Tuesday, November 20, 2007

I Love to Read

One great thing about being out of college is that I have the energy and time to read books that are not textbooks. Many have heard me complain about not having as much time as I thought I would once graduating, but I still have more time to read. It’s a little bit easier to sit down for a few minutes and read a book for enjoyment rather than having a guilty conscious for not doing homework. With that being said, I still don’t read as much I would like to, and my reading usually happens right before I go to bed or while I’m on the bicycle or elliptical at the gym. STILL…I’m reading so much more than I have in years.

In preparation for Steve and my trip to Phoenix, I went and bought a new book. I did feel a little guilty going and buying a new book because I have several bookshelves of books that I have not read. However, I fell in love with Laurie Notaro a few months ago and have been craving to read another one of her books.

About five years ago, during my first year of college, I stayed with one of my aunts for a weekend. At the time, she was reading The Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club by Laurie Notaro. She briefly mentioned about how the book was funny and that when she was done she would let me borrow it. I didn’t think too much of it, but a few weeks later, we saw each other again, and she handed me the book to read. I intended to read it…eventually. It sat on my bookshelf for five years, until this past summer, when I decided that it was time to start reading all my unread books. I really don’t know why I picked The Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club, but I did, and I don’t regret it. After figuring out that this was not an average book with consistent characters and a mind-dwelling plot, I became sucked into it. I could not wait until bedtime so that I could read several more chapters of Laurie’s adventures.

So what is The Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club about? Well, it’s about Laurie Notaro – her crazy situations, stupid activities, and awkward moments. She writes about herself, constantly making fun of herself along with several other people in her life. From the way she portrays herself in the book, she seems like a pretty klutzy and blunt woman. One thing that I really love about her is how she is far from perfect and she makes fun of it. So in a way, I can totally relate to her.

I laughed so much while reading this book. Poor Steve. There would be times when I was reading in bed and Steve would be trying to fall asleep. However, I think I may have kept him up several nights because I would start laughing out loud. There were several times I know I did wake him up because I would start talking about why I was laughing.

All that to say, I loved The Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club, and I was really happy when I found out that Laurie Notaro has five other books that I can read. That was when I was faced with a dilemma. Remember my bookshelf of unread books? Well, I still need to read them, and I would feel horrible going out and buying five new books to read with all those unread books already there. So, I made a deal with myself. I will alternate books – I’ll read one of my unread books and then go buy a Laurie Notaro book. I think this works out great. I get my Notaro fix and continue reading my unread books.

Today, I jumped the gun a little bit. I’m not exactly done with one my unread books, but I’m on the last chapter, and I needed to make sure I had the proper reading material when Steve and I leave to Phoenix tomorrow. So, I went and purchased Autobiography of a Fat Bride. Supposedly, Laurie gets married in this book. I’m really looking forward to reading this book. There’s a chance that I will read most of the book by the time Steve and I get back from Phoenix.

This Thanksgiving holiday, if you need a little laughter in your life, I highly recommend reading The Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club. I’ll let you know how this other book is.

Happy Thanksgiving!

~Carmelita

Friday, April 06, 2007

...then comes marriage..then comes a baby in a baby carriage...

First of all, I'm not pregnant. :) Nor are we planning on getting pregnant for a while.

My thoughts right now, however, are on about having a baby. These are all stirred up because a friend of mine just texted me to announce that she will be having a baby boy in August. I think this is so exciting, and it's also one of those oh-my-goodness-I'm-actually-an-adult moments. I've known Malah (my friend who is pregnant) since I was in seventh grade. Last year, Steve and I went to her wedding, and now, almost a year later, she is expecting her first child. Malah is going to be a great mother.

The whole deal is that Malah isn't my only "before-college" friend who is having or already has had a kid. So many people who I have known since I was a kid are getting married and having kids. We're growing up! The people getting married part is not a big deal to me. I got married two years ago, and I thought it was an optimal time to get married. The having kids part is what freaks me out. I'm 22 (will be 23 in a week), and I feel like I'm too young to have kids. I'm too selfish to be a mother. And I wonder if I will ever be in some state of mind to have kids.

When Steve and I got married 2 years ago, we agreed that we would not try to have kids for about five years. I thought this was a great plan. This way we both could finish school, and then we would have about three years to enjoy each other with no school or kids. Well, we are now approaching upon two years of marriage, and I'm going to graduate from college next month. The question of what do I want to do with my life after college is a prevalent thought on my mind lately. I know for sure that I will start full-time with SAIC in June, and I will take a year off of school. I want to go to grad school. I want a Master's degree. But if I want to continue working full-time and go to school for a Master's degree,I will probably have to be in school for about three years. This will put Steve and me at the six year mark before we would probably start to have kids. Now, God may have a different plan for me (and there have been many times He had showed me that my plans suck and his are better). He may just decide that He wants us to have kids next year. The only birth control 100% effective is abstinence, and I'm sorry, I refuse to practice abstinence during marriage. :)

No one is telling us that we have to have kids at a certain time. We just have a plan, and sometime I think that maybe that plan is something I don't want. Maybe I don't want to have kids....

Then I see pics of my cousins' and friends' babies or read blogs of my pregnant friends. They are all so excited and are enjoying the whole experience of being pregnant and being a parent. It sounds like the experience is worth having, and this is when I feel a hint of baby-cravings. Then I remember that those blogs don't talk about the morning sickness or the aches and pains of pregnancy, and those pictures don't show the crying, dirty diapers, or sleepness nights. Overall though, knowing that these downsides of being a parent are there, my friends are still thrilled about being a parent.

I'm not really stressing about whether or not I want to have kids. I know that I don't need to make that decision RIGHT NOW. Plus, I have my thesis to stress me out right now. All my stress is reserved for thesis at this moment. I actually should probably be working on that rather than blogging about kids.

~Carmelita

Snowed In

It's like we were destined to not go to school today. I woke up to a beautiful 6 inches of snow in my yard. We are in the lower elevatio...