blame it on the rain

It’s raining (and will continue to do so for the next few days according to the weather forecast). I usually love the rain, but today just sucked – and the addition of puddles made it worse. 

One really awesome thing about Australia is that they don’t have acid rain (yet). So – most establishments (homes, touristy places, camp grounds) have gigantic rain tanks that look like this:

There’s generally a small faucet at the bottom of the tank so you can fill up a bottle or cup and drink the water from inside! I remember being totally amazed by this. Some people say water is water – but the best water I ever had was from a rain tank in the middle of the Australian Outback.

Also – going along with the title of this post – someone told me yesterday that one of the Milli Vanilli guys committed suicide. I had no idea… it happened back in 1998. How did I miss that sadness? I also just realized that 1998 was 10 years ago – WEIRD!

more books

While home for the holidays, my sister passed Twilight along to me. I said I would never read this “young adult” book about vampires – and if I did – I said I wouldn’t like it. I happened to have a 7 hour plane ride and little to do, so I cracked it open and began reading. By the time I disembarked, I was half way done with the light read – and I was completely hooked.  I finished it three days later – sneaking out on my lunch break, so as not to be seen by any of the Barnes & Nobles folks that work next door from where I work. I was convinced they would have heard of this book – and would totally judge me (in a bad way) for reading it.

But, now, I don’t care. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer was damn good and Amazon’s “Best Book of the Decade” – no small feet.  

The other two books in the series just arrived today – and I grabbed them, and stuffed them in my bag like an addict. I’m telling myself I have to finish the 25 pages I have left of The Fountainhead before I can begin to consume these.  

oh and this too…

This is a the most amazing Rice Krispie in the world.

semi-modern, i think.

I was just thinking, I should change the name of my blog to “A Taylored Stitch, A Semi-Modern Bitch.” Modern is too trendy. I definitely don’t encompass modern. I think I can stand with semi-modern though.

I’ve almost finished the book I’ve been reading since the summer. Well, it’s not like I have been continuously reading it… more like I read it for a week, stopped. And then picked it up a few days ago, and now, I’m almost done with it. This is good for several reasons. One: I can put it back on my room mate’s bookshelf and not be one of her hated “book stealers.” Two: I can read something else now without feeling guilty for not finishing it. And three: it’s a good book and I have learned a lot!

Whenever I have been spotted with said book, I receive much comment from those around me… “You’re reading THAT!…It’s so… conservative.” “I’m surprised you’re reading that.” “Isn’t that like, really, conservative?” “She [the author] is kind of crazy, right?” “How could you read that? It teaches capitalism.”

I was sort of confused by these questions, statements… but continued to read, with encouragement from the roomie. Academia can be so predictable … everyone has the same opinion about a book they’ve never read. And even if it was “conservative” or “capitalistic,” I could still learn a lot.

I won’t give a synopsis of it, because mine would be so drab, and I think Wikipedia does a pretty good job of it.  The book is The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand.

Here’s my favorite part:

“In what act or thought of his has there been a self? What was his aim in life? Greatness – in other people’s eyes. Fame, admiration, envy – all which comes from others. Others dictated his convictions, which he did not hold, but he was satisfied that others believed he held them. Others were his motive power and his prime concern. He didn’t want to be great, but to be thought great. He didn’t want to build, but to be admired as a builder. He borrowed from others in order to make an impression on others.”

Anyone familiar with Ayn Rand, knows her outspoken beliefs on laissez-faire capitalism and individualism. The Fountainhead definitely had these as recurring themes. I didn’t feel as if it were a political tyrade though - more of a really important critique on humanity. I wouldn’t describe myself as a capitalist or an individualist – but I read the above quote as if it were a bible verse for an evangelical christian. I mean, I wrote it in my planner, so I would have it for the whole year, handy. For me, this part wasn’t a political message, but a personal one. It’s what  do everyday: wrap my self-worth up in other’s expectations and ideas of success. Is it individualistic of me to think that sucks? Can I be selfish and selfless at the same time?

“That, precisely, is the deadliness of second-handers. They have no concern for facts, ideas, work. They’re concerned only with people. They don’t ask: ‘Is this true?’ They ask ‘Is this what others think is true?’ Not to judge, but to repeat. Not to do, but to give the impression of doing. Not creation, but show. Not ability, but friendship. Not merit, but pull. What would happen to a world without those who do, think, work, produce?”