect? Probably not, and that is a relief once you have gotten to know Grace. By the end of the book, you understand at least in some small way why she has become such a singular character.

I also enjoyed the descriptions of her group therapy sessions. Since she is fairly unique, she is put in a group with a bunch of germaphobes. It's really entertaining to hear her perspectives on these people that have problems that she thinks makes them seem kind of crazy, all the while not thinking the reason she is there is all that strange!

I also enjoyed this book because I will admit to having some of the same obsessions with numbers that Grace does. Fortunately for me, they have not rendered me unable to function in my daily life, or hold a job. But I have to be honest and say that they do play a large part in my behavior, in my mind if nowhere else.

The book is a quick read, and if you enjoy stories told in a quirky manner by the main character, I think you'd enjoy meeting Grace.

Absolute Certainty: A Crime Novel, by Rose Connors. This was a book that I saw on my last trip to the library, and it sounded like something that might be interesting. It was, and it turns out that the author is originally from Philadelphia!

The main character in the book, Martha "Marty" Nickerson, is a divorced mother of a teen-age son who works as an Assistant D.A. for Barnstable County, on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. As the story begins, she is finishing up the trial of Manuel Rodriguez, on trial for murdering a local college student. When Rodriguez is found guilty, Marty feels that all of her hard work has paid off.

Shortly afterwards, though, another murder occurs that has characteristics very similar to the one Rodriguez allegedly committed. Marty begins to wonder if she did indeed find the right person, and has a hard time convincing her boss to reopen the case.

Though the crimes discussed are grisly, this book was very interesting and well-paced. Marty seems to be an intelligent woman, and at least in this installment, manages to maintain her self-reliance. She has the usual human frailties that all of us have, but she is also strong-willed. The plot is involved but never convoluted.

I think this is well worth the read, and hope she will publish another book soon!

Affinity, by Sarah Waters. Well, this book was not really what I was expecting. First of all, it concerns a young woman, Margaret Prior, who attempted suicide, but was discovered while she could still be saved. Her doctor suggests that she may benefit from being a "Lady Visitor" at Millbank Prison, in London.

Millbank Prison was a real place. It was a solitary confinement prison, housing men and women in separate wings. The prisoners were silent, and performed work in their cells. It's design allowed for the guards and matrons to keep track of the prisoners from central locations. This reminded me so much of Eastern State Penitentiary, my current place of employment, and added much to the story for me.

Margaret becomes involved with Selina Dawes, a "spiritualist" who has been convicted of murder as a result of one of her seances. Selina has a particular attraction for Margaret, and becomes one of her reasons to continue visiting the prison. Though Margaret's family discourages her from her visiting, and from becoming close to Selina, she continues.

This is a story of a vulnerable woman, who feels lost in her world upon the death of her father, for whom she was a helpmate. Selina, as well as an accomplice, convince Margaret that they can be together in a place where they will be happier and freer, and Margaret takes several dramatic steps to have this happen, only to be betrayed.

I enjoyed this book, though at times I was suspicious of Selina. I had no inkling of what might happen, so was surprised at the ending. The book is very interesting, as well as sometimes disturbing and/or puzzling. But it is definitely worth a read, as far as I'm concerned.

I have marked the books that I can share with you with an asterisk, and just in the interest of full disclosure, I must tell you that they are all Advance Reader Editions. Also available is a book I wrote about in my July report, *Under This Unbroken Sky, by Shandi Mitchell. Leave a comment to let me know if you would like one of them by the end of the day on Wednesday, September 9. As usual, if more than one person requests the same title, I'll do a random drawing.

Nothing in Particular

Well, here it is, the second day of September. Accompanied by weather that turns thoughts to fall, which is fine with me. (To all of those people that have told me that "it's freezing!" or "it feels like winter!" - it is not, and it does not. Geez.)

I haven't done much on the computer this week, as our primary computer has a pretty nasty virus. Poor The Tim has spent hours trying to get it all straightened out, and at last report, was making some progress. It's a good thing he's here to do it, 'cause if I had to try and figure it out, well ... let's just say that I probably wouldn't know we had a virus in the first place ...

Progress is being made on my various knitting projects. Today I plan to pick up Dotty and start the finishing touches, such as sewing the shoulder seams, picking up stitches for the neck and armholes. It may actually be completely finished in another week or so, and then I will feel an incredible sense of accomplishment. Fair isle and steeking are things that - to me at least - seem like "big-time knitting" knowledge.

In other news, I had yesterday and today off, and it has been great. The Tim even took me out to lunch yesterday, which was such a treat. I've been marking things off my "to-do" list, but I haven't been driving myself crazy trying to get things done, so it's been enjoyable. Today my "official" activities will be finishing the laundry, making a couple of doctor's appointments, and baking a raisin spice cake from one of my fave recipes.

In other news, it occurs to me that November is closer than I think it is, and I have no job lined up. My current job ends at the end of November, and though I have been applying for all kinds of jobs, no one has contacted me. It's frustrating, but also understandable, since so many people are looking for work. However, in my Bridget-centric universe, *I* should be the person being called for interviews!

That's it for now. I'll be back with a book report, vacation pictures, and who knows what before long.