(no subject)
Jan. 28th, 2011 08:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tvordljA bit of a frustrating week as far as work goes. Things keep breaking and i can't always figure out why. Happens that way sometimes. Had a meeting in an outside-the-office location on Monday morning and because it was so cold, i got a taxi. I did get the money back for that, though. Yesterday i had a doctor's appointment and could only get a mid day one so i took the afternoon off. It's in an awkward spot to get to by bus if coming from work in the middle of the day and after the wait to get in to see her and getting all the way back to work after, there wouldn't be much time left to the afternoon. Better to take a few vacation hours. Turned out just as well, since she wanted me to get an xray of my foot that's been giving me a bit of grief. I walked to the hospital from her office (just a 5 minute walk away) because the walk in xray clinic was still open. Might as well get it over with. Had another bit of a wait there but not too bad. That's all done and dusted anyway.
It was cold and wet yesterday, though, so i had enough of being out in the light rain and chill. I was going to get a few groceries on the way home but i decided not to. I just wanted to get home where it was warm and dry!
2011 Books:
8. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde (ebook)
One of the "free" books that came with the ereader, though of course i could have downloaded it from any ebook site for free since it's an out of copyright book. I first read this in high school many (many) moons ago and in fact, did an English course seminar on Oscar Wilde. I thought i liked the book and i did, parts of it, but apparently this is the extended version he did after the initial publication and the additions really just go on and on about not a lot that contributes to the story. Once those middle chapters are done with, the story moves along quickly again to the inevitable end. Most people know the story of the vain young man who wishes his portrait would grow old and he stay young and of course that's what happens. He can do anything he wants, be as corrupt as he wants, and he continues to look like a beautiful young 19 or 20 year old. In the end, he thinks he can clean up his act but realizes nothing will change. He stabs his portrait and the servants find a withered ugly old man with a knife in his chest beside a portrait of their master as a beautiful young man.
9. Catch Me If You Can - Frank W. Abagnale
There was a movie based on this book a few years ago now, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. He's not my favourite actor but he is young looking (or was when he made the movie) so he did suit the part. It's about a teenager who leaves home at 16 and ends up pretending to be a Pan Am pilot for 4 or 5 years, progressing from getting free rides on planes to forging payroll and expense cheques and fraudulently cashing them all over the country. When things got too hot, he then stayed in one spot about 18 months and pretended to be a doctor. He's also impersonated a lawyer and a university lecturer. He was one of the most notorious cheque scammers ever and it took the FBI a number of years to catch up to him. He was wanted in many countries around the world for it, including France where he was finally caught and spent a few months in a dungeon of a jail. This book is his story as he tells it and it was interesting to hear how he actually did all the scams and was so successful at it. I might have to find the movie again to refresh my memory as to how much of it came out in the book but it seemed to me, in my hazy memory, that it wasn't too far from the book, what they did put into the movie at least.
The book's "voice" was a bit irritating at times. Frank's style of writing or speech, i guess, has him sounding like a "hip" dude from the 60s which, of course, he was. Or, ok, not hip, but he thought he was, and his era was athe 60s. Women are often referred to as chicks and foxes, the police are Fuzz, things like that. He was admittedly addicted to women and most of what he did was an ego-trip. After he did his time in prison, and after a few low paying jobs, he decided to see if a bank would pay him to teach it's staff how not to get scammed by people like him. The bank liked it and it launched him on a new career. Now he flies all over the world again, talking about security. Still an ego trip, but a legitimate one.
The book was written by a ghost writer who may, allegedly, have exaggerated some of what he was told but basically the story is what happened, i think. It was an enjoyable enough read, interesting to find out how he did what he did.
10. Dearly Devoted Dexter - Jeff Lindsay
The second in the Dexter books. The murderer in this one executed particularly grim mutilations. I won't go into it. No blood and guts but still pretty horrific. As far as i'm aware, the series storylines don't gel with the books from this one forward at least not on the main murderer that runs through the thread of each series. Dexter also finds himself accidentally engaged to Rita in this book and her son seems to have the same qualities Dexter has, he recognizes that the child may in fact be just like him and could be "trained" in the art of killing like he was by his step father Harry. I'm pretty sure that wasn't written into the series either! I didn't see the first two series of Dexter, just the most recent three.
2011 tea tasting
Winterberry Wine - This is a cranberry based herbal tea with cinnamon and all spice. It smells lovely and tastes very nice too. I've had somethign similar before, one of the Bigelow teas i think. Also, Second Cup does a mulled cranberry drink but it's made from a mix or syrup. The actual tea is much nicer.
David's Organic Breakfast - I generally love Breakfast tea but this seemed to be a bit weak for my tastes. I did add milk as it's a black tea and the cup i made it in wasn't overly large, probably about 10 ounces but it could have been a bit more, but perhaps the amount that was in the little container was only suitable for a 6 or 8 ounce cup or i didn't leave it long enough. I like my tea quite strong, see.
It was cold and wet yesterday, though, so i had enough of being out in the light rain and chill. I was going to get a few groceries on the way home but i decided not to. I just wanted to get home where it was warm and dry!
2011 Books:
8. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde (ebook)
One of the "free" books that came with the ereader, though of course i could have downloaded it from any ebook site for free since it's an out of copyright book. I first read this in high school many (many) moons ago and in fact, did an English course seminar on Oscar Wilde. I thought i liked the book and i did, parts of it, but apparently this is the extended version he did after the initial publication and the additions really just go on and on about not a lot that contributes to the story. Once those middle chapters are done with, the story moves along quickly again to the inevitable end. Most people know the story of the vain young man who wishes his portrait would grow old and he stay young and of course that's what happens. He can do anything he wants, be as corrupt as he wants, and he continues to look like a beautiful young 19 or 20 year old. In the end, he thinks he can clean up his act but realizes nothing will change. He stabs his portrait and the servants find a withered ugly old man with a knife in his chest beside a portrait of their master as a beautiful young man.
9. Catch Me If You Can - Frank W. Abagnale
There was a movie based on this book a few years ago now, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. He's not my favourite actor but he is young looking (or was when he made the movie) so he did suit the part. It's about a teenager who leaves home at 16 and ends up pretending to be a Pan Am pilot for 4 or 5 years, progressing from getting free rides on planes to forging payroll and expense cheques and fraudulently cashing them all over the country. When things got too hot, he then stayed in one spot about 18 months and pretended to be a doctor. He's also impersonated a lawyer and a university lecturer. He was one of the most notorious cheque scammers ever and it took the FBI a number of years to catch up to him. He was wanted in many countries around the world for it, including France where he was finally caught and spent a few months in a dungeon of a jail. This book is his story as he tells it and it was interesting to hear how he actually did all the scams and was so successful at it. I might have to find the movie again to refresh my memory as to how much of it came out in the book but it seemed to me, in my hazy memory, that it wasn't too far from the book, what they did put into the movie at least.
The book's "voice" was a bit irritating at times. Frank's style of writing or speech, i guess, has him sounding like a "hip" dude from the 60s which, of course, he was. Or, ok, not hip, but he thought he was, and his era was athe 60s. Women are often referred to as chicks and foxes, the police are Fuzz, things like that. He was admittedly addicted to women and most of what he did was an ego-trip. After he did his time in prison, and after a few low paying jobs, he decided to see if a bank would pay him to teach it's staff how not to get scammed by people like him. The bank liked it and it launched him on a new career. Now he flies all over the world again, talking about security. Still an ego trip, but a legitimate one.
The book was written by a ghost writer who may, allegedly, have exaggerated some of what he was told but basically the story is what happened, i think. It was an enjoyable enough read, interesting to find out how he did what he did.
10. Dearly Devoted Dexter - Jeff Lindsay
The second in the Dexter books. The murderer in this one executed particularly grim mutilations. I won't go into it. No blood and guts but still pretty horrific. As far as i'm aware, the series storylines don't gel with the books from this one forward at least not on the main murderer that runs through the thread of each series. Dexter also finds himself accidentally engaged to Rita in this book and her son seems to have the same qualities Dexter has, he recognizes that the child may in fact be just like him and could be "trained" in the art of killing like he was by his step father Harry. I'm pretty sure that wasn't written into the series either! I didn't see the first two series of Dexter, just the most recent three.
2011 tea tasting
Winterberry Wine - This is a cranberry based herbal tea with cinnamon and all spice. It smells lovely and tastes very nice too. I've had somethign similar before, one of the Bigelow teas i think. Also, Second Cup does a mulled cranberry drink but it's made from a mix or syrup. The actual tea is much nicer.
David's Organic Breakfast - I generally love Breakfast tea but this seemed to be a bit weak for my tastes. I did add milk as it's a black tea and the cup i made it in wasn't overly large, probably about 10 ounces but it could have been a bit more, but perhaps the amount that was in the little container was only suitable for a 6 or 8 ounce cup or i didn't leave it long enough. I like my tea quite strong, see.
