A Dog's Life

 This is my new puppy.  At the age of 18, our family dog had to be put down.  I looked around online, and fell in love with her the moment I saw her picture.  She was found at an animal shelter down south.  She had been beaten, starved, and had a wire imbedded in her neck.  They were going to put her down, when a family near here decided to foster her.  She was cleaned and fed and taught to trust people. 

 She's quite a goofball.  She loves to chase things, and to run through/around/over obstacles.  I wish there was an agility course nearby.  For now, the woods will have to do.  Here she is watching a squirrel.

 She is the sweetest and kindest dog I have ever worked with.  She loves to please people, and behaves wonderfully even with very young children.  She's defensive around larger dogs - especially German Shepherds and Huskies.  However, she plays well with dogs her size or smaller, and is learning to let the human take charge when she feels uncomfortable.

She loves to play in mud.  This was taken after the dog park had flooded for the first time this year.  It's very close to the river, which meant that she was chasing fish in the dog park.  For some reason, she prefers rolling in mud to being massaged with shampoo.

She is such a goofball.  She loves to roll around, to twist and turn.  But most of all, she loves her belly rubbed.  When anyone enters the house, she will charge towards them and flop on her back, waving her paws in the air.  She is the gift of laughter.

Proud to be an oddball

I was quite young when I decided my best option was to be an eccentric.  I'm not the sort of person that stands out - I'm neither beautiful nor ugly.  I am not stupid, or smart.  I am rarely overwhelmingly obnoxious, but I am not particularly polite, either.  Though I am not athletic, I am also not completely incapable.  My physical appearance is completely nondescript.  I'm of medium height, neither fat nor thin, with brown hair and hazel eyes.  My voice is unremarkable.

It's not that I wanted to stand out in a crowd.  In fact, I was thankful for being able to blend in.  But I would still like to be memorable to people I meet, and respect.  No peer will ever be amazed at my wit or talent.  No teacher will ever point me out as an example - of success or failure.  That frustrated me, especially in middle school.  The students that the adults liked and respected were either rowdy or brilliant or beautiful or willfully ignorant.

So I had to play my strengths.  In the South-Eastern states, I was already unusual for being a Reformed Christian.  I read more quickly and of a greater variety than most students, and never watched television.  I generally got along with my parents and brothers.  I had lived overseas (on a volcano, no less). And before that I had lived in North Dakota, which was equally foreign.  I had had snowball fights and gone sledding on a regular basis, and without having to pay for a ski resort.  I rarely met my extended relatives, and couldn't even name all of my cousins.  I also had experience with RPG's - both PC and tabletop.

Instead of hiding my differences, I used them to define myself relative to other people.  As a eccentric, there was little pressure to fit in.  I was expected not to share mainstream interests, to dress oddly (i.e. cheaply), to discuss thoughtfully, and to be socially awkward.  If I was bored or uncomfortable in a situation, people accepted the fact that I was a bookworm and allowed me to hide behind ink and paper.  If my pants were ugly and too long, well it was comfortable and I've never cared much for my appearance.  There were limitations, of course.  I was often left out when the talk turned to popular culture.  While people were generally very gracious about my lack of social skills, it didn't change the fact that they were (and are) lacking.  I'd rather write an exam than have a conversation.  I would often get in trouble in English class for reading ahead or disagreeing with the textbook.

By the end of high school, I had gotten very comfortable with this label and stereotype.  I had learned to knit, and found other people who enjoyed it.  A small group of us became obsessed with classic film.  I read popular fantasy series that other students were eager to chat about.  I avoided the lunchroom, instead visiting teachers or attending a philosophy club.  A friend and I played with my family's video camera.  English teachers gave me old textbooks they were throwing away, and lent me other books.     

There are more of us than you would think.  On television, high school consists of jocks, cheerleaders, honor students, and the dreaded unpopular crowd which usually consists of goths and geeks.  Geeks, of course, wear glasses, have a very substandard notion of appropriate hygiene, wear dark ill-fitting clothes, and desperately wish to be a cheerleader or jock.  And they are usually proficient with computers.  I know it may shock you, but this is rarely the case.  It is possible for a person to enjoy cheerleading, chemistry, and opera at the same time.  It is possible for a person to be a brilliant and skilled artist/mathematician/athlete.

There are more of us than you would think.  And we can see you.  Mwa ha ha ha!!!!

A Meme. That I stole from someone, but I don't remember who or when.

1. Favorite childhood book?

Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome.

2. What are you reading right now?

See side bar.

3. What books do you have on request at the library?

At the moment, none.  Because I have a five dollar late fee, but not five dollars.

4. Bad book habit?

You make it sound like a debilitating addiction.  I don't think it's bad, if that's what you mean.

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?

None.  See #3, above.

6. Do you have an e-reader?

In my dreams.  No, really.  It was purple, and kept turning into a teddy bear, which made it very difficult to read.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time or several at once?

Several at once.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?

No...  Why?  Should they?

9. Least favorite book you read this year?

Twilight.  I just don't get it.  Gaaaa!!!  I want to go over it with a red pen.  But I didn't, since it was a library book.

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?

I have a lot of favourites, but my favourite book that I hadn't read before this year is A Short History of Byzantium by John Julius Norwich.

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?

Ummm...  I don't quantify - I'm an English Major.

12. What is your reading comfort zone?

I don't read a lot of war history books.  That stark attitude towards death and killing haunts me.  My brothers do, so I can always go to them if I need information.

13. Can you read on the bus?

I am capable, yes.

14. Favorite place to read?

Curled up on my bed with my puppy.

15. What is your policy on book lending?

I make everyone sign a contract in blood, and it must be witnessed by the President.

16. Do you ever dog-ear books?

Not intentionally.  Moving around so often does tend to wear on books, though.

17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?

Rarely.

18. Not even with text books?

That's right.  Shocking, isn't it?

19. What is your favorite language to read in?

The only language I am proficient with is English.

20. What makes you love a book?

I always judge a book by its cover.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?

Ummm....  A percentage of that book's sales?

22. Favorite genre?

The kind with complete sentences, elegant syntax, engaging characters and an intriguing plot.

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)

Nothing comes to mind.

24. Favorite biography?

Love Jane Austen biographies.

25. Have you ever read a self-help book?

No.

26. Favorite cookbook?

Betty Crocker.

27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or nonfiction)?

That word is overused.  Something is inspirational if it makes you "feel good."  I'd rather go with the book that most challenged me, which would be George Herbert's The Temple.  Actually, I haven't finished it yet.  I find it overwhelming.

28. Favorite reading snack?

Wine, and dark chocolate.  Or Cheetos.  Whatever.

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.

I live in America, Land of Commercialism.  I learned to discount hype when I was three. 

30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?

I don't know.  I read critics to get a feel for the book, but their attitudes are usually obvious enough that I can tell which way they are slanting it. 

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?

It gives me an irrepressible glee.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?

Dutch.  Or Latin.  Or maybe Old English.  Or...  All of them!!!

33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?

Books can be boring, badly written, sickening, frustrating, but intimidating??

34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?

Books don't make me nervous.  You do.

35. Favorite poet?

John Donne.

36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?

About a dozen, give or take.

37. How often have you returned books to the library unread?

38.4%

38. Favorite fictional character?

Fanny Price.

39. Favorite fictional villain?

Smaug.

40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?

Georgette Heyer, Ngaio Marsh, Agatha Christie, Jane Austen, Lord Byron...

41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.

Hours?

42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.

There was some dating book I was supposed to read for a marriage and family class in high school.  I read the first and last paragraph of each chapter, wrote my response papers, and turned it all in by the second week. 

43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?

Earthquakes.  Volcanic eruptions.  Hurricanes.

44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?

1995 Pride and Prejudice.

45. Most disappointing film adaptation?

Most of them.

46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?

As much as I can afford.

47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?

Always.

48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?

I rarely read books in order.  But I don't finish books that have painfully bad grammar, or that bore me, or that I find too violent.

49. Do you like to keep your books organized?

Yes.  It makes sense to me, but no one else can ever find anything.

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?

Keep.  Except for my math textbook - I gave that away as soon as possible.

51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?

That makes it sound like there's a book waiting to pop out at me from a dark alley and mug me.  Umm... is there something I should know, here?

52. Name a book that made you angry.

The Stranger by Albert Camus

53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?

I don't read books I don't expect to like.

54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?

That's why I always read the end first, so I don't waste time reading things I don't want to, when there are so many wonderful books out there.

55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?

As opposed to guilty, painful reading?  Let's see...  that would be everything I read.

Dear Internet,

Hi.  How are you? Great. Good.  Oh, I'm fine.  Just great.  Where've I been?  Under the covers.  It's safe and comfortable, but awfully dark.  So I thought I should start getting up.  No, I'm not in school anymore.  Nope - no job right now.  Yes - I'm completely broke.  Aren't student loans wonderful?  As a matter of fact, I'm living in my parent's basement.  How's that for a stereotype?  But life goes on, you know.  A lot of positions open for seasonal workers, so I'll get something sooner or later.  In the meantime, I think I will go make some brownies.