13 Royal Blue Balloons

Although there is not much left in my little apartment due to an upcoming move, I am happy to inform the public that there are at least 13 royal blue balloons in my line of sight from my seat at my dining room table.

Sometimes I stare at them as I eat my healthy whole grain breakfast and sip my calcium fortified orange juice.

How am I possibly ready for the real world?

Movies lie about love.

Enough said.

Oh the plight of a single woman.

I just washed my face at the kitchen sink. It felt wrong. Really wrong. Like I had failed.

You see, about three days ago my bathroom sink got stuck. Note: not clogged. Stuck. The little silver plug is now permanently embedded into the porcelain sink area.

Day One: I tried to pry the plug loose with my fingernails. A good plan but surprisingly unsuccessful. Alas, the plug was stronger than I. I proceed to wash my face and let the water accumulate in the sink hoping it will be gone when I wake up.

Day Two: Still left over water in the sink from the night before. I proceed to attempt the fingernail approach again. Surprisingly still unsuccessful. I continue to wash my face in the sink and ignore the rising water line.

Day Three (today): It is now 10:55pm. I just got home from a very stressful class in Rogers. One that ended with a group project meeting where I suddenly became stubborn and knew it but couldn’t stop myself. I left frustrated with the group and with myself. I come home to discover that I cannot wash my face in the sink because the sink is full of water. I decide to ignore the fact that this is actually quite gross and decide that it is time to unstick the plug. So with my ipod adjusted to Daddy Yankee and my flathead screwdriver in hand I lift my chin up high, march to the sink, and attempt to pry the plug loose. To no avail. I give up after about 5 minutes of confused prying, quietly putting my ipod and screwdriver away. I slowly make my way to the kitchen sink with my Neutrogena face wash in hand. Defeat. Failure.

Oh the plight of a single woman.

I guess I’ll succumb and call my landlord tomorrow.

As I sit on my little blue couch

As I sit on my well worn little blue foam coach and stare at the empty bookshelf I think to myself, “They’re gone. They’re really gone.” I pack them up last night and sent them with my parents to Texas. Well, all but 9 of them. Only these remain:

• Walden by Henry David Thoreau

• Lila by Robert M. Pirsig

• The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint – Exupéry

• Flores para Hitler by Leonard Cohen

• James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

• A Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs

• Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

• Night by Elie Eiesel

• The Art of Life by Edith Schaeffer

I chose Henry and Robert because I’ve already started them. Henry to remind me of my desire to live simply. Robert to remind me how I used to think about the philosophy behind morals.Robert affords me some great memories … even in the sequel.

I chose Antoine because I heard about his book 3 times in the same week. Whenever that happens, I go to amazon.com and buy the cheapest version. That was three months ago.

I am on a quest to discover if I have a love of poetry besides what Garrison Keillor has chosen for me. Leonard has graciously included the Spanish translation of each poem next to the English one. I can read a poem in Spanish, then fall back on the English version to see how close my translations are. I believe poetry is not intended to be read in your native language. Other languages are so much more beautiful sounding than your own.

Roald and I have long been friends. I have been neglecting him as of late. This will be remedied in the next 2 months.

A.J. Jacobs is the author of The Know-It-All: One Man’s Quest to Become the Smartest Man in the World. Recommended by my friend Robyn whose literary suggestions I’m constantly trying to catch up with. Loved the first, can’t wait for the second. An early summer must-read. A little of what you can expect:

The Year of Living Biblically answers the question: What if a modern-day American followed every single rule in the Bible as literally as possible. Not just the famous rules – the Ten Commandments and Love Thy Neighbor (though certainly those). But the hundreds of oft-ignored ones: don’t wear clothes of mixed fibers. Grow your beard. Stone adulterers.

Business books seldom make the cut these days. I bought Outliers on a whim. I’m hoping that reading this will give me a shot at success. Don’t let me down, Malcolm. I wisely knew that if I didn’t leave this book with me, it would never be read. I can almost guarantee that Malcolm will be bringing up the rear of the book list.

Elie. Similar to watching Slumdog Millionaire or reading Sold I get the impression that Elie will be a powerful yet haunting read. I was given Night as a generous gift for facilitating. I think that books are the perfect “thank yous.”

Edith was also a gift. A friend from high school. I started reading it then, but didn’t understand it really. I recently thumbed through it to discover that it really does have incredible advice on how to master the art of living. Besides, Francis Schaeffer, Edith’s husband, is one of my high school heroes.

Well, I must go read now. But do I pick up Henry or Robert…?

>sigh<

Life can be so full of difficult decisions…