THE GIRL WITH THE LOWER BACK TATTOO * Extra Extra!

The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer - Trainwreck was sweet, but usually Amy puts me off with over-the-top "inappropriateness". I enjoy inappropriateness as much as the next person, but we all have our delivery preferences, and I'll take South Park over Amy. That said, I enjoyed her book! She's fresh, irreverent and honest. About everything. And then she's funny. About everything. She gives you chapters with titles then delivers. It's a very organized book and I appreciate that.

Lately I've really slowed down on the blog - in part because my computer has really slowed down. It's 9 years old, and Firefox no longer works on it. It takes a minute to fire up (I remember the days when a minute to fire up would have been excellent!) and I haven't configured it to the cloud, to photo stream or even my phone. And now bringing a picture onto the blog is a crapshoot. 
I'm still subbing, and still enjoying it. It's a close to home job, students are great, teachers and staff are dedicated to excellence, and most days I feel like I might have made a small difference for being there. And because it's teaching, it's not really a job, it's a calling, so the days that I actually impart information are the best. My favorite sub jobs are the specials: library, tech, music, gym, english, social studies and instructional aid positions where you work with small numbers of students to help them do well in their classes. 
I've also started a new job as Background Talent (that's what we call Extras in the business) on TV shows and movies that are made in Chicago. It takes me all over the city at all hours, and sometimes I work and sometimes I wait to work. It's not glamorous but it appeals to my flexible schedule. Two jobs isn't easy though. Especially if you want to do anything else. I've been on Chicago PD, Chicago Fire, worked Chicago Med but didn't appear as far as I know, worked Chiraq but my scene was cut even though I eventually saw it on Facebook, worked on Patriot, waiting to see if I'll be seen, worked on Exorcist, waiting to see if I'll be seen, worked on a little post pilot comedy, waiting to see if it will even be on let alone whether I'll be seen (I think I would be seen if it ever hits a screen). Worked on Empire, waiting to see if I'll be seen. Working on the new show, Chicago Justice tomorrow, as a lawyer. It's cut into the beach walks, the shopping, the organizing, the creativity that I claim to crave, and even the TV watching. The DVR was up to 98% at one point. I've watched it down to 71 as of last night, but tonight is Sunday, so here we go again!  One night I was really tired, and made a reservation to go to Myanmar with my friend Nancy and her family. It's going to be an amazing trip, and I hope it jump starts my old love of travel. So that's the latest - now let's see if I can get the right size picture of Amy Schumer's book to upload in the right place. Why does simply continuing to write my blog have to be stressful? Why? Oh, I forgot to mention that she's got a fabulous title and book jacket, and I like the Tiffany blue inside cover pages, too. Thanks, Amy. I liked your book a lot.

MOLOKA'I * SISTERS

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert - This is the story of Rachel, who started her life as a carefree child in Old Honolulu in the late 1800s. When she was 7 years old her life took a drastic turn; she was forced to start an entirely different life on her own and apart from those she loved. She's one of the most resourceful characters you'll ever meet, and her story and adventures, told against the background of true events in Hawai'i in the early 20th century are remarkable. I loved this book, its characters, and its history.

Sisters - Amy Poehler and Tina Fey rarely disappoint, and while this movie wasn't a box office smash, it's one to catch on HBO - Sisters is sassy and sweet and quirky and dumb and funny. Think Stepbrothers meet Project X. 

A HOUSE FOR HAPPY MOTHERS

A House for Happy Mothers by Amulya Malladi - This was a fine book to read on vacation when I didn't need an excellent story holding me back from getting up and out to breakfast. It's the story of a couple who use a surrogate mother to carry their baby, only the surrogate is in India, at the House for Happy Mothers. I'm happy to know what I learned here, but the best readers for this book are people who are considering using an Indian surrogate. It's modern and sweet.

Said vacation consisted of Steve and I driving a car to SLO, and then helping Peter to make a few changes to his new room for Junior Year. It turned into a sweet transformation - new paint, carpet that we laid right over the old, new desk that I scored on Craigslist, took off the closet doors and recessed the dresser, etc. It was like a Design on a Dime episode, and I hope Peter now knows how to do it for himself in the future. That's a vacation for us. I also played a lot of Pokemon Go after Steve left, and it was great company, not to mention fruitful, since there are different common Pokemon out west. I'm up to 94/150 on my Pokedex!