4. book that makes you cry

All right, so I've put this off for long enough. Here's the next post in the on-again, off-again books series - no doubt the post that will make you all think that I am a crazy person who gets waaaaaay too attached to fictional characters. All I can say in my own defense is that this sort of thing rarely happens with me and books - I think the last time was The Hobbit, when I was, like, eight.

You suck, George.

booksssssssss

Hello, friends! Happy Monday.

tt's been a little slow around the blog of late, largely due to my writerly stuck-in-a-rut-edness. Happily, after having trawled the internet for inspiration, I have stolen something from tumblr (bwahaha) that should keep us all entertained for awhile.

Source: goodreads.com via Mary on Pinterest

MORE updates on various endeavors! (now with 25% more endeavors and a 300% increase in funny pictures!)

Right, so I feel that the title of this blog post may require some explanation.

Over the course of my blogging existence, Blogger.com has been keeping tabs on my stats - things like where my site traffic comes from, where my audience is reading from (as of today, I seem to have almost as many readers in Russia as I do in the U.S. - thanks, Russia!), and which posts they view the most.

This last, in particular, is incredibly unpredictable. Today I looked up and saw that my most popular post of all time - all time, mind you, since this little cactus' very beginnings - is this one.

Dear readers. I love you. But I have to admit, you mystify me.
Don't get me wrong; it's great that you find my life-updates so interesting! But...what about the koala bears? The combovers? What about Magic Bracelet man? Has everyone forgotten the Magic Bracelet man???

Source: someecards.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Monday: the Random Cameos of My Friends edition

Good morning, people of the internet! Kevin Manley hopes you had a good weekend.

I certainly did - yesterday was my day off (I didn't get out of bed till it was time to call my dad - Happy Father's Day, Dad!), and the day before that, I got to do All The Things. Most of them involving paint. I think Saturday was the first time I have ever been involved in the cleaning/painting of a floor without backing myself into a corner. Please, please, hold your applause...

More news from the weekend:

I was forced to return Choke to the library unfinished, but I now have A Storm of Swords to replace it. If you know anything about Martin (or if you followed that link just now), you will not be surprised when I tell you that it will probably take me forty years to finish it. 

NYS&F: Day 1

Hello, friends!

I write you from my lunch break, because there was no way I would have had time to blog, eat and dress this morning. I don't know what it is - maybe it's the change in elevation or something - but I've been sleeping like a rock here in Poughkeepsie. Consequently, mornings are difficult.

Monday roundup

Good morning, friends, and happy Monday!

Source: Uploaded by user via Betty on Pinterest

Monday Monday

For those of you who are off work, sleeping in, barbequing and otherwise celebrating today – Happy Memorial Day! I enjoy a good barbeque is much as the next person (and probably more than some), but it’s always a bit weird to me to try and celebrate this holiday in a thoughtful manner. On the one hand – a day off work (for some people) and time to sleep in! Yay! On the other hand … it is about remembering our dead. (And if you’re one of the many Americans who is still a bit hazy about which dead those are, don’t be ashamed; educate yourself.) And that doesn’t seem like a cause for celebration so much as for a wake. Or maybe a vigil. Still, this is how we do it. We don’t have anyone in my immediate extended family to remember today, but I know a lot of people do, and our thanks can never be enough.

For the rest of the world – Happy Monday. Here's a roundup of some of the cool things I found on the internet this weekend!

good ideas come to those who walk

It is true; I keep forgetting it but it's true. Whenever I am out on a walk, it's as if my brain, realizing that I am now preoccupied, seizes its chance to take whatever challenges or questions I've been mulling over and excitedly rips them to bits, making way for a perfectly simple and elegant solution that I really should have seen all along.

This is, of course, as opposed to my brain's usual behavior while I'm sitting at my desk trying to get to work, which is something along the lines of "Oh, wait, what? Did you want something? Mmmm, coffee. MOAR COFFEE. Oh look, a gif of a chicken falling over!" Etc. 

In a related story, I once had some friends who would go for walks - like, serious middle-of-the-day, let's-hike-on-and-on-for-miles-type-walks - all the freaking time. And sometimes I'd go along for solidarity's sake, but the whole time I'd be thinking, "What is the matter with you people? Where are we even going? Why do you all make me feel so fat? WHY IS THERE NO COFFEE?"

Well. Now I get it. And I'm seeing someone about the whole coffee thing, since that's clearly an issue...

tech week: day one

Source: tumblr.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Hello, friends. This week, I have two papers, three tests, three job applications and a truckload of reading due. Oh, also: it's tech week.

(Last week was spring break. I got to sleep a lot and go to Chicago. It was great. It's gone now.)

Given the circumstances, every day this week I'm going to post a silly picture that may or may not be accompanied by ranting, raving, and, if the spirit moves, general inappropriateness. You have been warned. Happy Monday.

Monday smarts - "How to Talk to Girls"

Good morning! Ready or not, it's Monday. Here are a few pearls of wisdom to get you started off right. We should all be this smart someday.