Confessions of a Bookaholic

I was recently browsing some old pictures and came across this one of my aunt reading a book to my one-year-old self. It’s okay, you don’t have to say it. I know I’m cute (though not as cute as my sister at that age...she’s the one staring at the camera looking like a porcelain doll). But this picture makes me think about my love of (some might say obsession with) books and how early it started. 

My grandma loves to tell stories about me learning to read as a two or three year-old. Apparently, I amused myself by flipping through books and "reading" their pages aloud to whomever would listen. Her favorite story is of a time she overheard me talking and peeked her head into the room to see what was going on. I had placed my stuffed animals and dolls in a circle around me and was animatedly "reading" a Christmas book to them. I flipped to a page that showed Jesus in the manger and loudly declared, "Everyone, gather round! The Savior will be born in three minutes!" 

In second grade, my best friend Alana T. and I (don’t ask me why I called her Alana T. instead of just Alana...rapper name perhaps?), bookworms that we were, asked our teacher if we could start a class library. We assembled all the class books in one area and created a sheet that students had to fill out in order to check out books, complete with an elaborate book-labeling sticker system (stickers being our other shared passion). I don’t know how my classmates felt about it, but I thought the class library was the single coolest thing about second grade. 

Growing up, I always loved visiting the library and still do to this day. My favorite thing to do at the library is attend their book sales. Library book sales are what enabled me to fully stock my 8th grade class library in my first year of teaching without going bankrupt. Seriously...Scholastic recommends that class libraries hold at least a couple hundred books. At retail price, we’re talking thousands of dollars. But at $5 a bag, that quota is quite reasonable. Sure, some of them are missing a page or two or are detached from their binding, but that just means they were well-loved :).  

I recently dragged Zack to our local Sunnyvale Library book sale and was practically giddy as I rummaged through their huge selection. Overlooking the fact that the room was dusty and jam-packed with people (not the best place to be post-transplant, but not to worry, I wore my mask), I was happy as a clam. My problem is that I seem to find a use for any and every book. A 2003 copy of Resume Writing would be perfect for my friend who just graduated! Nevermind the fact that we live in an apartment; Gardening for Dummies is the book for me! I found six SAT books to add to my already extensive tutoring collection but sadly put two back at Zack’s insistence. As an English teacher, I feel a compelling obligation to read “the classics,” so into my bag went Animal Farm and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. I also purchased Dave Barry’s Complete Guide to Guys. Don’t worry ladies, I promise to share what I learn in a later post.

Buying all these books has its drawbacks, though. For one, they take up a lot of space. Besides the hundreds of books filling my class library, I have several book boxes in storage. After making several trips back and forth to the storage unit, Zack began to protest, so I decided to come up with a solution. What do I want for Christmas? A new bookcase :). 

Happy Thanksgiving

When I was 17, I was diagnosed with cancer. The day after I found out, I started chemotherapy so intense that I spent two to three weeks a month in the hospital. Yet I’ll never forget that in that first week of my treatment, while vomiting, losing my hair, and being told that I wouldn’t return to school to finish my senior year, I decided to make a gratitude list.

My list contained such items as “my sight and hearing,” “my family,” “competent doctors” and “decent hospital food.”I don’t remember what compelled me to write such a list at such a difficult, confusing, and frightening time in my life, but I remember realizing that there were so many things in my life that I took for granted. At a time when I could so easily feel sorry for myself and focus on how hard my life was and how many of my dreams and plans had been shattered, I chose to focus on what I did have and what a blessing that was.

I’m ashamed to say my attitude then was in many ways much better than it is now. I may tell myself I’m more “mature” and “experienced” now, but the truth is that I was often more positive and faithful at 17 than I am at 26.

But I don’t intend to stay that way. I’m a Christian, which means I believe that Jesus died for my sins, giving me the opportunity to be a completely new person every day of my life. I don’t need to be stuck in the negativity and bitterness that can so easily consume a person’s life when he or she is confronted with suffering and loss. I can choose, as I did at 17, to be thankful. When I do, I realize that though I’m going through many difficult things that most people don’t have to deal with, I also have many blessings that other people don’t. We all have different burdens and different blessings, and who knows if we’d be able to handle someone else’s load?

I’m not going to list a new “gratitude list” here for the sake of space and time, but I’m going to try to adopt that attitude and think about the things that are going well and the blessings God has given me instead of the problems.

Philippians 4:6-7 CEV
Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.

P.S. You may think this post is a bit late, seeing as Thanksgiving was a couple days ago, but my Canadian friend recently informed me that Thanksgiving in Canada is celebrated in October! So I figure Thanksgiving has yet to arrive this year in some part of the world; either that, or I’m getting a head start for next year.

Heavenly Lettuce

Crisp. Moist. Refreshing. Naturally tasteless. For a person without smell or taste, this is as good as it gets. Since I lost my sense of smell and have yet to find it, I’ve been searching for foods that have interesting texture rather than flavor, since the flavor is lost on me. In fact, foods that naturally lack flavor, such as white rice or lettuce, tend to be more pleasing to eat, since I don’t feel the loss of taste as much when I eat them (as opposed to garlic bread, ice cream, and pizza, whose present lack of flavor only serves to depress me).

The one problem with lettuce is that it must be eaten raw, and that’s a no-no for an immuno-compromised person such as myself. Peeling and/or cooking fruit and vegetables is what ensures the harmful bacteria residing on their surfaces die a slow and painful death. Unfortunately, lettuce has no skin to peel, and have you ever tried to cook lettuce? I don’t recommend it.

This week I practically begged my doctor (for the thirtieth time) for the green light to eat this forbidden veggie, as well as raw tomatoes (another one of my cravings), and she finally gave in, with a strict warning that I pick an unbruised specimen and wash it thoroughly before consuming. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but in my mind, that was practically an invitation to get some In N Out, which is exactly what Zack and I did. One order of protein-style (so I could better enjoy the crispness of the lettuce) with grilled onions and well-done fries, and I was a happy woman. I only wish I got the double.

"Big Brain" Hurts Ego

Lately I’ve taken up playing “Big Brain Academy” on the Wii in some of my free time; you might remember me mentioning this as a game I requested while in the hospital for my bone marrow transplant. When offered a choice of any Wii game on the market, who chooses “Big Brain Academy”? Maybe now you better understand my choice of occupation.*

Though I’ve owned the game since February, I haven’t played it much. I guess growing up as one of those severely deprived kids who never owned a video game system taught me to develop odd hobbies like reading and talking to friends instead. But as I’ve been playing Big Brain more frequently, I’ve noticed several strange quirks.

First, as you'll see in the image posted, the “host” of the game is an unidentifiable, unusually-shaped, yellow blob that communicates through mysterious phrases in annoying “computer-speak.” This blob has some semblance of a head with eyes and whiskers, arms, and a trunk but is lacking all other typical body parts. Is it supposed to resemble brain matter? I have no idea. Second, the blob seems to love the sound of his own voice, because he gives a lengthy commentary after EVERY game. The worst part is there’s no button you can press to skip the commentary! And finally, not unlike several of my former coaches, the blob employs the use of insult to act as motivation for the player. And not even mild insults either, but full-on zingers dripping with sarcasm. I’m not joking; he says things like, “Did you hit the snooze button? Because you just slept through that one!” Even though I hate the concept, I have to give major credit to the blob’s creator. Whoever can use a video game blob to make a person feel like a pathetic loser is pretty ingenious.

Last weekend, I learned that the blob even calls people out individually when they’re playing in teams, adding further to their humiliation. If it wasn’t embarrassing enough getting insulted by a freakish-looking video game character, now try enduring the ridicule in front of friends and family. I won’t name the victim here, but I attached the picture above as evidence ;):

*Teacher and tutor, of course!