One week from today we will be headed out to the airport with 2 golf bags, 2 suitcases, and 4 carry ons to get as much of my stuff to Greenville as possible without having to pay to ship it. I sent out three more boxes of books yesterday and will pack up some more today. There is so much stuff I planned on doing before I left, but I won't get to but about 10% of it. I am hoping one last trip to beach to swim a bit.

Was majorly stressed out last night with our slow Internet connection as I was trying to price cars online. None of them are really exciting me - it isn't like when I bought the Trans Am - I knew exactly what I wanted. There are no sport cars I am crazy about and the mini SUVs I really like are too expensive. Of course my favorites are the luxury ones, not the Honda or Kia! But, I will need to figure it out soon. Was looking at the Dodge Caliber (heaven forbid - it is called a wagon!), but I have never driven a Dodge in my life. I have always been a Pontiac or Olds girl. I waver between a smaller car I can easy manuever around and a mini SUV which puts me up higher. Decisions, decisions!!

After I got throughly perturbed with the Internet I went to bed and finished Brian James' Perfect World. What a strange book! The dialog is minimal and it is in italics and the extra white space between the paragraphs gives it a choppy appearance visually. It also reads "choppy" - but considering it is written in first person from the viewpoint of a very mixed up 9th grade girl whose father has committed suicide, the choppiness works. Lacie is immature for her age and is being pressured to get involved with boys as does her supposed best (and often nasty) friend, Jenna. When Jenna sets them up on a double date, Lacie finds a soul mate in quiet Benjy, who Avery (Jenna's boyfriend) calls Dogboy. The desperate need Lacie feels in holding onto Jenna's "friendship" is heart wrenching. Especially since Jenna basically keeps Lacie around as her "whipping boy" and resents Lacie becoming friends with the new girl in school. Severing the unhealthy friendship with Jenna is a good thing in Lacie's life, but losing Benjy is more than she thinks she can handle. Jenna's home life is tense and unhappy, but safe - except for the ghosts Jenna fears come through the walls and enter her as she lays naked in her bed. (Some really weird parts in this book!) Benjy, on the other hand, is emotionally and verbally abused by his alcoholic mother and physically abused by her numerous live-in boyfriends. Benjy loves Lacie, but his home life is too much for him and he is leaving for Portland to live with his father. Their last night together in the decaying foundation of a house in the woods opens new doors for Lacie. She has to let go of Benjy and also discovers she can let go of her grief. I have to admit, I wasn't crazy about this book, but it certainly is one I won't forget and I wil read the other James book I have on my shelf as he certainly has used a unique style of writing in Perfect World. It is far from a perfect world, although the houses neatly spaced apart give that appearance. Teens will relate to the characters and the physical ways they comfort themselves, even to Lacie's fingers in her mouth, like a small child.

Time to tape boxes together and wait to hear from Mary as to which house she fell in love with today! :-)