[what i've been reading]

I am starting my 48th book for the year(hope to get to 50 by New Year's Eve..a pretty safe bet that is going to happen, don't you think? ;)  )

I just finished Prince Lestat by Anne Rice. It was the first book of hers that I have ever read, and I think you could read this without reading any of the other Vampire Chronicles books. In fact, she has a TL:DR(Too long, didn't read) summary of characters and the books. For those of us that don't want to read all of the books(though admittedly Prince Lestat has piqued my interest in her Vampire Chronicles books so imma try to read at least one of them, I think..)

 Anyways, I enjoyed it, and it was a quick read-it went everywhere with me-I take whatever I'm reading with me and read at the bus stop, on the bus, you name it.

Right now, I'm going through jags of reading certain authors-I've read several of Kathy Reichs' Bones books(which I like a lot better than the TV show-the books are *quite* a bit different than the TV show!)

[i love costco]

My dad and I went to Costco the other day-I LOVE Costco-and it has nothing to do with the free samples (and the hot dogs, pizza, etc at the food court. (though those are a bonus that is for sure!)).

No, it's the selection they have at their stores(admittedly, I couldn't find what I was looking for the other day;I was able to find a serviceable replacement). I also  found some  corn chowder(in small 2-serving cartons though one carton is dinner for me!) that I really like.

Another thing I like about Costco is their selection of books and of DVD's. It seems to  vary wildly from  store to store. If I was looking to get a book in hardcover, I would look at Costco first(or Target, though it's less likely they would have them there since they only have a few new hardcover titles there when they're new;however the price is hard to beat..and anyone who knows me knows I like a good deal!)

I have a Keurig coffee maker, and when I got it(from Costco by coincidence!) it came with a ton of K Cups, so you can kinda make up your mind about what coffees you like.

They actually carry a bunch of different coffees, including a Kirkland(Costco brand) K Cup which is really good. Though  I noticed when I was there the other day that they sell a multi-pack  with a bunch of different types of coffee(I would buy that if I wasn't trying to switch from coffee to tea, because there are a couple of types of coffee that I've tried in the past that I really liked.

[weekend report, nov. 7-9]

Friday: I went to UTC(University Town Center). Made chicken salad with rotisserie chicken from Costco for dinner.

Saturday:Went to watch my nephew's soccer game. Went to Costco. Watched a terrible movie(Paranormal Activity:The Marked Ones) I got out of the library.

Sunday:Hannibal  rewatch.

[tv randomness tbh]

*Bones has had record low ratings this season and there is talk that this will be their last season(though the producers/show runners have said that's not the case but the not-so-great ratings may force their hand just a bit. I think it may be for the best, if we're being honest. At least House ended at the right time(some people may disagree, I know. And I don't acknowedge the Season 9 finale that someone wrote. That was just bad fanfic.

Granted,Hannibal gets less than stellar ratings, and it's only had 2 seasons,with S3 filming right now..Bones has had 10 seasons and it is definitely played out at this point. Grimm has the same issue(with less than great ratings)


One of the big issues with Grimm is that they have 2 or three episodes right in a row, and then they aren't on for a month or more.

*On a TV-related note: My parents now get a bunch of pay channels(Starz, Showtime, and a couple of others. )Gonna LOVE being able to watch Homeland, etc. or see if there's a good movie on. They also get Movie Channel and there are a lot of good movies on there at any given time.

*I listen to a TV-related internet radio show which has a focus on Once Upon A Time but they do talk about other shows(including Hannibal) but they are *always* having trouble with technical issues.

[i wish i was making this up!]

There was a thread on Cruise Critic asking what the waiters in the MDR(Main Dining Room) are wearing on formal night because he doesn't want to clash with them. Yes, really.

Lots of "you're joking, right?" -type comments..and a few  are offended by some of the more..how shall we say..jokey reactions. He also went after a poster on his thread because he noticed, from their signature-a list of ships that they had been on- that they had been of a few non-Holland America ships and that their opinion was invalid.

And see there is that attitude of "HAL is superior to every other cruise line out there" attitude  that is so prevalent among people at Cruise Critic.

I can't remember if it was R.(her actual first initial) or someone else that said it but she said "I do not dress to Emily Post standards". R. used to be a real thorn in my side when I posted there with any frequency,but now she's frequently the voice of reason on threads that tend to get a little..searches for a word and settles on "ridiculous".

She also was the  voice of reason on a thread where someone got snotty because the OP and a few other posters were asking for comparisons of HAL(Holland America) to other cruise lines.

[S2 Ep 2: Sakizuke]

*Mural guy escapes-OUCH. And he *almost* makes it but..not quite.

*Alana and Hannibal visit Will-Alana is still deluded-as they all are. Hannibal wants Will to trust him.Hey Hannibal...how about NO? Not only that, Will can do the fake tear thing too.In fact, he does it better than you do, if we're being honest. :P Go Will!

*Bedelia  breaks up with Hannibal(and is nowhere to be seen when Hannibal shows up later in his murder onesie,presumably to  kill her, she's nowhere to be found. I like to think she sent him a  text that said "Bye Felicia". LOL

Bedelia also goes to see Jack and basically tells him "don't call, don't text, don't email". She wants to get as far away from Hannibal as she can and who can blame her?

On some level, Bedelia must know/deduce that Will is playing Hannibal.

*Beverly says too much in front of Jack, and he knows that she's been to see Will(and he isn't happy..that's putting it mildly.) Helping a brother out is what gets her killed, ultimately.

*Meanwhile, Jack has to have a psych eval, and he is NOT happy about it. But maybe he should have thought about that before he pushed Will so hard. Seriously, there's a lot of people at the BAU that could stand to have a psych eval, but I think Jack is right at the top of the list.

*Hannibal deduces that the bodies were near a cornfield and we get Hannibal at a crime scene, ala Will.

*We see the human mural in all its glory, and Hannibal telling the mural killer "I love your work!"(I lol at that.Every.Time.) How convenient is it that Hannibal just happens to(presumably) be close to the crime scene when he gets a call from the BAU asking  for his help.

*There is a lot of talk of God, and of existential crises;We get a call back to "Killing must feel good to God too".

*Hannibal makes osso buco with the mural maker's leg.  I don't like Osso Buco and that doesn't help matters much.

*Will quotes Sesame Street when he tries to recreate the mural tableau "One of these things is not like the other, one of these things doesn't belong". 

*Kade claims she's  got  Will's best interest at heart. Riiight. Will has heard that before, so he's right to side eye anyone who says shit like that.

*Bedelia goes to visit Will  and tells Will that she believes him..she also gets close to Will as she dares.

Quotable:

Will: I am the unreliable narrator of my own story

Bedelia: The conclusion I've drawn is that you are dangerous

[there's no point in being mad at cancer for being cancer]

Timothy Spall was on Graham Norton's show talking about how back in 1996, doctors gave him 3 days to live. With all due respect, if doctors told me that I had 3 days to live, I would say "I'd like a second opinion". Turns out that he had leukaemia. 3 days went by and he was still around.

He said that it made him very philosophical, which I think happens a LOT when you're faced with a life-threatening illness. It struck a chord with me, because I am a 12-year cancer survivor. I probably had a lot less challenges than some, but in other ways(certain parts of my recovery were less than perfect),I really did. With hindsight, you realise that those were life experiences  were important.

With me,(at first)I didn't like the constant doctor's visits, having to get poked and prodded to find out what was going on.But after a few times of it,I was-for lack of a better word-blase about it. Which came in handy when I found out I was diabetic-that also involved a lot of doctor's visits and poking and prodding.

Anyways, when I hear stories like Timothy Spall's, I can relate, for sure. The subject line for this entry is from an episode of Hannibal where a character is talking about having cancer. It's so damn true that it hurts. Later on in the episode Hannibal says "You will feel fine,up until the precise moment you don't". With me, I had some symptoms, but felt fine otherwise. Fortunately,my cancer was caught early, I got surgery, and that was the end of it.

We're so much more fortunate now, I think. Early detection and going to the doctor are what saved my life.

 Cancers that used to kill a lot of people get caught earlier because of screenings and awareness.I know that was the case recently, with a family member.