I am pretty sure that my battle against the man in question is the reason I didn't do so well in college. Well that, and the fact that when I wasn't playing Tetris, I was hanging out with guys with guitars - very much like the one you see here. So this may or may not be as amusing to you as it is to me, but here is a little glimpse into Helena's version of campus life:




Reading:
Just finished: Swift as Desire - Laura Esquivel. I need a dose of magical realism every now and again, and this was a particularly good one. A short but very sweet read about a man with a gift for understanding what people truly mean by the things they say and what happens when sunspots interfere with his radar.

Still reading: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. I keep losing and finding it, so I only ever read it in little bits. It is such a great book, I don't ever want it to end. And at this rate it may not.


Hearing:
My own thoughts and the above song running through my head.


Playing:
Violin - Bach Concerto No 1, 3rd Movement
Mandolin - Yankee Bayonet, by the Decemberists
Plus a bunch of orchestral stuff

Needing:
To get through my pack meeting tomorrow so I can relax. I won't bore you with the details but I feel like once I get through this one, it will be smooth sailing from here on out.


In My Car:
Just Finished - "A Drinking Life", a memoir by Pete Hamill. This was a completely engaging book. I always enjoy stories that put a personal perspective on the sweep of time. It's one thing to know that after WWII there was Korea, but to hear how those things affected an actual person brings a greater understanding. Also, somehow there always manage to be common threads in the books I am reading, movies I am watching, etc. In this case, there are two things:

1) In Swift as Desire, the characters live in Mexico City and dance to the music of Cuco Sanchez - while in A Drinking Life, he talkes about going to Mexico city and drinking while the music of Cuco Sanchez plays. I take these things as a sort of sign that this is something I should learn more about. So, anybody got any Cuco Sanchez CDs? Because apparently I have to give it a listen.

2) The author's original career goal growing up was to write and draw comics and there is a lot written about how he was influenced by reading and collecting comics - Kavalier and Clay is about two guys who make comics.

Now Listening To - "Portuguese Irregular Verbs", by Alexander McCall Smith. This is the first in a series, which I have listened to out of order, but that seems to be OK. I was just happy to finally find the first one. Whether he is writing about a deli owner in Scotland, a female detective in Botswana or a stodgy German linguist, I love his writing. Nothing much ever seems to happen, but that doesn't really matter, because you're spending time with such interesting characters.