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Aron and I celebrated our 8th Anniversary today. We had a romantic Tea at the Hotel Sorrento  talked about the present and the past with a little bit of the future.

Then we wandered to the bus home. We waited at our regular bus stop in front of Macys, waiting for the bus. The 5 showed up, and a small crowd moved to  get on the bus. Aron got on first, and someone moved between us to get on behind him. The guy in front of me let someone else on in front of him, as I got impatient, He moved up the steps and stood there in the middle of the way, not letting me on. He seemed a little wobbly, and said “what bus is this?”

I was annoyed and just pushed passed. When I reached our seat, it felt off So I  patted down to check for my wallet. (Obsessive habits for the win!)  Not in my pockets.  Dug through my purse,  not there either.  ”I think someone grabbed my wallet” Aron got me to sit down, calm down, and take care of business canceling cards and calling the Hotel in case i had really just dropped it at tea.

We got home, and I checked email. There was an email letting me know that my debit charge for a cab company didnt go through, it was run at  4:15, while we were on the bus on our way home.

Clearly it was malicious.

(there was no money there, no money in my checking acct really and  the worst thing is that they have my identification, my ID and  Social Security Card and keys.) I’ve set up  extra security at my bank,  and will be contacting  the credit agencies  tomorrow to warn them.   I’ll be ok, but it sure shows that you nee to pay attention, particularly when things seem off.

So I love my Kindle, and I love the number of free books available. It’s sometimes hard to find your way through the lists of books to find the free ones. To that end I’ve set up a Twitter feed :

http://twitter.com/Kindlebabe

I’m only featuring the mainstream ones right now, not the “free classics”.

Don’t have a Kindle?

Try the software for your computer:

Kindle for PC

(Mac software *coming soon*)

or for your ipod/iphone via the apps store.  (I think there might be an android version, but since I dont have an android phone can’t say for certain.)

It occurs to me to wonder how many iterations of “something” make a tradition. After all for the past 3-4 years we have not done Holiday gifts for the adults.  Is that enough to make it a tradition? Is four years enough to signal ‘the way it’s always been done’?

It’s been years since I have done resolutions. Looking back now I wonder if resolutions are simply the trappings of the self help and diet industries. After celebrating to excess from November to January 1st it is easy to see why we might be drawn intoa routine of restriction.

Much like the victim of a blinding hangover we clamor for the fresh clean and refreshing. The water to clear our palate, to wash the after taste away.

Yet I don’t feel the need to react that way. First I gave up the diet industry years ago. Beyond that my life doesn’t need fixing. Sure I could vacuum more and Warcraft less, but those are agenda items not lifestyle declarations or flaws to fix. (and a girl has to have a little down time)

I think the New Year is a horrible time to prune our personal habits. After spending two months celebrating with friends and family we shortchange the person we are by attempting to cull parts of our personality in the interest of vanity.  It’s not that I don’t believe in personal change, but do it for you, not because we hit a new decade.

The quarter is over, and I’ve got so much to tell you….

It’s been a hard quarter. Busier then ever, and I’ve done some pretty rewarding things. Now I’m trying to regroup and relax, focusing attention on a few less academic things, like getting the GRE done, and preparing for job hunting.

One of the things that I did during the quarter was purchase a Kindle. Two of my classes required a large amount of reading, and I compensated by buying a friend’s used Kindle thinking I would be able read the PDFs on the way to school.

The instructor who required 700 pages printed wasn’t ok with me using it in class, and not all of the readings worked on it, but in the end it was a smart purchase. I enjoy having a library of books with me , both class reference and fun reading. Amazon has had a variety of free books available, enough to keep me reading, and to encourage me to engage in reading a few new series.

It introduced me to
T.A. Pratt’s Marla Mason series, starting with Blood Engines,
Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series with His Majesty’s Dragon,
Lara Adrian’s Midngight Breed series, with Kiss of Midnight
Laurell Hamilton’s Merry Gentry series with A Kiss of Shadows
Morgan Howell’s Queen of the Orcs trilogy with  King’s Property

as well as a number of one offs. Some were great. (T.A. Pratt) Some were not so great (Laurell Hamilton) , and others were pure guilty indulgence (Lara Adrian). I figure as long as it’s no worse then a Debbie Macomber, then I’m good to go.I’ve got an open mind, and will download and read just about anything.  I’ve downloaded a handful of samples too, and a couple of short stories.

(Of course it’s always a surprise to download a free  novel and find out that it’s erotica. With a Kindle, no one knows when you are reading porn)

I’ve bought a number of books full price on the kindle. T.A.Pratt and Lara Adrian specifically. The decision I am facing now? Well, while the Laurell Hamilton novel wasn’t great I wouldn’t mind picking up book number two.(Again, see “It’s not worse then Debbie Macomber” clause)  I could pick up a used copy for .82 on Amazon, probably what it’s worth.

I like having books on the Kindle though, and when I factor in shipping, the difference is only around $1.50, at least for this book.The convience is appealing, though part of me refuses to cave in. I don’t want to pay “full price” for a series I’m not thrilled with.  With the Debbie Macombers (and Maeve Binchys) I’m able to purchase the books used at a local bookstore, and in the end return them there when I’m done. It’s a nice little rental cycle that has built up $100 in credit at Balderdash.

In the end, I need to investigate how to get more books onto the Kindle, to try to move .mobi books from the library over,  and come to terms that I’m paying for the luxury of  having my library with me in a convienent package.