Love in the time of Cholera

I think I have a love hate relationship with this book. I was going through some of my books decluttering my house and ran across it and just started flipping through it.

I think this is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read (other than maybe "The English Patient". The entire book is like poetry and i wonder what it would be like to be able to express yourself in that way and what it takes to think and describe things so eloquently... check this out..this is my favorite:

"Human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but that life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves"

Is that not the most freaking cool? ..... the entire book is like that where you are just amazed when you are reading it.

The downside however is it has terrible characters... I typically like at least 1 character in the books I read or you try to relate to at least one of them but in this book I had a really hard time relating or empathizing them.

The entire book is about unrequited love and i guess the main female protagonist is semi appealing, but the guy in the book.... ,Florentino Ariza, is basically a pedophile. Now it could be that because the writer is Columbian and it its a cultural thing...but the main character has a thing for like 14 yr old girls.

The other thing I found amazing in this book was the language... It was translated from Spanish and maybe im just dumb but I guess im perpelxed when there are ENGLISH words translated from Spanish that I have no idea what they mean... like diaphanous , ascultation, imperturbable.....I had to look these words up...so im wondering how much liberty does the translator have?? I obviously dont speak spanish...so are there these words in the spanish language..or did the translator just have a good old time..?

Convenience

There are tons of products out there that are made for convenience..but in the end they dont live up... Bottled garlic for instance... I love the concept.    Garlic is a pain in the ass...you have to peel it and smash it and inevitably your hands smell like garlic for at least 2 days.. So I have been buying bottled garlic....its a timesaver..amazing already presmashed.... no smelly hands.  

It tastes terrible however... I recently made some fish tampande thing and it called for like 8 cloves of garlic... I am positive the bottled garlic ruined it.... It doesnt even really taste like garlic, im not sure what it tastes like but im tossing my bottled garlic.   

I have a cold sore ... and I hate it, hate it hate it.  Im not sure what I did in another life to get afflicted with cold sores but I wish i would not have done it.   There are all these VERY expensive products that claim to reduce your cold sore by days and I have used them all and they are ALL a bunch of BS.... A cold sore is at least 14 days of digusting ooze and crusty grossness on your face no matter what product is out there.   I would like someone to come out with a cold sore prevention that really works......that would be even more convenient for me than even bottled garlic...  

 I guess I shouldnt be complaining  I could have that OTHER herpes, that would REALLY suck.  

Book Obsession

Im not sure if everyone is this way but I think I have a book obsession.  Often I will start a book or a series of books that I very much become obsessed with.  I dont want to do anything but read that book and be in the book.  I carry it around with me everywhere and use every 10 minutes of time to read my book.  Im not sure why this happens. 

 I will sometimes delay reading the next book because I feel guilty and know that if I start reading it I wont be able to stop and then I will ignore everyone else and not want to do what I am supposed to be doing because I want to read my book.   Im not sure why this type of escapism appeals to me...but it does.. 

Traveling

So I have to leave on Monday to go on a business trip to Atlanta, last week I was in San Francisco.  That makes me sound very adult and responsible.   Its not really that way at all. 

 I think I have San Francisco pretty down now,  but I have to confess that I have traveling anxiety or maybe it is just unfamiliar territory anxiety.   I  definitely am not one of these "go with the flow" type people who can just "wing it".   

When I first started to going to San Francisco I would have stress about it.  Basically I would have to be very prepared and print about a zillion maps ( and look at them a zillion times)then, review where I buy my Bart ticket, which Bart train I get on,  and which station I have to get off. I would say I  had Bart stress for a while, but I think Im okay with it now..just as long as my routine doesn't change.  

Monday I go to Atlanta where I have never been AND I think is like one of the biggest airports in the country (yeah).    Luckily, I can take a taxi to the hotel but I always stress about dumb things ...like what if I only have a credit card and the taxi only takes cash and what if I cant find the taxi's(very stupid I know), what if the taxi driver doesnt know where my hotel is....   

Then I overanalyze what im going to wear.  I am there for basically 2 nights 3 days but I end up trying on a bunch of outfits and wondering if I will be over or under dressed.  

I am going to this conference that my boss is sending me to on "customer feedback week"   So y it is all these seminars from other companies where they are talking about how they use client feedback and survey data to improve their business.  The interesting thing is I am wondering who these people at the conference think I am.... a couple of days ago I got a email from one of the meeting organizers inviting me to a "special" luncheon on one of the days with some of the meeting organizers to give feedback and stuff.    THEN I got a phone call that one of the meeting organizers wanted to meet with me 1:1.... I guess I can go and be whoever I want to be... Im the only one from my company that is going so I can be as important as I want to be...

Anyway I am going to try to be a bit more adventurous and explore more while I am there.   While in SF I always end up going back to my room and watching bad TV.... but my brother is going to go out to dinner with me and show me some sights...the first night.    I always go running when traveling because I love to see the city in that way... lots of different things to look at.   But im usually stressed with the time change and dont want to be late or miss any meetings or events because i think Im afraid ill get into trouble.... can you get into trouble at a conference...i dont know.  

I am yellow...

I recently went on a business trip to San Francisco where my business group did this personality profile. It is based on Meyers Briggs but is easier to remember because you are classified basically into 4 different color types: Red, Yellow, Green & Blue.

I am dumbing it down a bit because it is more complicated than that because it does take into account stuff like are you an introvert vs extrovert and you actually get a combo color which shows your preferences in each area.

The four colors are basically: Yellow= Involve me, Green= show me you care, Blue= Give me Details, Red= Be bright, be breif, Be gone.

Basically when it comes down to it I am predominantly Yellow with a less degree of Green, then a bit of blue and almost no red. So, in these things they always like to say " no personality type is better than others" But basically Yellows are kinda flighty people who just like to socialize and make sure everyone feels okay about everything..

Pretty much EVERYONE in my work group is blue which means they just like facts and information... no wonder I am sitting in meetings wondering why I am so bored by their data. The most interesting thing is that pretty much everyone is my OPPOSITE type... which means they want to ask me alot of weird placed direct questions and then go away and think about them.

Unfortunately that is not the way I like to do business in my brain... it leaves me feeling like I have done something wrong and wondering why they have gone away instead of talking about why they are asking me these questions, and how their day is, and what are they doing this weekend, and how there kids are and about anything except what they want to know which is data.

I guess if nothing else I know now that my colleagues and I communicate in totally different ways. What I dont like about it though is that I work with REALLY REALLY smart people and even though no colors are better than others...Yellows seem kinda Like the dumb blonde....that kinda sucks.

Scooterrific

For my 39th birthday my husband decided to suprise me with a scooter.... SUPRISE!!! It was a very very thoughtful gift other than the fact that I have never really considered the possibility of owning a scooter.

In addition to my scooter I was also suprised with about $3000.00 in repair costs for my car (which i love very much) SUPRISE!!!. Which is leaving me about $7000 in the hole from where I was about 2 weeks ago. Hmmm why are birthdays so good.?

After begging, pleading, cursing and crying with the scooter dealership I have now found myself still the proud owner of a 2008 Italian made scooter.. (i hear they are the best!)

I have been trying to embrace my inner scooter.... and it is rather fun to ride.

Scoot.. is 50cc's which means he is still considered a "bicycle" and I do not need to get a motorcycle liscence to drive him nor do I need insurance. This is very odd and a bit scary to me...but I dont make the laws. A fact that my 18 yr old that is currently not insured picked up on right away and MY scooter is rapidly becoming HIS scooter.  

 The cool thing is he does get about 100 miles to the gallon and is very economical, when it is nice outside.  He will go 35 miles an hour..4o if im lucky and there is a slight downhill... cars do seem to pass me pretty frequently.

I just need to stop thinking about wrecking and having all my skin ripped off in the process while I am riding my little scoot to and from work.  

Scoot did come with a very attractive helmet that I actually have started wearing again because I cannot get the thought of being creamed out of my mind.  But my helmet would look better if I was holding a light saber than riding my little scoot.  

BTW... Scoot is currently listed on Craigs list...so if anyone is interested in owning a a very little used very thought birthday present... let me know....