FiR Question 10

Yikes.  Just about three weeks left for Fall into Reading 2011, and I think I've got about 5 more books to go on my list.  Not going to make it, but that's not exactly a surprise since I never do.

Anyway, here's this week's FiR question:

In what ways do you encourage others to read or support their reading habits? How do you share your love of reading with others?

I think the most obvious is my reviewing.  By posting reviews at Amazon and Epinions, I hope I am helping people find new books they will enjoy.  That's my point, anyway, since I have always talked non-stop about what I am reading and enjoying, hoping to get others to share it with me.

For people in my life, I loan out books people might be interested in, and I'm always willing to give recommendations.  I also love to talk books, and I'll listen to others as they talk about the books they have read and enjoyed.  I'd like to say I borrow books from people, but it never quite seems to work that way.  My list of to be read books is always too long.

Weekly TV Recap for November 26th

Amazing, isn't it, how a holiday sends lots of shows into reruns.  I like that because it's so easy to catch up when I get back into town.

Amazing Race - Yes, that was me you heard yelling when I found out it was a to be continued episode.  I wanted to know who would get eliminated.  I'm guessing the older couple gets eliminated assuming there is an elimination since I didn't see them in the scenes from next week.  I'll be sorry to see them gone, but at least the snowboarders are still in it.

The Sing-Off - I pretty much figured that Urban Method would make the finals back in the first episode.  Not too surprised Pentatonix is there as well.  I think the only reason we got a normal group last season was because we didn't have any of these groups with tons of flash.  I guess that means I'm pulling for the college group, although they weren't my favorite of the season either.

Terra Nova - So, that's the back story behind the commander's son.  So I'm wondering if he's telling the truth now or what exactly the other side of the story is.  Because the Sixers sure have implied that he's out for himself, but he sure talks a good story about how he's out for the future of humanity.

Castle - That was intense.  Of all their serious episodes, this was the best.  The acting was incredible.  Watching Kate go through all that was uncomfortable for me, but she nailed every moment.  And the new Captain was actually working with Castle at one point.  I hope that's a sign she is softening a little.

Covert Affairs - All that training, and Annie doesn't get to do the marathon.  Watching her try to deal with the two sisters really showed off her character.  The episode itself was okay, but the character stuff was interesting.

Word Association for November 25th

Here's this week's word association.

1. Crushed :: Disappointed
2. Thanks :: Giving
3. Steam :: Hot
4. Bulletin :: Church
5. Budget :: Cuts
6. Value :: Appreciate
7. Aquarium :: Fish
8. Logo :: Corporate
9. Information :: Dump
10. Lend :: Borrow

FiR Question #9

Looks like it is time for this week's Fall Into Reading question.

What else do you do while you are reading? Eat? Drink? Household tasks? Or do you usually put aside absolutely everything to focus solely on the book at hand?

Honestly, I pretty much read, and that's it.  Most of my reading is done at lunch time in my car or right before I go to bed.  If I'm reading during the day, I will most likely have my bottle with water next to me, but I usually don't drink from it.  I find I enjoy stories best if I concentrate on one thing and one thing only.  I've even cut down on how much surfing I do while watching scripted TV shows.

Wait, do you counting napping?  I often do that while reading.  It's one reason I only got through 9 pages on my lunch hour yesterday.

SoCal Spartan Race 2011

Saturday was my last mud run of the year - the Spartan Race.  And boy was it cold.  November is always a gamble whether it will be warm or not.  I lost.  It was 45 when my friend Luke and I started the race at 8AM.  I was actually pleasantly surprised at just how quickly I warmed up, however, since I was wearing shorts and a T-Shirt instead of my normal long running pants and sweatshirt like I wore when I went running this morning.

And they started us right off with cold water.  It had to be just a matter of yards into the race, and we went through a double dip of waste deep water.  But then it was up and running up hill.

Let me tell you, the hills were steep and there were lots of them.  Even this guy who normally runs up a hill found them long and tiring.

The obstacles were varied and fun.  They had monkey bars.  They had walls to climb over.  But they also had walls you had to roll under or go through.  At one point, they had buckets of concrete you had to pull up a pully system.  And there was a wall with small hand holds you had to try to cross.

Of course, what I didn't like was if you failed any of these things, you had to do 30 burpees.  Maybe it was just the fact that I'm used to trying something and moving on if you don't do it.  Maybe it's the fact that I can't do most things like that.  But I think I did about 10 burpees over the course of the race and moved on instead of the 120 I would have had to do for the things I didn't do.

And then there was my spill.  Maybe half a mile into the race, I completely lost controll going down a very steep hill.  Yes, I should have taken it slower.  Yes, I am fully aware it is my own fault.  I was proud of myself because I made it around several people on the course and I made it basically to the bottom before I crashed.  But boy did I land hard.  My leg is still all scraped up.  At least it doesn't hurt any more when I transition from standing to sitting.  Heck, it was hurting no matter what I did Saturday night.  Right now, it is just tender when I touch it.

Actually, this wasn't a mud run in the traditional sense.  The only real mud they had us crawling through was water over dirt under 18 inch barb wire.  And yet I think that's the muddiest I've gotten without actually trying at a mud run.  That barb wire when on forever.  I would have much preferred half the length twice along the course.  I actually stopped about 2/3 of the way through and walked the rest.  Even then, it took me a good 20 minutes to get as far as I did.

After ward, I got to meet Carrie, who I've only known from the internet to date.  That was fun.

So, the only race I have on the calendar right now is Tough Mudder in July.  Of course, I think there will be several more between now and then because that is a long ways off.  And I want to keep my running up so when I need to start hard core training for that race, I won't die.

Weekly TV Recap

It really is amazing how just a couple hours of TV out of my life makes my life easier.  Fall season is winding down.  I think I can do this.  At least, I hope I can make it another week or two.  Next year, I won't get involved in so many shows.  (Yeah, I'm laughing, too.)

The Amazing Race - Well, my guys weren't U-Turned.  But sadly one of the groups that was U-Turned did go home.  The only team I really want to see leave is Jeremy and Sandy, who came in next to last.  The father son team were definitely cool and didn't seem like they had something to prove to each other, which was a real nice change from the normal on that show.  I'm sorry to see them go.  Meanwhile, I can't see why the one woman is obsessed with winning at least one leg.  The only leg that really matters is the last one.  Why so insistent?

Once Upon a Time - That was an interesting twist with Cinderella, having her dealing with Rumplestilkins.  And I wonder how that fit the time line since Snow was obviously there at Ella's wedding.  I like how that played out in Storybrook as well with Mr. Gold having bought the baby.  I wonder what favor he's going to want from Emma now.  And do we know who the sheriff is yet?  Because I'm thinking the Huntsman, although I could be wrong there.  We definitely know why he is so willing to do the Mayor's bidding.

Terra Nova - I'm so glad Josh confessed.  That took a lot of guts.  Meanwhile, the investigation into the scientist was fascinating.  I like the twist and how they played that murder out.  Much better than last week's murder.

The Sing-Off - Well, there goes the group I was rooting for the most.  I'm sure the winners will be the Urban group, although I think I might be rooting for Penatonix now.  I must admit I've lost some interest somewhere along the way.  I think they had too many groups and it was too spread out.  I much liked it when it was on for a few weeks in December.  I think this also means I would never last with American Idol, not that I was planning to start watching it.

Covert Affairs - It must be the accent, but I spend the entire time that Ohed is on screen trying to understand what he is saying.  He really needs to stop mumbling.  And why is it I can never really remember any of these guest stars they bring back.  It's like I can't remember what is happening on this show unless it involves the main characters.  Ranting aside, I did enjoy this episode and Ohed's character.  Jai surprised me at the end, taking the credit/blame for the bad guy being shot.  I wonder what that was all about.

Ringer - Gemma isn't dead??!!  The ending got me.  I so wanted her to be found.  So who is John and why is he working with Shabon.  And it looks like the affair is going to come out.  What will that do to Bridget since she's the one who isn't guilty?  Since the episode in two weeks is the fall finale, I'm expecting some pretty big shocks to the system.  I'll just be curious how it all plays out.

Psych - Another very funny episode.  I figured out the real killer part way through, but it was so funny with so many great lines.  It's a classic.

Survivor - This episode was completely predictable.  Ozzy won at Redemption.  Shocking.  The other two people from his tribe got sent to join him.  Again, shocking.  Next week will be much more interesting as they have to turn on each other.  I'm afraid that Coach is going to win.  I hope that's not the case, but it sure is looking that way.

Big Bang Theory - So, Sheldon and Amy have made it official.  Sure looks to me like things haven't changed between them at all.  It will be interesting to see if things changed between them at all.  Meanwhile, the bits with that expansion pack the guys were playing looked way too familiar, especially Leonard having to get the special edition even though he already had the regular one.

Burn Notice - Wow was that an intense episode.  I knew they'd get the guys out of the factory, but I was still very much on the edge of my seat to see how.  And more Madeline.  I love it when they really get her involved, but I felt so sorry for her this time around.  I loved Michael trying to save Bernie at the end.  That last scene was just so intense.  The scientist they were trying to rescue looked so much like Morgan from Chuck, I spent most of the episode trying to figure out if it was him or not.  Turned out to be his older brother.

Nikita - Another intense episode, but I wasn't that happy with this one.  Burkoff being tortured sure wasn't any fun.  I'm interested to see how this all goes down with Alex in Russia.  And will Nikita get her hands on another black box?

Chuck - I promise, you only have 9 more episodes to listen to this whine.  I can't believe this show is ending.  I laughed so hard at this one tonight.  Jeff as a responsible adult has actually brought some life to the Buy More gang and made that part of the show fun.  Casey playing with Morgan over the things he liked was great.  That last scene would have made me very happy (until they arrested Casey, of course) as a series finale shot.  A perfect episode.

Word Association for November 17th

Here we go again.  This week's word association.

1. Help :: Danger
2. Close :: Open
3. Start over :: Do it Right
4. Dirt :: Mud!
5. Kilometer :: 5K or 10K
6. Speedy :: Fast
7. Shop :: Spend
8. Trumpet :: of Jesus
9. Dog :: Cat
10. Canoe :: Fun, River, Water.  Take your pick

FIR Question #8

It's Wednesday, which means that Catrina over at Callapidder Days is asking another Fall into Reading Question.

Where do you love to read? Do you have a favorite chair, a favorite room, a favorite place…somewhere that inspires you to put everything else aside and pick up a book?

Honestly, the answer to that question is yes.  I will read anywhere and everywhere.  It comes from a childhood spent using books to get me through boring shopping trips.  (Let's face it, every shopping trip outside a toy store is boring when you're a kid, even if it's for you.)

Based on where I read the most now, I would say my favorite places to read are:
1) My car.  Don't panic.  I don't read while driving (although I have been tempted upon occasion).  But I will go out to my car and read on my lunch hour.  Yes, I often take a nap as well, but that's a favorite spot, and when it is too hot or cold to do that, I'm disappointed.
2) My bed.  I always snuggle in at night and read before turning out the light.  Unlike some people, I find reading relaxes me enough to put me to sleep.  Whenever I have a chance to read at home, this is my default location since my roommates are usually out and about other places in the condo.

Given a choice, I will also read in the easy chair in the living room, although that's less common.

As I said, I will read anywhere and everywhere I can.  As long as I can support at least some of my weight, I will get lost in a book.  Yes, I have read standing up before.

Weekend Wrap Up

It must be time for a weekend wrap up post.

I'm going to start with Friday, when I finished watching all my TV shows for the week.  That's right, I didn't have anything I had to watch over the weekend!  That was a first in a long time, although it looks like things will be getting easier as it goes along now since some shows are dropping out for the Fall.  Of course, come February, everything will be back, so I'll have to juggle it all then.

Saturday morning, I did not play ultimate Frisbee.  Instead, I met up with Angelique to see Puss in Boots.  It was fun, but it wasn't a rush out to see type of movie.

I came home and had a couple hours to myself, but then Daniel came over for a round of The Stock Market Game.  I managed to pull off a win, although I didn't think that was going to happen this time around.

Sunday, the choir sang in church.  This was interesting since I've been fighting off the last of a cold.  I had hardly any voice on Saturday until afternoon.  I was able to fake my way through most of the songs all three services, although I was certainly ready to be done by the time we finished.

Then my new friend Chris came over and I introduced him to ultimate Frisbee.  Now, the field we normally play on is often muddy in spots, but I have never seen the field that muddy.  It was more like a swamp.  Now, you know I'm always up for a good mud run, but this went a bit far, even for me.  Anyway, we had a good time.

After he left, I headed over to my nightly TV/movie night with friends.  We're starting to watch Alias, which is new to everyone but me.  I'd forgotten just how good the first season was.

And this was my quiet, stay at home weekend of the month.  Man, it was busy.

Weekly TV Recap for November 12th

Yes, I finished everything on Friday night.  Feels good not to have a bunch of TV to go on a weekend.  And yes, I've taken a couple shows off the list.  I think I'm going to tough it out two more weeks and then things will cut back.  Since some shows won't be back in the Spring, that will help and I don't have to figure things out again until Fall.

See, still the most indecisive person.

The Amazing Race - The brother and sister duo have never been one of my favorites, so I wasn't sorry to see them go.  I didn't feel that great with how they lost, however.  I always feel badly when one member really struggles with something and that is what costs them.  I find it funny that the only team who got U-Turned had already passed the check point.  I can understand the confusion, but it's still funny.  Looks like my team is going to get U-Turned next week.  Hope they can work through it.  And can I just say how stupid it is to use an express pass to win first instead of using it to stay in the race.  Unless it was the last leg I could use the pass, I'd be saving that for some time when I thought I was going home instead of some time when I hoped to get first.

Once Upon a Time - I am so under this show's spell.  I'm wondering who Prince Charming's ex/wife is in the fairytale universe if anyone we've heard before.  Emma's scenes with the mayor are absolutely amazing.  And I'm wondering just how Snow White ruined the Evil Queen's life.

Terra Nova - So, the son is still alive, and somehow the sixers are working with him.  That's an interesting development.  The characters got some development, and I think that was the biggest point of the episode.

The Sing-Off - I wouldn't have called myself a country fan, but I enjoyed those performances more this week than the rock performances that started the show.  I'm quickly losing groups to root for since they seem to be keeping the more urban groups, and I'm not as big a fan of that style.  Yes, even though they'd done it before, I was sorry to see Delilah go this week.

Castle - Considering the build up of Castle and the guys in Atlantic City as an early bachelor party, this episode focused much more on the mystery than I thought it would.  I enjoyed it, although it didn't have the clever twists of last week.

Covert Affairs - Seeing Peter out of the office was fun, although he and Annie sure met up lots if she was trying to keep her covert status hidden.  Interesting show, although not that many twists or turns.  I knew about his past relationship with the asset from the beginning - it was that obvious.  I like how they seem to have repaired Peter and Joan's relationship, however.  It feels like they are working on giving them a good marriage, which I always like to see.

Ringer - The story moved forward, although I think the most interesting development was Bridgette meeting Shoban's new boy toy.  I wonder if she suspects what this means or if she thinks it was all in the past.  I didn't realize he worked for Mr. Martin (blanking on first name), however.  I'm not sure how much more complicated things can get, but it looks like they are about to have some secrets come to light.

Psych - The opening scene was hilarious.  Decent mystery although it seemed a bit all over the place, even for this show.  Still, Shawn and his dad fighting over the call made the entire episode for me.

Survivor - For now, Cochran is okay with the other team.  It'll be interesting to see how that works out for him when the rest of his team is gone.  Ozzy is back on redemption.  In fact, they had two tribal counsels.  I'm ready to see how things go at the challenge next week.  Oh, and I'm so ready for Coach to go now.  I'd love to see someone who hasn't played before win this season.

Burn Notice - So, we're a step closer to taking down the second half's big bad.  The question is, will Michael be unable to undo the damage once they do.  Or will that be the plot line for season six?  The story about taking down the friend's killer was fine, but it wasn't one of their better episodes.

Charlie's Angels - And I think that's all she wrote.  Once again, I enjoyed the episode.  It wasn't great television, but it was entertaining and had a couple of twists to it I enjoyed.  RIP, Angels.  I'll miss you.

The Big Bang Theory - Hilarious.  Neither story line was unexpected, but the way they played out was very funny.  Penny and Leonard going at it, getting all their annoyances off the table, Sheldon suddenly loving that bird.  Played absolutely wonderfully by all concerned.

Nikita - I'm glad they are doing more with Michael and his son.  Never expected that she was really British intelligence.  And Nikita breaking up with him was so hard to watch.  A great thing I really respect, but so hard to watch.  So, now that the one guardian has been brought up for his secondary mission, what is he going to do?

Chuck - I am so going to miss these characters when the show is over.  They'd better give them a happy ending.  Anything else would not be in the spirit of the show.  Casey trying to date Gertrude is absolutely hilarious.  Their fight scene was brilliant.  And then Morgan dodging those darts Matrix style was perfect.  I'm glad they got him back to normal.  And Jeff acting normal, too?  I'm normally not a Buy More fan, but this has real potential.  But I think my favorite thing tonight was Sarah working hardest to get Morgan back because she knew what that friendship means to Chuck.  That's a sign of how far she's grown as a character.