my halloween costume and my favorite target moment

this year i decided to go as the columbia pictures logo. the picture here isn't great, but i love the costume. i'm wearing it again tonight but i'm going to try to pin the blue sash a little better so it looks more like the logo. i'm also going to remember to hold the torch higher for photos.

in doing my research i found out that the lady's figure in the real logo is based on the shape of the coca-cola contour bottle. how perfect. me and coca cola.

any mention of the shape of the coca cola bottle reminds me of one of my favorite days working as a cashier at target. a guy came through my line and was buying a 20 oz coca cola (in the plastic bottle) and that was it. he said to me, the stupid little target cashier who he was probably trying to impress, "you know i designed the shape of this bottle." i blurted out without even thinking, "no you didn't- earl dean did." he didn't say anything for about 30 seconds, just dumbfounded that his little target cashier knew that and finally said, "okay you're right but i meant the plastic version. how the hell did you know that?" it was actually extremely random that i knew that- i had just gone to a design lecture where the bottle got a nod, and somehow remembered the name. who knew i was going to get use that little factoid to put a pompous guy in his place?

bookquiz - from my sister

Hardback, trade paperback or mass market paperback? always hardcover, if i think the book is something i'm going to read more than once and the store has hardcover. if they don't, trade paperback. honestly, when you have a barnes and noble card, the hardcover is usually $3 more expensive than the paperback. of course, every time i move i swear off hardcovers.

Barnes & Noble or Borders? barnes and noble. my barnes and noble card sadly pays for itself in 3 or 4 months (considering i buy books as presents most of the time too.)

Bookmark or dog-ear? neither? and then i forget where i am and go back and re-read. so then i say, "i should dog ear." but i re-read books so often that i don't know which dog ear belongs to which reading.

Amazon or brick-and-mortar? brick and mortar. i like wandering around discovering things, asking the staff for recommendations, and i don't like paying for shipping or waiting. i'm too much of my mother's child ("instant gratification isn't fast enough") to wait for books to arrive. my dream job is actually working in a book store. helping people find books and sorting things and putting them in order! amazing.

Alphabetize by author, or alphabetize by title, or random? not alphabetized at all. grouped by author, and then certain authors grouped together. funny with the funny. irish with the irish. history with the history, etc.

Keep, throw away, or sell? keep, unless i hated it. i rarely even lend, because i want my books back. plus i dont want other people's germs on my books.

Keep dust jacket or toss it? keep it. usually they're prettier than the cover. i'm still mad that my war and peace dust jacket was ruined. it was beautiful, but it's not like i'm going to buy the book again just for the dust jacket.

Short story or novel? both

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? HARRY POTTER!

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? read until i fall asleep. i wake up a lot in the morning with the light still on and the book on the floor.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”? Either

Buy or borrow? buy- see above about other people's germs on books.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendations, or browse? all of the above. but very rarely do i buy books on book reviews. i tend to think that most of what is reviewed is pretentious. maybe i'm reading the wrong reviews. (take that michael silverblatt of bookworm)

Tidy ending or cliffhanger? i like tidy better, but cliffhangers give you a chance to write your own ending in your head, so really either.

Morning reading, afternoon reading, or nighttime reading? all the time reader.

Stand-alone or series? stand alone, unless the series is good enough.

Favorite series? depends. when i was little, anne of green gables. now- harry potter.

Favorite children’s book? i don't know that i have one. unless you count finding "don't let the pigeon drive the bus" as a 28 year old a "favorite children's book."

Favorite YA book? single book- the secret garden. series- anne of green gables.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? i'd say girl of the limberlost, but it looks like it was turned in to a TV movie in 1990, so maybe people have heard of it.

Favorite books read last year? impossible to choose.

Favorite books of all time? little women, pride and prejudice, mansfield park (it's my favorite of the austens)

What are you reading right now? still slogging through a short history of nearly everything. it's great, just dense. not exactly a "what happens next???" type book.

What are you reading next? a farewell to arms for book club.

Favorite book to recommend to an 11-year-old? gone with the wind, although i don't know that every 11 year old would get obsessed with atlanta circa 1861+ the way i did. i wonder what other 11 year olds were reading?

Favorite book to re-read? i re-read probably everything i read. i don't know why, but i do. so- favorite of those to re-read, little women, jane eyre, anything by jane austen, wuthering heights.

Do you ever smell books? depends on the book. no.

Do you ever read primary source documents like letters or diaries? not often. if i read stuff like that it's usually semi-fictionalized versions of them. i like my reading edited so that someone's making sure it's actually interesting.

the not so scientific science of the way i look

first go read here.

then look at how ellen page's character dresses in whip it.

(btw- this picture doesn't even begin to give you any idea of how horribly this girl dressed.)

the first is an example of people trying desperately to be beautiful and all end up looking the same. and the other is an example of someone wanting so desperately to not look like everyone else that they end up looking ridiculous.

my goal isn't exactly something i think about every day, but it certainly is to walk the line between the two. as much as i can't stand looking like everyone else, combat boots, clothes that don't match and an inch of eyeliner is not the right kind of fashion statement. everything about the girls in the front of the club screams "trying too hard." and the ellen page girl would say, "look at them trying so hard." but at the same time i look at the ellen page character and think, "trying too hard."

i can't stand the thought that anyone would ever look at me and think, "trying too hard." which is why my clothes always end up being on the safe side and i almost never wear makeup. nothing i ever wear looks like i take a chance. i walk the safe middle ground. makeup makes me feel like i'm asking for attention.

i think this is why i have red hair. it's my one way of standing out without looking like i've tried too hard. it looks real, and no one can accuse you of trying too hard with your real hair color.