My New World

Well Dear Readers I have been asking my son to help me create a three column blog for some time now. Today I finally got my wish! I am so excited about this because it seems all the blogs that really catch my eye are all three column white blogs. I hope you like it, let me know what you think.

Tonight was supposed to be Carson City's trick or treat event. For some reason (that makes no sense to anyone I talk to) this night is Carson City's turn and tomorrow night is the next town over turn. Weird huh? I had the candy ready, the lights on, decorations out but guess what? My doorbell rang three times, four if you count my next door neighbor coming over to see what kind of candy I had. I am going out on a limb and assume people are waiting until tomorrow night, damn the city "rule"! At least I hope so, I have sooo much candy in my house now. Oh well I am sure if I took it to work my coworkers would make it disappear in record time.

This semester I am taking a class titled Visions of Creation. We are reading and writing about world creation myths. It is quite fascinating but also quite nerve wracking as our professor is asking us to dig deep and find the symbolism and deep meaning in every tale.

I have not read an outstanding book in a while but this is due more to my work load than lack of well written books out there, but this subject is for another blog.

Happy Halloween!

I cannot recall a time in my life when there were no bookshelves in our house nor can I recall a time my mother or I did not have a book or two lying around. Books and bookshelves have always played a role in my life.

The buzz about Barns and Noble’s new E-Reader The nook has got me thinking about bookshelves and what they mean to those of us who have them in our homes. I personally never feel at home until I have unpacked my books and placed them on shelves. If, like so many people are doing now, I housed my books on an e-reader, my home may feel less cozy and warm.

See this is my biggest issue with the hype of E-Readers and their ability to hold hundreds of books; I would lose the ability to place a newly read book on a shelf. I love adding to my collection and finding new and unique ways to add shelf space. I have shelves in my guest bedroom, kitchen, office and bedroom. I have a hanging shelf in my living room that always attracts visitors because of its uniqueness. There is another loss; books are great conversation starters.
I have often become involved in conversations with strangers because of a book. I enjoy asking people about the book they are reading. Often this simple question has led to long conversations about books and new friendships are formed. I cannot imagine asking someone what they are reading on an E-Reader as it would seem the same as asking a stranger what they are doing on their laptop.
Whenever I enter someone’s house for the first time my eye always goes towards a bookshelf. If there are no bookshelves in the house I subconsciously assume this person is not a reader. Right or wrong I judge a person based on the books I find in their house. Now with E-Readers I may come across a fellow book lover but never know it.

Bookshelves say something about a person; what they are interested in and what they feel is important to their lives. Bookshelves tell a story not found in the pages of one book but within the pages of all the books they house. It is the loss of this story that bothers me. This is a story that can never be shared on an E-Reader.


So dear reader, what do you think of the loss of bookshelves? Do you enjoy looking at your collection or do you like the idea of books housed in a small machine?

I over analyze things, I know, but last night and then again this morning the point was really driven home for me. I over analyze and over think thinks, which got me thinking...does my over analyzing get in the way of my personal success and happiness?

In the past I had been told by a professor that I worry too much and over think small assignments. He may have had a point: I had just written him a post asking about an assignment and I think I wrote something like “so let me get this straight, you want us to write a book, get it published, get on Oprah, win the Man Booker prize then give you a copy?” His reply was brief “no, I want a 500 word essay comparing 18th century Germany with today’s Germany, due on Friday”. Thank goodness because I had been on hold with the Harpo Company for two hours! I think I was on hold, come to think of it, I may have hung up on.

No that did not happen, but you get my point. I was told not to over think my homework and make it tougher that it was. I tend to think things are not as easy as they seem…I have no idea where this comes from. Last night my son and I were discussing the horrid movie Volcano and its cheesy special effects. Alex was trying to argue that anyone could out run a volcano flow, but of course I had to not only stop and correct him, I had explain why he was wrong, as if his take on slow lava flow was going to stop him from entering Harvard or MIT. “This young man thinks lava flow can only reach speeds up to 5 miles an hour, who screens these applicants?”

I should have just enjoyed our banter but no, I had to pull out my science books, look up volcanoes and lava flows, all the while my son was rolling his eyes and saying “really, mom, you have to analyze this point”? Mind you I was not trying to win a point, I was trying to figure out just how fast lava flow really is since I knew it had to be faster than 5 miles an hour but really did not know how fast. For the record it is only 8 miles an hour. The mudslides they create go much faster.

This morning I checked my e-mail and found myself staring and analyzing a post from a friend of mine who asked a simple question “where did I visit” then left me some clues. My first thought was he was on Facebook taking a string of quizes, but right away I knew that was wrong. He is not a Facebook kinda guy and certainly no Facebook quiz kinda guy. I stared at the clues as a whole, and then tried to break them down sentence by sentence. I was acting like Robert Langdon from the De Vinci code; I knew by breaking one code I would have the key to the next! Try as I might I could not decipher where my friend had been. I figured I was over thinking the post, so I tried to come up with places one could visit on the internet that had to do with what we had talked about the day before. Nothing was making sense because each time I thought I had it figured out, his line about liking pirates kept throwing me off.

Finally I thought I was just not smart enough to figure out where he had been so I called him to tell him he won. Guess where he had been? My blog! Every clue he gave me could be found in my own blog, he even quoted something I said just days before! Wow, talk about over analyzing! Here were my own words spelled out for me to see and I had no clue because I was making the puzzle out to be tougher than it needed to be.

So now I am left wondering if this is why I sometimes stop myself from doing things. I tend to think it will be hard or look at it from all angles until the thing becomes difficult because I made it out to be. Take my writing; I tend to shy away because I want to know my subject inside and out. If I find I lack some information I think what I have is not enough or not enough to enable me to write a good article or blog. So I guess my only recourse it to acknowledge this flaw in my character and learn to relax. Or maybe I am just over analyzing this too.