books 2008: Almost A Woman, by Esmeralda Santiago

Man, did I read Santiago in the wrong order. I feel like I'm moving backwards through her life. I read The Turkish Lover first, which takes Santiago from when she left her mother's house at 21 to her college graduation in her late 20s; this book takes her from 13 to 21. A lot of the backstory in The Turkish Lover makes more sense now, but this book was even more bittersweet than I think it would have been if I'd read it fresh, because at the end of this book she meets her Turk, and after reading the later book I know just where that ends up. I want to yell at her. I also strongly hope she's working on another memoir, because I want to know what happens to her after college. I could go back further and read her first memoir, When I was Puerto Rican, but I think I might not. I'm not sure if this post made any sense at all.

it's a good night!

Tonight was a good night! This morning, I somehow got my sorry tail out of bed at 6:40, so I was able to catch the 7:38 train and get to work at 8:15. \m/ That meant I could leave at 4:30! I had to go to the library after work, to return some books and clear up an issue about a book I had returned that was still listed as checked out to me, but that was easy--I found the book on the shelves and brought it up and had them check it back in. I meant to go to the gym after the library, but it was pouring teeming rain, so I got soaked walking home from the library, and once I got home and put on warm clothes I just did not want to go back out again. So I did yoga here at home! A good 45-50 minutes of yoga! I was very pleased. It was a good workout, too, and I did all my strength-building exercises that I hadn't done in ages. I also did a load of laundry, made myself nice pasta for dinner, washed all the dinner dishes, wiped down the stovetop, folded and put away all the laundry, and watched Gossip Girl. (Serena, just tell him whatever it is! I like Nate with the dark-haired girl, too, that's cute. Will Dawn play an annoying teenager forever?) Now I need to get ready for bed!