Guys, I have a serious problem.
I'm drowning.
Not emotionally, in a depressed "I can't keep up with my feelings of sadness" kind of way. And not in an actual drowning in water kind of way.
I'M DROWNING IN MY BOOKS.
You see, I read books in 2 formats: actual physical books, and Kindle books. Actual books that I get from the library are wonderful because once I have them, I can keep renewing them forever and ever and there's no rush to read them. Kindle books, however, are not so simple. There are a few types of Kindle books that I read:
- Kindle books that I own. There are very few of these since I don't like to pay for books, which is unfortunate because, like physical books, these are easy to deal with. Yesterday I bought Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close from Amazon because it was on sale for 25 cents. I probably won't read it for awhile.
- Kindle books that I get from the Amazon Lending Library. As an Amazon Prime member, I get to borrow 1 book a month. I can keep them for as long as I want, but even if I finish one in 2 days, I still can't borrow another one until the 1st of the next month. I don't like to get behind on these books because I want to fully utilize this part of my Prime membership, and it's nice to be able to pick out a new book and have access to it immediately (unlike library books, which I typically have to wait for). Sadly for me, my current lending library book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, is from February and I don't anticipate finishing it anytime soon. So I probably won't be getting a free March book. Wah.
- Kindle books from the Brooklyn Public Library. Library e-books are tricky. When I get an email that one of my books is ready for download, I have 3 days to download it. Once it's on my Kindle, I have exactly 2 weeks to read it. No renewal option.
Normally this is all fine and well because I read books at lightning speed (according to Goodreads I've finished 18 books so far in 2012 and am in the middle of 5 more). So as the books I've put on hold start coming in, either in hard or soft copy, I adjust accordingly. If I'm reading an actual physical book and a library e-book comes through, I'll temporarily abandon the first book because I know I have unlimited time to read it while I only get 14 days with an e-book. It's always worked out.
However, I feel like I'm on the brink of losing control of my reading. For the first time since I got my Kindle in November, I'm afraid I won't have time to finish something or other.
You see, I got an email today that 1Q84 is ready for download. I just started reading Fire, another library e-book, but I'm confident I can finish it before 3 days from now, the point at which I have to download 1Q84 or I lose my spot in line. The problem is that 1Q84 is over 900 pages long, so even at my current pace it'll take me a bit to get through it.
AND
Because I can go to the library's website to check the status of the e-books I have on hold, I can see that I'm probably going to get The Girl Who Played With Fire pretty soon also. This book is over 700 pages.
I ONLY HAVE 2 PRECIOUS WEEKS WITH EACH OF THESE BOOKS BEFORE THEY DISAPPEAR FROM MY KINDLE.
I JUST DON'T THINK I CAN KEEP UP WITH THIS.
What I need to do is to STOP PUTTING BOOKS ON HOLD. I've turned into a monster.
Why being single is awesome
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Labels:
Single Girl Confidential
It's been a long time since Jess and I have posted in our Single Girl Confidential series. But after a few months of being distracted, we're back for the finale (though we completely reserve the right to resurrect the series at any point in the future).
Today we're talking about why being single is awesome. Jess's post is here.
There are many directions in which I could take this. I could talk about how I relish the fact that I have my entire queen bed to myself (which I do. I hate sharing beds). I could talk about how happy I get every time one of my non-single friends says something like, "Oh, I wish I could join you for ______ but UCH I have to go to [significant other's] family/work/whatever thing that I really don't feel like going to." I can't even imagine not having my life to myself and how frustrated I'd get if I had to deal with someone else's obligations (I have enough of my own, thank you). I could talk about how stress-free it is to NOT plan a wedding, to NOT have a boyfriend who occasionally acts like a jerk and pisses me off, to NOT freak out over what to get him for his birthday.
But I'm not going to talk about those things.
I think we can all agree that one of the best parts of being in a relationship is the feeling that you are not alone. When shit hits the fan, there's someone there to battle it out with you, or at the very least, to listen to you vent, offer advice and support you.
Being single, you lack this extra support system. Sure, we have wonderful friends who can and will help us through anything, but it's somewhat different than having that one person who devotes more of their time to you than to anyone else.
You're probably wondering if maybe I'm writing the wrong post right now. Isn't this "why being single is awesome?" and not, "why being single sometimes leads you to find solace in a pint of Ben and Jerry's?" Don't worry.
Being single is awesome because when you're alone in dealing with the lemons life throws at you, you come out on the other side knowing that you are strong enough to make it on your own. You made that proverbial lemonade, but you didn't need anyone else to help you do it.
Despite the fact that I'm clearly going through some issues with my self-esteem at the moment, I am actually quite confident in some areas of my life. I'm confident that I can make people laugh, if not always on purpose. I'm confident that when I really want to, I can produce a well-written paper or essay (I'm particularly proud of my Stratejoy application).
But at the core of my confidence, and a fundamental part of who I am, is the knowledge that no matter what happens, I will always be okay. Though I certainly hope that I'm not single for the rest of my life, I know that should that be the case, I will navigate the twists and turns and lemons and limes and whatever other citrus fucking fruit comes my way. I will always enjoy my own company, I will always be able to keep myself entertained, and I will always find it within myself to overcome the bullshit.
I know that no one ever died of being single, so sure, you can say that EVERYONE would be able to make it on their own, if forced to do so. But I would argue that most people wouldn't be happy doing it. And while I know a lot of people who find singlehood debilitating and uncomfortable, I think the inordinate amount of time I've spent single hasn't weakened me at all. On the contrary, it constantly forces me to find strengths I never knew I had.
And that, my friends, is why being single is awesome.
Today we're talking about why being single is awesome. Jess's post is here.
There are many directions in which I could take this. I could talk about how I relish the fact that I have my entire queen bed to myself (which I do. I hate sharing beds). I could talk about how happy I get every time one of my non-single friends says something like, "Oh, I wish I could join you for ______ but UCH I have to go to [significant other's] family/work/whatever thing that I really don't feel like going to." I can't even imagine not having my life to myself and how frustrated I'd get if I had to deal with someone else's obligations (I have enough of my own, thank you). I could talk about how stress-free it is to NOT plan a wedding, to NOT have a boyfriend who occasionally acts like a jerk and pisses me off, to NOT freak out over what to get him for his birthday.
But I'm not going to talk about those things.
I think we can all agree that one of the best parts of being in a relationship is the feeling that you are not alone. When shit hits the fan, there's someone there to battle it out with you, or at the very least, to listen to you vent, offer advice and support you.
Being single, you lack this extra support system. Sure, we have wonderful friends who can and will help us through anything, but it's somewhat different than having that one person who devotes more of their time to you than to anyone else.
You're probably wondering if maybe I'm writing the wrong post right now. Isn't this "why being single is awesome?" and not, "why being single sometimes leads you to find solace in a pint of Ben and Jerry's?" Don't worry.
Being single is awesome because when you're alone in dealing with the lemons life throws at you, you come out on the other side knowing that you are strong enough to make it on your own. You made that proverbial lemonade, but you didn't need anyone else to help you do it.
Despite the fact that I'm clearly going through some issues with my self-esteem at the moment, I am actually quite confident in some areas of my life. I'm confident that I can make people laugh, if not always on purpose. I'm confident that when I really want to, I can produce a well-written paper or essay (I'm particularly proud of my Stratejoy application).
But at the core of my confidence, and a fundamental part of who I am, is the knowledge that no matter what happens, I will always be okay. Though I certainly hope that I'm not single for the rest of my life, I know that should that be the case, I will navigate the twists and turns and lemons and limes and whatever other citrus fucking fruit comes my way. I will always enjoy my own company, I will always be able to keep myself entertained, and I will always find it within myself to overcome the bullshit.
I know that no one ever died of being single, so sure, you can say that EVERYONE would be able to make it on their own, if forced to do so. But I would argue that most people wouldn't be happy doing it. And while I know a lot of people who find singlehood debilitating and uncomfortable, I think the inordinate amount of time I've spent single hasn't weakened me at all. On the contrary, it constantly forces me to find strengths I never knew I had.
And that, my friends, is why being single is awesome.
Exciting news!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Labels:
Stratejoy
I am supremely excited to announce that starting in March I will be blogging for Stratejoy as one of their season 6 Quarterlife Crisis bloggers!
For the unfamiliar, Stratejoy is a life-coaching business run by the always wonderful Molly Mahar, and it encompasses everything from individual coaching to group courses to fun and introspective journal prompts as a way of helping women figure out who they are and how to lead the most meaningful, joyful lives possible.
A big component of Stratejoy is the Quarterlife Crisis bloggers, where a number of women spend several months guest posting on the site to share their unique stories. I am honored and humbled to have been accepted as a blogger for season 6, excited to start writing and NERVOUS AS ALL HELL to put it all out there.
It's going to be a huge step outside my comfort zone, as I'll be blogging about all the vulnerabilities and insecurities and other fun stuff that I'm going through right now. I've started trying to get this blog going in that direction but I'll be taking it even further at Stratejoy. I hope you'll all follow me over there (no worries, I will absolutely be posting links here to try and tempt you all to click over).
My natural tendency is definitely not to put myself out there in this way, so I'm proud of myself for even applying in the first place, and anxious to see how it goes. But mostly, I'm super super pumped to follow in the footsteps of so many ridiculously intelligent and inspiring women.
YAY.
For the unfamiliar, Stratejoy is a life-coaching business run by the always wonderful Molly Mahar, and it encompasses everything from individual coaching to group courses to fun and introspective journal prompts as a way of helping women figure out who they are and how to lead the most meaningful, joyful lives possible.
A big component of Stratejoy is the Quarterlife Crisis bloggers, where a number of women spend several months guest posting on the site to share their unique stories. I am honored and humbled to have been accepted as a blogger for season 6, excited to start writing and NERVOUS AS ALL HELL to put it all out there.
It's going to be a huge step outside my comfort zone, as I'll be blogging about all the vulnerabilities and insecurities and other fun stuff that I'm going through right now. I've started trying to get this blog going in that direction but I'll be taking it even further at Stratejoy. I hope you'll all follow me over there (no worries, I will absolutely be posting links here to try and tempt you all to click over).
My natural tendency is definitely not to put myself out there in this way, so I'm proud of myself for even applying in the first place, and anxious to see how it goes. But mostly, I'm super super pumped to follow in the footsteps of so many ridiculously intelligent and inspiring women.
YAY.