2010 Reading List

So this year I've made a reading list of 52 books which I hope to read by the end of the year. I'm on track thus far having finished four, currently on my fifth. So far I have read The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (5 stars--read it!), The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (4 stars), Lovesick by Alex Wellen (3 stars) and Life After God by Douglas Coupland (4 stars). I have always loved books and loved reading. A reading list and goal seems rather regimented but I like it. I spent quite a lot of time researching and making the list and it is helping me to read books that I had been meaning to, has helped me to seek out books that I am interested in reading rather then whatever falls into my lap (I tend to read whatever is lent to me) and it is keeping me from using the television to pass the time on those cold stormy winter nights.

Currently reading Atonement by Ian McEwan. Happy Reading.

Bucket List Item #44 - Join the Stem Cell and Marrow Registry

Okay so I'm a big dork. And in my dorkdom I wholeheartedly am drawn to doing dorky things, especially when they involve some sort of personal growth and organization. Yeah, it's that bad. I make lists and do the things on them and I check them off and it makes me happy. These things are normally "take the garbage out" or "get groceries", "pay bills" and so on; things that are relatively quick and painless and, well monotonous. I decided to make a bucket list as a way to start focusing on achieving some of the things that I've always wanted to. I'm checking my first item off of the list and though it was pretty quick and painless (so far, at least) I couldn't be happier to have done it: #44 - Join the Stem Cell and Marrow Registry. I suppose I am a little quick to check this off my list as I am technically not on the registry yet (I've joined the registry but still need to have my mouth swabbed) but should be in the next week or so.

Registering is something I've had good intentions of doing for a long time and for no good reason have not gotten around to. There are thousands of patients with leukemia and other life-threatening illnesses who require a bone marrow transplant and in order for this to happen, they need to find a donor who is a match. The more people who are capable of donating and join the registry, the more matches that will be found and the more lives that will be saved.

To join the registry in Canada click here. In the US click here. Btw, all of the national registries are linked together in one large database.

"Pants on the Ground"

David and I don't tend to watch American Idol often but we happened to catch the episode where "General" Larry Platt broke out with his song "Pants on the Ground". So funny to hear that TJ Burke, a Fredericton MLA sang it in parliament. The story has made its rounds through the media and is even supposed to be part of an upcoming American Idol episode. Too funny. And absolutely ridiculous. 

Who on Earth is going to buy an Ipad? Me!

I've spent much of my free time in the past day and a half reading about the Ipad and watching recent online activity float by and clicking on what interests me. Many of these blog posts and articles are things like "Ten Reasons Not to Buy an Ipad", etc. and those that proclaim that the Ipad is the future of media are berated in the comments sections and asked if they are on Apple's payroll or called fanboys and fangirls. I have no doubts that the Ipad will do just fine, especially at its pleasing price point.

Let me start by saying, I am none of these previously mentioned things. I have a Creative Zen mp3 player, a Dell laptop and in fact have never purchased anything Apple ever. I was never nor am I now anti-Apple, though I do remember in the late 80's and early 90's listening to my Dad's disdain for Apple products. He has since conceded that they are fine machines these days and like me realizes that the whole PC vs. Apple debate is now all about personal preference (though I'm sure many would argue that fact).

So with all this smack talk over the Ipad why am I so enamoured with it? It's EXACTLY what I want. No, seriously. All of the lists of reasons why you shouldn't buy it are exactly my reasons why I want to. I have no use for a built in camera or web cam. I do not own or care to own a cellphone. This is precisely why I do not own an Iphone. I considered buying a Kindle but wasn't sold on it and thus hadn't yet. I want a media device that is smaller than a laptop but larger than a smartphone. Hello! My only worry thus far is that I am in Canada and am very curious about 3G plans (or lack therof). This though, isn't a dealbreaker for me. If I'm displeased in this regards, I will purchase the wireless version as my city has several wireless hotspots and for use at home, etc.

I also feel I must say something about the name. Are people seriously listing this as a downfall? It's the size of a pad of paper, it is a tablet (which by the way is another word for PAD OF PAPER). I even read an article on a women's website that talked about how it was an example of how dangerous it can be to not have women on your marketing team. Seriously? (Go google "Ipad" and "Women" to be instantly amused by articles titled "Women Horrified by IPad's Ridiculously Inappropriate Name". I personally think that it is a rather fitting name, accurate description of what it is and keeps with their branding technique. But then I also had thought that period jokes stopped being socially acceptable after junior high.

I will probably wait 6 months after release but I WILL own this and I have no doubt that so will many of the anonymous hater-commentators.