began my rad new job (i.e. threw myself full-throttle into a hectic new full-time schedule after being unemployed for eight months)- spent two weeks in Melbourne learning and playing with great people
- learned how to front sault from a trampoline into a massive cushy air pillow (called a “Big Bag”)
- enjoyed a handful of magnificent Fringe Festival shows, including the Magnets a capella band and Famous Sharron‘s comedy show
- hosted my aunt and uncle who visited from Minnesota as part of a cruise
- watched some movies under the starsspent a glorious 18 hours camping in the bush with a dear friend
- spent 12 of those hours entertaining ourselves by talking about anything and everything under the sun and moon
- played hard at a rock climbing gym with workmates
- won our softball team’s grand final
- visited Sculptures by Sea at Cottesloe Beach
- read these books: Odd One Out by Monica McInerney, The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Euginides, Change Your Thinking by Sarah Edelman, and Light Shining in the Forrest by Paul Torday. I also finished the poems in See How We Almost Fly by Alison Luterman and received Brandon Stanton’s book Humans of New York so have been looking at a few pages a night of that. If you haven’t heard of Humans of New York, check it out. I love what this guy is doing.
How I Began 2014 with Billy Collins
I started my new year with a book that had been sitting sadly unread on my bookshelf since last Christmas. (As in, 2012 not one week ago.) I had read one of Billy Collins’ collections and asked for more of them. I’m glad I did! I read this new collection in one day–actually, in one hour. I took it with me this morning to my friend’s cafe and read it on the couch with a latte and a slice of Peanut Butter Oreo Pie (a.k.a. “Heaven”) and all of this made for a delightful hour in my day.
Billy Collins does with words and moments what I can only try to do and hope that somebody picks up on it. He has made beautiful, clever poems out of chairs that no one sits in, meatballs, and the feeling of a hangover. And if you’re reading this thinking, “Yeah, but it’s poetry. I don’t understand any of that stuff,” you’re wrong. Go read them all.
How I Read Three More Books in 2013
I have discovered that Paul Torday is a fantastic storyteller. I watched his movie Salmon Fishing in the Yemen without reading the book, and now I wish I had read it first. His book More Than You Can Say was intriguing and very different than Salmon Fishing, and the rest of his books, as far as I can tell from the blurbs on the back, are similarly varied in topic/subject.
I also finished off the last of John Green’s published books, The Fault in Our Stars, and enjoyed it very much. But my favourite of the three has to be 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith. I have seen many of the books in Smith’s series about the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, but have never read those out of disinterest. When I found 44 Scotland Street on the shelf at my local library, I read the back blurb and it sucked me in right away. This is the first in a series as well — all about the jumble of characters living in one apartment building — and I definitely am excited to read the rest. What is especially interesting about this book is that it was first published as a serialised novel in a newspaper, with daily installments. I think this gave it an unusual momentum that many books lack.
How I Learned That Beans Take a Loooooong Time to Cook
It was 11:30 AM. I was hungry. I had all the ingredients for a delicious-looking salad I found on Pinterest. The preparation time for the salad said “eight minutes.” Eight minutes! I can handle that!
It said eight minutes because it called for already-chopped onion and already-cut strawberries. Whatever, I can handle that. Only takes a couple minutes to chop those.
It said eight minutes because it called for canned black beans. All I had to do was open the can, drain the beans, and pour them into the bowl. I knew this, and I had planned ahead with my dry beans. I had them soaking in the refrigerator overnight.
What I didn’t plan was the cooking time. Who knew that even with pre-soaked beans, it takes roughly one and a half hours to cook?!?!?!?!??? Not me. It’s now 1:14 PM, and I’m still waiting for my lunch. Here’s what it looks like now:
Here’s what it will look like when it’s done:
I hope mine tastes as good as this one looks. At least now I know to cook my beans ahead of time…
Strawberry & Black Bean Salad – Recipe & Photo by An Edible Mosaic
How I Read Paper Towns by John Green
Yet another two-day book, Paper Towns by John Green was a 
simple, straightforward read. I was curious to discover the motivations behind a certain character’s disappearance, but I felt like I should have read this book in middle school rather than as an adult. This isn’t due to the characters’ ages (high school seniors) but due to the style and level of writing as well as the content. That being said, I did appreciate the book’s theme of perceiving people as bigger or more idealistic (and less human) than they really are. Good book, John Green, but not your best. (In case you’re wondering, An Abundance of Katherines and Looking for Alaska were your best–but I haven’t read The Fault in Our Stars yet.)
Improvisations: 