One of THOSE people!

Am I becoming one of "Those People"?
I found myself writing in my journal at Starbucks on Sunday.
I wasn't trying to show off, "Hey, I'm all sensitive and arty! Look at me!!" but I get very distracted at home with dishes in the sink, dogs that need bathing, carpet that needs vacuuming, twitter that needs to be checked...etc.
So, I felt like I could plug in my iPod, sit in a comfortable chair and write without worrying about doing other things.
It was pretty good but I noticed a few people walking close by, as if trying to get a peek at what I was writing. I didn't hate on them too much; I've done that before.
But it worked out for me so I'm not too ashamed to be one of Those People.

Also, I'm becoming a Vegetarian.
My reasons might seem silly and I'm sure all the carnivores in the world will have a million answers to my reasons.
Some have actually said that I can't change anything. They're probably right.

In the past, I never understood vegetarians. How could you give up meat? Steak is so amazing and chicken is just the best. Oh and don't get me started on bacon. Sweet fucking Jebus...bacon.
How I sort of miss bacon!
But see...I just sort of miss it. I only think about bacon and beef as habit; "Bacon would be really good on that. Oh wait....".
It's been easier than I ever thought it would be.
Last night, I made a vegetable spaghetti with whole wheat pasta, zucchini, yellow squash, spinach and mushrooms with a delicious spaghetti sauce.
No meat...and I didn't miss it.

Almost every restaurant I've been to in the last few weeks has had vegetarian options. I wonder what I would do in a fast food situation but since going meatless, I've avoided fast food which can only be a good thing.
I'm not sure I can ever call myself a vegetarian because I'm still going to eat seafood. Christ on a cracker! I live on the gulf freaking coast! I have to eat seafood!
I'm still new at this and I don't know all the labels, so what am I? Who am I going to be?
Oh right, one of THOSE PEOPLE!

Teaser Tuesday

Mary longed to say something in return, but it was not customary.  Instead, she just looked directly into his eyes to show him how deeply she trusted herself to him.
--Mary, Called Magdalene by Margaret George

Teaser Tuesdays is a fun weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler

So, sometimes books are like junk food.  It's not nutritious but you love it anyway and in a lot of cases you eat the entire bag, box, bowl of whatever in one sitting.
From Barnes and Noble:

In this Jane Austen–inspired comedy, love story, and exploration of identity and destiny, a modern LA girl wakes up as an Englishwoman in Austen’s time.

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict was like that for me.  Ok, it took two sittings but I devoured the whole thing.  It was fun and snarky and I am not afraid to admit I liked it.
I was disappointed in the end because I couldn't understand WHY a modern, 21st century woman ended up in the body of an early 19th century woman but when I was searching for the picture to add to this post, I found that there is a sequel.  This one is from the point of view of the woman who went from the 19th century to the 21st and that may be more fun and maybe I'll understand the point of the body switching.
But maybe like junk food, there is no point...it's just good.

Deep in the Woods by Chris Marie Green

This is the 6th book in the Vampire Babylon series and possibly the last.
The storyline was wrapped up but the author left us with a little bit of an opening for more.  I hope there is more because I became quite attached to Dawn, Costin and even Jonah. 
Jonah and Costin share a body and at first, Jonah was a bit of a psycho but by book 6, I sort of liked him and was rooting for him.
It's pretty cool to see the evolution of an author in a series of books.  Sometimes the evolution is for the better, like in Chris Marie Green's case or for the absolute worse, as in Laurell K. Hamilton's case. (Do NOT get me started about the unbelievable decline of the Anita Blake series!!)
In the Vampire Babylon books, we've had the opportunity to watch the characters grow and in turn we've watched the author grow, too.  Her writing has gotten better and better and her characters have developed real depth.
I won't give much of the book and storyline away but this whole series has used the usual sexy vampire schtick but with a very unique twist.  The first trilogy was based in Hollywood and used that vain industry as a front for the vampire underground.
The second trilogy took us to London and an all girls school.  One of my favorite things about it was that Green didn't rehash the same tired storyline over and over again.
I think I'd read this entire series again and that is saying a LOT!

Hey Look At Me...I'm Sick!

I don't mean to turn this into a sick person's blog but hey, it's what's going on.

I had an Endoscopy on Friday. I was a little nervous about having a toilet snake with a camera on the end being shoved down my throat.
I was surprised how quickly it was over. I was wheeled into the procedure room in a hospital bed when one nurse told me she was hooking me up to a heart monitor and another one told me she was putting some medicine in my IV to make me drowsy.
Then the other nurse said she was spraying something in my mouth to numb my throat and for me to swallow. I did and I wanted to tell her that it tasted bad but I closed my eyes for a moment instead.
I opened them again and I was in another room, staring at the back of a different nurses head.
"I'm in another room." I said, obviously.
"Yes, you're in recovery."
"That's weird", I said.
And it was over. I was groggy most of the day and for the first hour I had a little short term memory loss but I had no soreness or hoarseness after. It was pretty awesome.

I do have some issues that were revealed by the endoscopy but nothing life threatening and I'm sure I will be fine in no time.

I've never been to a specialist in my life, yet in the last month, I've been to two and had my first "procedure".
Does this mean I'm getting old? If so, that SUCKS!

The worst part of the whole thing? I had to get up at 5am! That was horrible.

Teaser Tuesdays

For days she gazed in vain and then a day came when she had an intuition that he was uneasy; she could not have told what gave her the impression, but she was certain; she waited, holding her breath; he looked up suddenly, as though he had heard an unexpected sound, and, catching her eye, turned quickly away.  From then on she ceased to throw him even a glance, but a day or two later, though her head was bent as though she were praying, she was conscious that he was staring at her.
--Catalina by W. Somerset Maugham

Teaser Tuesdays is a fun weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

I couldn't wait to start Catching Fire after finishing The Hunger Games.
For a second book in a trilogy, it's jam packed with heart break, injustice and action.
Sometimes, I would get very frustrated with Katniss when she wouldn't/couldn't catch signals from other people.  For the face of the rebellion, she can be a little obtuse but then I have to remember that this girl is only 17.
When I was 17, all I cared about was my giant 80s hair, makeup and boys.
If I lived in Katniss' post-apocalypse world, I'd be the first one dead.
Parts of the storyline seemed unnecessary and a little predictable but overall it was extremely entertaining and heart-pounding.
Also, the cliffhanger at the end made me gasp out loud.
Do we really have to wait until August for the final book, The Mockingjay?