Funny that we think alike

Well, one more day of reading to go before finishing Farsi. Today, after a very slow day of reading (I feel like I am doing badly at this), I managed to get to page 140. Now, for a lot of people, this is incredibly fast reading, to me, this is slow (as molasses as a true Southern gentleman would say). The book is only 198 pages long, so the last 50 should not take too long for me to read. I have been tired a lot lately and I really don't know why; the tiredness has come with general aches, as well (for about 4 weeks now). My friend Rob, a nurse practitioner, thinks I should get a mono test tomorrow. I am thinking that is a good idea.

A couple of highlights came about in the book for me today. (This probably won't be a long blog because I am tired, so you MUST read this book to see the elaboration on them.) The first was in a chapter titled Treasure Island. The chapter offers a very introspective look on life; it helps define what is "treasure" in life to each person. Some people value wealth, others value experience. I think I fall under the experience, even though a little money does not hurt. Dumas reflects on her father's obsession with the 1934 film, Treasure Island. He had always wanted to find a treasure in his life and he did: the Fullbright Scholarship. Her father reveled in this dream and actually accomplished it despite people's negativity (don't you love how people bash you when they are jealous and try to tell you something is not going to work out? Mine would be when I moved to Chicago...people tried pushing every excuse on me as to why I should not go...and of course this was not everyone...I have a very supportive family). When he got over here, he went to Texas A&M. On Easter Break, he was taken to New Jersey by a couple of professors. They were going to meet up with an old professor of theirs and thought Dumas' father, Kazem, should meet him. This professor was Albert Einstein. The ultimate treasure for her father was meeting Einstein. This makes me think of how I would react. I don't care about meeting celebrities at all. I care about meeting the artists, intellectuals, musicians and authors. Yes, I did meet Ozzy Osborne two weeks ago, but it did not phase me even though it was an awesome experience. My most AWESOME meeting of a celebrity lasted for about 2 minutes. I was fortunate enough to meet (and most people would just roll their eyes at me) Audrey Niffenegger. Now, for any of you who do not know, she is probably my most favorite author; she wrote The Time Traveler's Wife and Her Fearful Symmetry. I have ALWAYS wanted to meet her since reading The Time Traveler's Wife. Well, fortunately, she shops in my Barnes and Noble. Part of the reason: I work with her sister. Her sister is one of the kindest women I have ever met and I love talking to her and engaging in conversation with her. She is so down to earth and I feel like I can talk about anything interesting with her (even though we have only known each other since October and see each other only when we are scheduled together). One day, I walked into work and saw her sister, B. I wanted to start talking to her, but she immediately said "She's over there, go talk to her." I was like "What?" B said "My sister, Audrey, she's over there. Talk to her." Well, my heart sank as I turned and saw Audrey Niffenegger standing right next to me. Now as you all know, I am NEVER short of words. NEVER. My store manager at Barnes probably wouldn't believe me at this part of the story. I could not think of what to say to this towering woman and her cranberry colored hair! I was just too overwhelmed. I wanted to say so many things to her. I recommend The Time Traveler's Wife to everyone. All I could muster was "Your book was amazing, as I know you hear all the time. I read it a couple of years ago before anyone was highly publicizing it and fell in love with it. I recommended it to everyone I know. Your book made me want to read more and encouraged me to read a lot (which it really did)." She amazed me at her humbleness. I just had to go away because I was actually shaky. I met the one person I always wanted to meet. I hope one day I can actually have a REAL conversation with her like I can with her sister. If they are anything alike, I know it will be meaningful.

The next funny moment in Farsi today was reading the Girls just wanna have funds chapter. Dumas described all of her various part-time jobs she has had. I think she and I could be in a competition to see who has had more. Currently, I win. Barnes, Gap and Lyric Opera. HAHA. Actually, she was doing a lot of babysitting and house sitting for psychos...so she probably wins. All I ever did was cat sit and water plants for my wonderful neighbors in South Carolina. My parents are now professional cat sitters since I am in Illinois.

The most meaningful moments in the book were reflections of Iranian family, holidays (Nowruz) and cultural ideals. She has such a splendid storytelling method.

Well nothing much to report from the real life...except, today we had an earthquake here in Chicago and yesterday we had 14 inches of snow. Go figure. Bienvenido a Chicago. What an intriguing place. Gotta love it and I do. :) The first pic below is of half of my windshield still under a thick layer of snow...just have to show some of the depth.
This pic is of my car next to Mt. Everest in the parking lot at work. Although the pile does not look high, it is over twice the height of my car and well over the length.
So this is the time of the week where I announce next week. I can barely keep my eyes open right now so this is going to be quick. For my E week:

What is the What? by Dave Eggers will be my choice for adult fiction.
My children's book will be a Newbery Honor:
The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes.

Eggers can be bought for $15.95 from Barnes. He is shelved in the Fiction/Literature section. Estes can be bought for $7.00. She is shelved in Juvie Fiction. Estes is the name of the street I live on...ok, the crossroad. Originally, I was going to read a different "E" book, not to be confused with an e-book, but we had to be buttholes and zone everything before inventory at Barnes and of COURSE the book I wanted to read for "E" was due-out. UGH. Oh well, I will catch another of its genre.

Well folks, it is time for me to slumber: ie. watch Netflix until I crash.

A demain (Dumas speaks of being fluent in French and has a story about a summer in France because of Alliance Francaise, a scholarship in which I had. I figured I would give a French tribute to you as you sleep.).

Bons reves mes amis.