• My ears finally stopped ringing.
• My old friend from school posted another "vlog" and I still couldn't watch it.
• My Birthday is in 2 weeks and 4 days.
• I went to the Valley Plaza today because I wanted to go to Sephora and buy make-up but they close at 6. Stupid.
• My feet are cold.
• NYC in 21 days.
  

New York City is waiting for me. I think of it all the time. I wait. I am excited beyond the physical. Mmm. Jake Gyllenhaal is on Conan right now. Yummy. I think it would be amazing is John Krasinski was the guest when we go. Ohhh, my John is going to be there on October 25th... Lame dash O. How amazing would that have been. I may have just died right there on the spot. New York is probably enough anyway. I was on Yahoo!Maps and looking at various restaurants around the hostel we're staying at and there is this sandwich shop nearby called Lunch Boxes Etc. that can make just about any kind of sandwich you want. We MUST go there. You've Got Mail makes me want New York. Love.

I've been reading a lot of books lately, most of them by one of my new favorite authors Michael Crichton. I started with Jurassic Park because I love the movie and was pretty much addicted. I went to Barnes and Noble and bought two more: The Lost World and Prey. I read Prey next and could not put it down. I literally sat at my desk upstairs and read the last few chapters when I was on the clock because I was in such suspense. Then I read The Lost World, Timeline, Rising Sun, and now I'm finishing up State of Fear. I have The Andromeda Strain/Terminal Man in my bookcase for my next book. After that I will read Sphere, Congo, The Great Train Robbery, Airframe, and then Next. I am really looking forward to Next and although it's already been published, I'm waiting for it to come out in paperback because I carry my books around in my purse and hardback books are heavy. I have to wait until November for that.

The reason I like his books so much is because of the way he can wrap you up in the story. With Jurassic Park I recall being huddled on my bed during the scary parts even though I knew the story. I also enjoy the obvious research he puts into these books, it's not often you read fiction with a bibliography several pages long in the back, also, footnotes referencing real journal articles and studies. State of Fear is about global warming, and I feel like I'm learning while enjoying a well-written thriller. Prey was about nano-robots (but not government-created killer nano-robots) , Jurassic Park and The Lost World was genetics, Timeline was time travel. Fascinating novels built on the backs of strong research and obvious intelligence. The only thing that bugs me, albeit slightly, about these books is that sometimes he goes too far into the sciency stuff and seems to be thrusting his own personal opinions onto us. But I forgive because the stories are so good. Also, the main characters are almost always male, and are usually normal, somewhat knowledgeable, are kind of dense, and always find themselves in extraordinary circumstances. Also, lots of people die. Lots. I learned to not get too attached to one person because they'll probably die. I think in State of Fear maybe only one main character has died but they talk about him all the freaking time so he may as well be alive. No wait, I take it back, the first 4 chapters concluded with a death. So much death.

I still totally love these books though.

My family is doing a lot of redecorating of our house. The entire family room/living room is in it's final stages (thank goodness considering we started 4 months ago) and I recently started to slowly clean out my room in hopes of moving out sometime in the next decade. I decided that I'm going to use Van Gogh's Starry Night as my inspiration and color palate. So far I've painted one shelf. I also replaced my light switch by myself! I am so proud of the fact that I can do basic electrical work. I should be able to considering that my family has renovated more than one house (two) in the past 10 years and I've spent months and months (spread over 8 years) painting and installing various house things. I am also cleaning out all of my books, which, sadly, means I will be getting rid of a lot of books. I don't want to give them away, although that would be charitable, I really want to sell them and get some of my money back. I also packed up a lot of things from my childhood (awards, dolls, etc.) into a storage container which is now in my closet with a bunch of clothes I need to actually give a way. The major phase of my room renovation will start next Sunday, the day my parents leave to go on a 9-day cruise to Mexico. I will clear my room of everything and paint it. I'm still undecided on the color but as long as it's not the stark white as it is currently I think I'll be OK.