What We Do

Here is what Eli and I do:
Eli gets up early and plays tennis or something active with his friends. He comes home and wakes me up. We get ready. We make our lunches, well usually Eli does because he gets ready faster than I do. He drops me off at school and/or work. He shadows a doctor or studies. I go to class and work and I read. We go home. Sometimes we make dinner. We read books or go for a walk or a run or watch a movie and then we go to bed.
There are slight variations throughout the day, but that's the gist of our days. It's starting to get hot now, and I think it's going to be a rough summer without an air conditioner. Oh well, we can make it. Eli takes the MCAT in less than a month now. He's going to do great on it. My term is halfway over. I've really enjoyed my classes this term. I can't believe they are my last classes, but I am really happy that they are. Here's some of the books I've read so far this term that I really love. They all come from my 495 Senior course, the topic of the class is 21st century lit, and it's great!

The March by E.L. Doctorow. This book is great. It's about Sherman's march to the coast during the civil war. I really learned a lot from it.
The Plot Against America by Phillip Roth. I'll admit this book is a little heavy reading at times but it's very interesting. What would have happened if America elected an Anti-Semite instead of Roosevelt and we didn't go to WWII?
Gilead by Marilyn Robinson. So I read this book in another class about a year ago, but I never really appreciated it until this last reading. This book is just beautiful, there's nothing else to say about it. Ronda and Annie, I know you'd like this book a lot. It's deep but also very accessible. Check it out!
The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I think I've mentioned this one before. It's super creepy and never gives you a warm fuzzy feeling, but it's also amazing. Think nuclear holocaust, father and son fending for themselves against cannibles and human slave drivers. If you're faint of heart, you definitley won't like it, but if you're creepy like me, you'll love it. Sidenote: It's being made into a movie with Viggo Mortensen (who I love!) but I don't think it will be very good.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. I just finished this book about ten minutes ago and it was amazing. It has a different format than most books, but it's great. Emily, I think you'd like it. Let me know if you want to borrow it. It does have some questionable language but I don't think it's anything grotuitous. It reminds me a bit of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime. It deals with Sept. 11 attacks. It's a wonderful book. I think most people would like it.
So, tonight we're doing laundry and getting ready for AJ's birthday (and happy birthday Ronda). I'm hoping to have my reading done so I can do projects on Saturday and Monday. Like the shelves made out of old drawers up there (I'm going to make a spice rack too) and the fabric headboard. Wish me luck!
Happy Memorial Day!

Funny

So, BYU has a cool question and answer thing known as the 100 hour board. It's at theboard.byu.edu if you want to check it out. I read it everyday at work because I sit at a computer waiting for people to ask me questions. Basically someone writes in a question and the writers have 100 hours to answer it. They have all types of questions and they have all types of answers. I was perusing the archives today and ran across my favorite question of all time. I may be mean, but golly does it make me laugh. I hope you enjoy it.

Dear 100 Hour Board,

The following is a very real circumstance:

Suppose you're in a time of your life where you feel that you have little to no direction. You work, you go home, you make enough to pay bills and little else. You wonder about what you're doing of value, and you begin to question the importance and significance of your life and existence.

Now, suppose you spent an evening praying somewhat earnestly for some kind of guidance. You feel pretty good. The next morning, the following event occurs:

It is a gray and cold morning. You are driving north on I-15 at about 8AM to work. You see this large white seagull flying aimlessly. You feel like you can identify with the creature--flying in circles, looking for basic sustenance and finding little. Then, as you reach the apex of your self-concerned analogy, the bird swoops down, and meets a truck head-on with inescapable finality.

How do you react? Do you take it as a very strange coincidence? Do you take some sort of sign from it? Do you laugh? Do you cry?

- Poor Bird.