A Modern March and Other Things

Allie at A Literary Odyssey is hosting a fantastic event during March--A Modern March.  The event runs the entire month and has participants focus on awesome Modernist writers like Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Woolf, and Faulkner, among others.  I suppose you could say that this is, by far, my favorite literary movement.  I cannot remember the last time I was so excited (it was probably yesterday or the day before, but that's OK).

Naturally, this is my post announcing that I shall participate!  I shall rock this event!  I shall wow everyone and myself with the amount of reading I do in March.  But we have that pesky month of February standing in the way.  Can I just push a fast forward button?

Anyway...This shindig gets started on a Friday.  So I'll probably wind up spending as much of Friday and Saturday reading as I possibly can.  Because that sounds like a good idea.

March will be a pretty easy month for me, all things considered.  I have plans for Spring Break.  Because I won't be worrying about my thesis this year, I'll be able to relax and drink to my heart's content (much to my liver's dismay, I am sure) and shop to my heart's content (much to my bank account's dismay [nah, I'll only do much shopping if I've lost a size by then or find something I just can't live without]) while Zach and I go visit his friends.  By "relax," I mean that there will be a good amount of reading time because Zach and his friend plan to play on the PlayStation most of the week and his friend's wife is taking off Monday-Wednesday to go drinking and shopping with me (seriously; we've already discussed this).  Thus, I'll have Thursday and a fair bit of Friday to read.  Bliss!  Granted, I also have class in March, but I've never had a problem shirking my MLIS readings.

I am not sure what all I plan to read for this event.  I would really like to see myself finally knock out Mrs. Dalloway.  I bought this book about ten years ago (I was a sophomore in high school ten years ago; I just realized I'm getting really old!) from a fabulous used bookstore in Tulsa.  It's huge!  But you have to look in about three places to potentially find classics.  Anyway, I love the cover to the book.  It's all yellow and black with some blue flowers.  I just don't know why I haven't read it.

I'd also like to spend a bit of time with Faulkner.  Maybe get one or two of his works knocked off of my Faulkner project list.  There should also be a bit of Hemingway because he's fabulous.  Lastly, I think I might like to reread Lolita.  I have the annotated version on my Nook.  As a bonus, I may read The Waste Land, which is actually Zach's friend's favorite, so we can discuss it.  Ooh!  I could also read Ulysses, but that might be overkill.  The field is entirely open, you know.

In other news, my workout goal for this week is seven days of yoga.  I want to do three to five Sun Salutations and the fat-burning routine every other day and ten Sun Salutations the other days.  This morning was a ten Sun Salutation day.  I've never done ten Sun Salutations.  I was ready to stop after five, but I got myself, one-by-one, to do all ten.  I am pretty proud.  I did yoga a few days last week too while I was at my grandparents' house.  I feel a different already in my mood and--I think and hope--maybe a bit of different at my waist, like maybe it's a little more curve inward.  It makes me feel good to think so, so let me have my parade.

The past couple of days, with the help of Naturally Thin's advice, I have gotten my eating in better order.  I do really well until supper.  Last night, my downfall was tacos and an egg roll from Jack in the Box.  I had planned on eating just one taco with the stuff I had here.  Then I just sort of lost myself and ate the other taco and the egg roll.  But, as the book says to do, I have to walk it off.  Maybe I'll literally do an extra walk today to make up for it.  I need to figure out how to indulge in a controlled manner.  Out of sight, out of mind is probably my best bet.

It's been a couple of months, but I am still madly in love with my French press. It has such a clear taste.  Even if it does take seven minutes to make my coffee, I think it's worth it.  Plus I really like the freedom of getting to have a variety of coffees--yesterday I made a cafe au lait with my Cafe du Monde coffee; today I am having a mug of Dunkin' Donuts coffee.  I am out of my French roast, but will get some more after I get paid.  There's my tribute to my French press.

Reading-wise...Eh, I'm about the same.  I just can't find a novel that can hold my attention to completion.  Not that I get bored with the novel; I get distracted by something shiny, so I pick it up and start reading it.  Repeat ad nauseam.  But I just keep trying and hoping. Right now I am reading Mary McCarthy's The Group.  It's pretty good so far, like just about every single book I've started reading.  It's set in New York during the 1930s and follows a group of eight girls who just graduated from Vassar.  They go off in different directions--one gets married, one goes to Europe, one becomes lovers with a guy she met at a wedding.  They're living the life, you know?  I like most of the characters and I am interested to see what happens next.  McCarthy employs a good style, very personal and simple, but somehow vibrant and rich (don't get me wrong; she's no Hemingway).  I think what I like about the novel so much is that it's like a big city version of Peyton Place.  And because they were published three years apart, that makes sense.  It also seems like a precursor to Valley of the Dolls.

Zach and I are getting excited about baseball starting in just over two months. Pitchers and catchers report in fourteen days.  We've been watching Ken Burns's Baseball documentary and a whole host of baseball-related movies.  My only complaint is that we're not watching Bull Durham as often as I'd like.

I also have some writing that I need to do.  I just have't done it yet.  Shame on me, I know.  And I really need to go through my inbox on my email.  It's out of control.  It's difficult to get all of this stuff done though because just when I get settled, I have to go back to Tulsa for a few days (or a week).  While I'm gone I'm busy doing things.  When I get back, Zach and I want to spend some time together.  Then I have to hurry and get my homework done.  Then I leave again.  Vicious cycle.  But I'll get it worked out.  I've worked too hard to let things start slipping through my fingers now.

I guess that's about it.  I'll be back soon.