Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Took the day off yesterday to baby an upset stomach (couldn't have been my beloved 1/2 burger at Shipwreck!) and catch up on email and grading. Sophie was in second heaven that Mom was at home and working on the laptop. I used our king size bed as my "office" and spent the day cross legged with the laptop in my lap on the most comfortable piece of furniture in the apartment! :-)

Also did some online shopping. I will at least have bedding when I get to Greenville. I may not have a bed, but I have the "stuff" for it! After looking through Overstock and all the other online sites I still ended up ordering from JC Penney. I love online shopping, but it doesn't burn as much calories as hitting the stores in the mall does. Ordered the basic soaps, etc. from Drugstore.com. I love that online store. Only place I can get Luna bars at a decent price. Now to check the pictures I took of the condo to see if I can determine what color the tile is in the bathroom - I can't remember. Haven't ordered bathroom stuff yet. Oh, this is fun! :-) This is all being sent to my office at ECU so it should be interesting hauling the boxes out to the rental car when we get to Greenville. It is less than two 2 weeks before I leave. Time is flying by and lots of packing still do to.

Don't know why I hadn't read it when it first came out, but I really was drawn into Kate Morgenroth's Jude. The cover is dark, with the profile of what appears to be a trouble young man. Those were my thoughts when I picked it up and I was right - a very troubled and intensely angry young man. Jude was raised by his drug dealer father, moved from one dingy apartment in the rough part of town to another. That is until his father is shot dead in front of him, for cutting the cocaine with baby powder. Jude promises the hit man not to tell anyone who killed his father, or he dies too. Jude promises, even when he discovers that his mother is the local DA. Her companion Harry, who had once been Jude's father's partner when he was a cop, convinces Jude to admit to crimes he didn't commit, including killing his father. Jude goes from living in a drug infested neighborhood to a rich suburb, enrolled in a rich kids' private school. Life appears to be good until his mother decides to run for mayor and Jude has to sacrifice himself so she can be elected. With Harry's "help" Jude is set up and convicted of drug dealing, with the understanding that as soon as she is in office Harry will get Jude out of prison. Harry is not the benevolent man Jude thought he was and his innocence in shattered. His anger at this betrayal and need for revenge turns him into the most vicious fighter in prison. The Jude who emerges from prison 5 years later is out to seek revenge and it isn't going to be pretty. I was hooked from the first chapter and couldn't put it down. This is the perfect book to give to that teenage guy who says he doesn't like to read! He'll read this.

Time to head for Montessori. Need to finish up patron records. Got all but the parenting collection, videos, and Caribbean collection into the OPAC. They can wait until I am back on island.